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Small changes - big differences (2nd blade change)

Sometimes what appear to be relatively small changes cause big differences. Thus it was with today's shave. Changed 2 parameters, which lead to one of the smoothest shaves yet. The first change was the shaving cream, picked up some European Palmolive yesterday and wow does that stuff lather. By far the best lather to date, I could hardly make myself stop rubbing it on my face with my EJBBB, very nice feeling. Second change was the blade, after the failed experiment with the US Personna, I decided to stick to Merkur for a while and work on my technique before experimenting any further. Today I felt confident enough to try a different blade again and the choice fell on Derby's Extra. For me this was definitely a step up from Merkur (at least this shave :wink:). Had an overall much smoother shave and have not been this close to BBS. I think I did end up with a minor case of razor burn, with a thin red line appearing across my chin. However I didn't feel anything and it appears to have cleared up roughly 30 minutes after the shave.

I didn't expect the differences to be this substantial. Sure I have seen people repeating the YMMV thing over and over again, but seriously how big can the differences actually be? Especially since there are shavers out there that appear to get consistent results with almost any setup they use. Of course this was only a single shave with some (IMHO) minor changes, but it does give a promise of more to come. I think it finally started to don on me how big this world of wet shaving is and how much there is to try. Lucky for me SWMBO will keep any *AD's that might develop in check, she let's me try new things, but keeps me well within budget. Otherwise I would probably end up as the best shaved homeless drifter in Sweden :biggrin:.
 
I had a similar thought line initially... I didn't believe the difference in blades could be THAT noticable. How wrong I was! Although there are a handful that I don't really notice much difference between (Derby's, Merkur, Nacet, Gillette Silver Blue) - I get mediocre shaves from them. Swedish Gillettes and Feathers are the only 2 blades I have tried so far that (for me) excel in terms of performance.
 
Hey, you only changed the two things that make (probably) the most difference in a good shave! (The blade, which after all does the real job we're trying to get done: slicing off whiskers. And the lather, which allows the blade to do its work more effectively by softening the whiskers and making the blade glide.) The razor and your wielding of it are important too, but only as a means to let the blade do its job.

Now, there are a lot of other factors that can make a difference in a bad shave (poor technique), but if the blade and the lather aren't right, you can't really make up for it in technique.:lol:
 
Derby's seem to work OK for me, especially with marginal lather. I believe the sharper the blade, the better your shaving cream/soap and technique has to be. I get relatively close shaves with a Derby, too.

I don't know what's up with the American Personnas, but lots of people just don't get great shaves with them, especially starting out. In the right razor a Merkur is not too bad- I paired one up this morning with a Gillette Tech and it was a decent shave, though the blade is a little more aggressive than a Derby and not as comfortable. With better lather it'd probably be easy shaving.
 
I had a similar thought line initially... I didn't believe the difference in blades could be THAT noticable. How wrong I was! Although there are a handful that I don't really notice much difference between (Derby's, Merkur, Nacet, Gillette Silver Blue) - I get mediocre shaves from them. Swedish Gillettes and Feathers are the only 2 blades I have tried so far that (for me) excel in terms of performance.

Sometimes it is nice to be wrong though :wink:. I have only tried 3 brands so far, so there is a lot more work to do!:biggrin:

Hey, you only changed the two things that make (probably) the most difference in a good shave! (The blade, which after all does the real job we're trying to get done: slicing off whiskers. And the lather, which allows the blade to do its work more effectively by softening the whiskers and making the blade glide.) The razor and your wielding of it are important too, but only as a means to let the blade do its job.

Now, there are a lot of other factors that can make a difference in a bad shave (poor technique), but if the blade and the lather aren't right, you can't really make up for it in technique.:lol:

I realize that now :c3:, but as gse123 stated as well, I never expected the difference to be that significant. With most things I am usually one of the last to notice any differences... I think I have the technique down rather well now, the shaves are reasonably consistent (as long as I use the same setup) and I have little to no problems with razor burn, cuts or other forms of irritation.

Derby's seem to work OK for me, especially with marginal lather. I believe the sharper the blade, the better your shaving cream/soap and technique has to be. I get relatively close shaves with a Derby, too.

I don't know what's up with the American Personnas, but lots of people just don't get great shaves with them, especially starting out. In the right razor a Merkur is not too bad- I paired one up this morning with a Gillette Tech and it was a decent shave, though the blade is a little more aggressive than a Derby and not as comfortable. With better lather it'd probably be easy shaving.

