NOV 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic&Discussion Thread

28 November 2015

Day 27 - No Variation November!



Utopia 3-piece
Gillette Silver Blue
Proraso Barbe Dure
L'Occitane Plisson Synthetic
Alum
TSD 2x Iced Barber Shoppe AS

Have a super Sunday!
​

 

General Announcement: the thread for December will open Nov 30. Thanks again for another great month! See you soon for your next focus!

 

November 28

Razor – 1974 Gillette SS
Blade – GSB
Brush – AOS Badger
Soap – Gada Cool Mint shave cream
Post - Cold water splash, Witch Hazel and Aqua Velva


Been a good month with the SS. Prior to this month I have used the SS on only two occasions one being for my birthday back in July when I was very new and once during blade month just to see if the GSB would be OK in the SS for when I got around to doing this month long use. Both prior shaves were pretty rough but ended reasonably close. I think this month made me really pay attention to this razor to get the most out of it. Not my favorite razor but can get a good DFS+ or BBS shave with little to no irritation. That was the goal. Today's shave was another good shave. No irritation and DFS+ because my fiancee found a small area on the jaw line that I did not get completely clean.

My second new piece was the Gada shave cream that I got out of the Nationwide tour box. It proceed to be an excellent cream. Very easy to lather, plenty of slickness, and left my face feeling good and moisturized. Definitely glad a little goes a long way so this one can be used for a while.

Third was the AOS brush. Hmmmm still not sold on this brush. Easy to create lather but so very floppy. It is so soft and so easy on your face but just had no backbone and does not give me the massaging feeling I liked from my boar. Looking forward to comparing it to the Stirling Kong during the next month to determine whether it will be kept or not.

I might not shave until December so figured I would go ahead and do my wrap up. If I do shave it will be identical to today's with hopefully the same or better results. See y'all in the December thread!!

 

Last shave for the month, decided to do an Old and New. Used the big wedge I bought last month, it is an unrestored beauty from the 1860s, and a joy to shave with. I named her Bertha. Using my week old strop, and newer software, along with a brush from the 50s (I think) that has a synthetic knot. Getting one more shave in this month. Planned is below. Will post an update later.

 

I am going to have to get some of those blades to try. 100% of my experience is with the Feather Pro blade. I'll have to try some others including the Kai. Thanks for the great info.

 

I started using mine on Saturdays last month before jumping in and using one exclusively for a month. Take your time, be careful landing the blade, watch the angle and practice practice practice. You will be surprised how well they can work. Have fun!

 

Today was my first no shave day since starting wet shaving last Christmas. It just feels wrong to skip. Maybe I should shave before bed

 

Just so that you don't feel alone: I'll join you on your no shave day today

 

And a third no shave. I got home late and this pipe is too tasty to not smoke. I'll do a rare morning shave tomorrow when I get up.

 

I am using a Kai Captain blade.

 

Gillette Super Speed Y3
Rapira Super Stainless (1)
Vulfix Super Badger (660)
Strop Shoppe Baker Street
Georgetown G12 Scuttle
Pinaud Clubman Original

Shave #2 with the Rapira Super Stainless in my Birth Quarter Super Speed.
Lathered in my scuttle today adding water to the base of my brush from time to time and obtained a rich lather from the Strop Shoppe Baker Street. When I thought it was ready, I checked the slickness, took a picture and then rewet and lathered my face.


2 full passes: Pass 1 XTG. Very good reduction. Pass 2: ATG. At this point had a near BBS except for parts of my neck. A small amount of touch up using the soap on my face, then a cold water rinse followed by a moderate amount of touch up in a few of my trouble spots brought home the baby. The Pinaud Clubman was very mild.

A very nice BBS from the Rapira Super Stainless in my Super Speed with the Strop Shoppe Baker Street. The scuttle generated a nice thick protective lather from the Strop Shoppe Baker Street. The volume was about the same as when I face lather, but it looks richer coming from the scuttle. I still had enough for at least another pass after I was finished shaving. I worked a little more than usual on a couple of my trouble spots, but there was no irritation and it paid off. All in all, a very pleasant shave.

