FOURTEENTH ANNUAL One Blade in February Challenge 2023 Edition

[thombrogan]

23 is my favorite number, @luv2shave Long life to your next blade!

Another Other One Blade In Fruity February

Last night’s decadent shave
GEM Micromatic Open Comb
Personna GEM PTFE (8)
Damp washcloth aka “shave binky”
AP ShaveCo Cashmere 30mm synthetic brush
Pre-shave: Glycerin soap face wash with AP ShaveCo Cashmere and a dollop of aloe vera
Lather: Wickhams 1912 Club Cola Soap, face-lathered
Post-shave: Mentholated Equate moisturizer

Thank you, @Cal

I rubbed a good amount of glycerin soap on my face and used slow, deliberate painting strokes with most of the pressure skewed laterally to wash my face. After a good amount of time passed, I rinsed my face and brush, slapped on a dollop of aloe vera, and lathered my shave soap in much the same way.

Reduced my pressure more than I knew was possible and shaved away. The strokes were shorter, the time was longer, the popping sensation was there, the lather got refreshed frequently. Since my third One Blade In February was on its eight use, it didn’t match well with my fledgling efforts and synergistically bonded with my ineptitude to make everything slower. Still, comfy shave.

After shaving, I skipped the aftershave and went about my pre-shower rituals. The effect of this omission was to let the remaining film of lather dry on my skin and feel unpleasant. After a shower and some moisturizer, it was good enough.

 

[tjsgarden]

Still In GRUME, GRUYERE, 365 Shaves, Fruity February & OBIF

RR Hawk
Feather AC (24)
Muhle XL STF
PAA menthol Cube 2.0
Proraso white
Ethos Melange d'agrume

Fellow GRUME and GRUYERE-er @JKaboom started a thread here.
His question:

My question is, I see on videos that people use pre-shave products like The Cube/The Cube 2.0/Proraso, etc. So I have a couple of questions:
1) Why not then just shave with that product if it provides a good slick surface

My response:

I have wondered about this too.
Tomorrow I'll use the Cube for the first pass and see what happens. If that goes good, I'll use Proraso white for the second pass. I gotta use a fruity soap (Fruity February) so that will be for the final pass.

1st Pass: PAA menthol Cube 2.0
This stuff lathers very easy and quickly. It was slick and the results were good. I think glycerine helps BUT... the lather dried quickly. On my neck i had to splash more water to retain the slickness...(Maybe I needed more water and less product when i applied to my face???)
2nd Pass: Proraso white
This is more like a cream and it does not lather. It was thin and slick but again, I missed the hydration from good ole water...(see comment in #1)
3rd Pass: Ethos Melange d'agrume
Ethos was slick and retained hydration. This pass was mostly for show to stay in the good graces of the Fruity February crowd.

IMHO, the Cube worked better than Proraso by itself. (YMMV)
I got a DFS+ finish with no irritation and am still enjoying the menthol finish.

So yes @JKaboom, IMHO, I had a good shave with "pre-shave" products and to be honest, I think the Cube could be adjusted with more water and work just fine. I also think top tier soaps (like Ethos) are just as slick, "wetter" and incorporate water in the lather better than a pre-shave by itself.

Please take care of yourself...and each other.
Tomorrow is Semogue Saturdays!

 

[ChriWilson]

Minora Plat (15)

 

[Saxonbowman]

Razor: Fatip Piccolo
Blade: Feather (24)
Brush: Semogue boar
Soap: Stirling Sheep
Cold water rinse

No report yesterday but still pretty smooth.

