FFFMM (Fixed Four For March Madness) 2022 Edition

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

FFFMM 2022 SOTD

Brush: Shavemac 20/46 Silvertip 2-Band
Soap: Bignoli Neutro
Razor: 1939 Gillette NEW RFB GT
Blade: King C. Gillette (20)
ASL: Clubman VIBR

An excellent shave.
The six day mini beard shaved off just as easily as a 24 hour job (the sink wasn't as pretty though).


Happy shaves guys.

That is one fine looking razor, Cal. Hard to believe it's a 1939 model as it looks brand new in the photo. The stellar handle helps of course.

It's been a fine Fixed, too. From what I've read most people have learned something worth learning which is I think one of the points of a Fixed.

It's been good for me, too, of course. All of my objectives for the Fixed have been met with the exception of completing the month without blowing the Fixed or dropping out. Not being at the finish line yet, I won't celebrate that victory.

Thanks for hosting the party and kicking out the gatecrashers.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Cal]

That is one fine looking razor, Cal. Hard to believe it's a 1939 model as it looks brand new in the photo.

Thank you Jim. It was unused when I got it.

Thanks for hosting the party and kicking out the gatecrashers.

 

[Saxonbowman]

FFFMM Shave 30

Razor: Gillette NEW Short Comb
Blade: Personna Blue (5)
Brush: Semogue beech handled boar
Soap: Soap Commander Integrity

Almost done...

 

[La Malice]

still in and done next one will be April's Fool

GRUME : 15/16 (every other day shaver here)
FFMMM : 15/16 3rd blade of the month

Prep : Finally a hot shower / Bulldog original face wash
Preshave : Proraso Blue
Brush : Proraso boar by Omega
Cream : Proraso Blue
Razor : Merkur 34 HD Chrome
Blade : Voshkod (4)
Post : Dickinson witch hazel, Proraso Blue AS balm

2 pass quick and dirty SAS

 

[Rosseforp]

fffmm (8th shave of the month) same blade I used for OBIF that had two shaves from January.


Razor: Timeless Ti95 OC
Blade: Gillette Platinum (21)
Brush: Shavemac 26/52
Soap: AdP Colonia
ASL: Layrite No9

With a break in the rainy days of SoCal I threw some steaks on the outdoor grill then mowed the lawn.

Since I am lucky to get two shaves in one week this will be my last shave of the current fffmm, and it has been a very productive fixed.

A big thanks to @Cal for hosting the fffmm this year!

Using a blade I started using in January it continued to deliver close and comfortable shaves and feels like it is ready for next month's vintage shaves. Well, mostly vintage shaves.

I've got my FBT fitted with a new LHF handle I just made yesterday, and it is a real featherweight at 9.6 grams. I can't wait to use it.

Today's shave was another two pass affair, with lots of buffing both ways.

I did lather up after the second pass, but only to bask in the intoxicating scent of the AdP Colonia and post shave conditioning.

The shave was close and comfortable, with only a moderate amount of background noise from the WhichyPoo while lathering up.

~doug~

 

[ironfingers]

FFMM Shave: 16.
Date: March 31, 2022.
Razor: Pearl T-121 2 piece closed comb.
Blade: BIC Chrome Platinum - Blade 6, Shave 1.
Brush: Semogue 820 Boar Bristle.
Cream: La Toja Sensitive Skin Shaving Cream.
Pre-shave: Man Code Pre-shave Balm.
The Shave: 3 Passes (With, Across, Against the grain) + 1 Pass (cleanup).
Aftershave: Alum Block, Denim 1976.

And that concludes my shaves for the FFMM 2022. This was the first time I made it through. First attempt was in 2020 when I was kinda new and I knew about it just 2 days before the event began. So I had to hurriedly pick a shaving cream. My Parker Best Badger brush's knot gave in a few shaves into the FFMM but I still managed to use it but what made me back out was the shaving cream that started giving me rashes. I completely forgot about it last year and this year I was waiting for it. Loved it. Will not miss it any further year from now on, I hope.

Are there any other such func things in here? I saw the single blade for the whole month thing and that will no way workout for me. Even Feather and BIC can't give me more than 3 shaves. I can try to pull in a 4th and very very rarely a 5th but 3 is the kinda the sweet spot. Haven't come across any other blade that can offer me more than one shave. Haven't tried the Gillette Nacet yet and I hope that will give me at least 3 shaves too.

 

[Invicta]

31st FFfMM; final shave of the month.
Razor: Merkur 34C
Blade: Derby Extra #6
Soap: Figaro
Brush: Simpson Commodore X3
Nivea moisturiser to finish.

 

[Vraad]

still chugging along.

 

[luv2shave]

Thursday, 31st March 2022
Blade # 1
Shave # 31

Razor : Timeless Ti Slim 0.5mm SB
Blade : Feather Hi-stainless
Soap : Cella Extra Extra Purissima
Brush : Omega 11126 pure bristle Ovangkol wooden handle
Post shave : Alum + Dickinson's witch hazel plus rose water

With a heavy heart, the last shave of March today. An excellent BBS shave !

A leisurely shave with the fixed four, savoring each item as I held / used for its merits, the wonderful goodness each contributed to make the Fixed Four shaves such excellent ones.

I was so wrong past few days about the blade. Today's shave was a perfect 10/10 BBS without any irritation and major touchups.

Cella Red Block
Excellent discovery of a soap I generally neglected as it was this big, bulky block with a strong sweet Almonds / marizpan scent. Cutting off a portion and dropping for daily use in a Timeless bowl made it in to a wonderful daily use soap. Easy to lather, great scent and plenty slick. Its made it to my top tier soap rotation.

