Fixed Monthly Rotations for the balance of 2018

[Sharp's]

Back in 2013, I was suffering from all sorts of RAD, BAD, BrAD and SAD disorders.
I had to hone it all and deal with my syndromes. At the Start of 2014, I started to join restraints and 3017ing my soaps so I could get to know them plus use what I had.


Then it hit me ... All the hype I heard about DrH soaps and how great they were. I was sitting on a puck of Windsor. There was a joint push to 3017 DrH, and I was in full throttle with a DHR Windsor.
It took me weeks before I could dial this soap in. This was not a joy but I would stay the course. This puck was tough and would not give in. Finally, on October 31, 2014, I gave up and used the very last of it as a bar of soap. Though I won the battle overall, I lost the war. This puck sucked all the joy I would gain from wet shaving.

The next day I started in with a puck of Pre de Provence. I was in heaven once again. But little did I know the scars that the Windsor gave me carried over to this puck. My shaving got down to 2-3 times a week of One pass shaves. Knicks and weepers haunted me. Get it done.

That puck lasted me; I kid you not 3 Years, 7 months and 23 days. The idea of 3017ing something is now dead to me.


Though I still believe in using what you got and from my time away from B&B I learned of a new concept(well new to me). The Fixed for 4

For the balance of 2018, I will be using 1 Razor, 1 Brush, 1 Blade and 1 Soap in the hopes to master that equipment for the month. I plan to do this for the balance of 2018. And post thoughts and reviews throughout the month.


The Line up for August 2018 is as follows.

Blackland Blackbird OC
Plisson HMW in size 12
Feather
Valobra Menthol shaving soap.

Tomorrow I will report why I choose the August set up.

My goal is to find the perfect setup for each razor.

 

[ajkel64]

Thanks for sharing what has been happening for you. I find it interesting to read about what works for other members that may not work for me. Please keep us informed as you move forward.

 

[BigJ]

Good luck!

Occasionally I decide to 3017 a product but it has always been one that I really like! (For example, this summer I have been trying to ‘work through’ some Italian croaps.) Even then, I tend to ‘cheat’ from time to time, just for variety! YMMV for sure!

 

[Sharp's]

Thank you both. The idea is to prep for the 2019 year where I hope to understand each of my razors brushes and what blades and soaps work best with the tools I have.
Day two(started on the 2nd with three days growth) and I am already forming opinions on somethings I have owned for years.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Gravity]

View attachment 901681
Back in 2013, I was suffering from all sorts of RAD, BAD, BrAD and SAD disorders.
I had to hone it all and deal with my syndromes. At the Start of 2014, I started to join restraints and 3017ing my soaps so I could get to know them plus use what I had.


Then it hit me ... All the hype I heard about DrH soaps and how great they were. I was sitting on a puck of Windsor. There was a joint push to 3017 DrH, and I was in full throttle with a DHR Windsor.
It took me weeks before I could dial this soap in. This was not a joy but I would stay the course. This puck was tough and would not give in. Finally, on October 31, 2014, I gave up and used the very last of it as a bar of soap. Though I won the battle overall, I lost the war. This puck sucked all the joy I would gain from wet shaving.

The next day I started in with a puck of Pre de Provence. I was in heaven once again. But little did I know the scars that the Windsor gave me carried over to this puck. My shaving got down to 2-3 times a week of One pass shaves. Knicks and weepers haunted me. Get it done.

That puck lasted me; I kid you not 3 Years, 7 months and 23 days. The idea of 3017ing something is now dead to me.


Though I still believe in using what you got and from my time away from B&B I learned of a new concept(well new to me). The Fixed for 4

For the balance of 2018, I will be using 1 Razor, 1 Brush, 1 Blade and 1 Soap in the hopes to master that equipment for the month. I plan to do this for the balance of 2018. And post thoughts and reviews throughout the month.


The Line up for August 2018 is as follows.

Blackland Blackbird OC
Plisson HMW in size 12
Feather
Valobra Menthol shaving soap.

Tomorrow I will report why I choose the August set up.

