Wanna get this right

Finished off the first tub of cream I bought - a TOBS Sandalwood. 68 uses on a tub that cost me $11.18 = $0.16/use. Would be about $50/year if I shaved with this cream exclusively. I think this is a good basis of comparison as it's a good cream, pretty much middle of price, quality, etc.

Was Day 2 on Asco blade. Still good, but not great. Not as smooth as some others, but smooth enough. I'm thinking it's around Astra SP or even Med Prep sharpness, but doesn't seem as smooth as either.

DFS+ with a little more irritation today and about 5 bleeders that stopped themselves.

Asco day 3. Not much growth - lots of stress and didn't eat well yesterday, but plenty to get a shave. Really getting to know my face and what it can handle. So, did 3-pass starting with XTG on cheeks and some other areas and oblique-WTG on neck areas that are more sensitive. Did blade buffing on my chin and have my first true BBS on my entire chin. Was a fast shave compared to normal. Asco pulls a bit as always, but still gets me a great, close shave if I force it. I'm curious to move back to a Feather and see if my technique is really improved that much or if it's just that I can force a blade through even with light pulling without problems.

Catching up a little. Been switching up products as I see fit. Find myself really liking the Astra SP blades for their smoothness. I'm also finding that some tugging and pulling ATG around my chin doesn't really bother me and gives me a much better shave than doing oblique-atg there. I've been blade buffing all my problem areas and have all but a couple places down pretty well. Still have trouble at the bottom of my growth on my neck where it is a little thinner and lays VERY flat. Stretching and buffing work. Right above there though I get irritated easily and cannot get into some of the nooks-and-crannies (skinny guy) with anything but a Bic Metal or similar small head. Still working on that.

Today I tried Arko. Don't like the smell, but wasn't overly sensitive today. It smells like Pine-Sol and maybe a little urinal puck as many have noted before. Not terrible, but not something I really want on my face. But, the lather is even better and slicker than the Palmolive Euro sticks and that's saying something. Too bad the smell is very off-putting.

Today I also tried my good old 3-blade disposables again for the first time since December and my first DE. Fast, simple. Did WTG/XTG/ATG. Clogs easily, but unclogs much more easily than with the canned goo. I had to rinse after every stoke. Cannot get BBS, even atg with buffing, but also had no irritation and DFS. Tugged and pulled a bit, but not enough to make my eyes water. Very similar to what my 1980 SS does for me with an Astra SP or the Bic Metal. If I had shaves like this before, I probably wouldn't have bought a DE, and never would have known what true BBS was. Great for a fast shave or for travel.

Only blades so far that have caught my fancy are the Feathers and Astra SPs.
I want to try these again: Personna Med/Labs, Gillette 7OC Green and Yellow

I have a bunch of others in my bin to try a first time and will likely start cycling through those this week. If that happens, I'll be updating this to review those blades.

Shark SC blade today. Was alright, I'd say somewhere between a Derby and Astra SP, maybe? Didn't feel quite as smooth, but certainly worked.

Used the Arko again today. I find my face just eats soap sticks. I have to only rub them WTG or I end up covered in dry soap. Love the lather, but really don't love the scent. Sadly, the scent just lingers, too. So bad, in fact, that I still smell it after my ASB. I get a Nivea Arctic Freeze scent mixed with, and often overpowered by, the Arko. Don't see myself buying any more of these, but will miss the great lather. Glad I have all those Palmolives on they way.

I haven't tried it myself, but some guys say you can leave an unwrapped Arko stick out in the open for a couple of weeks and the smell fades considerably. Of course, you might want to do this in a garage or basement if you really can't handle the scent.

Wow, this thread generated quite a few posts. We all have a lot to say when someone asks for advice. Also try Nivea Revitalizing LotionQ10 as aftershave. The experiments will continue until all possibilities have exhausted!

Snargle said:

I haven't tried it myself, but some guys say you can leave an unwrapped Arko stick out in the open for a couple of weeks and the smell fades considerably. Of course, you might want to do this in a garage or basement if you really can't handle the scent.

Click to expand...

I can handle it, just don't really like it. It doesn't offend me like cheap witch hazel does, but I certainly don't prefer it. Sadly, I have neither basement or garage - we live in a little apartment for now. Maybe the tool shed I built out back... I'll just deal with it or use the Palmolive - plenty of other good choices. I'm just impressed how slick Arko is and now understand why so many rave about it and against it.

My wife said, "Meh, smells medical." She's a nurse and said it smells like the supply closets.

BTW, Snargle, another huge thanks for that brush. I used that shedding pure the other day again and was stunned at how floppy and scratchy it is. That finest is as good as I could wish for.

