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April 2021 Gentlemanly Restraint Until Month End (GRUME)

Still in. Shower and shave before bed. I have the green Proraso cream and AS out at the moment (really should put it away until summer, I think....) used with my Schöne razor containing a red box Gillette Stainless and my Fuller brush handle reknotted with a pretty decent badger.

Weird shave. No blade feel at all on one side, ok on the other. Have to see if that's the blade or the razor. But nonetheless it all worked out in the end.

Getting too lazy to photograph my shaves lately. Feeling too much ennui, I guess. I need a vacation.
 
Still in

Wednesday SOTD

Gillette Slim Adjustable @7
Rapira Super Stainless (7)
Yaqi Moka Express 2-Band Badger
RR Irish Countryside Soap
Fine Platinum Aftershave

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Mike M

...but this one IS cracked.
You obviously don't know me or my modus operandi. I would never advise a man in restraint to buy either of those brushes- they are too common and too readily available. The world is filled with Trafalgar synthetics right now- why would any man need one immediately? I would have told the punter to hang on and that if he really wanted those 2 brushes they would still be available come May Day. Furthermore, I would never advise any man to buy a Simpsons Classic 1 synthetic, and have posted that sentiment more than once on this board. Let's just say it isn't Simpson's best product, and leave it at that.

Finally, while I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you are joking, I derive no pleasure from a man failing to complete a restraint. I understand the difficulty many of us have in trying to control disordered habits of compulsive purchasing, and would never consciously encourage someone to fail.
Unfortunately my own BAD is in full swing and even took me out of the last GRUME so I know how difficult it can be to resist a new brush even if it will be around next month.
Finally, if I ever progress to buying Simpsons brushes you'll be the first person I will ask for advice
 

Mike M

...but this one IS cracked.
Still in
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Tonight's shave utilizes the Ming-shi 2000/Personna platinum combo. The soap is Edwin Jagger Pomegranate and lime lathered with the Anbbas pure badger brush.
Although the EJ soap lathered well it seemed to dry out during the second pass and I needed to add water to the bowl and lather up again before the third pass. The Ming-shi started at 6, then 4.5 and finally 3 and gave me a comfortable, almost BBS shave
 
Still in.

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I fear that the lethargy that infected some of our fellow travelers has affected me somewhat. Somewhere during the shave, I realized that I had not put a brush in the picture! It was an Edwin Jagger Best Badger, that impresses me by its ability to whip up a nice lather in short order, and infuriates me for having about as much backbone as a dying earthworm.

So what we have here is the (relatively) inexpensive Iwasaki tamahagane I alluded to last time (if anyone can clue me in about those numbers on the handle, I'm all ears), a Captain's Choice copper (Heavyweight) bowl, and a bit of previously-unexplored bonus from the bowl order: a sample of my very first menthol soap! This led to the following internal dialogue:

"Our face is burning"
"Yep. Menthol."
"Do we like it?"
"Not really."
"Do we dislike it?"
"Not really."
"Will we use this soap again?"
"It could happen. I guess."

Lathering was really nice, and the scent was unobjectionable, though not notable. Still. Menthol.

The shave was very good, DFS on the cheeks, DFS- on the neck, but as with the Swedish Steel that arrived in the same package, not as comfortably keen as I'd hoped. Naturally dark thoughts about counterfeits arose, but common sense quickly shut that down. Too much evidence to the contrary. I am forced to guess that I was really lazy when I examined and prepared these razors -- or, more charitably, and probably more likely, I thought: let's just do the minimum, and shave, and see where we are.

Where we are is: I'm going to put this thing under the microscope, correct what I see with great thoroughness, and get it to shave like an Iwasaki tamahagane should. By which I mean that the hairs should flee in fear when they see the edge coming, and their cries of anguish should be audible during the shave.
 
Unfortunately my own BAD is in full swing and even took me out of the last GRUME so I know how difficult it can be to resist a new brush even if it will be around next month.
Finally, if I ever progress to buying Simpsons brushes you'll be the first person I will ask for advice

BAD is the most understandable affliction, dear sir! The brush is the most important part of the shave and the one that gives the most pleasure. Making lather, swirling on your cheek! Oh, this is why one is wetshaving!
If you have BAD, i came to the point, where i think that only saturation can stop you. Now i that received 3 more Yaqis and the horse is on its way, my BAD has disappeared. By force of things, since i have now so many brushes available for rotation, where adding more becomes impossible, unless i stop using some. Which i don't want to do. So this is how BAD ends...:lol1: On the bright side, i don't have the slightest RAD. I use 2 razors that both work well and i have no urge to buy more...

At any rate, since i have reached, let us call it, saturation, in the brush sector, i am now confident that i won't fail the next GRUMEs!
 
