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I find the combination of a Feather blade in a Gillette Super Speed to work really well. I just wish Feathers lasted more than two or three shaves for me...and I don't even have a particularly heavy or thick beard!
 
I find the combination of a Feather blade in a Gillette Super Speed to work really well. I just wish Feathers lasted more than two or three shaves for me...and I don't even have a particularly heavy or thick beard!

Know what you mean. If I do 4 passes the first day, I get 2 days out of the things. I'm taking the advice of someone here add I'm going to start dipping in alcohol after shaving to see if that helps the blade last longer. I'm also testing some more blades slowly.
 
Know what you mean. If I do 4 passes the first day, I get 2 days out of the things. I'm taking the advice of someone here add I'm going to start dipping in alcohol after shaving to see if that helps the blade last longer. I'm also testing some more blades slowly.

I dip my razors (with blades) into alcohol after rinsing in hot water, shake them off and let them air dry. I don't think it has any affect on the blade longevity, but I've never done a "scientific" test. I do it for sanitizing purposes and also to displace the water and allow faster drying and fewer waterspots.
 
Saturday. TOBS sandalwood cream, FS finest brush, bowl lather, Gillette SS with Feather.

Shave
I had a lather explosion today - easily enough for 3 shaves. now that my lather problems are taken care of due to a new, clean brush, I'm going to go back to the amount of cream I was using before the dirty brush problems. I'm loving this FS finest brush.

I think I was a little over-confident with the SS. After a decent shave yesterday with and Astra SP and knowing it tugged XTG and can't do ATG, loaded up a feather. I can fly through a shave with this thing on all but ATG. I went a little too fast due to the lack of heft compared to the EJ on my ATG pass. I ended up with about 5 or 6 bleeders and had to use a styptic on 3. I just plain went to fast on my strokes. I did more work on my neck than I should have and ended up with about the same shave I get from my EJ down there. But, it had pretty much no irritation, so I'm happy with that. The rest of my face is not as close as the EJ, even with the ATG work and stretching my face. ATG did tug a little more than with the EJ as did even the XTG. I have to rinse this thing far more often as well.

Outcome
DFS. I don't know that I can get DFS+ or BBS without pressing on this razor.

Takeaways
- Think the SS is just too mild for me to get a great, close shave, even with a Feather. It doesn't bite at all. But, it works well with for a fast, SAS shave with an Astra SP or Feather. I think I'll leave it with an Astra in it for days I'm in a hurry.
- This brush is amazing. I don't know how a brush could possibly be better. Size, softness of tips, backbone - all perfect.
- I can't wait to try an open comb and may try a Gillette slide with the SS.
 
Tried the SS again with feather on day 2. Full face lather with Palmolive stick directly on face and FS finest brush. My whiskers tear through the stick, but it worked very well. WTG, XTG, ATG. I slowed down a bit and went for BBS, but I don't think I'll get that with this razor. I don't have BBS anywhere. With my EJ, I get BBS on a good part of my face with ATG. Anyway, DFS

I may try Astras in the SS for WTG and XTG and use feathers in the EJ to save money if I don't find longer-lasting blades. Tomorrow I'll try a new cream or blade.
 
fascinating post...I just ran into it and thoroughly enjoyed reading your shave journal. I have very tough whiskers as well and here's my advice to you. Don't be afraid to change blades every 1-2 shaves. I used to try to squeeze X amount of shaves out of a blade and my face paid the price. Now, I go max 2 shaves with a blade and replace, even the expensive ones (Feathers a $.29/blade..OMG). I get a much more comfortable shave with a nice,sharp blade on each pass. Even if you replace every shave you will come out ahead cost-wise vs carts. Keep up the good work!
 
fascinating post...I just ran into it and thoroughly enjoyed reading your shave journal. I have very tough whiskers as well and here's my advice to you. Don't be afraid to change blades every 1-2 shaves. I used to try to squeeze X amount of shaves out of a blade and my face paid the price. Now, I go max 2 shaves with a blade and replace, even the expensive ones (Feathers a $.29/blade..OMG). I get a much more comfortable shave with a nice,sharp blade on each pass. Even if you replace every shave you will come out ahead cost-wise vs carts. Keep up the good work!

