SIXTH ANNUAL "One Blade in February" Challenge

[Penknight]

Shave Eleven

1958 Gillette Fatboy set on 6
Polsilver Super Iridium, day eleven
Parker chrome handled Silvertip brush
Proraso White pre shave cream
Coates Lime shave cream
Lafe crystal 6oz. alum block
Canoe aftershave

Though February's shaves may be over for me, I'm going to keep going with this blade. Tonight's shave was as close and effortless as my first two with it, and that amazed me. I'll continue with this razor and blade until I know the blade has given me everything it has.

Best of luck to you all, gentlemen. This has been a privilege as well as an honor. I look forward to doing this with you all again next February should all go well for all of us.

 

[Ahmaq]

Woo! Managed to survive the ordeal of using only one blade for eight shaves. Not something that I'm willing to retry any time soon.

 

[bosseb]

Greetings to all members of this fine annual challenge. I participated last year and did 36 shaves on a Black Indian 7 o'clock blade.

This year I was unable to attend because I was doing a longevity test on a NOS British Wilkinson Super Sword-Edge blade. I am glad to report that my journey with this blade continues and is presently at shave 116. Considering the fact that my standard shave cycle is 8 weeks (of daily shaves) on Polsilver SI blades I have doubled that number. I am sure that many of you have done better than double the amount of shaves during this challenge!

The important thing is to always enjoy your shaves though!

I report on my progress in the Excalibur thread over here: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...vity-DE-SE-and-Injector?p=7177924#post7177924

 

[KQY61]

Hi,

And, as predicted, the P74 makes Shave 28 just fine. So, four weeks down. On to week five? Or just thru Day 31? Well, two more days to go, at least.

Stan

 

[Steve in Shalimar]

Derby (28)

Made it through February. The blade is "young" so I'll keep going.

 

[MuhleShaver]

I'm not sure if I'll get a shave in today as I'm sick with a sinus infection. The Gillette 7 O'clock Black blade that I used for the challenge is up to 23 shaves and is still sharp and effective. I'll keep it going and see how far it goes.

 

[calhoun1]

Shave 20 with the Lord Platinum today. Figured I would shave for the last day of the month. Used P.160 followed by Irisch moos aftershave. Yet another smooth CCS. This blade still has lots of life left!

 

[coolcanuc]

Shave 24 for February, but this is shave 51 for the Super Sword-Edge.

And so ends February. Used Nivea Original and face lathered, I normally bowl lather this cream, and had a good shave. No complaints and still going strong.

Here comes March.

 

[TexLaw]

Well, with 22 shaves on the P74, I think I am going to put it to pasture. She's trying her best, but she was tugging pretty hard, and I just don't want to push it, anymore. I don't mean that in a bad way at all, mind you. This has been a very fun and educational experience, and I've enjoyed every moment of it. It's also time for me to get back to learning more about the other blades out there, blades that I'll shave with on a more regular basis.

Thank you so very much, Toothpick, for making the P74 available! Thank you, Goby, for being such a diligent middle man!

 

[DrAwkward]

UK Wilkinson Light Brigade (28). I guess I have to keep going with this blade since it is still performing perfectly ...
I got 25 shaves from a similar blade last February (I skipped shaving one day per week). Although still smooth, at that point it was clearly starting to dull. Not so with this blade. I think that using the Barabsol razor for 28 straight days made a big difference. It works best with a shallow angle, which seems to promote blade longevity.
Onward!

 

[showard]

Shave #15
Polsilver SI
I wasn't planning on shaving today, but circumstances changed. I kept the blade in the Aristocrat 'just in case', and was able to finish the month out with it.

 

[talibeard]

14th and final shave in february;

-preshave; bartex
-soap; Tabac stick
-brush; Semogue 1520
-razor; Lord LP1822 aka L6
-blade; Captain red (14)
-splash; Brut Classic​

I made it with one blade in february so congrats to myself, or should I say congrats to the red Captain for being a formidable blade? Great result today as I used three passes again and I still did not take the blade out of the razor just yet. Not bad for a carbon steel blade mmm?

It was a fun thing to do for once but this is not going to be a custom. Though I got two extra shaves out of that blade (and earned €0.016 this way) I had to accept 5 shaves with a result below my own standards. Two more shaves yes but I am still under the total number of passes that I get out of a Captain after 12 shaves.

 

[whosaidpigeon]

Ok February is done for me. My 2nd Polsilver lasted a couple more shaves than the first. The last 2 shaves were patchy and required a bit of touch up though.

So I didn't get through the month with 1 blade, but it was worth the challenge as I've now discovered that I can push my blades more than I thought.

Looking forward to moving back to some of my other blades and seeing how long I can get them to last.

 

[JimK]

I'll be darned (edited for civil content. I stuck with the challenge, and have used a single Astra SP blade in my Stahly head/custom handle razor all month so far. I skipped weekend shaves, and prepped more carefully on regular shave days. I figured there would be a bailout point along the way, but the end is in sight with a single Astra SP blade! Obviously, it isn't the silky smooth experience I'm used to with a cheap fresh blade every week, but there hasn't been any drama either.... I wouldn't want to try it for five weeks knowing that I have several hundred fresh blades in storage, but for a short month, it was a revelation. It has been a blood and irritation free experiment, and the only downside was the steady increase in the time it took to get the silky smooth shave that only takes minutes with a nearly fresh blade. Maybe next year I'll try a Silver Blue... This has been a blast!!

 

[DrAwkward]

UK Wilkinson LB (29). For the first time in 4 weeks, I loaded the Light Brigade into a new razor: my ATT H-2. I'm hoping that using a steep angle will kill this blade. Today's shave was magnificent, so my plan is not working, yet ...

 

[goby]

I wouldn't want to try it for five weeks knowing that I have several hundred fresh blades in storage, but for a short month, it was a revelation. It has been a blood and irritation free experiment, and the only downside was the steady increase in the time it took to get the silky smooth shave that only takes minutes with a nearly fresh blade. Maybe next year I'll try a Silver Blue... This has been a blast!!

Exactly! I started this because I thought it was silly hearing people say "I get only one shave from a Derby." And I wanted to see how amazing the P74 was. It stunned me when people did it with a Lord, Derby or Dorco. I used those three blades, and they all worked.

Clearly the P74 was the best, but all the others made it. And I'd say I got amazing shaves for at least 10 days, and with some blades 20 days.

I got 27 shaves out of a Astra, which I think is pretty darn amazing.

 

[TexLaw]

As much as I enjoyed the P74 (which was a lot), I sure did enjoy a fresh GSB, today. I had nearly forgotten that alum doesn't have to set one's face on fire!

 

[KQY61]

Hi,

Well, still going on the P74 this morning. Day 29, shave 29. The same two-pass shave in a Fasan which it started with. So, now it has made it for a leap-year February. I suppose I will use it again tomorrow and make it a standard month.

Stan

 

[TexLaw]

Bravo!

After yesterday's shave (and this morning's), I've decided to retire my P74. I don't know what I'm going to do with it, yet, as it just doesn't seem right to chuck it into the same bin with also those other blades.

 

[KQY61]

Hi,

And, Day 30, Shave 30, for 60 passes on the P74. The shave has been the same for days now. I am thinking of saving it for next year's run to see how far it really goes. As opposed to just keeping on with this run. By the time 11 more months pass, folks will forget about this P74. It would be fun to start off next year with 30 shaves.

Stan