After the experience I am having with the Derby's now (e.g. smoother and better shaves compared to the other 2 brands I have tried so far), I would say Merkur is a very safe blade for me (they appear very forgiving). A blade I could probably use to regain confidence after a spell of bad shaves or if I don't have as much time or patients for shaving as I would like. However for a really good shave, the Merkur's simply don't cut it for me. As far as the US Personna's, I will try them again after I have had a couple more shaves under my belt. There are a lot more brands to test, so I am sure I will have a lot more positive and negative experiences ahead of me!
 
It is always a surprise at how noticeable is the difference between different brands of blades. And novices---particularly those who don't read the forums---tend not to pay much attention to the blade, since the razor is so much larger, more interesting, more intricate, and more expensive. They will generally treat the blade as an afterthought, buy any old blade, and then struggle for weeks or months (or years, heaven forbid) with shaves that are not really satisfactory, blaming the method or the razor or themselves, when it's just a bad blade for them. And it doesn't help when a buddy mentions that particular brand as the best blade he's ever used. This thought is one reason I continue to beat the "try a lot of brands of blades" drum so consistently.
 
It is always a surprise at how noticeable is the difference between different brands of blades. And novices---particularly those who don't read the forums---tend not to pay much attention to the blade, since the razor is so much larger, more interesting, more intricate, and more expensive. They will generally treat the blade as an afterthought, buy any old blade, and then struggle for weeks or months (or years, heaven forbid) with shaves that are not really satisfactory, blaming the method or the razor or themselves, when it's just a bad blade for them. And it doesn't help when a buddy mentions that particular brand as the best blade he's ever used. This thought is one reason I continue to beat the "try a lot of brands of blades" drum so consistently.

You beat that drum well though, Michael! Know that your message was received loud and clear. :thumbup: Although I have yet to order some sampler packs, I did order a variety of blades with my HD (saved on shipping that way) and even received 2 additional brands for free in the order.:thumbup1: It is one thing to get advice (especially since it usually comes with a YMMV), but there is no substitute for actually experiencing it (I am after all a scientist and born skeptic). However I am now completely convinced, no blade is born equal...
 
Same thing happened to me, it made the entire difference. I switched to a Feather and I'm sure I won't find much better than this, as it gives me super comfortable, flawless and effortless shaves in my Merkur HD. No burn, no irritation, even if I flunk up a bit and get a little careless. And they outlast anything else I've tried, and as many will tell you, the blades just seem to get better and more comfortable. And no nicks ever since I've been using a Feather. I still like Derby Extra, but Feather is all I've been using anymore. I for sure thought it was my technique or something in my prep, but turns out apparently all those things are fine.

I now get out of a warm shower using conditioner as a pre-shave (with a cold sprinkle at the end since I sweat alot during shaving), no hot towel anymore, just massage plenty of very warm water into my shave along with a couple drops of olive oil and glycerin, lather directly onto my face, go to town with my Merkur HD and a Feather and woooooo-weeee! After my aftershave regimen I HAVE to keep touching my face! Feels and looks so good.
 
Same thing happened to me, it made the entire difference. I switched to a Feather and I'm sure I won't find much better than this, as it gives me super comfortable, flawless and effortless shaves in my Merkur HD. No burn, no irritation, even if I flunk up a bit and get a little careless. And they outlast anything else I've tried, and as many will tell you, the blades just seem to get better and more comfortable. And no nicks ever since I've been using a Feather. I still like Derby Extra, but Feather is all I've been using anymore. I for sure thought it was my technique or something in my prep, but turns out apparently all those things are fine.

I now get out of a warm shower using conditioner as a pre-shave (with a cold sprinkle at the end since I sweat alot during shaving), no hot towel anymore, just massage plenty of very warm water into my shave along with a couple drops of olive oil and glycerin, lather directly onto my face, go to town with my Merkur HD and a Feather and woooooo-weeee! After my aftershave regimen I HAVE to keep touching my face! Feels and looks so good.

I do a lot of face touching too, since starting the DE thing (faceturbating I think they call it :lol:). Haven't gathered the nerve yet to order some Feather's yet, am still a little scared of sharp things. I'll order them in some type of sampler pack soon enough though, I am sure :wink:.
 
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