Carbon Forest of Treets: A deep dive into carbon steel double-edge blades

[Time Bandit]

Treet Yo Self Carbon Blade PIF / Animal Week / NOCvember

Pre: hot shower then a warm water splash

Razor: T.R. Cadman & Sons "Bengall"
Razor: Haircut & Shave Ti Efficient
Blade: Leon (carbon steel)

Soap: Barrister And Mann Lavanille
Brush: Yaqi Black and White Marble
Bowl: Bluff Cove Pottery

Post 1: P.A.A. Alum No-Slip Grip System w/ Dry Dock System
Post 2: Dickinson's Enhanced Witch Hazel Deep Cleansing Astringent w/ Menthol & Eucalyptus
Aftershave: Pinaud Clubman Classic Vanilla
Post 4: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel-Cream Extra-Dry w/ Hyaluronic Acid

As Animal Week continues I pulled out another never before used Leon (carbon steel) blade. I was expecting this blade to be a bad add the Tiger blade was, but it was not. I'll get to that soon.

I took the time to strop the Bengall so that it was ready for today and again it performed extremely well. A "shave ready" straight cuts so well.

I did my first with-the-grain pass with the Bengall and it sung. I then switched to the H&S Ti Efficient with the Leon blade and things were pretty good. The Leon is definitely no Nacet, Wizamet or Personna blade. It wasn't even as good as the Falcon blade but it in truth it was a capable blade in all but going against-the-grain. It struggled in this direction, feeling rough, like it wasn't cutting well. The with and across passes were just fine and this blade was clearly better than the Tiger. The Leon wouldn't be my first choice but I would not feel bad if it were the only blade I had on hand to use.

The Barrister and Mann Lavanille in Omnibus base was beautiful. The lather I whipped up with the Yaqi synthetic was thick and dense, and very slick. The scent was a real pleasure as well. The lavender and vanilla are blended in an elegant design. I most definitely want to pick up the aftershave splash to complete the set.

I concluded this bbs shave with my favorite Pinaud Clubman aftershave, Classic Vanilla. The smooth dry-down is just heaven to me.

Alright gentlemen, that's it for today. Take care and enjoy your shaves!

 

[ewk]

Carbon Forest - Tatra edition

Razor: Tatara Muramasa
Blade: Tatra
Brush: Yaqi 24 mm two band badger, obsidian green handle
Soap: Martin de Candre - Agrumes
A/S: Barrister & Mann - Vespers balm

I promised to complete the challenge by trying the non-Treet blades. It has taken me quite a while to gather the nerve to continue the trek through the forest, based on others' descriptions. Well, a deal is a deal, and the blades were delivered, and I am not one to avoid responsibility.

I wanted to give myself the best opportunity for a successful shave. I selected the Muramasa, the only razor that I can use a Feather blade in without weepers. I selected the Tatra blade, as it has the best wrapper graphics.

Have you ever walked across a gravel lot in bare feet? That is akin to how the Tatra blade felt. I endured two passes of tuggy raking before removing the blade and replacing it with a Feather. It magically felt like gliding in silk socks across a sea of smooth glass.

Despite the uncomfortable tugging sensation, the Tatra drew no blood. Although it did not complete the shave, I will consider this shave a victory.

 

[slimshavy]

Despite the uncomfortable tugging sensation, the Tatra drew no blood. Although it did not complete the shave, I will consider this shave a victory.

All who have attempted the Tatra shave are victors in my book.

 

[ewk]

Carbon Forest - Tiger edition

Razor: Tatara Muramasa
Blade: Tiger
Brush: TOBS 21 mm pure badger hair
Soap: Stirling Soap Co. - Port au Prince
A/S: Barrister & Mann - Baudelaire balm

Tonight I faced the eye of the Tiger. Results were about the same as the Tatra, but I limited myself to just one pass, again finishing with the Feather.

