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September 2021 Gentlemanly Restraint Until Month End (GRUME)

Still in. Great shave the other day.
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Owen Bawn

Garden party cupcake scented
An ancient GSB in the red tip Super Speed; Arko face lathered with the Simpsons Duke 3 synthetic; a little Proraso 'white' balm; Tcheon Fung Sing Torino Forti Sensazioni Corte Saubada 70th Anniversary after shave; and a couple spritzes of Acqua di Parma Colonia just before leaving the house. The Duke 3 synthetic is the best small synthetic I own; a well kept secret, this brush should be better known. I enjoy using it more than the Chubby 2 synthetic. The TFS after shave is amazing; can't believe it isn't a regular stock item, as it's just so damned good.
Still in.
 
Still in. Getting ready for another month. I did give my email to West Coast Shaving and I am resisting using any of their attractive offers. I'll be finishing a tube of Wilkinson Sword in the next couple of days, but I will not pull out the last tube of Tabac cream for Tabactober. October will be Monsavon.
 
SOTD
  • Rockwell 6S/R4
  • GSB (1)
  • Stirling Orange Chill/Omega Eucalyptus
  • Yaqi 24mm synthetic
  • WH w/menthol, LTFT
  • Stirling Orange Chill ASB
  • Vintage Avon Bay Rum AS
I decided to ditch the blade of dubious age and start with a fresh Nacet, as it is my preferred blade. However, when I went to the blade drawer, I happened upon a GSB in a yellowed wrapper - probably obtained through one of my passaround boxes. I've tried them in the past and while they cut whiskers, they usually get my skin, too. But..."what the heck", right?

Once again, the Rockwell put its magical ability to give an efficient, yet drama-free shave on full display. I went WTG on the cheeks and WTG/XTG on the neck. There was one tiny red spot, a nascent ingrown/bump cut down before it could get a proper start, and very little feedback from the aftershave. The result was smooth (enough) and with no drama, unlike when I tried a GSB in my Tech, Slim, Old Type or other razors.

I still prefer a Nacet, but if someone gave me a pile of GSBs, I know which razor would be their holder.

Onward!
 
I made it a few weeks but then failed spectacularly after that. I bought a featherweight GEM and blades and then saw an expiring auction on a clean 1955 blue tip for a steal. I’d be lying to myself if I said I’d try aging in October. I’m just starting out and trying different things. If I had a bunch of kit already then it would make more sense. I mean, sure, I have plenty to last a whole month but I’m just so excited by this new hobby that it doesn’t make sense. More power to those who can and will abstain!
 
Still in. Still scruffy. Might have to shave around this self-inflicted face wound. Scruffiness is bad for my pride.

I am now confident of success this month.

Alas, I will not be joining you next month. I have a few things on the agenda:

  • I need a styptic pencil. I had one, then I threw it away, because I liked the alum block better. Then I read that it's better for stopping bleeding than the alum block. So it turns out I need one, mostly for honing-related injuries, because I've given up on the whole home-surgery thing, and I never cut myself shaving badly enough to need a turbocharged blood-stopper. I could have justified that as a need, not a want, but there are some wants:
  • I want a particular razor. Okay, two particular razors. One is to complete a lineup, one is because the ones I bought were misshapen. I want a good one. I'm not saying what razors; this is a public forum, not just seen by the gents who post, and competing with lurkers is not in my plans. I plan to camp on a couple of auction sites, with crossed fingers. Wish me luck.
  • I want to explore, a bit more, the world of triple-milled shave soaps. My two favorite soaps are that. Wondering what else is out there that I might like. There's a whole thread about it. I would like to think that the recent jokes and fears about one of the two, MWF, being reformulated to eliminate the tallow, are not a factor here, but they might be. I'd like to have defense in depth against such eventualities, however confident I might be in Brits' disinclination to mess with the classics.
I hate the idea of dropping out of this community for a bit, but I will certainly be back.
 
For once I have survived a restraint

Pre-Shave: hot water
Lather: TOBS Sandalwood
Brush: B&B Beagle Black and tan bulb
Razor: Boker Olivewood Shavette
Blade: Miraki (1)
Post-shave: Cold water, Alum and Fuar Ach Snog

I don't know if its just that I'm out of practice with using hard soaps as I've been using shaving creams for a while now. But I have had difficulty finding the sweetspot of TOBS Sandalwood. I've used the shave stick version before and had no trouble, but the Puck was either so dry that it disappeared in a seconds or was so wet that it could not even stick to my face.

On the plus side I managed to complete a shave in spite of my soap troubles and even attempted a fools pass. After watching YouTube videos of DrMatt357 and copying his fools pass technique I've found it to be rather easy.

Congratulations to those of you who survived the September GRUME, good luck to those attempting the October GRUME and better luck next time to those of you who have fallen.
 
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