SEptember 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

SEptember Shave
I was inspired by Billy's shave yesterday with his Type F. I now remember why this is one of my favorite Schicks. Very nice BBS
Mystic Waters Lime Soap
B-400 by Tom Brush
Schick Type F
Chick Blade (1)
Alum
Lucky Tiger
Myrsol Blue AS
Have fun!

 

Great setup and picture Mark.

 

Very nice setup and photo Brian.

 

Thanks Doug!

 

SEptember 15 SOTD:

Stirling Synthetic Brush
Stirling Bay Rum SS
Schick Type G
Stirling Unscented PSB
Clubman VI Bay Rum AS

Lazy gym bag packing day led to a a lazy photo day. I used the same set up as yesterday, and I got similar results, but just a tad better. I would call it a BBS shave today. I do like this Type G, it is a great shaver. Plus, who else has a custom engraved razor such as this? I hope everyone has a great day!

 

9/15/16 SOTD
Razor: Jacob Ray 7/8 Square Point Quarter Hollow with Bone scales
Strop: Drygulch Chromexcel Horsehide/ Linen
Brush: Dubl Duck M-2/ Omega 10066 knot
Soap: The Shave Den Lanolin Barber Shoppe
Post: Cold Water, Alum, Thayers
Aftershave: Aqua Velva Iced Blue


Get me a muzzle, this damn thing bites!

Picked up this beautiful razor from @Keithmax. It is a custom Jacob Ray razor, and has been honed by Glen. It’s a very nice and heavy razor. The spine is over 3/8s thick. Neither the tip nor the heel has been muted. (Yet.) Most of the straights I use are 5/8 full hollows and much lighter and smaller than this beast. This lead to a few issues. The first pass, N/S went well. The weight and size of the razor had the whiskers running in fear. I did manage to dig in the heel of the razor for a small cut on my left cheek. Rinse, re-lather, and get ready for the S/N pass. Neck and left jawline went well. Started on my chin. Dug the tip in just under my mustache on the left side. Ouch. Started working upward and dug the heel in again under the mustache. Readjusted the grip, and did the last little bit, managing to dig the tip in in the same dang spot for a third cut. Was a little frustrated at this point, and just wanted to finish the shave. (Can you hear the jaws theme starting?) Started to put this heavy razor down at the jaw line, right as the love of my life asked me if I had cut myself yet. I would like to mention that Glen puts an amazingly sharp edge on a razor. You know that feeling where you feel it cut, but it hasn’t started bleeding or hurting yet? I started swearing at that point. So of course my 3 year old walked in. She asked why my face was red and white. At this point I bailed on my third pass, and went to the cold water rinse. That’s when the blood started. The cut on my jaw isn’t deep, but is 2.5 inches long. Pressure, water, alum, swear words, water, pressure, styptic pencil, more swear words, Thayers, Aqua Velva, and done. Going to need to revisit this razor, so I can establish dominance.

 

Thank you Doug!

 

SEptember 2016 SE Focus DETOUR

September 13

Razor: 58 Executive (Set on 6)
Blade: Crystal
Brush: Stirling Kong
Soap: TSD Iced Subzero
Post: Cold water rinse, Alum block


Been a crazy couple of days so just getting around to reporting the night before last shave with the Crystal blade. On 2 it produced a very nice shave. On 6 it produced an excellent shave! The blade really is sharp and really is smooth. This may have become my number 3 blade. The WTG/XTG pass had excellent reduction and absolutely no irritation. There was no pull, no tug just nice, clean shaving. The ATG pass was excellent with absolutely no irritation at all. Very minor touch-up along the chin and Adam's apple and I was BBS. Alum was quiet as a mouse. The only blades I have used that rivaled this one have been the GSB and the Bolzano. It really was a wonderfully sharp and smooth blade. They are also not too expensive at around $17 for 120 on Amazon and Ebay.

The shave on 6 ended up so nice, that I did not shave last night and allowed the beard to grow a bit. Interestingly, the very nice smooth shave lasted a very long time too. I will plan to use it on 9 tonight and see how it goes.

 

Nice write up William!

 

Ouch! Don't you love SWMBO timing. It is always perfect to cause maximum carnage and when it happens they look at you like it was all your fault and you were stupid to start with.

Sad part is even in my own head I usually cannot argue with her on it (plus I would not argue since I know what that will get me).