I do note two positives:

1. The black Tiger blade is visually awesome.

2. I dispose of my blades by putting them back in the wrapper, snapping along the long edge, then a second snap bringing the short ends together. These carbon blades make a very satisfying crisp snap. As fun as the snap is, it is a little bit like saying "the best thing about my job is the chair swivels."

 

[ewk]

Carbon Forest - Leon edition

Razor: Merkur 34G
Blade: Leon
Brush: Yaqi 24 mm silver tip, mysterious space handle
Soap: Mitchell's Wool Fat
A/S: Aqua Velva

Tonight I gave the Leon one pass. I do not know if it was the blade or the change in razor, but this was the most comfortable of the three. Not efficient, but most comfortable.

Thank you for the opportunity to take a walk in the Carbon Forest of Treets.

 

[slimshavy]

Carbon Forest - Leon edition

Razor: Merkur 34G
Blade: Leon
Brush: Yaqi 24 mm silver tip, mysterious space handle
Soap: Mitchell's Wool Fat
A/S: Aqua Velva

Tonight I gave the Leon one pass. I do not know if it was the blade or the change in razor, but this was the most comfortable of the three. Not efficient, but most comfortable.

Thank you for the opportunity to take a walk in the Carbon Forest of Treets.

View attachment 1587172

Thanks for participating! And I agree that the Leon is the best of the bad bunch.

 

[HoosierTrooper]

I used some of the Dura Sharp blades years ago and really enjoyed them, but have been happy with the German Wilkinson Sword blades I’ve been buying locally. This thread inspired me to revisit them so I ordered 100 from Amazon and used the first one in a 1956 Super Speed this morning for a very, very nice shave. They performed just as excellently as I remember.

 

[Eric_75]

I used some of the Dura Sharp blades years ago and really enjoyed them, but have been happy with the German Wilkinson Sword blades I’ve been buying locally. This thread inspired me to revisit them so I ordered 100 from Amazon and used the first one in a 1956 Super Speed this morning for a very, very nice shave. They performed just as excellently as I remember.
View attachment 1627903

The Treet Dura Sharp have worked well for me in the past. I'll have to revisit them soon.

 

[Time Bandit]

Razor: Blackland Blackbird
Blade: Treet Silver (carbon steel)

Soap: Stirling Soap Company Varen
Brush: Heritage Collection Ever-Ready 3 Step w/ 26mm High Mountain White
Bowl: Bluff Cove Pottery

Post 1: P.A.A. Alum w/ No-Slip Grip System & Dry Dock System
Post 2: Dickinson's Enhanced Witch Hazel Deep Cleansing Astringent w/ Menthol & Eucalyptus
Aftershave: Brut
Post 4: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel-Cream Extra-Dry w/ Hyaluronic Acid

So. For many of you, Varen isn't new. For me, on the other hand, it was until today. I've heard so many positive remarks made about this soap's scent and thankfully for me, they hold true.

As you can see, I was feeling green today so I went with my matching Heritage Collection Ever-Ready brush. This thing is just a beautiful, soft badger brush that's always a pleasure. It's semi-gelly but not too much.

So the soap... Varen is this green, mossy, musky, fern-type scent that has these floral and cedar notes around it. Man is it good!

I feel good around this scent. It's not overly "clean" but it is fresh and beautiful in a manly way. Its notes are a blend of oakmoss, lavender, coumarin, vetiver, sage, cedar, lichen, and geranium. I can pick up on all the notes, but I'm a big fan of the oakmoss, vetiver, sage, and cedar notes in it. Needless to say, I want a full-size set of this awesome fougere. I think it's a real winner.

I did a three-pass shave with the Blackbird, Treet combo and in the grand scheme of things, all went well. It's just that I've noticed that for me carbon steel blades tend to give me a lot of irritation when going against the grain. They're fine for with and across passes but being the bbs chaser that I am, I've found carbon steel just can't cut it that well when asked to do a lot. Pun intended.

