The 15th Annual One Blade in February Challenge

[Jayson74]

2-29 Thursday 9am
Shave 33/366.
2 pass DFS 5/5

Razor: Overlander alu
Blade: BIC cp (3
Soap: Sheep
Brush: APshave/Semogue Mistura
Post: witchhazel, The Dead Sea

Didn't make a whole month with a single blade, but did take one to 13 shaves. Far more then I have ever considered before!

Be well
Jay

 

[geneaut]

Shave #23 OBIF

I discovered by using a 10/32 set screw I can mount some DE handles to my Ever Ready 1912 so I thought that would be a fun way to finish the month. I’m not sure the heavy handle was the correct choice here as I found it was far more picky about shave angle in this configuration

Besides that the shave was close and mostly nondramatic. The software was all enjoyable, and I ended with a DFS+ shave.

I enjoyed the month of the SuperMax blade, but look forward to trying some new blades tomorrow.

 

[cranewarrior]

February 29, 2024
Shave #18 - Treet Dura Sharp

I ended the month successfully with another fine shave. I was rushed for time this morning after my shower and opted for the Barbasol again but I brushed it onto my face. This works great for me. The Dura Sharp was a steady performer for me in February and has earned a place in my rotation.

See you gents in the Light Brigade and FFFMM threads!

 

[Beto Salatini]

SOTD February 29th 2024
February 2024 GRUME
The 15th Annual One Blade in February Challenge


Hello friends

On this beautiful day, I decided to do something unusual for me: third shave in a row. So, in this way I say goodbye to OBIF with my fifteenth shave using the splendid Gillette Nacet (15). I learned this month that using the same blade many times in a row, something previously unheard of for me, has a very special grace. What is lost in depth is gained in smoothness. There were fifteen shaves without any cuts or even any irritation. I went back to my roots when it came to cream and aftershave: Bozzano. The most traditional in Brazil. The one my father used and the first one I used almost fifty years ago. I also chose to simplify the choice of brush, Trafalgar T3, and razor, 34C.

Thank you so much to @Mike M for the opportunity to participate in this incredible event.

Today, I also say goodbye to February 2024 GRUME and congratulate @FoolishMortal for bringing together this wonderful group.

With us, Pres and Teddy. I do not need to say anything more…


Rating: 10



Have a nice day and great shaves!

 

[kingfisher]

I did it!

Final shave this morning went surprisingly well. The blase was clearly not as sharp as what I am used to, but it still shaved just fine.

I have never been a guy who only uses a blade two or three times, but I still usually trash a blade after 5-7 shaves. This one went 16 and wasn't horrible at all.

Thanks for letting me join the club!

 

[mgweatherly]

OBiF shave #13 with rated (11/10) using:

• Razor: Lambda Athena
• Blade: 1966 L3 English Gillette Super Silver (13)
• Brush: Razorock 400 Silver Noir Plissoft (superb)
• Pre-shave: Noxzema
• Soap: Pasteur Pharmacy Edel (made by Grooming Department and PIF’d by @flask28)
• Post shave: Thayer’s unscented Witch Hazel followed by vintage 1965 Old Spice splash and Stirling Spice balm

I really enjoyed this flawless shave of my five-day beard. In only two passes, the Athena and Super Silver delivered a perfect BBS without any hint of irritation.

I was out of pocket because my 86 year-old father came down with COVID, and my stepmom needed help with him. They live about 2,000 miles away. He seems to be on the mend, but I didn't shave during my visit. Getting home last night to my amazing wife after this trip really helps me realize just how good I’ve got it.

This soap, which was so graciously PIF’d to me out of the blue by @flask28, was divine. Grooming Department made it in 2022 for Pasteur Pharmacy in New York. The fats in it are lamb tallow and duck fat. I’ve never felt lather like this! It is incredibly silky, provided amazing glide, and left my face feeling amazing. I can’t wait to try the other soaps that you sent Adam . I love this one!

My shave scoring log is found HERE.

Happy shaves everyone

 

[Halfbeard]

½BiF #17

Blade: Rhinoceros (23)
Razor: Shield Stomper
Brush: Rocckwell synthetic
Soap: Proraso White
Aftershave: Brossi

Best version of Piazzolas breathtaking Oblivion.

Last shave of Half blade in February Challenge.
Completed a month of face and head shaves with unknown to me ½-blade. I tried be extra careful about preshave preparation and light touch of shaving. In the middle I was worried about managing the challenge. I felt blade dropping sharpness. I engaged only one pass shaves. But then it changed. It gives me as good shaves as in beginning. But it has lost its edges and behaves matured.
Today I got BBS- shave.
Almost all shaves with one razor ! This is good to get to know this razor in depth.
I'll preserve this blade and shave occasionally to see how long I can stretch it.

 

[Tanuki]

February 29, shave 23, DE shave 19 - short jump down to Italy to get bent

I wanted to load the 3 holer into a slant, but, fearing for the blade, saved that for last. The slant razor was always going to be a Merkur or a Fatip, not a wantonly destroyed Gillette. Decisions, decisions. The rara avis Merkur Super Slant I'm fostering for @Old Hippie seemed too radical. Finally the Fatip Piccolo slant got the nod, along with an entire Italian shave line up.

