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4 Month May-August Sabbatical (QUADSAB)

Agreed! I'm considering myself to be QUADSAB-ing as of today, May 1.

(Which explains my last minute buy of a vintage Red Imp 700 strop last night about 11:30pm. I guess 4 strops already were not enough...)

Well, good tactic! It was still April! :laugh: I only officially put May 3rd, because i organized everything in a hurry, QUADSAB is completely unknown, i started the thread on the 28th afternoon, so i thought "let's give a 5 day window in case someone else is interested"...

At any case, i may as well use the thread!

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Ok, first shave done. Since i did the Palmolive hand soap "experiment", i had a weeper that would reappear in each shave. So today, i loaded a low sharpness blade, the Supermax Super Stainless and went for a DFS, avoiding to insist on the sensible spot too. It is not a good blade to go for BBS anyway, because it doesn't cut much. The blade-razor combination and the lather was amazing, to the point i had to look at the razor to be certain i had loaded the blade. The razor was gliding as on velvet! I took note of the razor-blade combination for future use.
 
Since we're all playing like we've started ...

First QUADSAB 2 shave:
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Taylor's Eye Witness , The 1000
Arko Stick (almost gone but I have spares)
Simpsons Duke 3 in Best
Pinaud Clubman

Dropped my alum block and had to open a new one. :eek2: Again, I have spares... :lol:

Smooooooooth and silky!
 
Since we're all playing like we've started ...

First QUADSAB 2 shave:

Taylor's Eye Witness , The 1000
Arko Stick (almost gone but I have spares)
Simpsons Duke 3 in Best
Pinaud Clubman

Dropped my alum block and had to open a new one. :eek2: Again, I have spares... :lol:

Smooooooooth and silky!

Ah! A bowl latherer, i see. And starting with a Duke. Bringing the heavy guns from day 1 to the field! :biggrin1: Of course you have spares! Isn't this why we are all here? :lol1:
 

JWCowboy

Probably not Al Bundy
I'm still giving myself until Monday the 3rd as the official start date. Don't think I'll be making a purchase before then, but never say never ;) Hopefully my last purchase was Murphy & McNeil's Pisgah this morning

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Including this I've got 6 total purchases in transit. 2 from eBay, 2 from the BST and 2 from regular shaving supply retailers (M&M and RazoRock) So it's plain to see that I most definitely need some restraint and need to complete this sabbatical ;)
 
I'm still giving myself until Monday the 3rd as the official start date. Don't think I'll be making a purchase before then, but never say never ;) Hopefully my last purchase was Murphy & McNeil's Pisgah this morning

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Including this I've got 6 total purchases in transit. 2 from eBay, 2 from the BST and 2 from regular shaving supply retailers (M&M and RazoRock) So it's plain to see that I most definitely need some restraint and need to complete this sabbatical ;)

By all means, sir, this is an unofficial start! Nice one! Wait, there is a bear in there! Aren't you supposed to gift this to @RumpleBearskin and buy one with a salamander for you? :laugh: Oh well, i guess Murphy & Neil didn't think to make a salamander variety too, so you did it out of camaraderie for your fellow Quadsab wetshaver, didn't you! :001_rolle

It turns out, that this will be a 4month sabbatical with...4 participants! This is a favorable omen! I also failed my first GRUME in April, so since i failed already, i told myself: "Instead of failing every month, get over with it and buy some supplies that will keep you occupied and satiated for months and go multi-month sabbatical to toughen up". A bit like, before entering the desert, be prepared! So i got 3 new Yaqis, 6 Mogno soaps, 3 Muhle soaps and 1 TOBS Jermyn soap, which will be enough to have novelty even during the next year. Although in the next Quadsab, i might use an exception. Because there is there is the dreaded Black Friday there... So maybe i should throw myself a bone to keep me from failing altogether...

So, we are all freshly equipped and our pack mules are heavy loaded and we are 4 in a 4 month journey through the Sahara desert. The 4 magi with the soaps! We can't possibly fail this! This was written in the stars! :laugh:
 
Well, this is how I started. I won't be posting that often given that I tend to follow a certain schedule: Sunday is either straight razor or no shave depending on the time available, then I tend to choose one set of hardware/software for a given week. I've settled on three safety razors, two straights, three brushes and a stable of a dozen or so soaps, the idea being that if I purchased anything it had to knock something else out or go on sale itself. When I purchase my QUADSAB exception of the Blacklands Era, it will displace either my Karve or go back to the shop.

