NOV 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic&Discussion Thread

It's easier just to use the pain stick.

 

That would be an interesting post for the out of context thread.

 

Congrats on 2000! I have definitely enjoyed your posts! I also ditto everything you said about this great group. It is amazing how far my shaves have come in the few months I have been DE shaving! I owe it all to the group's willingness to share their experience and wisdom.

 

Does she have the eye roll down?

 

Thanks for all of the encouragement Vince. It helped me feel at home here.

 

I thought that was something women were born knowing how to do. I get it from both my fiancee and my daughter!

 

I've never tried a shave journal. That sounds like a good idea. The more stuff I try, the harder it will get to remember how things worked. Thanks.

 

Thank you!

 

I have three daughters, two sisters and a wife. They are born with it

 

Planned day 30 - No Variation

This was the most challenging focus months of the ones Ive tried. Had I not bought anything It would have been much easier...

 

I shaved with my Semogue Boar brush, Chiseled Face Tradewinds, Gem featherlight, Gem PTFE coated SS blade and finished up with Axe Chilled After shave gel. The pig did as well as always. its really a toss up on which one I like more between the Semogue and the WD synthetic. I felt like the boar needed some play time since hes been benched all month. The Tradewinds worked great very nice lather, protection, slickness, if its a good thing to have in a shaving soap it had it except, the scent. It smelled good but I didn't like it for me. I've heard that its supposed to be Old Spice scent but it lacked whatever scent note that made old spice so good. The Gem blade surprises me with how sharp it feels. This is the 2nd day on this blade and I wouldn't have know from how well it cut. The featherlight needed slightly less angle then the MMBT to feel right but the thinner cap made that very easy. Since I am used to heavier razors it felt like I didn't have it in my hands. I managed to zip quickly and nimbly around my face for 3 passes WTG, XTG, ATG, without any bloodletting. I had some minor irritation on the left side of my neck up near the jawline but thats from when I was testing out the angles. I would rate it a DFS+. If I had spent more time on my jawline and the little crazy growth spot under my chin it would have been BBS. The Axe chilled AS gel went on pretty thick feeling so I rewet my hands and rubbed it in with the few drops of water left after I shook them off. It had a decent menthol hit and it felt pretty good. It smelled like Old Spice's Swagger scent which isn't bad it just isn't my cup of tea. It also did its job and reduced the redness I had on the left side and made my whole face feel moist and enriched. This is the 2nd Axe AS product I have tried and I was pleasantly surprised both times. I prefer the Shield product to the Chilled because of scent alone. Every shave I get thru the box makes it harder on me to pick some stuff and pack up the rest. Its all been really good. Today made it slightly easier because I wasn't a fan of either the Tradewinds scent or the Axe chilled scent. I did really like the featherlight Gem and since there were 2 in the box I may just keep one to replace the Stahly I'm putting in.

Even though the month ends tomorrow I'll be continuing my Box review for a few days of the new month before switching over to straights and Rolls in December. I have court in the morning from where I charged my ex-wife with assault and late afternoon my fiance's youngest has a Pre-op appointment for his big dentist day on the 4th. Busy busy.

Have a good night and a pleasant morning.

 

A little late, but: Congrats on your 2000 posts. I haven't read all of them, but I definitely enjoyed the ones I HAVE read And you're right, it's a great bunch of people here.

 

I see we have all reached the same conclusion. My daughters are well practiced at it already.

 

November Summary

My set-up for the month included the Feather Artist Club SS kamisori, Feather blades, a Semogue 830 boar brush, and MdC scented soap. I set out to further develop my two-pass shave technique, break in the Semogue 830, and get more experience with MdC.

Over the course of the month, I was able to achieve near BBS shaves with no irritation on a consistent basis. It was helpful and encouraging to learn alongside my brothers here. I would consider the Feather AC to be one of my "go to" razors, provided I'm willing to devote the time and focus to it.