 

[Mike M]

One Blade in February Challenge

Razor: Muhle Rocca R94
Blade: Personna Med-Prep(24)
Brush: Simpsons Trafalgar T3
Soap: RR XXX

Tonight I picked XXX and lathered it with the T3, I know I have said it's a bit stiff so it has a tendency to fling lather about the place with abandon, bit is still a fairly good brush. I guess I have just been spoiled by my STF, but I also intend to pick up an STF XL sometime this year. The lather was good and slick and the scent of XXX is one I enjoy, I should probably use my RR soaps more now that I have 4 of them.
The result was another near BBS finish. The blade doesn't seem to be struggling at all in the Rocca and is still providing great shaves so I don't think there is any danger of this blade not making it to the end of the month

 

[InkStainedWretch]

OBiF shave #24

Tonight, I loaded the Gillette Goal Super Platinum (24) into my Fatboy on 5. I rubbed ARKO over my face, then lathered up with a small board brush by Omega. The blade struggled some on the first pass around my chin, but otherwise performed well. Verdict: DFS.

 

[hopper_64]

Saturday February 25 - OBiF shave #14

Razorock SLOC
Gillette Nacet (14)
Yaqi Sagrada Familia
LEA Shave Stick
Epsilon Blue Mediterranean

14th shave with this blade, 4 days growth and oddly enough the blade felt much better than the last shave.

 

[Guido75]

Date	25.02.2023
365 days of shaving	56/365 (100%)
GRUYERE	56/365 (100%)
GRUME February	25/28 (100%) 02/12 (100%)
Other participations	Shave of the Week Society (SWS) Discovery Blade Adventure One Blade in February (OBiF)

Passes	3
XWTG	Cheeks: N-S Neck: N-S
WXTG	Cheeks L: W-E Cheeks R: E-W Neck: S-N
XATG	Cheeks: S-N Neck: S-N (slanted)

Razor	Blade	Brush
Gillette Old Type (thick cap)	Tiger Platinum (10)	Omega Proraso
Pre-shave	Soap & Bowl	Post-shave
Cold splash Proraso Green	Dutchy Bergamot Hybrid lathering	Cold splash

Efficiency	Quality
8/10 (~20 minutes)	10/10 (clean)
Effectiveness	Comfort
8.5/10 (DFS+/BBS-)	8/10 (Smooth)

Notes to today’s shave:

I read in the thread that when the blade starts to waver you need to it it in a more aggressive razor. So today I loaded the Tiger on its 10(!) run into my WOT (Weatherly’s Old Type - @mgweatherly). W H A T A S H A V E!!! I had the most amazing time using the OT and it meant business. Wonderful start of this weekend!

Further details and more can be found in my journal here.
Enjoy your shave today.

 

[Invicta]

Gillette Silver Blue #25.

 

[Vraad]

Shaves seven, eight and nine. Shave seven The Krona, still smooth sailing.
Shave eight; the golden Schick, another smooth shave.
Shave nine; the earliest Schick, pretty smooth shave.

 

[jason2]

OBIF'23 Astra SP (25/28)

Cream: Lucky Tiger Cream Shave
Razor/Blade:
#Head - Maxwell June w/ Astra SP
Face/Neck - R41 and Timeless w/ Astra SP (25/28)
Alum: Omega stick
Aftershave:
Face/Neck - Proraso Green
Head/Neck - Nivea Sensitive

10/10

This was surprisingly great! I just got a Muhle R41 head only in and a Timeless stainless steel barber pole handle to go with it or anything else really. I could use the R89 daily it felt so great. I figured the R41 would be all blade feel and I expected some neck irritation and a weeper or two.

I definitely feel the blade and it did grab some hair here and there considering the blade life I can't knock it for that. However, I got no weepers and my neck did not feel any terrible irritation. Maybe a little slight amount on the right side of my neck.

The handle, what a beautiful handle. I love the barber pole look. And this one is shinny. The length is slightly longer then I'd like and weights a little more then I would want. But it felt great in the hands and paired up perfectly with the more more aggressive head. I barely had to do anything but guide it around the face.

 

[Guido75]

OBIF'23 Astra SP (25/28)

Cream: Lucky Tiger Cream Shave
Razor/Blade:
#Head - Maxwell June w/ Astra SP
Face/Neck - R41 and Timeless w/ Astra SP (25/28)
Alum: Omega stick
Aftershave:
Face/Neck - Proraso Green
Head/Neck - Nivea Sensitive

10/10

This was surprisingly great! I just got a Muhle R41 head only in and a Timeless stainless steel barber pole handle to go with it or anything else really. I could use the R89 daily it felt so great. I figured the R41 would be all blade feel and I expected some neck irritation and a weeper or two.

