Newfie
06-30-2007, 04:28 AM
Shave Of The Week
I started to get confused a little on what razor worked best with what blade and what soap and what time of day and ……………….. well, you get the idea. Maybe I was over-analyzing things, so I figured let's go back to step 1. I decided to use the exact same kit and procedure at the same time of night for a whole week and only change the razor. I also did rotate between my two Pure Badger brushes, an AOS and one called “The Arlington Brush” which I believe is a Vulvix 406B. I even kept the same type of blade in all the razors for a week, the Red Pack Israeli Personna. In some cases, I put in a new blade, and in others, I used the IP that was already in there, but to the best of my knowledge, neither of the blades was older than the 3rd shave. I did not try for BBS on any shave as many times I find BBS comes with some late irritation and I didn’t want the results of last night’s shave affecting tonight’s shave.
The procedure:
Light face wash at the sink (no shower) and let that soak for a couple of minutes while setting out the “kit”
Proraso Pre and let that soak while building my lather
GFT Violet shave cream
3 pass shave – N-S, S-N and ATG, sometimes with a weed-whacking clean-up pass.
WWR
Proraso Pre as a post shave
CWR
AOS Alum Block
CWR
Pat dry with a warm towel
Polar Ice AS.
http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i108/Newfie_Winger/Shaving/SOTWWOJune25th.jpg
The Razors (in order of use):
G-1 Fat Boy (set on 3)
Merkur Futur (set on 3 first pass, 2 second pass)(with a Gold Tech w/ Feather on ATG)
Merkur 1904 Classic
Merkur Progress
Late 40’s Aristocrat
Merkur Slant
’57 Super Speed
Razor Commentary on each shave:
Fat Boy – This was my favourite razor going into this trial. Easy to use, feels nice in the hands and is easy to make as aggressive or mild as you wish. There’s a reason IMHO why this razor is so popular. Next up, my Beast, the Futur.
Futur – This one comes a close second to the Fat Boy on my list. This shave wasn’t that great, some burn after the second pass, so that’s why I switched to the Tech for the ATG. This razor normally gives me a better shave. I put a new uncorked blade in prior to this shave, so it may have been me; it was possibly the blade, but I know it wasn’t the razor itself. On Deck, the 1904 Classic, one that I’ve had a few issues with.
1904 – I don’t know why, but this shave was the one that opened my eyes so I saw the light regarding the “angle” discussions. I had shaved with this razor before, but never with any real success. On this one, for some reason, my hand was too high for the blade to contact skin or hair, so I slowly lowered my hand until I heard hair cutting, but it felt really weird. It was like I could feel the “razor cap” behind the blade dragging along my face and the feeling of hair cutting was extremely mild. Were it not for the sound, I wouldn’t have even known I was slicing it off. It was then I also noticed my hand was higher than normal, so, you all know what that means with the angle. This shave ended up not the smoothest of the lot by any means, but definitely the best so far by this razor. That lead to my razor of choice next night. Next batter, my Nemesis, the Progress.
Progress – Some of you may know the issues I’ve been having with this beast. I had a “decent” shave the first time or two but went seriously downhill after that. I posted my issues, including the “offset blade” issue I had and have read so many others have had. I sat down one night and inspected it closer, and I’ve figured out it’s a pi$$-poor design and that the blade locating pins on the cap are too small, allowing movement in the blade. So, the first couple of times I shaved with this, maybe I fluked good blade placement and after that, not being aware of the issue, it was out of kilter. So last night, I put in a new IP blade, and was very careful of blade location. With the “angle” lesson I learned the night before; I proceeded to get the best shave so far with this razor, and absolutely NO irritation. The Alum block just felt cool on my face, with almost nary a sting. I did have a little localized stubble in my typical trouble spots, but these would have easily been cleaned up to BBS with a 4th “Weed-Whack” pass. The Aristocrat is the next one in the line-up.
Aristocrat – This, my friends, is the way shaving should be. I’ve shaved with this razor before, but it’s never been like this. It may have been the angle, the prep, the shave cream, the blade or a combination of any and all. This was a shave that was almost BBS without effort by the 3rd pass. Had I wanted to lather again, it would have been nearly perfect just with a little touch-up. No blood, no weepers even, no irritation, no burn, no nuttin’ but a face left feeling wonderful and smooth. On to the Slant!