I hope everyone has a nice Lord's Day.

 

My shave last night was great. Ended up using my Tech to work around the cut from Wednesday. Bertha was a joy to use and just wiped the whiskers away. Touch up with the tech, and I ended up a few hairs short of a BBS. Alum was quiet. Closeness A-, Irritation A.

 

SOTD
November 29, 2015
Prep: Hot Shower. Axe Energizing Face Wash Boost
Razor: Gillette Aristocrat
Blade: Personna Lab Blue
Lather: Vintage Yardley
Brush: Semogue Boar 610
Post: Thayers Cucumber WH. Gold Bond Ultimate
Aftershave: Folsom & Co. Shambala
Superb shave. This vintage Yardley hits the mark!! I rotated a couple of brushes in/out, this Semogue 610 is surprisingly soft! I do now remember why I put it away, it doesn't hold a lot of soap but I'm OK with that as I don't have a problem going back to the puck. I really can't say enough good things about the Gillette Aristocrat, it's IMHO the best made Gillette ever. Shambala. Get it. It's fantasticO!
Never let the things you WANT
Make you forget the things you HAVE!

 

11/29/2015
Razor – Wolfman OC with Triad SS Helix
Blade – Feather (3)
Brush – Rudy Vey with Shavemac Finest
Lather – TSD Yin Yang
Post - Witch Hazel & Fine L’Orange



Today's shave is the last of the November Focus since I will be starting the December Focus a day early. The TSD Yin Yang produced a great slick lather. The scent of lime and lavender is very nice and the post shave feel of the lanolin is great. Going with a normal 3 pass shave produced a near BBS shave. Overall the shave scored an A for closeness and an A+ for irritation. Finished off with a splash of Fine L'Orange. I hope everyone has a great Sunday.

 

All your praise has me considering an Aristocrat.

 

Clint, it's the perfect razor, balance, weight, feel, shave. Right behind my Mongoose sits the Aristocrat.

 

That is very high praise indeed.

 

Pre December Focus Shave

Homemade PS Oil
Stirling Synthetic Brush
TSD Lanolin Pumpkin Spice
CJB Pain Stick with Kai Captain blade
Stirling Unscented PSB -- Mentholated
VI Bay Rum AS

After a little debate, I went with the Pain Stick this morning. I haven't had that much growth in almost two years. It gave me a good chance to confirm beard growth direction. It also gave me an opportunity to observe all the grey that has suddenly appeared. My neck is more salt than pepper now.

On to the shave, I got a great lather from the TSD Pumpkin Spice and liberally applied it trying to work up the courage to proceed with the Pain Stick. I finally picked it up and laid it flat against my face. I raised it to about a 15 degree angle and started making short strokes down my cheek to my jaw line. After getting my right side done, I checked the progress, and it was surprisingly smooth. I swapped hands and went the left side. I followed the same sequence, and struggled a bit with my left hand. As I moved closer to my chin, I went with my right hand again. I got my whole face done and rinsed to check how it went. All in all pretty good, as I had one small weeper on my neck.

So I lathered again to do a XTG pass. I found the mustache a little tricky, but easier than when I use a straight. The tricky part on my neck was no problem for the Pain Stick.

After finishing the XTG, I rinsed and found a few rough patches. I cleaned these up with a Schick C3. I would rate this as a CCS +, which I chalk up as a win for my first Pain Stick experience.

 

Way to go. With a start like this shave you should make great progress this month.

 

Don't you just hate it when that happens! I got there a couple years ago, and now I make sure I shave before I see too much of it!

Sounds like a great first shave with the pain stick! Reports like this make me want to try one for a quick second . . . but only for that quick second. Then Ivan shuts up and sanity returns.