Glad you found this interesting.

I actually costs me a lot more than cartridges and canned Barbasol because I can shave more than every ~4 days. My experience ran through all the carts and disposables I could find and none worked well, usually even on shave one, so I'd just shave with them as long as I could bare and shave ~2x per week. That was certainly cheaper, but I didn't want a full beard and just resolved that I'd never look good. Finally got sick of that and here I am. I think I'm going to give on of my disposables a run tomorrow with my other wet shaving gear in hopes I can find one passable for travel. Maybe I'll finally try those Bic Metals I have here.

If it gets to where I have to use a new Feather every 1-2 shaves, I may just decide to give up on anything real close and use Astras, skipping ATG, except for special occasions.

Thanks for the encouragement.
 
TOBS cream today with a Bic Metal. I decided I'm going to try these anticipating I might be traveling soon. If that happens, I want to be able to carry on only, so the DE will have to stay at home. This is one of those single-blade disposables with a metal guard bar.

Had to do 4 passes to get very clean. Didn't worry about BBS, but had a very comfortable, very clean shave. In fact, this gets into my trouble areas far better than my EJ or SS. This thing is super thin and got right up under my nose as well. Of course, it's very light and I found myself reverting back to moving quickly and varying pressure constantly. But, after a 4-pass (WTG, XTG, XTG, ATG) and just a few touch-ups, I was rewarded with an irritation-free DFS. Of course, the ATG pass tugged a bit, but was better than with a Feather in my DE89. I have no idea if I could get a BBS with this thing and think trying may be a bad idea.

It did remind me a lot of the SS. It was very forgiving of angle and I still don't know if I found the perfect angle, but it worked well at small variations. It also moved quickly and shaved about as mild, which is why I doubt I could get BBS. It did fill less often than the SS though and therefore needed rinsed less often than a single side of the SS.

So, the Bic Metal is a winner. I don't think I'll push it to a second shave and will probably try one of my my 3-blade disposables tomorrow to compare. If nothing else, this Metal is good to keep around for touch-ups in trouble areas where a slim head is beneficial.
 
The nice thing about the single-blade disposables (and particularly the Bic Metal) is they don't get clogged up with whiskers and lather like the multi-bladed versions. I find the Bic can give me an acceptable shave, and it's fine for the times when I want to travel fast and light, but it's no comparison to my DEs. SEs, or Injectors.
 
Glad you found this interesting.

I actually costs me a lot more than cartridges and canned Barbasol because I can shave more than every ~4 days. My experience ran through all the carts and disposables I could find and none worked well, usually even on shave one, so I'd just shave with them as long as I could bare and shave ~2x per week. That was certainly cheaper, but I didn't want a full beard and just resolved that I'd never look good. Finally got sick of that and here I am. I think I'm going to give on of my disposables a run tomorrow with my other wet shaving gear in hopes I can find one passable for travel. Maybe I'll finally try those Bic Metals I have here.

If it gets to where I have to use a new Feather every 1-2 shaves, I may just decide to give up on anything real close and use Astras, skipping ATG, except for special occasions.

Thanks for the encouragement.


You know I used to be really into getting BBS every time and I think that caused me to have some bad habits which in turn gave me mega irritation. It also really affected the enjoyment of my shave. Now, I'm pretty happy with DFS and an occasional BBS. I still get a much more enjoyable and better shave with less ingrowns than I ever did carts.
 
I couldn't bring myself to try the 3-blade disposable and instead switched back to my DE89. But, I want to finish off the last ~10 shaves with my TOBS cream, so that wasn't going to change. Still wanted to try some new products though, so blades were all that were left. I popped open my blade container and pulled out the Lord sitting on top.

Shave
Normal prep and what-not with the FS Finest brush. Sadly, I've come to realize the TOBS cream isn't quite as good at lather and lubrication as the Palmolive. It is good enough though. By the time I had my lather, I forgot I had changed blades and thought I had loaded a Feather - lots of other stuff on my mind. I started a WTG pass on my cheek and after the second stoke tugged and pulled, I put the razor down thinking I had to have screwed up my lather. Felt my face and it was slick. Confused I started the other side of my face and felt the same tugging. Only then did I remember I had a different blade in. I forced myself to finish the WTG pass with the Lord, then it went to the bin.

