SoS: July 20, 2015 - July 26, 2015

I think that if you are getting good results with the FB on 8, 9 should be a breeze. Just keep doing what you are doing!
I'm curious to hear how it goes.

 

Thursday's


Dove Men Face Wash
Col. Conk Lime Shave Soap
Jayaruh #6 High Mountain
Merkur 15C
Astra SP
CWR, Asma Alum Block
Thayers Cucumber WH
Aqua Velva

The Col. Conk Lime Shave Soap face-lathered well with my Jayaruh #6 High Mountain badger brush. Two passes with my Merkur 15C razor and a Astra SP blade gave me a close, comfortable shave. After a cold water rinse, alum block, and a final cold water rinse, I finished off with Thayers Cucumber WH and then Aqua Velva after shave. I am clean, smooth, and refreshed...

 

ya think
I had actually put some on him about ten minutes before. he said he liked it.
I'm thinking it was cherries he had the night before. to many cherries will give that reaction. he was fine after.

 

Your a wild man! I can only go to 5 with my FB, 3 on my neck with a Feather. If I tried it on 9 I would need to call 911 before I started.

 

Or just plain nutty! Actually, it's not bad, Don. Here's what works for me, and it's mostly just the basics and sticking with a routine. I pay attention to my prep and lather. I go into my shave thinking that I will stop at any time and call it a day if it's not going well. I can always try again tomorrow, and most people won't even notice if I skip a day's shave. There's no shame in being scruffy as long as I'm not bleeding. I also think about safety...it only takes one wrong move to have a really bad day. I go super slow, paying attention to my grain direction and skin stretching using a very light touch. It took months for me to figure out what "light touch" really meant using a Feather blade. My strokes are about 3/4" in length and quick. I frequently re-lather or re-wet the lather with a warm brush. My first pass is always WTG, and my second pass is XTG on my face/jaw/chin, and very lightly ATG on my neck.

Most recently, I've been attempting some light ATG strokes over the curve of my chin and under my nose. That's tough for me, and it accounts for most of my weepers. It sure feels nice and close when I get it right.

It's amazing to me how much I have and continue to learn from my friends here. I'll read where somebody does something as part of their routine. I'll try it, and it often improves my shave or the experience just a little bit more. Most of the time it relates to technique and not the product or razor I'm using. This has been a fun and sometimes humbling hobby for me. I don't think there's any way I could have figured this out on my own. I used to try wet shaving "my way," and it was not good. Now it's great fun!

 

23 July 2015​

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Thursday, July 23, 2015
Day 20 with the Mongoose

B-3 Mongoose with Triad Rolling Hex Titanium
Feather ProGuard #4
Oscar11 Light Blue Omega Boar
Chiseled Face Shave Soap Ghost Town Barber
Whitch Hazel ++Menthol, Unrefined Shea Butter
Chiseled Face After Shave Ghost Town Barber
Brooks Brothers 1818

Today’s shave was wonderfully smooth. The Feather ProGuard has been giving me very close shaves. Two passes including clean up, missed the baby but extremely close all over. My Oscar11 Boar made a mountain of creamy Ghost Town super lather. I closed out with Ghost Town Barber After Shave. Whoa Nelly! That’s a great old time barbershop scent. Hope your shave was as good or better than mine. Have a great day gentlemen!



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I've seen this soap on ebay. how do u like it??

 

Man, that Triad handle looks great

 

30 Day Rule - July 2015
July 21st
Razor - Feather SS AC/Gillette New LC
Blade - (6) (3)
Brush - Omega 10066 (BoS)
Soap - Mitchell's Wool Fat
Post - Cold Water splash, Nivea

If I ever achieve consistency I will be a happy camper. Not there yet. When it comes to the BoS and MWF I'm consistent. (Probably cursed myself to terrible lather tomorrow for that remark) When it comes to the Artist Club razors, not so much. I had a couple of nice days with it to the point I was planning on all three passes with it today. The first pass started great and finished pretty well too. I did hit the old cut on my right chin area but really didn't open it up. It was the second pass that got me. I managed a small nick on my left cheek while going XTG and then, while working down my neck directly under my chin I added too much angle as I set the razor down. Got a slice right there. Are you kidding me? Just a technique error but once again I got to cold rinse and alum it closed with the attending sting. Really a bit frustrating as I was really close to a decent second pass. Used the New and Voskhod for touch up instead of a third pass and called it good. I think I need a little Zen to get me to the next level so I'll spend the rest of this evening sitting cross-legged and chanting Kiiiiinnnnnggggg........Cccccccccccc.....Gilllllleeetttttttttttte until I find peace with the blade. I'll be at it again in the morning. I'm going to stay with the Artist Club through August, though not every day. More on that later.