 

Thank you much! I really was impressed with the blade. One of the best I have used to date.

 

Sometimes you even agree with them. Especially while holding a straight razor and bleeding.

 

Razor: Ever-Ready SE w/case, 2 blade banks, and original instructions 1914.
Blade: GEM by Personna PTFE (1)
Brush: Muhle Chrome Plated Handle 31 M 89 w/ New V2.0 Silvertip Fibre Synthetic.
Soap: Captain's Choice Sandalwood
Aftershave: Captain's Choice Sandalwood
Excellent three pass shave this evening. The new V2.0 Silvertip Fibre Synthetic is a high quality synthetic fibres, developed in house by Muhle of Germany. The tips are tangibly soft, long lasting which whips up a creamy rich lather. The handle is made of brass are first nickel plated and then refined stylishly with chrome.

 

Sorry to hear about your difficult shave Adam. I hope you can tame that beast starting tomorrow.

 

Very cool looking new brush Doug. How did the 1914 work with the PTFE blades work for you?

 

SEptember 2016 SE Focus DETOUR

September 15

Razor: 58 Executive (Set on 9)
Blade: Crystal
Brush: Maggard 24mm
Soap: TSD Iced Subzero
Post: Cold water rinse, Alum block


Tonight's shave was with the crystal blade and the executive set on 9. The shave on 2 was very good. The shave on 6 was excellent and made me think the crystal could be my third favorite blade right up there with the GSB and Bolzano. Tonight's shave solidified it as being better than the Ladas making it my number 3 blade.

An excellent shave all around. Had a little more growth tonight but absolutely no problem. Even set on 9 it was a smooth shave. The shave ended BBS with minimal touchup needed. Alum was mostly quiet. An excellent third shave with this blade especially considering it was at 9 on the Executive. I have a feeling I will be using these blades again down the road.

 

Beautiful brush amigo!

 

Smells like a Drug Store SEptember!!

September 15

Grand Blade Trial
Razor - 1962 (H1) Gillette Slim (2)
Blade - (1)
Soap - Arko
Brush - BoS Omega 10066
Post - Alum, Stetson

Onward and forward to the Qball today, another entry from Personna Israel. You'll notice I put up two pictures of the wrapper. The first one is the stock photo for the blade. The second one is what it actually looks like. It's another blue wrapped blade that says Platinum on it. And the blade is just stamped with the generic Platinum labeling as well. Now, if anyone is following me with this blade, I would like confirmation this is what you have as well. I'm extremely curious about this since I didn't get it in the "stock" wrapper.

My main concern is that it is identical in appearance to the Crystal that I just used and found to be an exceptional blade. Two possibilities here. The first is that the blade supplier labeled them wrong (but that has never been an issue before so unlikely). Still, not impossible. The second is that we have the exact same blade being sold under two different names, potentially for multiple markets. The stock cover says it's imported by Erina Co. Inc., which would most likely be the Japanese body products company. So, it's possible they import the blade for their customer base and it is shipped to other countries in the generic package. I'm just not sure.

What I am sure of, after the first shave, is that it feels the same as the Crystal on the first day. Audible but not overly loud, decent reduction, smooth, gave me a light DFS finish but nothing spectacular. If tomorrow's shave on 6 on the Slim is the same quality as the Crystal I'm definitely leaning toward a rebranded blade unless I find something to contradict that.

So, while it appears (by my observations) that the Personna Red may not be copied other than its generic clones, we may have found a blade that is simply being rebranded and wrapped for different markets. A couple more days should tell.

Friday is upon us and I hope you have great plans for the weekend. I'm working my usual then will be off for a week which means 9 days actually with my normal days off. More on that later.

 

SEtember S'late Report

Cella, suribachi bowl, VDH boar
Schick Type J3 and Chick blade
Alum, Canoe AS


Shaved early, late to get today's comments posted.
I'm enjoying Cella's performance. Almond sugar cookie scent is agreeable, too. Scraggly little VDH boar brush is about done because it sheds no less than half a dozen bristles every shave. I have better brushes in service, and a couple that need knots. Today's shave left me a little irritated. Not my usual no hurry pace, I was pushed for time. Rather than letting the razor work, I think I was applying pressure. Thirteen hours later I'm still feeling the burn. I learn more from one bad shave than a dozen good ones.
Good shaves to Y'all.