SOTD by u/Environmental-Gap380

August 31st, 2022 - Mammoth Month of Raw Hoggin GEMs of Wisdom

• Prep: Warm water

• Brush: Zenith B36 “Copper Scrubby!”

• Razor: GEM MMOC Gen 2

• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE (31 and done)

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Alive

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Alive Splash

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Alive Balm

#MammothMafia

#RawHoggin

#GEMsOfWisdom

Brush before and after

Last day of Austerity in August, and I made it through with the same set every day. The blade was definitely past its prime. Here is a picture of it front and back. Not as good showing the blade as u/gcgallant has done with the microscope, but you can see the damage the stops do to the edge, plus I can make out a few spots that look worn or nicked. The brown Sharpie I used to keep count looks like dried spots of blood I sacrificed to the gods of shaving.

Today, I pushed myself to go for a baby butt smooth shave, or get as close as I could. I never get to bbs on my neck, but did 3 passes on it for a dfs finish. As close as I have ever gotten to bbs on the neck without weepers, nicks, or burn. On my face, I went with 4 passes: wtg, xtg, xtg (other way), and atg. Hit those wiskers from 4 sides and give the stubble a more rounded tip like the top of a fence post that got chamfered on all sides. I also did a bit of touching up and buffing. Result was close, but not quite as smooth as I have ever gotten. It was still not completely smooth around the sideburns. No weepers or nicks today, so really, the first week was roughest in that regard. I don’t have a lot if redness, so managed to avoid razor burn.

For the brush, not certain if it is fully broken in or not. A good amount of split ends are there, and it has been able to splay since week 2. The handle is really starting to go crazy with patina. I have shades of old penny, red, blue, purple, and spots of shiny copper. I tried to get pictures of it, but it doesn’t come across well in the pics.

Mammoth month had truly been a pleasure. The I still love the scent, and maybe appreciate it more as I have used it. I don’t have a highly trained nose, but I get hints of the different fragrances each time. Mainly I get a clean and green vibe from it. The soap performs excellently even if I don’t have the hydration dialed in correctly. I’d say over hydrated performs better than under. The splash gives that aftershave sting, but the ws-23 cools it down and lingers for a couple hours post shave. Today, I gave myself an extra splash, and it was very more stingy than any time since week 1. The balm I gave an extra half pump too today. It smooths out the skin, but doesn’t feel greasy after it is rubbed into the skin.

Overall, though I miss the variety, it was nice to wake up knowing what I would be doing each day with no decisions to be made. The MMOC can be a challenge at times, but it comes down to technique. I think as the blade broke in, it showed me just where I was doing things in a non-optimal manner. The blade had a very wide sweet spot once over the first few shaves, and about half the shaves this month were problem free. It is a beast of a razor, but I’d say can be tamed somewhat, unlike a cheap tto I have. As I gained experience, I realized that tto was never going to be chatter free, and best to not use it anymore. I think that is a great aspect of these challenges. Often we get excited and buy more razors, soaps, etc., to the point we don’t build a great familiarity with them. Stepping back and exploring a fixed set for 31 shaves gave me the chance to really learn my MMOC, what angles feel better on my face or neck. Really started to dial it in this month. I’m still going to use most of my razors, but the MMOC has earned a spot in the rotation. My GEM Junior wants a turn sometime, but tomorrow, the GC .68 comes back to the den. Once I lift my no new equipment or soaps restriction, I may get a Gen 1 MMOC to see the difference a couple bumps (or lack of) in the base can make.

Cheers to everyone who made it through their challenges.