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January 2022 Gentlemanly Restraint Until Month End (GRUME)

Still in. Great shave last night

SOTD 01192022.jpg
 
I joined the sabbatical year, can I join here too?
After failing the November GRUME I wanted to try again for a whole year.
For the current month the 15th is the last day to join but please play along in the next days and join officially in February :thumbsup:
We definitely want to see you in February! And when you sign up, don't forget to add the "GRUYERE" tag to your name on the list. :a20:
 
On a side note, I noticed a lot of ppl counting shaves on a blade? How do you do it? I usually shave until one day/shave I finish and go.... huh... that wasn't that great.
I use a six-sided (standard cube) die. I run it 1-6, then turn it 90* clockwise for 7-12, then again for 13-18, and so on until I'm done with the blade (which stays in the razor). If I transfer the blade to another razor, the count continues. I have a second die in case I'm using a second razor/blade combo for some reason and want to track that blade, too.

I use a blade until it feels bad or is inefficient. If I have a "meh" shave, I use the blade again for the next shave; if that, too, is "meh", then the blade is done and goes into the bin.

There are some factors that probably help with blade longevity (for me):
  1. I'm happy with SAS or better and I definitely don't chase BBS, so my number of passes is kept down
  2. I pay attention to prep and beard hydration
  3. I think my technique is pretty good
  4. I use a razor that keeps the blade rigid (clamped firmly)
  5. I wipe the blade after each shave
  6. I flip the blade every six shaves (when I spin the die)
  7. I'm stubborn
It's certainly possible that no single factor is a big deal. Taken together, they probably make a difference (especially #1 and #7), but all I really know is that I'm generally happy with my shaves for 20+ uses of a given blade.
 
I use a blade until it feels bad or is inefficient. If I have a "meh" shave, I use the blade again for the next shave; if that, too, is "meh", then the blade is done and goes into the bin.

This is a great point. Sometimes the blade is blamed when it was something else such as bad technique or a less than optimal lather. I've given blades second chances and the results were sometimes perfectly fine.
This is what I do too.
 
Day 20, 64.5% complete.

Preshave: Hot washcloth
Soap: Saponificio Varesino Cubebe
Brush: Yaqi 24mm synthetic cashmere
Razor: GC.84 SB, Ti Handle, Astra SP #3
Razor: GC.68 SB, Al Handle, KCG #7
Bowl: Turkish copper
Post-shave: Nivea Balm, Hyaluronic Acid.

A double Game Changer shave again, getting a comfortable DFS.
 
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Still in!

Soap: Stirling Electric Sheep
Razor: Le Grelot 6/8
Brush: Trafalgar T2
Aftershave: Witch Hazel / Lilac Vegetal
Balm: Nivea Sensitive

I've dropped a brush twice this week.... no damage or anything but after seeing the photo of the exploding beagle the other day I might need to wrap mine in bubble wrap... this soap is too good.

I started using a new face wash recently and I was noticing that later in the day my face would start to feel a little strange. I didn't use the face wash yesterday and didn't have that problem last evening so I concluded that it was from the face wash. I've been using Electric Sheep quite a bit recently but didn't use it yesterday either. When I was applying aftershave after this mornings shave I did not get much of an aftershave burn, but like 10 seconds later my face started to feel weird again, but the sensation went away pretty quickly. I really hope I'm not getting something weird going on from Electric Sheep. I'll have to alternate between that and and another scent for a while to figure this out.
 
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