Omega brush
The ergonomic wooden handle, the small boar knot makes it a very practical everyday use lathering tool. It lathered Cella like a champ, broke in well in time, right balance of scritch, soft split bristles and good backbone. The Omega 11126 Brush and Cella made the perfect combo for daily use. Loading the brush and face lathering the Cella was a wonderful routine in these 31 days which set the right context for the shave.

Timeless Titanium Slim 0.5 SB
I have this razor for a while, giving me frustratingly subpar shaves before FFFMM. March would make me either master this razor or abandon it and FFFMM midway. Coming from the Timeless stable, I was sure that the design was well thought through and it was a question of me refining the technique to make it give what its 0.5mm low blade gap / 0.05mm blade exposure was designed for - just a quick one pass shave with a sharp blade !
This is not a razor for a traditional 2-3 shave really. It shines in giving a quick one pass shave with a sharp blade. Titanium makes this razor fun to use, due to extreme maneuverablty. Weighing in between alumiium and heavier SS offerings makes it a right sweet spot. I like heavier razors where the weight of the head does all the work, but this design - I love the Titanium. Timeless has hit it out of the park in designing this razor.

Feather Hi-Stainless Blade : What can I say - I am speechless. I have rarely moved out of the Gillette and Super-Max stable for most of my shaving life, with the Feather Stash always ignored for some silly reason. 31 shaves off a blade is a new high for me and it has more life left in it.

Honorable mention 5th element Dickinson's Witch Hazel with rose water, Hyaluronic acid and Vitamin E : Always a Thayer's fan, I switched to this Avatar of Witch Hazel from Dickinson's and it has served me well. After a great irritation free shave, the rose water scent is a welcome and refreshing.

Thank you so much @Cal for organizing this wonderful FFFMM event and allowing finicky mortals like me to stay fixed and focussed to learn, master and enjoy a set of challenging elements brought together to make them work like a fine orchestra, which else would have gathered dust or sold on BST.

Manix signing off from FFFMM'22 on a high note !

Have a great day !

 

[Aziraphale]

This looks like the end . . .

Razor: King Cobra
Blade: Kai Captain Titan (mild)
Soap: Arko (stick)
Brush: Rudy Vey 2021 commemorative St. Sue brush.

Well, there you have it. Good shaves all month. The Kai Mild is not as favorite as the Kai Regular. It seems to loose it's luster about half way through the month, but it's still going strong and only a little tuggy, but not too bad. I still get a decent two pass to DFS. Honestly, I'm glad this is over. I was starting to get bored with the whole bit. I think that next year I'll either do the 1 blade February challenge or the FFFMM, but not both.

 

[thombrogan]

FFFMM

Last night’s shave
Fatip Grande
Gillette Nacet (5)
Ω EVO synthetic brush
Damp washcloth aka “shave binky”
Pre-shave: nope
Lather: Col Conk Unscented, face-lathered
Aftershave: Ulm Nom
Post-shave: hot shower

Loaded less soap and went all shallow until the last ten strokes. The only good change from that was less missed hairs found under the jawline when cleaning up in the shower. Otherwise, well, I know steep angled shaving is a thing and it’s turning out to be my thing.

Last shave of the month’s fixed four is tonight. I wait in steep anticipation.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Shaved today with the Sailor set on #10 throughout.

Check out that gap.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[hopper_64]

Day 28. No shave today.

But as the end of March approaches, I was wondering which combo I'll be using on April 1st. It will definitely be a DE.... maybe a badger brush. The soap... not sure yet.

Anyone else making plans for Friday?

I'll go with a vintage razor, probably my Slim Adjustable.
And I will try to finish off the TOBS Sandalwood I used in February, (only 3-4 shaves left in the tub).
For blade either a Chinese Wilkinson Sword (recommended by you last year) or the Lab Blue from February.

 

[hopper_64]

Tuesday March 29 - FFFMM shave #19

Pearl Flexi
Gillette Wilkinson Sword (9)
Yaqi Moka Express 2-Band Badger
D.R. Harris Marlborough
Williams Aqua Velva

Pic from March 15

Thursday March 31 - FFFMM shave #20

Pearl Flexi
Gillette Wilkinson Sword (10)
Yaqi Moka Express 2-Band Badger
D.R. Harris Marlborough
Stirling Gentleman

Pic from March 14

Final shaves of the month.
This soap - brush combination has not worked so well for me.
The soap will either be put away for later or shower duty, I'll decide later.
Looking forward using other hardware in April.

But its been nice hanging out with all of you for FFFMM..

 

[Cal]

I saw the single blade for the whole month thing and that will no way workout for me. Even Feather and BIC can't give me more than 3 shaves. I can try to pull in a 4th and very very rarely a 5th but 3 is the kinda the sweet spot. Haven't come across any other blade that can offer me more than one shave. Haven't tried the Gillette Nacet yet and I hope that will give me at least 3 shaves too.

Have you read the Excalibur Club OP, ironfingers?

 

[GaryTha]

VDH short handle
Astra SP (31)
ARKO
Mennen Skin Bracer

Best shave of the month today.
I decided to quit shaving for a year tomorrow.

 

[JAHE]

VDH short handle
Astra SP (31)
ARKO
Mennen Skin Bracer

Best shave of the month today.
I decided to quit shaving for a year tomorrow.

It's not already April 1st in your time zone, is it?

 

[thombrogan]

I decided to quit shaving for a year tomorrow.

¿Por qué? Are we witnessing scraggly penance?

 

[Cal]

Best shave of the month today.

I decided to quit shaving for a year tomorrow.

Is that to allow your Williams and Arko stock to cure properly, Gary?

 

[GaryTha]

Is that to allow your Williams and Arko stock to cure properly, Gary?

It's an early April Fools joke.