Was that me or the razor?

[Fletch]

As of late I've been shaving with more open comb razors (Gillette NEW, 1905 single ring, Gem MM). As well as an occasional spin with a slim that I use on a 5,7,9 setting per pass. Seems I got a few weepers with the single ring a few times and that was what was just coming off my rotation. So today I decided to go back to a razor I only used once since I got it, which is a Gillette red tip.

Now I've only been wet shaving since around the time I joined this forum. I loaded up what I usually use in my open combs which is a Persona red and off I went. Well as soon as I started I needed to double check if I was actually shaving anything off. It felt like I was only feeling the safety bar on my face, from there I threw caution to the wind and proceeded with reckless abandon. Next thing I knew I was whipping that thing around my face and neck like it was a cart razor. It was by far the fastest shave I ever had since I started (and to be honest I was kind of bummed about it). But that was the first time I ever used a DE razor without a care in the world. Got a shave no different than anything I'm used to and not a single drop of blood.

So I'm wondering if maybe it's just the razor, or maybe by using some open comb razors and a slim on the most aggressive setting it forced me to pay a lot more attention to my technique. Which as a result possibly became much better. But that was the first time in a few weeks where it almost felt like there was no blade touching my face.... It was just......weird. :001_huh:

[mdevine]

I find that shaving with an open comb razor helps improve technique. With an OC, if the blade angle is correct, you don't get a trail of comb marks through the lather. When going back to a safety bar razor, the correct angle is maintained and the shaves tend to be very good. I have several open comb razors and find them to give me an excellent shave. I used a Gillette Senator this morning and had a BBS shave with two passes and a little touch up. But when I'm in a hurry, I always reach for my NDC 40s Superspeed. I find it almost impossible to draw blood. For some reason, I find it as easy to get a BBS shave with the SS as with my OCs. I have several other Gillette safety bar razors but they all take more work to get a BBS shave than the SS. Also, the Slim, Diplomat and Rocket can all bite if I'm not careful. I have a Tech that is a very mild shaver but I can't seem to get as close a shave with it. The Superspeed is the one razor I would keep if forced to pick only one.