I definitely feel the blade and it did grab some hair here and there considering the blade life I can't knock it for that. However, I got no weepers and my neck did not feel any terrible irritation. Maybe a little slight amount on the right side of my neck.

The handle, what a beautiful handle. I love the barber pole look. And this one is shinny. The length is slightly longer then I'd like and weights a little more then I would want. But it felt great in the hands and paired up perfectly with the more more aggressive head. I barely had to do anything but guide it around the face.

Nice Jason! Nice!!

 

[Trollky]

Gillette Perma-Sharp (25th use)

Like yesterday, I got plenty of feedback from the aftershave so this blade is definitely done. However, it would be crazy to bail with only 3 shaves remaining...

 

[tjsgarden]

Semogue Saturdays!
Still In GRUME, GRUYERE, 365 Shaves, Fruity February & OBIF

RR Hawk and Feather AC (25), Semogue 830 & Cello Crema Da Barba

The ending first - what an enjoyable experience to splash lots of cold water after an excellent shave and apply a combination of soothing moisturizers to start the day!
The Cella soap is top tier in my opinion and brings up the imagery of eating chocolate covered cherries. The blade is still doing good - my skills and technique must have improved during the month because I am still getting DFS+ results without irritation.
Tomorrow is Synthetic Sundays!!!

Please take care of yourself...and each other.

 

[thombrogan]

Another Other Other One Blade In Fruity February

Last night’s luxury shave
GEM Micromatic Open Comb
Personna GEM PTFE (1)
Damp washcloth aka “shave binky”
AP ShaveCo Titanium UHD 28mm synthetic brush
Pre-shave: hot shower and a dollop of aloe vera
Lather: Wickhams 1912 Club Cola Soap, face-lathered
Aftershave: Ulm Nom
Post-shave: face wash with shave binky
Post-shave: Mentholated Equate moisturizer

Tried showering as pre-shave prep to speed things up. I still shaved slow enough for it now to matter. Got a few weepers on the right side of my neck, but less than I normally get with a GEM PTFE on its first outing. Aside from the micro boo-boos, the rest of the shave was gentle and close. Faster with the new blade, but still a little on the slow side. I tell myself practice will increase the speed and accept comfortable skin as the consolation prize.

 

[Steelerfan]

Personna Lab day 25.

 

[c__port]

Super-max Diamond Edge Super Platinum (25)

ATT SB90
Cremo, pea-sized, used as pre-shave oil
Arko-Lavender
Cerave

 

[Dog Whiskerer]

VDH Ice Tempered SS (21)
Merkur 11
Balea boar
Gillette Pure shave cream, face lathered

Comfortable, mid-morning shave. And the three-weeks-of-shaves milestone. I definitely feel the blade going against the stubble. Tugging, some might call it, and a reason to bin the blade for most folks. It helps me tell how the shave is going. Second and subsequent passes are not "tuggy" at all.

 

[ChriWilson]

Minora Plat (16)
I’m just about ready to bin this one. Still cut sharply but the edge is noticeably losing smoothness with each shave. Quick clean and flip, we’ll see what tomorrow brings.

 

[Mike M]

One Blade in February Challenge

Razor: Muhle Rocca R94
Blade: Personna Med-Prep(25)
Brush: Yaqi Evil Zebra
Soap: SV 70th Anniversary

Tonight 70th Anniversary was up lathered with the Evil Zebra, normally I would use a 24mm brush with my SV soaps but I decided on the 26mm Zebra for a bit of fun. It was an absolute pleasure to use and created a fantastic lather. The Rocca just did it's job without any drama, other than that amazing sound it makes as it slices through my whiskers.
By the time I was finished I had a very near BBS and the pleasure of an SV shave, what's not to love with that?