Today: Grelot "Sun King" straight, Shave Forge horsehair brush, B&M Reserve Fern soap/AS/EdT.

Today was a nice lazy morning as my daughter was doing a sleepover with a neighborhood friend (the benefit of our "pod" being vaccinated). So coffee, MLB & Premiere League highlights, and the Sun King. And it was the best of shaves, it was the worst of shaves. Nice and smooth and a DFS (I've stopped trying to chase BBS on my straights - I get near BBS on my cheeks, but neck and jawline never get that far). But I also sliced through a zit I hadn't noticed right under my jaw and it turned into a bloody mess. Otherwise no weepers.

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I’m guessing sabbatical/grume trade rules apply as well? Paying for shipping to trade is acceptable? If so I’m in with my unfortunately vague exception from the GRUYERE - a Razor. (If that’s acceptable that is!) thank for starting a four month sabbatical @Burundian Hawk
 
Well, this is how I started. I won't be posting that often given that I tend to follow a certain schedule: Sunday is either straight razor or no shave depending on the time available, then I tend to choose one set of hardware/software for a given week. I've settled on three safety razors, two straights, three brushes and a stable of a dozen or so soaps, the idea being that if I purchased anything it had to knock something else out or go on sale itself. When I purchase my QUADSAB exception of the Blacklands Era, it will displace either my Karve or go back to the shop.

Today: Grelot "Sun King" straight, Shave Forge horsehair brush, B&M Reserve Fern soap/AS/EdT.

Today was a nice lazy morning as my daughter was doing a sleepover with a neighborhood friend (the benefit of our "pod" being vaccinated). So coffee, MLB & Premiere League highlights, and the Sun King. And it was the best of shaves, it was the worst of shaves. Nice and smooth and a DFS (I've stopped trying to chase BBS on my straights - I get near BBS on my cheeks, but neck and jawline never get that far). But I also sliced through a zit I hadn't noticed right under my jaw and it turned into a bloody mess. Otherwise no weepers.

Sun king, as in Louis XIV? :001_smile Oh yes! Now i see! Le roi soleil! What a name for a razor! Nice soap container. It reminds a crown too! Coincidence???

Dear sir, feel free to do anything you like. This is why i also put a "check in" only in the last 10 days of the QUADSAB to report your status, because i don't want to impose on people or have them remember strange dates. You can disappear and reappear at the last day of the QUADSAB as far as i am concerned and you will be just fine. I tried to keep the rules short and the format of dates as practical and easy to remember as possible. The scope is to have a sort of relaxed club of "fellow travellers" where anyone can post what he pleases. If you wish to come and say just how your cat was today, by all means, do so. I take things loosely. :laugh: I may even disappear myself for some days, who knows... The important is to arrive to end of August as many as we can.

Well, you have a most sensible collection, if you ask me. I need far more restraint than you do!


I’m guessing sabbatical/grume trade rules apply as well? Paying for shipping to trade is acceptable? If so I’m in with my unfortunately vague exception from the GRUYERE - a Razor. (If that’s acceptable that is!) thank for starting a four month sabbatical @Burundian Hawk

Dear sir, i tried to modify older rules to make compatibility with GRUYERE, but apparently i missed this, so there are 2 contradicting rules right now. One that says that that your exception needs not to be vague and one that says that GRUYERE members carry on automatically the same exception they had in the GRUYERE. I am an amateur at this, so i missed it, what do you expect! :lol1:

Fortunately, since i made the rules and officially the thing isn't active yet, i can also modify the rules! If something is good enough for the GRUYERE, it should be good enough for here too.

So, i declare:

AMENDEMENT OF EXCEPTION NO. 2. New wording:

  1. One named item of your choice. This is your personal exception. You must name the item before the start of the Sabbatical. The item can be specific or generic (ex. a razor, a brush etc), at the member's discretion. Yearly Sabbatical members who wish to join, automatically carry on the same choice they made for the yearly Sabbatical, unless they have already used their exception before joining QUADSAB. In this case they may choose a new exception.