Used a Wilkinson Sword blade yesterday and today. Yesterday was Arko face lathered; today orange Palmolive soap bowl lathered. Yesterday it seemed alright, somewhere around a Derby or Shark. Decent shave, but I had a weeper on the first pass in an area I seldom see blood. Seemed to take a lot to really shave very close - lots of buffing. Tried it again today and had another small weeper in the same area where I seldom have trouble. Was irritated XTG and had lots of trouble ATG with this blade. I woke up early today, so I even slowed down my shave. I'm as irritated as I've been in a long while on my neck and jaw line. Don't think this blade is a good fit. Used my ASB twice today and it burned quite a lot. Binned it after the second shave and will revisit some weeks from now.

Yesterday's shave left me really hurting all day. Though duller blades can get me a good shave if I grin and bear a little tugging, day 2 on that Wilkinson just plain left a lot of stubble. Bad shave all around. I considered taking the day off shaving, but it's going to be a long, long day and I didn't want to be scruffy from the start. So, I decided I'd do WTG and XTG, but no ATG today.

Usually, I'd pop in an Astra SP for just this purpose, but I gave away my last couple to a friend who wanted to give this whole DE bit a try. I've been tossing around ordering a bunch more, but since I have a bunch of Feathers and a good assortment of other blades still to try, I'm going to wait it out. So, after a long Feather hiatus, I popped one of those in. Arko face lathered with my finest brush and I was off to the races.

Sadly, I've picked up a very bad habit using the Lords, Sharks, and now Wilkinsons: I'm using pressure to keep the blade from skipping. I'm not using a lot, but way more than I should and the smooth, sharp Feather reminded me of that with a small weeper on my WTG pass right off the bat. I quickly corrected and realized again why I like the Feathers so much. I've been putting up with mild irritation from duller blades and forgot I don't have to settle for that. Glad to be back to sharp blades. My WTG pass took off as much as the last few blades do after a WTG and XTG. Phew.

First, finished off my Nivea Cool Kick Arctic Freeze ASB today. Like the stuff. Its scent is fresh/sporty, isn't strong and fades quickly to very light. It moisturizes well and cools a mild bit. Moving into summer, I'm going to try out some splash samples and have recommendations here. I had 109 uses out of this bottle at about the size of a US nickle or quarter, somewhere around 1 inch diameter. I paid $4.99 for it, so $4.99/109= about $0.0458/use - we'll call it $0.05/use. Some days I use it twice after a shave, others just once. So, I'd say it's a safe bet to say it costs me about $1.80/month. Very happy with that.

On to the bad shave.

New Feather blade in my DE89. TOBS Sandalwood soap did not give me a good lather. I had one drop of glycerin in it and didn't use enough product. Even after I added more, I just couldn't get a great lather. I'll try it again, loading far more onto my brush. Scent is not like the TOBS sandalwood cream: it's subtler, sweeter.

Anyway, face was bothered quite a bit and I did no touch-ups. Should have stopped before third pass, but didn't. An hour or two later, it feels fine, but I know playing basketball is going to hurt. I did throw on some extra aftershave stuff today. I did my cold rinse, WH, Rite Aid AquaVelva knock-off for the menthol. This stuff feels great and works well, but can't stand how strong it is and how long it lasts. Smell isn't for me either. Used that stuff a second time and let it dry. Felt great. Washed with just water a few times and the smell was still there, so I washed my face with my Palmolive shave stick and rinsed it well. That did the trick well enough. More WH. Nivea ASB. I'm less scratchy than I expected, but am still a bit irritated.

You'd think I'd have learned to leave mediocre lather behind and just make better...

Needed a fast shave this morning, so WTG/XTG/ third pass was mostly XTG, but some ATG/oblique ATG. No time for ATG and touch-ups. Feather was on day 3 and I don't know if ATG would have worked with it. Need to try some med/lab preps again and see how many shaves I get out of them and if they're close to as comfortable as a Feather. Have some ASL samples on the way. Like my Nivea, but would like something in a splash for spring and summer.

Popped in a Personna Shoprite branded blade for a quick shave this morning. Not as sharp as I'd like, but without doing any ATG, it worked alright. Certainly can't do ATG with it and its not great, but would work in a bind if I only need SAS and maybe I could push it to DFS. This blade won't get any more use from me though. I'll probably give away the rest of the dispenser.

Still going back to previously-tried blades. Today was a 7OC Yellow. I didn't especially care for it the first time around. Not bad, just not great. Today it was pretty good, but not as smooth and sharp as a Feather. It compared pretty well - from what I remember, it's been weeks - to an Astra SP, maybe sharper. My lather wasn't perfect today, though certainly passable, so I'm going to give it a run tomorrow again. Had a very DFS, but it took a little more work than with a Feather. Tomorrow I'll give it another shot and see.