Still in, but temptation has come calling again! The toner I use post shave has almost run out, while I know that replacing used up items in GRUME is allowed (this is the only toner I have) I have my eye on two different toners to try out (Stirling Unscented Witch Hazel & Aloa and Stirling Tea Tree - Witch Hazel & Aloa) which I don't think would be allowed and to qualify for free shipping I am as well adding in some Stirling and Southern Witch Craft samples. So the plan is to ration toner until month end, buy supplies in May and then jump back into GRUME in June.

Pre-shave (in order of use)
- Clinique for Men Charcoal Face Wash
- Jack Black Face Buff Energizing Scrub
- Truefitt and Hill Pre-shave Oil
- Truefitt and Hill Trafalgar shaving cream (sample)

Post-shave (in order of use)
- Omega Alum Block
- Simple Kind to Skin Alcohol Free Soothing Facial Toner
- Hylamide Low-Molecular Hyaluronic acid
- The Ordinary Buffet Serum
- Truefitt and Hill Trafalgar Aftershave Balm (sample)
- Jack Black Dry Erase Ultra-Calming Face Cream

Tools
- Parker 26c
- Astra SP (1)
- Semogue SOC Taj Boar
 
Still in!

Continued my Rolls Razor experimentation. Frankly, I'll try a quick modification to the internal strop mechanism (by means of raising up the leather slightly) but unsure if it will help strop the edge more uniformly. Unfortunately, the edge does not retain all that well. I think my best bet at this point is to figure out how to create a strop handle to be able to strop the blade outside of the mechanism. It's been done, and seems like a fun project. The shaves with these things are too good to give up on it. Just not keen on only using a blade 4-5 times before having to hit up the stones.
 
Still in

Prep : hot shower / Bulldog original face wash
Pre shave : Proraso white
Brush : Proraso boar by Omega
Cream : Proraso white in a tube
Razor : Merkur 34 C
Blade : Bic Chrome Platinium (1)
Post : alum block and then Proraso White after shave balm

Result :

Is it shark week already ?

Wrong angle , skin not stretched correctly at the corner of my mouth, too much pressure stupidly and that thing took a sizable bite of flesh away … oh well I already knew I can’t handle sharp object … Does anyone has Crayola My First Safety Scissors handy, that might be the only type of blade I can handle…
 
Gentlemen, i think i have found a new, let us call it, "urge-killing" measure. You are in GRUME, because i presume all have a...(un)healthy amount of shaving supplies already stashed. Correct? When you get the urge, GO THROUGH your stash! Like, look at them, one by one! I did today so and completely killed what leftover urge i had... I found i have 2 Arko creams, which expired in 2019. I have 4 more creams that expire in 2021. And thankfully, EU produced creams do not have expiration date on, but instead of urge to buy more, now i want to use them the sooner i can! Same goes for brushes! I am out of storage space.

So, go through what you already have. Put them back where you stash them. Urge plummets. It works!
 
Gentlemen, i think i have found a new, let us call it, "urge-killing" measure. You are in GRUME, because i presume all have a...(un)healthy amount of shaving supplies already stashed. Correct? When you get the urge, GO THROUGH your stash! Like, look at them, one by one! I did today so and completely killed what leftover urge i had... I found i have 2 Arko creams, which expired in 2019. I have 4 more creams that expire in 2021. And thankfully, EU produced creams do not have expiration date on, but instead of urge to buy more, now i want to use them the sooner i can! Same goes for brushes! I am out of storage space.

So, go through what you already have. Put them back where you stash them. Urge plummets. It works!
Haha truth. Mix up the shaves and use the things you usually neglect/forgot about. Dust can be easily wiped away/rinsed off.

I spoke earlier in the thread about wanting a Fatip open comb, but took out my Gillette NEW and my Gillette Old Type and put them on my desk, which frankly are both infinitely cooler than the Fatip.
 
Haha truth. Mix up the shaves and use the things you usually neglect/forgot about. Dust can be easily wiped away/rinsed off.

I spoke earlier in the thread about wanting a Fatip open comb, but took out my Gillette NEW and my Gillette Old Type and put them on my desk, which frankly are both infinitely cooler than the Fatip.

See? It works!!! This will be my secret weapon from now on. I have creams that go back to 2016. I had written the purchase date on the container! I found i had LaToja sticks that i didn't remember buying! I have Proraso from 2017. The good news, is that the creams still seem in working order. I threw in the bin a Red one, but i opened it before doing so and it seemed ok. I am neutral towards the scent, so i decided to throw it away, so that i can use others that i like more, faster. I have more soap than i thought! But this must stop. So i need many GRUMEs and GRUYEREs! And now i know what to do every time i have an urge!
 
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