Balin's Blade Bonanza

[Guido75]

Very interesting. I'm afraid I'm only going to take this particular blade into 3 total shaves by the end of the week, but it's been smooth sailing for me thus far. It's actually a top 2 blade to me if I receive the same experience tomorrow in the Yaqi Mellon that I've had in the Muhle R89 and Gillette Tech.

Yeah, it kind of surprises me too Alex. I might list this as top 3 compared to the other ones so far - even with the discomfort, because it definitely does the job better than the other blades.

I have a Gillette Rubie loaded for tomorrow.

Guido.

 

[Guido75]

So moving on the Gillette Rubie which brings me to the following assessment:

Blade	Sharpness	Comfort	Excalibur potential
Shark Chrome	5	5	Yes
GSB	4	5	Yes
ASCO	4	4	Yes
King C Gillette (MiC)	5	3	Not likely
Sharp Titanium	5	3	Maybe
Racer	3	4	Maybe
Lord Cool	3	3	Unlikely
Silver Star	4	2	Possible
Sputnik	3	2	No

I think the KCG blade has the potential to land higher - I might go for 5 in sharpness and 4 in comfort, but I am basing this on the average of all shaves and not just the first ones. It could also very well be that it behaves differently in modern razors. So more blade usage is needed in future shaves.

 

[Guido75]

Date	26.04.2024
366 daily shaves	117/366

Razor	Blade	Brush
Gillette Red Tip	Gillette Rubie (1)	Abe’s Brush Works Blutt STF
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash KCG Face Wash	Mike’s Natural Soaps Barbershop (99)	Cold splash Proraso Green Balm

Passes	WTG XTG ATG and touch up
Process Quality	Blade Sharpness
9/10 (Small redness)	6/10 (Razor sharp)
Effectiveness	Shave Comfort
8.75/10 (DFS+++)	8/10 (Smoothish)

Notes:

Summary. Glorious shave with the mighty Red Tip and Rubie blade. Fantastic brush as well. Happy camper.

For extended shave notes click here.

Razor and blade. I have never used a Rubie blade before and read a lot of good reports about it. The blade felt harsh, but I am blaming the KCG MIC for that because even during my preshave I felt my skin acting up.

Enjoy your shave!

 

[cranewarrior]

Shave #3 - King C Gillette (China)
Razor: Yaqi Mellon Zamak
Soap: Arko Frankensoap

I got ahold of a zamak version of the Mellon cheaply and I think I like it better than the stainless steel model. It is said to be milder and I concur after trying it this morning.

I felt very much in control and the Mellon harnessed the KCG well. I had another excellent close shave and the blade shows no sign of declining yet on this third use. The Chinese KCG is a top level blade for me. There's no reason I have to hoard them either which is terrific.

 

[Balin]

Date	26.04.2024
366 daily shaves	117/366

Razor	Blade	Brush
Gillette Red Tip	Gillette Rubie (1)	Abe’s Brush Works Blutt STF
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash KCG Face Wash	Mike’s Natural Soaps Barbershop (99)	Cold splash Proraso Green Balm

Passes	WTG XTG ATG and touch up
Process Quality	Blade Sharpness
9/10 (Small redness)	6/10 (Razor sharp)
Effectiveness	Shave Comfort
8.75/10 (DFS+++)	8/10 (Smoothish)

Notes:

Summary. Glorious shave with the mighty Red Tip and Rubie blade. Fantastic brush as well. Happy camper.

For extended shave notes click here.

Razor and blade. I have never used a Rubie blade before and read a lot of good reports about it. The blade felt harsh, but I am blaming the KCG MIC for that because even during my preshave I felt my skin acting up.

Enjoy your shave!

Which Rubie? So I know what to use tomorrow. I think I sent you 2 flavours.

 

[Guido75]

Which Rubie? So I know what to use tomorrow. I think I sent you 2 flavours.

Had no idea there were two. It’s the Rubie Plus. And I know what the plus stands for. Plus giant blobs of unremovable glue!

 

[geneaut]

Shave #3 - King C Gillette (China)
Razor: Yaqi Mellon Zamak
Soap: Arko Frankensoap

I got ahold of a zamak version of the Mellon cheaply and I think I like it better than the stainless steel model. It is said to be milder and I concur after trying it this morning.

I felt very much in control and the Mellon harnessed the KCG well. I had another excellent close shave and the blade shows no sign of declining yet on this third use. The Chinese KCG is a top level blade for me. There's no reason I have to hoard them either which is terrific.