Still just meh about this blade. Yesterday was a DFS; today was DFS-. But, today I did a full 3-pass including ATG (not much growth from yesterday as I slept little, ate poorly, etc). I can't put my finger on why I'm not sold on this blade. I expected closer for the time, but also didn't have any irritation and didn't use the styptic at all. I'll probably buy one more pack of these since this is my last and give them one more shot some weeks down the road. I may also give it another shave or two to get a feel for how long they work for me. At their price, I'd currently rather use an Astra though.

Additionally - and outside the actual shave - I really dislike the glue dots. I'd be fine with them if there wasn't always one or two of the four dots that are on the cutting surface. I have to clean the dang things to get the oil off them (mine must not have been rinsed well at the factory), so I clean the glue at the same time. I assume it's just this pack, but all of them have been stinky and had glue on the edge. They're annoying enough that if I get a second pack with the same problem, I will give up on them completely since I have others I like at least as well.

I plan to order a pack of the 7OC Blacks, which I haven't tried. I liked the Greens first time around and really disliked the Blues. They're coming around for a second shot. Might just trade something at the Blade Exchange Bank for a couple Blacks and a couple more Yellows.

Worst shave in a long time in every way. Where do I start?

Gave the 7OC Yellow a third go. It performed about the same as the past two days. I can't place it. It doesn't tug and pull, but also doesn't cut everything. I've been doing three passes plus some touch-ups with Feathers or 3-4 passes and touch-ups with Astra SPs for a while and they come out with a pretty long lasting DFS. With the 7OC Yellows, I did 4 passes today and couldn't really think about touch-ups as everything was a bit irritated. It was as if I was using a wrong blade angle or pressure all over, but I wasn't. Not weepers, but lots of stubble left in a lot of areas. I can't figure out why I don't like them, but these are not the blades for me.

I have a sample of DR Harris Marlborough from a trade I made. I've been putting off using it as I'm really not sold on the scent. This is exactly the smell I'd expect opening a leather saddle bag on the back of a horse to find a couple cigarette butts, and a few spent .45 rounds. The lather was good, at least on par with my TOBS cream. I hadn't used this stuff and expected it to be like a denser TOBS cream. I was wrong. I grabbed a tongue depressor and realized it was much thicker than I thought. Pulled out a medium-sized almond amount and tried to wipe it off with my brush. That this point I realized this was one very hard cream or a soft soap, almost as hard as Arko sticks. I then realized I had no idea how to use it. I sort of spread it around the bottom of the bowl (first bowl lather I've made in a long while) and used it like I would the end of a soft soap pressed into a bowl. It worked alright, but I don't understand why I'd want this as opposed to a stick for face lathering or a cream for bowl lathering. Seems like the worst of both worlds.

So, I found two products I can happily go without. I'll send the rest of this Harris sample on to someone else at some point. Next up I'll try a 7OC Green for the second round or a Blue Bird.

Decided to break open my Blue Bird pack as I've read some great things about them. I used my nearly-finished bowl of lemongrass Palmolive with all else being normal. People say it's sharp, but it sure was tugging. Decent shave, but started to get some irritation so I cut is short of touch-ups. I'm going to give it another run with Arko tomorrow on two days' growth to be sure it wasn't the soap or something else, but as of now this won't be a blade I repurchase.

I'm also digging face lathering compared to bowl lathering. I like to get lather on my face ASAP to speed softening as well as cut down overall shave time.

beengone said:

I'm also digging face lathering compared to bowl lathering. I like to get lather on my face ASAP to speed softening as well as cut down overall shave time.

Click to expand...

I'm still kicking myself for waiting almost a full year before trying face lathering. Why spend time whipping lather around a bowl when you can be doing it somewhere where it does some good!?

Snargle said:

I'm still kicking myself for waiting almost a full year before trying face lathering. Why spend time whipping lather around a bowl when you can be doing it somewhere where it does some good!?

Click to expand...

I also find I have an easier time getting a getter lather. I can just feel when it's right on my face; in a bowl I have to stop and check it between my finger and thumb any time I haven't used a soap or cream for a while.

Face lathered the Arko today to be sure lather wasn't my problem the other day with the Blue Bird blade. Day 2 on it and it still tugged quite a lot WTG. halfway through the first pass I replaced with another fresh Blue Bird to be sure the blade wasn't a dud. Still pulled, but I have noticed I get more tugging WTG than XTG in a lot of cases, so I pressed on. Ended up doing four passes, none of which were really pleasant. In fact, I'd say it was just like shaving with a disposable and canned foam. I pushed through to a DFS, but realized I'm a little irritated and it's going to hurt playing squash at lunch. I'll bin that blade and move back to what works for a few shaves and try something new again after.

I was not impressed with the Bluebird, either.