Shave of the Day 2014

[gthomas04]

I have not posted here lately, I gather the new requirements are 5000 words or 10 pictures (maybe the blog should be renamed the Illustrated Paste and Cut) nonetheless I have had my own modest adventures with the last few shaves. Going back to 3 and 2 shaves ago I had a nasty time. Still using the Simpsons soap, the same brush and the Slim on 7. Despite this the shaves were very ragged and more of a pulling out of the whiskers than cutting them off. For my last shave I retired the Simpsons and started back on something I think is called P160 (whatever that may mean) acquired I believe from one of the southern brethren - I believe I acquired something called P120 from @Nick the Knife at the same time. I also decided to swap out the current blade , which I believed was a 3rd or 4th shave Spoiler.

Low and behold SWWISBF had done a clean up in the bathroom where I kept 2 Slims. Upon opening the razor I discovered a who knows how old Indian Wilkinson and not the Spoiler I had expected. The razors had been put into places herself thought was a good idea and I had picked up the wrong one.

Replaced the Indian Wilk with a shiny new slick Schick and all was well. I have no idea whatsoever what brush I used except it had a solid part on one end and bristles on the other.

All went well.

 

[stillshunter]

A great start GT, with a little more practice you will do well. I am very much looking forward to the supplementary edits to this post to satisfy the new 5000 word minimum!

 

[filobiblic]

I hope to try a 74 one day. 10 shaves is nuts. I get that using my feather straight.

Hmmm... You need to stick around here a little longer YB. @Monsta_AU (where is the fine fella? Absent from the post a lot more these days...) is the vintage blade master. He has gotten a lot of the others here hooked on buying out the entire world's supply of ancient DE blades. Sounds like they're on to a good thing too. A few weeks ago @Mark1966 went 21 - yes, that's twenty-one shaves on a vintage blade.

There's the plottings of another Vintage Blade pass-around soon. We're just waiting for @Monsta_AU to finish his latest hunting expedition and then he'll be back to divvy up the loot. He's a good Grand Master that one...

 

[Nightguard]

Today's shave,
Brush: Rooney 3/1
Razor: Fatboy
Soap: Erasmic bowl
Blade: Personna red
A/S: Pashana Original

 

[stillshunter]

Today's shave,
Brush: Rooney 3/1
Razor: Fatboy
Soap: Erasmic bowl
Blade: Personna red
A/S: Pashana Original

…and it was good?

 

[filobiblic]

Using various blades I have to conclude there are 3 categories, of which I will I expand on the last 2.
1st: Crap blades
2nd: The DFS
3rd: The BBS

The DFS is the super sharp blades which place importance on achieve a comfortable, quick and close shave. Consisting of two passes; with and across. Due the sharpness the skin suffers from performing repeated passes chasing the BBS. E.g. Feather, Silver Blue.

The BBS is a reasonably sharp blade that is super smooth. As hair grows in all directions to achieve a 100% BBS all over, repeated passes must be performed in all directions. Comfort being the main priority as no matter how sharp the blade, multiple against the grain pass must be performed for each direction of the hair growth. E.g. Astra and Voshkods.

Among the many factors the choice of blade may be as simple as deciding on the results you seek and the time you have to shave.

I like your theory as it cuts through all the YMMV shenanigans. Sure skin is different, but the hardware is a lot more consistent than people give it credit for.

So you're classifying a DE blade according to two factors:
- Sharpness
- Smoothness

Not sharp, not smooth = #1 category
High sharp, low smooth = #2 category
Low sharp, high smooth = #3 category

If this ^^^ is the case (others wade in with your thoughts), then what razor would you pair with each category?

Razors are quite variable, but (I think) can also be boiled down to two factors:
- comfort
- efficiency

People go on about "mild" or "aggressive" but those terms a little too fluid for my liking. You could have a "mild" razor that is comfortable, yet efficient at removing stubble (e.g Weber, Standard). Likewise, the term "aggressive" could be used for either comfort ("That razor was too aggressive for my skin") or efficiency. You could use the same term for both factors, so it's not worth using unless you explain it clearly.

So peoples, lay your cards on the table...

 

[Nightguard]

Great shave. I haven't used Erasmic for a while, forgot how good it is.

 

[stillshunter]

Great shave. I haven't used Erasmic for a while, forgot how good it is.

Good to hear. Yeah I got a sample of Erasmic I've not knocked the top off yet I will very soon though...

 

[Nightguard]

Hope you enjoy it, it's a great soap. Apparently it's just gone through a formula change though

 

[eggbert]

P74 on 10 for me too.
Usual suspects for the rest:
Godrej menthol
Omega 10005
Eclipse red ring
Aqua Velva A/S

Pretty boring setup as you can see so thought I would try something a little different.

Cold water shower shave with no mirror.
ATG first pass
Just touch ups afterwards.

Slight sting from the A/S but still impressive considering.

Scary that you can be that confident with a blade on it's 10th shave

 

[Drubbing]

Low and behold SWWISBF had done a clean up in the bathroom where I kept 2 Slims. Upon opening the razor I discovered a who knows how old Indian Wilkinson and not the Spoiler I had expected. The razors had been put into places herself thought was a good idea and I had picked up the wrong one.