All in all, I had a great shave. The Varen soap was stupidly slick as always. I'm such a huge fan of Stirling's soap base because of this. Among other reasons.

Anyway, I finished this green shave off with a most appropriate green aftershave. Brut. Not sure what to say here though. You either know or you don't. You either like it or you pass on it. For me, it's a loved classic that will always have a place in my shave den.

Alright ladies and gentlemen. Thanks for reading. Enjoy your day and your shave.

 

[malocchio]

Treet Relief
I'm taking a detour into the non-Treet carbon-steel blades before starting round 2 of the Treets in a new razor.

First up:
Tatra
Blade one, Shave one
July 6, 2022

Razor: Gillette NEW short comb
Aftershave: Barrister and Mann Leviathan

View attachment 1483782
First impressions: This is a lovely blade. The wrapper with the Tatra Mountains and the cool geometric sans-serif font.
View attachment 1483784
The blade itself has an interesting smoky yellow tint to it. It's darker than the carbon Treets. It's also noticeably thicker and stiffer. Without measuring them, the Treets felt more thin and flexible than most blades. The Tatra feels thicker than not just Treets but other blades I've used as well.

It also looks wider to me. This just looks like there's more blade exposed on both sides in the NEW. I have some inkling that this will be an aggressive shave.
View attachment 1483785
But I was wrong. I spent this much space talking about first impressions because I can't really talk about the shave. This is the first blade to earn a "did not finish."

I just couldn't get through the first pass. I had my typical two-day stubble, and every Treet (even the one-shave duds) had picked up the first, with-the-grain, pass without incident. The Tatra just stuck in my whiskers like an axe in a tree trunk. Whatever the angle, even so shallow that the blade was barely contacting hair, the Tatra got caught and had to be forced through, shaving in patches.

My hair certainly isn't the thickest out there. In its densest points it will challenge many blades, but this blade got tied up in the softer hair of my sideburns and cheeks. I usually don't need to do much skin stretching on the first pass, but I did it here just to get through without skipping or injury. Just intense, pulling sensations.

I'm not a quitter. I stopped the shave a few times, tuned up my lather and approached the shave anew. Somewhere along the chin, though, I had to give up. I'm disappointed.

I swapped in a loose Bic blade that has several shaves and has been kicking around my shave bag a year or two. It finished up nicely, gave me a great shave with a little irritation and some fleeting nicks in the mustache.

Absolutely unusable for me ..... this TATRA is still made for industrial use .....I found the new solid blue wrapper Tatra to be a decent blade, produced on their new or overhauled equipment .

 

[malocchio]

Treet Relief
I'm taking a detour into the non-Treet carbon-steel blades before starting round 2 of the Treets in a new razor.

Leon
Blade one, Shave one
July 8, 2022

Razor: Gillette NEW short comb
Aftershave: Barrister and Mann Leviathan

View attachment 1484654
After the Tatra, I could not have lower expectations for this second tested offering from Czech Blades. (And, with the NHL draft on my mind, the Czech Blades seems like it must be the name of a team in the Czech Extraliga.) However, I could tell from the first strokes with the grain that this blade would make it through the shave.

That said, it wasn't easy. This blade struggled more than any other blade I've tried besides the Tatra. The upside was that it mostly didn't cut my skin. Buffing in the mustache was like chopping. All over, this blade pulled the hairs before it cut them. It's better than Tatra in that it eventually cut through the hairs.

It reminded me somewhat of the Silver Star blade -- not sharp, but with patience and multiple extra passes you can get a decent shave. This blade is about as unlikely to cut skin as the Silver Star, but even less sharp. I'd have to quit my job if I shaved regularly with it, the shave took so long.

I'm left with a DFS, on the good side of DFS, thanks to some stubble retracting (or my face expanding?) after the shave. I'm also a little itchy, although I can't say that's from the blade pulling and not, say, from touching my face after petting the cat, from summer allergies, etc.