Merkur Slant – This razor had a Derby in it, so to keep in tune with the trial, I switched blades with last night’s razor. So for tonight’s shave, the Slant had an IP with 3 shaves on it already, the first 4 shave blade I’ve used in this trial. When installing the blade, I checked placement on the locating pins in the cap, and noticed the exact same issue as I had with the Progress (are we seeing a pattern here??) and I took special care closing the razor, and actually had to loosen and retighten a few times before I was satisfied with the placement. Upon starting to shave, I again paid attention to “Angle Lessons” I had learned earlier, and noticed once again my hand was higher than I remember from any time using this razor before. I finished my shave with 2 complete passes (N-S & S-N) and a little Weed-Whacking around the chin area. I stopped, not because of burn, blood or irritation, but because there was almost nothing left to shave!!! I did have some very mild burn after the WW clean-up, but that was put to rest with the application of the Polar Ice. I bled very VERY slightly twice on this shave, once when I snipped off the head of a pimple on the very low left side of my neck (looks like an ingrown, but doesn’t hurt) and once tiny leaker under the right corner of my mouth. This one didn’t make it past the Proraso Post treatment. A fine shave, actually, maybe the best and quickest of the bunch, and with a 4 day blade of a type some don’t like to top it all off. My face felt fantastic after the shave, and now that we’ve become friends, I can’t wait to once again try a Derby and a Feather in it. Last batter up is the ’57 SS.
’57 Super Speed – Another wonderful shave, but kind of anti-climatic actually. I don’t know what else to say as I’ve said so much this week already about the great shaves I’ve gotten, especially since I’ve figured out the “Mystery of the Angle.
Final Impressions:
The GFT Violet cream worked flawlessly and has made me want more of different “flavours”. It’s almost idiot proof when building a lather IMHO. I used the same size “snurdle” each night measured out with a Demitasse spoon and added water with same said spoon as needed. Now, if I could only whip up a soap lather as nice as this one, it would be nice!!
The IP Blade worked great (except for the Futur, which may be my fault more than the blade’s). The blades I used were anywhere from new to 3rd shave and since I have more of these than anything else, I do believe they’ll be my go-to blade.
The Polar Ice is lovely stuff. The only way I can describe the scent is “sentimental” of times when I was a boy and used to go to “Pete’s Barber Shop” and watch him shave men while I was waiting my turn for a hair cut. No burn (in spite of the alcohol content) and evaporates and is absorbed quickly (which personally, I like).
I’ve learned the Progress and the Slant can be great razors (as so many say they can be) if the proper care and attention is paid to the necessary details like angle, pressure and blade placement (so I’ve found out). LOL, like we all haven’t heard “Pressure & Angle” before!!
I hope you enjoyed reading my SOTW diary. Many of you who’ve been through a similar thing know how I feel. To anyone who’s having “issues” with any part of shaving, have patience. It’ll come.
I started to get confused a little on what razor worked best with what blade and what soap and what time of day and ……………….. well, you get the idea. Maybe I was over-analyzing things, so I figured let's go back to step 1. I decided to use the exact same kit and procedure at the same time of night for a whole week and only change the razor. I also did rotate between my two Pure Badger brushes, an AOS and one called “The Arlington Brush” which I believe is a Vulvix 406B. I even kept the same type of blade in all the razors for a week, the Red Pack Israeli Personna. In some cases, I put in a new blade, and in others, I used the IP that was already in there, but to the best of my knowledge, neither of the blades was older than the 3rd shave. I did not try for BBS on any shave as many times I find BBS comes with some late irritation and I didn’t want the results of last night’s shave affecting tonight’s shave.
The procedure:
Light face wash at the sink (no shower) and let that soak for a couple of minutes while setting out the “kit”
Proraso Pre and let that soak while building my lather
GFT Violet shave cream
3 pass shave – N-S, S-N and ATG, sometimes with a weed-whacking clean-up pass.
WWR
Proraso Pre as a post shave
CWR
AOS Alum Block
CWR
Pat dry with a warm towel
Polar Ice AS.
http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i108/Newfie_Winger/Shaving/SOTWWOJune25th.jpg
The Razors (in order of use):
G-1 Fat Boy (set on 3)
Merkur Futur (set on 3 first pass, 2 second pass)(with a Gold Tech w/ Feather on ATG)
Merkur 1904 Classic
Merkur Progress
Late 40’s Aristocrat
Merkur Slant
’57 Super Speed
Razor Commentary on each shave:
Fat Boy – This was my favourite razor going into this trial. Easy to use, feels nice in the hands and is easy to make as aggressive or mild as you wish. There’s a reason IMHO why this razor is so popular. Next up, my Beast, the Futur.
Futur – This one comes a close second to the Fat Boy on my list. This shave wasn’t that great, some burn after the second pass, so that’s why I switched to the Tech for the ATG. This razor normally gives me a better shave. I put a new uncorked blade in prior to this shave, so it may have been me; it was possibly the blade, but I know it wasn’t the razor itself. On Deck, the 1904 Classic, one that I’ve had a few issues with.