>FOCS
>Gillette 3 hole, final use, no hone nor strop
>Omega eucalyptus cream
>Zenith boar
>Floïd the Genuine

Very DFS except that coarse patch. Plenty of buffing required.

This has been an enlightening month, one of the highlights of my 5 decade relationship with vintage Gillette razors. The similar experiences with the even older Ever-Ready SE blade provided more food for thought.

The big dogs of safety shaving devoted serious effort to breaking their customers' honing/stropping habits. The launch of thin 'New' DE blades was the master stroke. Yet the AutoStrop razor and the Rolls Razor survived in good numbers for years.


So thanks to @Mike M and the whole OBiF crew for making this an interesting month and for tolerating my deviant take on the concept. We'll see if I wander into any more dark alleys that might shelter @LJBraaten

 

[KQY61]

Hi,

So. Day 29 and shave 29.

I managed to make it further with a Personna Med Prep than I have before. Although the Fasan double slant has always managed the longest runs in February with a Med Prep. Only blade that went longer (in the Fasan as well) was a Personna 74 tungsten blade. That one went 45 days.

Tomorrow sees a new Med Prep and stuffed into my Dad's old post war Tech and using his leftover Old Spice that's now over 30 years old. This will be used for all of March.

FFFMM (Fixed Four For March Madness) 2024 Edition

That one's fine, Mike. :thumbup1: Cool! I'm in then.... Razor: Schick M1 Dial Adjustable Blade: Schick (China) Soap: Stirling Almond Creme Brush: Semogue beech-handled boar These blades last pretty long so I'll probably only use two or three.

www.badgerandblade.com

And I expect I shall change out blades on March 16th. Or, at least I hope it goes that long in a Tech. I don't recall ever doing OBIF using it.

Stan

 

[FoolishMortal]

Done. I even checked a bag to my conference so that I could take the One True Blade.

 

[Balin]

Done. I even checked a bag to my conference so that I could take the One True Blade.

That's dedication

 

[Balin]

Final shave with the Super Silver! I didn't think I'd get 19 shaves out of it. I was ready to pitch it around shave 8 .

Thanks @Mike M for hosting! I learned I can push blades in a pinch and that wetter lathers are better with blades past their prime!

Thanks to @lasta , @flask28 and @mgweatherly for goading talking me into this and using the same blade!! What's on deck for next year .

 

[Alum Ladd]

Razor: 7 O'Clock English OC c. Early 1930's
Blade: Personna Platinum Chrome IR (12)
Brush: Wilko Synthetic 'Mystere'
Soap: Hampshire Lanolin Shaving Soap No. 1 Original Formula
AS Balm: Boots Freshwood

For the final shave for 2024's OBIF Challenge I chose a lovely English 7 O'clock OC which I recently acquired. A really fantastic performer which I believe is an early example.

Just an excellent 3 passer which ended up giving me a near perfect result on a 2.5 day growth.

A ridiculously great shave! SSF+

I greatly enjoyed this OBIF event and greatly appreciate @Mike M in getting this together!

A main takeaway from this is that I believe we often have far too little faith or patience in testing the longevity of the blades we use daily.

I hope it has opened eyes and been an entertaining month for all participants!

Thanks Gentlemen. A pleasure to be in your company.

 

[Mike M]

366 shaves in 2024
Shave#60 of 366 remaining 306(100%)
One Blade in February Challenge

Razor: RR Lupo 95 SB
Blade: Personna 74(29)
Brush: Muhle Kosmo STF
Soap: Fine Lavender Pour Homme
A/S: CK IN2U
Post Shave: Proraso Green Balm, Nivea Hyaluron Gel

Tonight for my leap shave I decided to use my unobtanium Fine Lavender Pour Homme. As I normally only use it for Christmas, New Year and my birthday that means it will be getting an extra use this year. I lathered with my favourite brush, the Kosmo and just thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
After loading the P74 into the Lupo the shave was fantastic and although not a BBS it is certainly a lot closer than you'd expect from a blade with a months shaves on it. All in all I'm extremely impressed with my first use of the P74.

I would like to thank all who've participated in this year's special leap One Blade In February Challenge and say it is all of you who make it such a special event. I hope to see you all next year for the 16th One Blade In February Challenge.

 

[Saxonbowman]

So, it's been an interesting month of shaving. For a challenge I wanted to try to see if I could get a carbon steel Treet Black last for a full month of daily shaving. Today I completed that task. For the first 25 days things went great. I got decent shaves with some occasional tugging. These blades aren't particularly sharp out of the box and the quality gradually declined but stayed within tolerable limits. Most shaves were actually pretty good. I shaved five days each with a NEW Long Comb, a Flare Tip Super Speed, a thin cap Old Type, a pre-war Tech, and a Slim Adjustable.