I'm fairly certain this is another blade cranked out on their old semi-maintained equipment , really meant for tailors and seamstresses , I'm surprised you got through a full shave !

 

[malocchio]

Treet Relief
I'm taking a detour into non-Treet carbon-steel blades before starting Round 3 of the Treets in a new razor.

Tiger
Blade one, Shave one
August 20, 2022

View attachment 1508294

Razor: Gillette Slim
Aftershave: Barrister and Mann Leviathan

First impressions: Even before unwrapping this blade, I could tell how thick it is. The real surprise came when I opened the wrapper and discovered it’s a black blade:
View attachment 1508297
More accurately, a mottled blue and amber sort of blade, much bluer than the black beauty.

But enough of the preliminaries! You’re here to see if I could actually get through a shave with this blade that doesn’t seem to be fit for shaving a human face. The answer: yeah, sort of.

It was intensely pulling from the first stroke. I needed some severe skin stretching from the first pass (normally it’s optional until later passes). The first pass left a lot of stubble that I sort of cleaned up again with the grain.

I had hoped the second pass, across the grain, wouldn’t struggle as much, but of course it did. I usually don’t notice the Slim’s lack of blade clamping, but this blade was bringing out all sorts of behavior, especially skipping.

I gave up hope and continued with the shave; we must imagine Sisyphus happy. I did four full passes and then just free-form shaving. It was like vacuuming: not long passes but going over little spots over and over.

What kept this futile exercise going was the fact that this blade was so dull that I didn’t get any cuts. Seems like a uniformly dull edge, which is better than one with burrs.

Eventually I just had to stop shaving. I felt like I was just dragging a credit card edge across my face: not exactly uncomfortable but you’re not getting a smooth face out of it.

Left with a patchy shave and a good laugh. Smooth in some spots, longer stubble in others. Good enough for a vacation shave.

Another industrial blade, not made for shaving in decades. The original yellow wrapper Czech Tigers ( label bought by Russians ) was an excellent blade and their #1 selling "shaving " blade. None of their 3 hole blades are for shaving for perhaps the last 30 years .

 

[malocchio]

Fantastic journey through the carbon forest , truly a great and informative post . Most of the blades the CZECH blade co. manufactures are no longer used for shaving . I've tried a few of the 3 holers , but never got past 2 strokes. I don't think any of their 3 hole blades, stainless or carbon are good for shaving .......... Czech Blades - 3 hole blades - https://www.czechblades.cz/en/catalog/3-hole-blades

 

[slimshavy]

Fantastic journey through the carbon forest , truly a great and informative post . Most of the blades the CZECH blade co. manufactures are no longer used for shaving . I've tried a few of the 3 holers , but never got past 2 strokes. I don't think any of their 3 hole blades, stainless or carbon are good for shaving .......... Czech Blades - 3 hole blades - https://www.czechblades.cz/en/catalog/3-hole-blades

Thanks! Yes, I think it would be better for the brand if they separated the blades meant for shaving and gave them a different name from the ones meant for industry. It's not doing people any favors to say "sure, you can also shave with these things" if it means people develop a negative perception of the brand.

It's hard to convince people to shave with a decent blade called Tatra, say, if they've already tried a shave with something by that same name and it felt like shaving with a soup can lid.

 

[malocchio]

Thanks! Yes, I think it would be better for the brand if they separated the blades meant for shaving and gave them a different name from the ones meant for industry. It's not doing people any favors to say "sure, you can also shave with these things" if it means people develop a negative perception of the brand.

It's hard to convince people to shave with a decent blade called Tatra, say, if they've already tried a shave with something by that same name and it felt like shaving with a soup can lid.

So true!... They let their machinery operate in horrible condition for decades. It was 2 -3 years ago they refurbished one of their machines , luckily now we have at least a few decent Czech blades. I have an old 3 hole BIG BOY razor, I was really disappointed none of their 3 hole blades were useable .The Luxor wrapper art is first class.

