September 2018 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

The earliest safety razors in the late 19th century used permanent "wedge" blades that were SE blades like a chopped out chunk of a straight razor blade. And like a straight razor, they could be honed and stropped and re-used for years on end. What Gillette invented wasn't the safety razor but the safety razor using mass-produced cheap disposable blades (and also DE blades).

The Valet Autostrop was an early SE razor that was sort of transitional between the old razors with reusable wedge blades and the "modern" Gem razors with disposable SE blades. It used disposable SE blades but had a mechanism so you could fit the razor onto a strop and the razor would flip the blade back and forth as you pulled the razor up and down the strop so both sides of the blade got properly stropped. It was a combination of a razor and a blade stropper built into one.

You could strop the old SE blades because they were carbon steel; you can't strop most modern blades because they are stainless steel that is much harder plus they come with various edge coating materials that would be destroyed by stropping. (The same is true of DE blades. There were gizmos to hone or strop them early on that actually work with carbon steel blades but don't with modern coated stainless ones.)

 

Wonderful shave and photo Jim.

 

Thank you, Clint.

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Thank you for this. I need to learn more about these wedge blades and the Valet Autostrop. I've spent a fair amount of time learning to sharpen and strop knives these seem like they might yield a wonderful confluence of the two hobbies. Yes there's always straights... but not just yet.

 

September 2, 2018
Gem Damaskeene
Gem PTFE
Semogue Mistura Taj
Mystic Water Vetiver & Oakmoss
Fine Fresh Vetiver

​

The new mixed knot Semogue arrived yesterday and I was excited to get it into rotation. First impressions were very positive on unboxing was very positive. The handle feels fantastic and the knot certainly has the backbone. I went to was out the knot and the stench of badger a** took my breath away. So the evening was spent washing and lathering the knot. I still have a way to go to eliminate all the smell but at least it was useable. @jtspartan asked and I decided to make Mystic Water Vetiver & Oakmoss my Sunday shave soap. MW makes a fantastic product. Many find Michelle's soaps difficult to lather but I have never had a problem. The scents, slickness and post shave feel have made Mystic Water one of my favorite artisan soaps. The Semogue loaded the soap easily and face lathering was a dream with very good scrub and minimal scritch. I think some of this will disappear as the boar bristles break in. I plan on using this brush exclusively for at least a couple of weeks. Three passes and touch ups ended in a near perfect shave. My lower right neck aka "My Nemesis" let the baby escape. I hope everyone has a great Sunday.

 

Great report and excellent picture, Clint.
Good to see your new brush arrived earlier than expected.

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Thank you Jim. I should have tried one of the Semogue mixed knots much earlier.

 

Jim @jluc and Clint @clint64 and Neal @NCoxSTL -- great photos and reports to start the morning out (very very early in Neal's case...). I like the looks of the new brush, Clint, and your descriptions of Mystic Waters soaps almost make me want to track some down...

 

SOTD September 2, 2018
A Stirling SEptember

Prep: Cold water and Stirling mentholated pre-shave soap
Blade: Schick Proline
Razor: RazoRock Black Hawk
Brush: JR #60 synthetic
Soap: Stirling Dunshire
Post: Witch hazel, Stirling Dunshire aftershave

Nice shave with the Black Hawk this morning. This is my only artist club razor. Works really well and I especially like it when there is more than a day's growth. It mows down the whiskers in fine style.

Taking a trip over to Starkville, Mississippi today to go spend some time with my old college roommate. Wilson and his little boy are close in age and they love playing together. Just be over there overnight.

Have a great day!

 

Thanks, John.

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Great picture, Perry! Have a safe trip.

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September Focus

I think that this month will have a general focus on my Barrister & Mann products
as well as the couple of Stirling soaps in my den.
Today is Roam. A controversial scent that B&M no longer manufactures.
The verdict is still out regarding this soap. I have used it 3-4 times and the shave is always
pleasurable; the slickness outstanding; the post-shave superlative.
The smokey, campfire scent is...
well, does one really want to smell like a campfire at 9am?
The Milord Tech is very similar to the Ranger Tech. Both are well-balanced razors
that are easy to maneuver. The Big Ben blade, on it's 4th shave, performed
exceptionally well. No nicks, cuts, weepers nor irritation.
Finished with some Thayer's and the Roam AS.
Time to go hunting...​

 

Sunday morning September 2 - Stirling and SE

PAL Adjustable set on comfortable Low rather than High / vintage Schick Super Chromium (5?)
30DC LE Maple Cashmere synthetic brush
Stirling Naked and Smooth unscented soap
Jeeves Bay Rum splash
Styptic Pencil

A good comfortable shave today. The 30DC LE brush quickly whipped up a good load of product from the tub, then face lathered a thick slick creamy layer of lather all over my face. Unlike that nameless Russian cream I tried a few days ago, the Stirling lather stays present and hydrated throughout the shave too. I did one easy pass with the Pal injector to achieve a low- to medium-grade DFS. The Jeeves scent provided a pleasant burn and then tingle as I applied it and added a pleasant note of scent to the shave experience.

What was the styptic pencil for? Fixing an earlier mistake... Note to self: Tomorrow when it's time to hold the cat down and shove his pill down his throat, wear a pair of tough cargo pants instead of shorts. The vicious little monster clawed the hell out of my leg. I had to use the styptic pencil to get some of the scratches to stop bleeding after I had washed them out and applied ointment...

 

Good photo and entertaining report, Joseph. I have passed on buying almost all B&M products precisely because their scents are so unpredictable and frequently seem to me to be inappropriate for a shaving soap or splash...

 

Thank you John.

 

Great photo Perry. Have a safe trip.

 

Wonderful photo and report Joseph. While I like B&M soaps, the scents are hit and miss for me at best.

 

Great shave report John. Hope the leg heals up quickly. I can't imagine trying to give meds to a cat.

 

I was excited about this shave for a whole day, but not for the reasons you might think. Yes, Stirling grapefruit with menthol is awesome, and yes, the Shavemac D01 is getting broken in and scritch is disappearing, but the real excitement came from the old Torrey straight razor in the back that is probably worth less than five bucks on eBay.
It’s a skinny blade, so I didn’t expect to like it, but today’s shave taught me that I really do. When I got it originally, it was totally ratted out. I sanded all the rust off, and restored it to a bit its former glory. Then I accidentally dropped it, and the scales broke at the pin - those will need to be replaced now. In the meantime, I purchased some stones and started learning to hone. I reset the bevel and got it sharp enough to shave with - barely - this morning, but I’ll probably need to send it off to @gssixgun to get it wickedly sharp once I put new scales on it. It’s a fun project, but it’s actually a special one too... the old ratty razor was given to me by my Father-In-Law; it was passed down from his grandfather to his father to him. He never took up straight shaving (nor did my brother in law), but when I started straight shaving he passed it on to me as a Christmas gift. After my first shave with it, I’m excited that it’ll be a keeper that works it’s way into the rotation.

 

You, sir... and I mean this in the best possible way... are a master enabler! Please continue to report on what I’m missing out on, Clint; I’m intrigued.