The Semogue 830 and the MdC proved to be a great combination. I would rank the Semogue slightly behind my Omega Pro 98, in terms of performance and overall enjoyment of use. It is still breaking in, and I hope it will continue to release lather better and stop losing hairs. The brush itself has great backbone and soft tips, which makes it enjoyable to use it.

This is the first time I've used MdC on a consistent basis. I love its scent and performance, and I barely made a dent in the puck.

Overall, this has been one of the most challenging and fun focuses of the year. Technique and time are the only two things you can't buy in this hobby, and this is the place to learn technique. I've learned so much from everyone here. The friendships, encouragement, and shenanigans ain't bad, either.

A big thanks to Chris for being our gracious host and ringleader again this month!

Now, on to December.

 

11/30/2015 - Last day of NOVember

And what a glorious shave it was


Hard- and Software:

- D.R. Harris Sandalwood
- Semogue 620
- Mühle R89
- Gillette Silver Blue (#7)
- Myrsol Agua Balsamica

One of those days, ya know. The soap lathered up easily and in abundance (would have been enough left in the brush for a third pass), the razor and the blade did a fantastic job in 2 passes WTG and X/ATG. Just one tiny touchup at my right jawline and voila - BBS shave Finished with cold water rinse and Myrsol Agua Balsamica - just perfect.

I have to admit: 4 weeks ago I would not have been able to achieve such great results. In small parts because of the hardware (my Semogue brush had to be broken in properly), but mostly because my technique improved tremendously over the course of this challenge. So a big Thank You to @Bama Samurai who started and accompanied this challenge. And of course to all of you guys who made this a fun and educational four weeks. I followed your struggles, mishaps and successes with great enjoyment!

What I have learned:

- The R89 is a great razor, capable of very smooth and irritation-free shaves. I put it in second place because initially I thought it wouldn't shave close enough, but again, that was just me.
- I love Boar brushes. Great mixture of softness and massage, they just need a little time to show their full potential.
- D.R. Harris is a great soap - though I'll probably use it a little less in the foreseeable future
- I got to know my growth pattern better, so now I am capable of really close 2-pass-shaves.
- Cold water shaves are not for me. Call me wussy, but I just love warm water.
- Angle matters!

And probably the most important lesson: Menthol can be more dangerous than a Pain Stick

Really looking forward to the next focus, but for now I just have to go crazy on all that nice new stuff that piled up here the last few weeks!

 

11/30/2015
Razor – Schick Type G
Blade – Chinese Schick (2)
Brush – Rudy Vey with Shavemac Finest
Lather – Barrister & Mann Seville
Post - Witch Hazel and Myrsol F/Extra



I am starting my December Focus on vintage razors a day early. Up first is my recently acquisition, a Type G Schick Injector. This is only my second time using the razor. The B&M Seville from a shave stick provided a wonderful slick lather. I really like the classic scent with a touch of citrus. I went with a normal 3 pass shave with touch ups and ended up with a near BBS. Closeness A- and Irritation A+. I hope to get better results as the week goes on. Finished with a splash of Myrsol F/Extra. Hope everyone has a great Monday.

 

11/30/15

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

Shave #3 with the Rapira Super Stainless in my Birth Quarter Super Speed.
Another great scuttle lather today using Strop Shoppe Baker Street.


2 full passes: Pass 1 XTG. Very good reduction. Pass 2: ATG. This gave me a near BBS. Did a small amount of touch up using the soap on my face, then a cold water rinse followed by some minor touch up in a few of my trouble spots and caught the baby. I had a huge amount of lather left over today. At least enough for a couple more passes. The Pinaud Clubman was mild.

Another nice BBS from the Rapira Super Stainless in my Super Speed. The scuttle generated a ton of great lather from the Strop Shoppe Baker Street. It was slick, thick and protective and went on smooth. I'm a little torn between face lathering and scuttle lathering. I like both but find the lather I generate with the scuttle to be thicker and richer, at least so far. I guess I have something else for me to work on in the future.

Have a great Monday!