 

[Phil Dumont]

Tried a Treet Black Beauty blade (2 shaves now) and am dissappointed.
I used a Yaqi Mellon SLOC first shave (i always do 1 ATG pass with sometimes a second ATG pass or only some touch ups).
This Treet carbon blade was tugging, is really not sharp enough for me, i have thin but hard whiskers and usually like Derby Premiums, Rapira Platinum Lux, Dorco ST301's and also like the Treet Stainless Platinum's (which give me good shaves).

I retried this blade in my Fatip Piccolo and also clearly tugging, not sharp enough.

Seems like the carbon steel blades could be overall just not sharp enough for me. I have 4 other kinds of Treets still to try (a sample pack) and i hope they will not all be like this.

 

[slimshavy]

Tried a Treet Black Beauty blade (2 shaves now) and am dissappointed.
I used a Yaqi Mellon SLOC first shave (i always do 1 ATG pass with sometimes a second ATG pass or only some touch ups).
This Treet carbon blade was tugging, is really not sharp enough for me, i have thin but hard whiskers and usually like Derby Premiums, Rapira Platinum Lux, Dorco ST301's and also like the Treet Stainless Platinum's (which give me good shaves).

I retried this blade in my Fatip Piccolo and also clearly tugging, not sharp enough.

Seems like the carbon steel blades could be overall just not sharp enough for me. I have 4 other kinds of Treets still to try (a sample pack) and i hope they will not all be like this.

If you look back at this thread, the black beauty was the worst-performing Treet of the seven. Three other types of Treets performed well and separated themselves from the pack, but even among the low performers, black beauty didn't last as long. Results are on the previous page.

 

[Pinto90]

@slimshavy A year after your tests, have you continued to use Treet carbon steel blades and if so, have you changed your opinions on the preference ranking of the different Treet carbon steel blades?
Of these blades I have tried Treet New Edge and would like to try the other Treet but excluding the Czech blades of which I do not read good reviews.

I am not inclined to get all the Carbon Treet certainly Treet Silver,Falcon,Treet Dura Sharp and Treet Carbon steel will be the ones I will consider for a purchase.

 

[AndyPanda]

I tried a Treet Carbon Steel (Black Beauty) blade for the first time this morning and while it is a beauty to look at, I found it to be so dull I might as well have been scraping the lather off with a credit card. First pass left all my whiskers looking untouched. I gave up and put in a Treet Platinum which sliced right thru my whiskers effortlessly and I got a terrific shave.

I only have one tuck of the Treet Carbon and I don't know if they vary from batch to batch or if the one I tried is representative. I don't see how anyone with coarse whiskers could shave with one of these blades. The Treet Platinum don't get mentioned much for some reason - but I find them to be very good (sharp and smooth) and ridiculously inexpensive in the 200 pack.

 

[cranewarrior]

I tried a Treet Carbon Steel (Black Beauty) blade for the first time this morning and while it is a beauty to look at, I found it to be so dull I might as well have been scraping the lather off with a credit card. First pass left all my whiskers looking untouched. I gave up and put in a Treet Platinum which sliced right thru my whiskers effortlessly and I got a terrific shave.

I only have one tuck of the Treet Carbon and I don't know if they vary from batch to batch or if the one I tried is representative. I don't see how anyone with coarse whiskers could shave with one of these blades. The Treet Platinum don't get mentioned much for some reason - but I find them to be very good (sharp and smooth) and ridiculously inexpensive in the 200 pack.

I'm a Treet Platinum fan. You can find various posts from me (others as well) praising them. I think they're just too cheap and easy to find and thus are not cool. Like the Dorco ST300/ST301 which also performs well and is similarly value-priced.

But neither really belong on this thread, since they are stainless steel, not carbon. The Treet Dura Sharp is a good carbon blade - I spent a whole month shaving with a single blade for a Challenge, and it was quite doable for me.