As for shipping costs, i don't see how this would be a problem.

See? Problem solved. No contradiction anymore and full compatibility with GRUYERE restored! You may add yourself as member no.5. The list of names is in the 1st page and welcome aboard, sir! :biggrin1:


P.S.: Actually, this kind of vague exception, can work well for me too! In the next QUADSAB, i may put "a Yaqi brush" for myself, without specifying which one. I like it!
 
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Looking forward to this one as well! Good luck all!
  1. Burundian Hawk - No exception.
  2. RumpleBearskin - Exception: The Drew Dick custom straight I have on order already.
  3. JWCowboy - Exception: Wolfman only if my name comes up on the wait list, not one through BST or other means.
  4. Bjlefebvre - Exception: Blackland Era.
  5. Jmp63 - GRUYERE - Exception: Razor
 
Looking forward to this one as well! Good luck all!
  1. Burundian Hawk - No exception.
  2. RumpleBearskin - Exception: The Drew Dick custom straight I have on order already.
  3. JWCowboy - Exception: Wolfman only if my name comes up on the wait list, not one through BST or other means.
  4. Bjlefebvre - Exception: Blackland Era.
  5. Jmp63 - GRUYERE - Exception: Razor

And so they were 5!

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And another easygoing shave with the dull Supermax Super Stainless to let the weak skin spot heal... The puck is Lea Classic, perfectly fitting into the Nivea cream container as if it was made for it!

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Just got fun on the unofficial second day, it was a Rolls day!
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Rolls Viscount (honed on the bench, stropped in the case)
Col. Conk Rio Grande Lavender
Rick Montalvo
Old Spice Classic (was headed for a day on the water)

DFS-minus, but what do you expect from a Rolls?

The Rio Grande disappointed for the second time and will be PIFed at some point.

Tomorrow will be my official first QUADSAB 2 shave. FYI - My routine over the next 4 months will be:

* Mondays - GEMonday with some form of
GEM razor (I have 8 varieties)
* Tuesdays through Sundays - Straights
(usually used twice). I have over 40 so
expect some variety.
* Occasional weekend fun with a shavette,
the Rolls, an old GEM wedge blade razor,
Gillette Old Type, etc.

* I typically rotate 5 or 6 soaps and use
them as the mood hits me. But I
occasionally pull one from the stash or grab
a sample for single use fun.

* I typically rotate between my 10 brushes.
No stash there. (Actually I do have one
unopened Leo Frilot tucked away
somewhere.)
 
Well, for my local time, the dance has officially begun.

@Jmp63 Like i have written in the GRUME before, i am a simple man. I see a Yaqi? I press 😍 . And yours is a rebranded Yaqi. So...

@RumpleBearskin Quite the collection of straights. I understand you perfectly. It gives variety. But i am more fond of brushes. So, i am a simple man. I see a brush i like? I press 😍 What can i do before beauty! I also like photos with talent, since i lack that.
 
@RumpleBearskin has awesome straights. I always enjoyed seeing them on the SR threads. Though I have to say I have no clue what that Rolls even is. I'll have to look that up. My first thought when seeing that handle in the photo was "He was shaving with a ratchet set?"

This week is going to be mainly Karve brass with a OC-D plate.
This week is going to be mainly Karve brass with a OC-D plate.
This week is going to be mainly Karve brass with a OC-D plate.
This week is going to be mainly Karve brass with a OC-D plate.

(Sorry for the little joke).

Brush is the Oumo badger-boar mix knot on the Charcoal Goods aluminum handle that I've really been enjoying - gives the splay of badger with the backbone of boar, if that makes any sense. Both were purchased on from B&B forum members. That and my horsehair are my two standbys.

I think I'm going to use this week to take a bit out of the Zingari Man soap, tho I may change mid-week. I enjoy the scent and performance, but the balm scent reminds me too much of sunscreen when it first goes on. Dry down is wonderful, though.

I'm using Guerlaine Vetiver Extreme EdT to go with the Zingari Man.

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