1904 – I don’t know why, but this shave was the one that opened my eyes so I saw the light regarding the “angle” discussions. I had shaved with this razor before, but never with any real success. On this one, for some reason, my hand was too high for the blade to contact skin or hair, so I slowly lowered my hand until I heard hair cutting, but it felt really weird. It was like I could feel the “razor cap” behind the blade dragging along my face and the feeling of hair cutting was extremely mild. Were it not for the sound, I wouldn’t have even known I was slicing it off. It was then I also noticed my hand was higher than normal, so, you all know what that means with the angle. This shave ended up not the smoothest of the lot by any means, but definitely the best so far by this razor. That lead to my razor of choice next night. Next batter, my Nemesis, the Progress.
Progress – Some of you may know the issues I’ve been having with this beast. I had a “decent” shave the first time or two but went seriously downhill after that. I posted my issues, including the “offset blade” issue I had and have read so many others have had. I sat down one night and inspected it closer, and I’ve figured out it’s a pi$$-poor design and that the blade locating pins on the cap are too small, allowing movement in the blade. So, the first couple of times I shaved with this, maybe I fluked good blade placement and after that, not being aware of the issue, it was out of kilter. So last night, I put in a new IP blade, and was very careful of blade location. With the “angle” lesson I learned the night before; I proceeded to get the best shave so far with this razor, and absolutely NO irritation. The Alum block just felt cool on my face, with almost nary a sting. I did have a little localized stubble in my typical trouble spots, but these would have easily been cleaned up to BBS with a 4th “Weed-Whack” pass. The Aristocrat is the next one in the line-up.
Aristocrat – This, my friends, is the way shaving should be. I’ve shaved with this razor before, but it’s never been like this. It may have been the angle, the prep, the shave cream, the blade or a combination of any and all. This was a shave that was almost BBS without effort by the 3rd pass. Had I wanted to lather again, it would have been nearly perfect just with a little touch-up. No blood, no weepers even, no irritation, no burn, no nuttin’ but a face left feeling wonderful and smooth. On to the Slant!
Merkur Slant – This razor had a Derby in it, so to keep in tune with the trial, I switched blades with last night’s razor. So for tonight’s shave, the Slant had an IP with 3 shaves on it already, the first 4 shave blade I’ve used in this trial. When installing the blade, I checked placement on the locating pins in the cap, and noticed the exact same issue as I had with the Progress (are we seeing a pattern here??) and I took special care closing the razor, and actually had to loosen and retighten a few times before I was satisfied with the placement. Upon starting to shave, I again paid attention to “Angle Lessons” I had learned earlier, and noticed once again my hand was higher than I remember from any time using this razor before. I finished my shave with 2 complete passes (N-S & S-N) and a little Weed-Whacking around the chin area. I stopped, not because of burn, blood or irritation, but because there was almost nothing left to shave!!! I did have some very mild burn after the WW clean-up, but that was put to rest with the application of the Polar Ice. I bled very VERY slightly twice on this shave, once when I snipped off the head of a pimple on the very low left side of my neck (looks like an ingrown, but doesn’t hurt) and once tiny leaker under the right corner of my mouth. This one didn’t make it past the Proraso Post treatment. A fine shave, actually, maybe the best and quickest of the bunch, and with a 4 day blade of a type some don’t like to top it all off. My face felt fantastic after the shave, and now that we’ve become friends, I can’t wait to once again try a Derby and a Feather in it. Last batter up is the ’57 SS.
’57 Super Speed – Another wonderful shave, but kind of anti-climatic actually. I don’t know what else to say as I’ve said so much this week already about the great shaves I’ve gotten, especially since I’ve figured out the “Mystery of the Angle.
Final Impressions:
The GFT Violet cream worked flawlessly and has made me want more of different “flavours”. It’s almost idiot proof when building a lather IMHO. I used the same size “snurdle” each night measured out with a Demitasse spoon and added water with same said spoon as needed. Now, if I could only whip up a soap lather as nice as this one, it would be nice!!
The IP Blade worked great (except for the Futur, which may be my fault more than the blade’s). The blades I used were anywhere from new to 3rd shave and since I have more of these than anything else, I do believe they’ll be my go-to blade.
The Polar Ice is lovely stuff. The only way I can describe the scent is “sentimental” of times when I was a boy and used to go to “Pete’s Barber Shop” and watch him shave men while I was waiting my turn for a hair cut. No burn (in spite of the alcohol content) and evaporates and is absorbed quickly (which personally, I like).
I’ve learned the Progress and the Slant can be great razors (as so many say they can be) if the proper care and attention is paid to the necessary details like angle, pressure and blade placement (so I’ve found out). LOL, like we all haven’t heard “Pressure & Angle” before!!
I hope you enjoyed reading my SOTW diary. Many of you who’ve been through a similar thing know how I feel. To anyone who’s having “issues” with any part of shaving, have patience. It’ll come.