My goal is to find the perfect setup for each razor.

Great idea, I'm stealing it

 

[Sharp's]

Great idea, I'm stealing it

Go for it. You are only stealing an idea I got from others on B&B. Feel free to update on this post too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Sharp's]

To give a quick Bio of face/beard type I am a 50-year-old man with few wrinkles or distinguishing difficult parts of my face to shave. I started shaving in the 7th grade and prided myself on Fred Flinstone like 5 o'clock shadow. Left alone my bread has become a salt and pepper shade of thick, coarse hairs that with DFS starts to grow back about 10 or 11 pm after a morning shave. This bread can beat up a blade and I usually don't like to go more than 3-4 shaves per blade. Why risk a bad experience at hand just to stretch out one more shave.
My skin, on the other hand, is soft and if not careful can be prone to weeper, on the chin and or irritation on the neck.
Let's call it tough beard/sensitive skin.
I tend to like a medium aggressive blade and for the past 4-5 years have been using exclusively a Tradere Gen 2 OC. I was using a Grand Shave King that I loved, but my kid dropped it on me, and the handle broke off.

I also usually only shave about 3-5 days a week but for this period I will try to make it 5-6 days depending on skin condition.

I promise this will be the last detail of dull talk(Yeah shut the F.. up and tell us about the Blackbird!)

 

[ShavePastor]

It is really sort of the best of both worlds! You can have some cycles of variety and at the same time use the same fixed items for long enough to master them & see what works for you!

 

[Sharp's]

Shave Report: Week 1

I started the month of Aug with three days of growth for my first shave. This set up was incredible, and all the tools worked in harmony for the first week. I shaved three times in week one. The first was on August 2nd. Two passes plus a quick cleanup to reach BBS. My skin felt so amazing that I couldn't keep my damn hands from touching my face. Shave two I thought stood a chance of irritating but no. I was able to achieve BBS in three full passes. WTG, XTG, and ATG. Approaching the third day in a row I was pretty shocked to find very little stubble. This Blackbird OC is efficient.
Passes one and two went off without a hitch. I went for a full third pass. It was on this against the grain pass that I started to feel a little a little irritation on my neck. The shave was still BBS but thought it would be best to give my face a break for a day on Saturday. It also occurred to me that maybe I should reconsider adding a preshave oil to my routine when using The Blackbird OC. Or at least if I am shaving multiple days in a row.

Blackbird OC: I have never been so happy to use a razor since I had my Tradere. The BB OC is a medium aggressive razor that gets extremely close and yet smooth. At least with two days or more growth on my face. Its blade exposure, not .58 gap is the key to this razor's ability to shave so close to your face. The Blackbird's head has weight to it, but the short, light handle makes this razor very maneuverable around face features. I have been using this razor for about two weeks and retired the Tradere. I have since ordered the Blackland SB and Dart that I will be reporting on in the next few months.


Feather Blades: As we all know these are some sharp *** blades.
In other razors, I felt that Feathers, offered a great shave but were too could quickly lead to knicks and irritation. They just weren't smooth.
Not the case in the Blackbird OC for me. This combination has been a dream. Now I don't have to worry about trading away the ten packs of them I have been sitting on for the past four years.

Plisson High Mountain White Badger Brush in Size 12(22MM):
I was about to give up on this brush. Though extremely soft it has always been floppier than I prefer. I was shedding about 7-10 hairs a using. I now realize that it is ultimately my fault. For the past five years, I have been shaving with triple milled hard soaps.
Going into this experiment, I had suspected that this brush is for creams and soft soaps only. I was right. The brush holds water and loads up on a soft soap in a few seconds. It is floppy, but you can quickly deliver a thick spackle of cushioning foam to your face efficiently. It easily holds enough soap for three passes, without going back to the puck. I yet to have a water thin sudsy cream, for this week. I am not sure if this is because of the brush, the soap or the combination. Either way, I cannot complain. Oh and I maybe have shed two hairs this week. I am not sure if I will keep this brush at the end of this month. Its performance has been outstanding, but I do like a brush with a bit more backbone.