All went well.

Sure she didn't use it to cut up some lino first?

 

[borked]

I like your theory as it cuts through all the YMMV shenanigans. Sure skin is different, but the hardware is a lot more consistent than people give it credit for.

Not sharp, not smooth = #1 category
High sharp, low smooth = #2 category
Low sharp, high smooth = #3 category

If this ^^^ is the case (others wade in with your thoughts), then what razor would you pair with each category?

#1 Shogun/Merkur
#2 Feather/Platinum
#3 Personna's

As you hinted, I'd consider a 'Life' factor, as some simply don't exhibit their strength beyond a few shaves (here's looking at you Feathers), whereas others (hello Astra SP) can go for a while.

 

[Young Buck]

Basically yes FILO in relation to you comments on blades. One may choose the blade based on the razor. For me I only have two. A feather asd2 and a 37c slant. The feather works wonders with super sharp blades as it is very very smooth shaver. The slant benefits from very smooth blades as it makes them very efficient.

For me Bork so far #1 (crap) have been merkur, crown, Big Ben, rapira.

 

[Pjotr]

#1 Shogun............

I'm disappointed @borked Big time. Don't you read my fascinating, highly amusing and informative posts regarding the worst blades in the world? The Shogun is the worst. It's impossible to judge it as being "not sharp, not smooth" because it's simply not a DE blade. It looks like one and it's only on this basis that it can be confused as actually being one.

 

[borked]

@Pjotr I've had the distinct displeasure of trying out one.

 

[Drubbing]

So I dropped the one shave old PSS into the 30C this morning, after saturdays rough finish with the Fatty.

Excellent as usual. What? You don't have a 30C. Shame that.

Just confirmed for me to keep the Fatty for feathers. Easy when it's simple, isn't it?

 

[alfredus]

Shave of the day:
Occams Pre-shave original
WD 24/48 silvertip
Mike's Bay Rum
Weber PH
Voskhod (1st shave = 4 passes)
Thyers Alcohol Free Witch Hazel - Lavender

Such a comfort shave

 

[filobiblic]

Shave of the day:
Occams Pre-shave original
WD 24/48 silvertip
Mike's Bay Rum
Weber PH
Voskhod (1st shave = 4 passes)
Thyers Alcohol Free Witch Hazel - Lavender

Such a comfort shave

Do you have the Occams Shave Cream as well? If you like the Pre-Shave you are going to love the shave cream. Worth every cent (if you like the scent!).

 

[stillshunter]

Do you have the Occams Shave Cream as well? If you like the Pre-Shave you are going to love the shave cream. Worth every cent (if you like the scent!).

Original or Crushed Lime?

 

[Young Buck]

Razor: Feather ASD2 (Not in the box)
Brush: B&B Essential
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue (2nd used)
Cream: Proraso Blue
Aftershave: GF Trumper Sandalwood (Not in the box)
Prep: A wash with face soap followed by a hot towel

The shave:

Razor/blade: Feather with Gillette Silver Blue (GSB) (2nd use)

On the back of the great shave with the Merkur 37C I wanted to test the waters and see how versatile the Silver Blue was in my Feather ASD2. With a slight blade gap, the Feather benefits greatly from a diet of sharp blades. However feed it one and put it to work and you be using advanced shaving techniques like you knew you always could, sliding, buffing and hooking your way to a grand master shave.
After the second use of the GSB I don’t know why I stopped using these blades. As usual I think some of us get caught up in chasing whatever new out there and sometimes can neglect the things that work for the things that are getting air time.

Brush: B&B Essential

This will be my last review for this brush having tested it at length now. I have come to really appreciate the simplicity it brings to the shave and have coined it as old reliable. Really anyone who is thinking of a quality reasonably priced brush, or are into boars that appreciates a good bowl whipped lather can’t go wrong with this brush. I’ll be sad to see it go but plan on keeping an eye out for one in the future.

Cream: Proraso Blue

So far I have almost done the rounds of the tubed creams and have been surprised by each one. Following the lack luster scent of the blue aftershave balm I was not pinning my hopes on the blue smelling like rose. That said I didn’t find the shaving cream as unappealing and though the scent transposed better than the ASB. Whilst I would rave about the scent it was certainly usable.
What really tipped the blue to the lead however was the combination of the cushion and slickness that has so far pushed it out in front in comparison to the other contestants. The feather was gliding effortlessly across my unshaven mug and what a shave it was. With one rinse my skin was left feeling soft and clean. A mark of performance which my more expensive software does for much more than the Blue.

Aftershave: GF Trumper Sandalwood

This was one of the first items I picked up and is regular among wet shavers akin to Proraso pre/post shave. This has been relegated to my cupboard however for this occasion I decided to pull it out and give it a whirl. The product is a gel and using less is more as overloading can cause an oil slick to form before it absorbs into the. So I advise building up the product gradually if you feel you need more. Overall whilst the scent is very nice I feel it can make your skin feel tight and doesn’t offer lasting protection throughout the day.