On day 26 things went bad. I loaded the blade in a Mühle R-41 and broke open a new puck of Stirling Almond Creme soap. I know, two variables. The shave was terrible, tugging like mad and not very close. Yet, I persisted. Hoping that breaking in the soap would give me a better shave I kept the same combination for the next two days, with the same result. Nothing I tried would make that worn out blade shave with that razor. Finally this morning I put the blade back in the Slim and got a half decent shave. Clearly the blade was worn out but somehow the Slim pulled it through. A Slim was my first razor and this shows me that maybe shaving with anything else is a waste of time. But of course I have lots of razors and I'll use them all!

A few details: I carefully blotted the blade off after each shave. This helped hold down the rust. I also flipped it after each shave. I don't know if this helped or not. I only shave my cheeks and neck and my beard is not what it was 50 years ago. This probably cut down on the wear.

Would I do this again with this blade? No. But I learned that proper blade angle, good lather, and maybe the right razor can make up for a blade that's past its prime. Thanks for @Mike M for running this challenge and thanks for all who participated. It's been fun following along.

 

[Roedeer]

Leap Day, 100% complete

Preshave: Hot washcloth
Soap: Mitchell's Wool Fat (Tallow)
Brush: Yaqi 24mm synthetic cashmere
Razor: GC.84 SB, Al Handle, Personna 74 #37
Bowl: Turkish copper
Post-shave: Nivea Balm

Back to MWF for Leap Day. Got a reasonable social shave out of the stropped blade.

I liked the Kai blade that I started off with, but none of my razors exploited its unique extra width very well.

Thanks to @Mike M for running OBiF. It's been interesting to see everyone else's experiences, particularly with the vintage kit.

 

[thombrogan]

Fifth One Blade In Fruity February

Tonight’s excellent shave
Karve brass Overlander
Loi Titanium (3)
Damp facecloth aka “shave binky”
AP ShaveCo Dinosaur G5C 28mm synthetic brush
Pre-shave: warm shower
Lather: Cella Extra Extra Bio, bowl-loaded; face-lathered
Aftershave: Ulm Nom
Post-shave: face wash with shave binky
Post-shave: mentholated Equate moisturizer

Finished the One Blade In February Challenge and closed out Fruity February in style. A slick, citrusy cologne lather of Cella Extra Extra Bio and a Loi Titanium blade riding in a brass Overlander. Zoo-ee mama! is what the kids would say. Tempted to sand the cap’s outer surface. A bead-blasted surface where the razor touches skin makes me wonder if its designer wears burlap pajamas to bed.

Many thanks to @Mike M for hosting OBIF and my Fruity February co-participants.

Happy shaves, everyone!

 

[LJBraaten]

I finished my second OBIF challenge, successfully using a Feather every day. I had planned to get by with only one blade, but to participate in Micromatic Mondays I resorted to a second Feather, a half blade adapted to SE Razors. But I’ve made peace with not sticking with the one blade since both of them had a little head start. (And, I hope, a continued afterlife!)
On this day 29 and I had my 23rd shave on my older Feather (481 total).
There are still five shaves (out of 41?) on the old Feather. Thanks Mike for hosting this again.

We'll see if I wander into any more dark alleys that might shelter @LJBraaten

I’m lurking in a lot of them. Be very careful where you venture!

 

[Guido75]

Date	29.02.2024
366 daily shaves	060/366

Razor	Blade	Brush
Blackland Blackbird	Gillette Bleue (9)	Omega 10810
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash KCG Face Wash	Mike’s Natural Soaps Barbershop (41)	Cold splash Proraso Green Balm

Passes	WTG XTG ATG and touch up
Consistency (details here)	Quality / My process
9.75/10 (Significantly Consistent)	10/10 (Clean)
Effectiveness	Comfort / Blade condition
8.75/10 (BBS-)	10/10(GlideFest)

Notes:

Summary. Thursday so why not use a Blackbird? Splendid last shave of February and with this blade as well.

Thanks @Mike M for hosting OBiF again. It has been a blast. I was able to keep it to mostly one blade and one blade for sure if I had my step and have with me. But travel intervened on that last part. Thanks all participants for showing your gear and sharing your experiences.

For extended shave notes click here.

Enjoy your shave!

 

[GermanShaver!]

As I've been busy the last couple days and did not shave daily, here's my last update:

Shave #20
Razor: KCG
Blade: Treet Platinum Super Stainless #20
Brush: none -> hand applied shaving cream
Soap: Nivea shaving cream
AS: Proraso green AS balm

Although I did not manage the full 28 shaves I am still very pleased with such a inexpensive blad lasting this long.
Towards the end it was a bit less sharp, but I never had any real major cutting my hair (keep on mind that I have fairly mild beard growth so ymmv). But I will say that it definitely wasn't as smooth the last couple of shaves and might have switched it out for a fresh one, if I was to keep going. Also the combination of the KCG razor with the Treet blade proved to work beautifully, as even with the most rushed of shaves I only ever nicked myself twice.
I will try out some new blades I ordered recently (incl. Gillette Permasharp) and then might decide on my first 100 pack purchase.