Valobra Menthol Soap: Two years on nothing but triple milled soaps and only three shaves with this fantastic soft soap and all I can ask myself is why? Why have I denied myself this? The sent is a mild undertone of a clean soap with only a hint of menthol in it. It whips up in about ten-fifteen seconds to a thick cream and covers areas of your face like a spackle. Provides deep cushion and conditions the face.

I didn't expect to find such a great experience so early into this operation. It can't only go downhill from here, can it? I will be adding some shave oil to my routine in hopes of avoiding neck irritation on the third pass and the ability to shave daily without having to take breaks.

 

[Sharp's]

It is really sort of the best of both worlds! You can have some cycles of variety and at the same time use the same fixed items for long enough to master them & see what works for you!

That's the way I see it too, Pastor. Thank you for checking in.

 

[Clay S]

Shave Report: Week 1

I started the month of Aug with three days of growth for my first shave. This set up was incredible, and all the tools worked in harmony for the first week. I shaved three times in week one. The first was on August 2nd. Two passes plus a quick cleanup to reach BBS. My skin felt so amazing that I couldn't keep my damn hands from touching my face. Shave two I thought stood a chance of irritating but no. I was able to achieve BBS in three full passes. WTG, XTG, and ATG. Approaching the third day in a row I was pretty shocked to find very little stubble. This Blackbird OC is efficient.
Passes one and two went off without a hitch. I went for a full third pass. It was on this against the grain pass that I started to feel a little a little irritation on my neck. The shave was still BBS but thought it would be best to give my face a break for a day on Saturday. It also occurred to me that maybe I should reconsider adding a preshave oil to my routine when using The Blackbird OC. Or at least if I am shaving multiple days in a row.

Blackbird OC: I have never been so happy to use a razor since I had my Tradere. The BB OC is a medium aggressive razor that gets extremely close and yet smooth. At least with two days or more growth on my face. Its blade exposure, not .58 gap is the key to this razor's ability to shave so close to your face. The Blackbird's head has weight to it, but the short, light handle makes this razor very maneuverable around face features. I have been using this razor for about two weeks and retired the Tradere. I have since ordered the Blackland SB and Dart that I will be reporting on in the next few months.


Feather Blades: As we all know these are some sharp *** blades.
In other razors, I felt that Feathers, offered a great shave but were too could quickly lead to knicks and irritation. They just weren't smooth.
Not the case in the Blackbird OC for me. This combination has been a dream. Now I don't have to worry about trading away the ten packs of them I have been sitting on for the past four years.

Plisson High Mountain White Badger Brush in Size 12(22MM):
I was about to give up on this brush. Though extremely soft it has always been floppier than I prefer. I was shedding about 7-10 hairs a using. I now realize that it is ultimately my fault. For the past five years, I have been shaving with triple milled hard soaps.
Going into this experiment, I had suspected that this brush is for creams and soft soaps only. I was right. The brush holds water and loads up on a soft soap in a few seconds. It is floppy, but you can quickly deliver a thick spackle of cushioning foam to your face efficiently. It easily holds enough soap for three passes, without going back to the puck. I yet to have a water thin sudsy cream, for this week. I am not sure if this is because of the brush, the soap or the combination. Either way, I cannot complain. Oh and I maybe have shed two hairs this week. I am not sure if I will keep this brush at the end of this month. Its performance has been outstanding, but I do like a brush with a bit more backbone.


Valobra Menthol Soap: Two years on nothing but triple milled soaps and only three shaves with this fantastic soft soap and all I can ask myself is why? Why have I denied myself this? The sent is a mild undertone of a clean soap with only a hint of menthol in it. It whips up in about ten-fifteen seconds to a thick cream and covers areas of your face like a spackle. Provides deep cushion and conditions the face.

I didn't expect to find such a great experience so early into this operation. It can't only go downhill from here, can it? I will be adding some shave oil to my routine in hopes of avoiding neck irritation on the third pass and the ability to shave daily without having to take breaks.

Glad to hear you off to a good start!