 

SOTD - 22 July 2015

30 Days of Maggard and MITA!


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A simply superb shave today! I almost hit the Grail...was nearly DFS afte one and definitely caught the baby! The alum was the most quiet today so far this month. These blades really shine in this mild OC. This month has been interesting, I had not done blade trials in a long while. Tomorrow I will continue on this blade, see how it lasts, then give GSB another chance. It's a tight race between ASCO, these Gillette 7OC and GSB. I may even slip in a Voskhod just to see it stack up against these. 94F with 22% humidity on the range today, and the Arctic Blue was a nice finish. Gonna use Myrsol blue tomorrow! Other than that...all is quiet in Colorado.

Have a triumphant Thursday!
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Thursday Planned SOTD
Razor: iKon Deluxe OC
Blade: Gillette 7 O’CLOCK Blue (4)
Brush: Oscar11 w SR Satin Tip
Bowl: Woodhead Medium Scuttle
Pre Shave Scrub: RazoRock GLO
Pre Shave Oil: Jasmine Creamsicle
Shave Soap: TFS Linea Intenso Arancio Amaro
Post: Monster Alum Block
Aftershave: Alvarez Gomez Agua De Colonia



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Have a great trip! Catch you this weekend!

 

Planned SOTD 07.23.2015

Prep: Shower
Razor: Gillette New SC
Blade: Gillette 7 O'Clock Sharp Edge (2)
Brush: Omega 13109
Lather: Proraso Blue Shave Cream
Post: Cold rinse, Witch Hazel, TBS Maca Root ASB

O Proraso Blue, how I've missed thee!

 

Nice AS selection! You always have a first rate setup, I enjoy your posts.

 

Thanks for the compliment. I do enjoy my morning ritual and gets me through the long days in the office.

 

I'm always on the lookout for different Agua de Florida variants, there are so many! FW is a fave, is that particular AS clove heavy like FW?

Edit - I looked it up. Lemon and herb!

 

Planned Thursday SOTD

Schick Type J razor
Semogue Excelsior Texugo badger brush
Proraso white preshave cream
Mike's Natural Hungarian Lavender shaving soap
Myrsol Agua Balsamica aftershave
Alt Innsbuck EdC

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Not at all. I think of this as a nice lemon drop with a touch of lavender and I pickup what I think is geranium from what I remember from a sample of IanS shave soap. Very nice summer time scent. Only complaint is that I bought this thinking it was a cologne but short lived like an aftershave. I was given a sample and held off for almost a year from trying the sample thinking that I wouldn't like it but took the sample on a weekend trip to keep the travel bag simple and really liked it so ordered from the hotel room that very day. Right now my favorite summer time scent. I do like FW though and you cant beat the price on a bottle of FW.

EDIT

I'm sitting in my truck waiting about to go into the office and now I do pick up a light spicy scent. Not nearly as spicy as FW but it is present. Haven't looked at the label to see what is in it but could be Rosemary and some orange which I forgot to mention previously.

 

July 22, 2015
SOTD

30-Day Focus - Blade Trials for Gillette Tech ***COMPLETED***

No shave today.

A travel day on my way to a one week family trip from Seattle to:

Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada
48.8450° N, 123.2808° W

Will take a holiday from my completed 30-day focus as well.

Making the trip with me will be (my family, of course!) plus
two new companions
- a '46-'47 Gillette Aristocrat!
(PIF loaner from @NCoxSTL )
- my brand new Omega Beehive brush!
(part of my May Newbie PIF from @Bristle Me )


Currently in transit somewhere in the Strait of Georgia, BC.

Ahoy!
RT