I find the zamak Mellon head to be very kind to many blades. Bldes I don;t like in almost any of my other razors often seem enjoyable in the Mellon.

 

[cranewarrior]

I find the zamak Mellon head to be very kind to many blades. Bldes I don;t like in almost any of my other razors often seem enjoyable in the Mellon.

That's great to know!

 

[Guido75]

27.04.2024

• Guido75
• Yesterday at 11:03 PM

Gillette NEW Long Comb with Lasta Red Handle • Rubie Plus (2) • Abe’s Brush Works G5C • Mike’s...

Date	27.04.2024
366 daily shaves	118/366

Razor	Blade	Brush
Gillette NEW LC	Gillette Rubie Plus (2)	Abe’s Brush Works Big Boy G5C
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash KCG Face Wash	Mike’s Natural Soaps Barbershop ()	Cold splash Proraso Green Balm

Passes	WTG XTG ATG and touch up
Process Quality	Blade Sharpness
10/10 (Clean)	6/10 (Razor sharp)
Effectiveness	Shave Comfort
8.75/10 (DFS+++)	9/10 (Butterysmooth)

Notes:

Summary. Splendid Saturday Shave with a mild yet very effective NEW Long Comb. Excellent razor.

For extended shave notes click here.

Second run with what turned out to be the Rubie Plus blade was smoother and more comfortable than the first run. Nice combination between razor and blade.

Enjoy your shave!

 

[Pinto90]

Yaqi Mellon Razor
Gillette Silver Blue blade (3)
Soap De Vergulde Hand
Simpson Chubby 2 Synthetic Fiber Brush

Once again a fantastic experience, the blade at the third shave still well sharpened and much more pleasant than the previous days I found my ultimate blade from today I am a fan and member of the club Silvana Bluetata with my friend @lasta .

Until two or three weeks ago when I read the acronym GSB I did not understand, I knew it referred to a blade but I could not understand which one until I finally discovered it.

I will continue the use of the same blade next week maybe for one or two shaves, it is still staying sharp and not at all rough on my skin.

I will necessarily have to accumulate more GSBs.
My wish for you will be excellent shave too, greetings and have a good weekend.

Roberto Anthony

 

[blethenstrom]

Yaqi Mellon Razor
Gillette Silver Blue blade (3)
Soap De Vergulde Hand
Simpson Chubby 2 Synthetic Fiber Brush

Once again a fantastic experience, the blade at the third shave still well sharpened and much more pleasant than the previous days I found my ultimate blade from today I am a fan and member of the club Silvana Bluetata with my friend @lasta .

View attachment 1836444

Until two or three weeks ago when I read the acronym GSB I did not understand, I knew it referred to a blade but I could not understand which one until I finally discovered it.

I will continue the use of the same blade next week maybe for one or two shaves, it is still staying sharp and not at all rough on my skin.

I will necessarily have to accumulate more GSBs.
My wish for you will be excellent shave too, greetings and have a good weekend.

Roberto Anthony

Nooooooooooo not you too

 

[Pinto90]

Nooooooooooo not you too

hahahaha why aren't you happy! If I find cheap GBS blocks I will sell/gift many of my collection of thousands of DE blades and be an active member of the Tuck at a Time fraternity (TaaT)

 

[cranewarrior]

hahahaha why aren't you happy! If I find cheap GBS blocks I will sell/gift many of my collection of thousands of DE blades and be an active member of the Tuck at a Time fraternity (TaaT)

Silver Blues can still be purchased for $14/100. That is not too much higher than what they cost before the Covid quarantines. They are a relative bargain so it's a good idea to stock up if we like them.

 

[Pinto90]

Silver Blues can still be purchased for $14/100.

Where can I purchase them at that price?

On RBC in Europe about 25-30€/100 depending on whether you choose the new or old version of GBS.
These prices seem a bit high to me even though the blade deserves them.

 

[cranewarrior]

Where can I purchase them at that price?

On RBC in Europe about 25-30€/100 depending on whether you choose the new or old version of GBS.
These prices seem a bit high to me even though the blade deserves them.

Amazon USA as well as eBay. I just ordered 200 last evening. I have enough blades to last effectively forever for me, but not if I only use GSBs.

 

[cranewarrior]

I have some new Game Changer razors to learn, so I'll be out of this thread for a couple of weeks. I'll be sticking to a blade I know well to minimize variables.