 

November Focus Summary



My plans and goals for my November Focus:

• Unique photo each day
• Focus choosing my preferred workday razor. Shave off between Mongoose and Wolfman
• Brushes used will be three of my favorites. Rubberset 400 #3, RV Shavemac and RV TGN Finest
• In an effort to finish up some soap, I will use 3 soaps for all shaves except TSD Sundays. If one is finished during the month, I will add another.
• Continue my effort to master using a shave stick.
• By the end of the month, I hope to have picked one of these razors as my preferred workday razor.

In summary, I stuck to some of my goals and went off track on others. I did use a unique photo each day. In the end, I am unable to pick between the Mongoose and Wolfman OC as my preferred workday razor. However, I was able to dial in the preferred setup with each razor which is the Mongoose/Feather Super Pro and Wolfman/OC with Feather. I fell of the wagon on sticking to 3 brushes and 3 soaps. However, I did master using a shave stick this month. I can see using shave sticks a great deal going forward.

I would like to thank @Bama Samurai for putting these monthly focus threads together. I have participated in all the threads this year and will continue to do so. I would also like to thank all the participants. I get a great deal of enjoyment following your progress and hi jinks throughout the month.

 

Pre December Focus Shave:

Homemade PS Oil
Stirling Synthetic Brush
TSD Lanolin Iced Sub-zero
CJB Pain Stick
Osage Rub
Stirling Unscented PSB -- Mentholated
Fine Fresh Vetiver

I got myself up a bit early this morning (in reality, I just didn't use the snooze), just so I could have a little extra time for my shave. I followed much the same process as yesterday, and had a very similar shave. I had one small weeper, this time on my chin. But, my face is pretty smooth. There are a couple of small spots on my chin and neck I could have cleaned up a but over all I am pretty smooth. I actually kept the Schick in the drawer, as I just didn't need it. So far, I am feeling good about my shaves with this razor.

 

November Wrap Up

I started November by continuing my blade evaluation. The first 3 days was with an Astra SP in my New LC, then I switched to my birth quarter super speed. I had intended to shave with a number of blades in that razor, but only ended up shaving with two: the GSB and the Rapira Super Stainless. The anticipated arrival of the Nationwide Box Tour III encouraged me to switch gears and use the soaps and creams that I had so that I could be in a better position to compare the new arrivals.

I had 10 shaves using the soaps and razors from the travel box. I went back to doing 2 passes and touch up to allow myself more time with the soaps and razors. I only had 3 BBS shaves, but I wasn't trying very hard to get them. Once the box was packed up and ready for shipping, I met @clint64 for lunch and he generously gifted me with more soaps to try. I really enjoyed his Strop Shoppe Baker Street, and plan to use it some next month. @clint64 also gave me plenty of Michaels Wool Fat which I will also try in December. Thanks very much Clint!

Even though I didn't do much with my blade focus this month, I have updated my results for my top 4 blades. I did not count the shaves during the period of my soap trials since I was not trying for a BBS then and the purpose of my blade focus was to determine how often I was capable getting a BBS shave from a given blade in various razors while limiting irritation. Here’s a summary of the blades I’ve found so far to work the best for me:

Gillette Silver Blue – 48 shaves in 6 razors – 81% BBS, Only 1 shave had irritation. 100% BBS results achieved in Old Type and New LC.
Rapira Super Stainless - 15 shaves in 5 razors - 87% BBS. No irritation. Had 11 BBS in a row. 100% BBS results achieved in Tech, Old Type and New LC.
Astra Superior Platinum – 20 shaves in 5 razors – 75% BBS. Only 2 shaves had irritation. 100% BBS results achieved in Tech and Super Speed.
Lord Platinum Class – 13 shaves in 4 razors – 77% BBS. Only 2 shaves had irritation and those likely due to poor lather or rushing. 100% BBS results achieved in Tech.

Thanks to everyone who has offered encouragement this month. You are all great folks and it has been a privilege being part of this group. Thanks to @Bama Samurai for continuing to put together these rule/focus threads. I’ve learned a lot through them and suspect everyone else has too. I'll see you in the December tread.