Resolved to try continue with something new, I grabbed the next blade in my stack: Personna Med Prep - the blue "for hospital use" one. Continued to do 3 more pass and found that it was quite nice. It was almost as sharp as the Feathers, but seemed more smooth for me. I'd say it was halfway between an Astra SP (smooth, but not sharp enough for my extra-thick areas ATG) and the Feathers. It might even be a near-perfect mix between the two. I don't think it cut quite as close as the Feather, but I only had one little bleeder - feathers usually give me ~4-5. No irritation despite my buffing and being dumb a couple times. This was really nice.

I did end up with too little lather that wasn't superb and had to add a bit of cream. I'm certain my problem was that I just started with too little cream. Now that I get good lather again, I've been cutting back on product to see where it's most cost-effective. I think I nailed it once I added a bit.

Outcome
DFS with no irritation. Good enough. I didn't really stretch my face, so I can't expect much more. I'll take more time and stretch my face tomorrow to see if I can get anywhere near a BBS with this blade.

Takeaways
- Personna Med Preps are good for me and are right between an Astra SP and Feather. At least on the first shave.
- Lords are not happening
- I think I have the amount of cream down as far as good lather and good volume without a lot of waste
- Palmolive is noticeably better than my TOBS sandalwood cream. That makes me a little sad.
- I'm thinking of ways to make Palmolive smell better and will come up with something. Maybe some lemon or lime essential oil while grating it into a bowl and then leaving it for a few days with a cover before pressing it in?

Questions
Has anyone ever scented their Palmolive sticks? Am I on the right track?
 
Where to start. I have a thread running about altering the scent of Palmolive (and, if all goes well, Arko) over here. You can read up there if interested. Today I shaved with lemongrass Palmolive and it was pretty fantastic. Seriously. I only detected (lightly) the original, soapy smell once or twice and that's without really trying hard to scent the stuff. Pretty sure I'm onto something here.

Also day 2 on Personna Med Prep in my DE89, which was good. Doesn't seem as sharp as a Feather and tugs just a tiny bit, but gives me a great, irritation-free shave. DFS+ today. I screwed up by going to fast in a couple places and noticed some blood, but couldn't even find it by the warm rinse. I'll try a third day on this blade and, if it works well, will have to order some of them. If it doesn't work a third, I'm about where I am with Feathers, but they're more forgiving and more gentle.

EDIT: After game 1 of hoops at noon, my neck burned a little bit. Not bad, but more than it should have.
 
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Two or three days looks like it for a Personna Med Prep in my DE89. Today was day 3 and it was pushing it. Not too bad, but didn't cut a few places and gave me a few extra weepers. DFS with a bit of irritation - if I play basketball today my neck will burn a bit by the end of game 1, I'm certain. Used that Lemongrass Palmolive I made. Smelled less strong today - pretty much perfect. I'll certainly do this again after I've tried some others.
 
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Weird day. I decided a while ago I'd give each blade a second shot after putting 'bad' ones down for a month or so. Being that I wanted to change something up, but want to get through the rest of my original TOBS tub, it was new blade day. I kind of wanted to just use a Feather, but really wanted to change something up. So, instead of the Feather, I opted for giving a Derby another shot. The idea was I'd start a pass, bin it and head to a Feather. I also decided today was going to be a no-ATG day since I did ATG yesterday and wanted to save a little time.

I also added one step to my prep today: before my shower I splashed my face and put on some Proraso pre/post. I really like the menthol feel of the stuff, but really dislike the scent. I plan to one day PIF the 98% full tub, but wanted to see if I can soften my wire-like growth any more.


Shave
Normal prep in the shower including wash and leaving conditioner on my face for a while. Spread a bit of TOBS on my face by hand and let it sit until I'm ready to go.

Started my WTG pass with the Derby and it tugged and pulled a bit. At first it was just like the Lord I tried the other day, but after 2-3 stokes, it tugged a bit less, so I decided to finish the pass and bin it before the XTG. But, by the time I finished my WTG the blade was working a little better. It still pulled a bit, but nothing bad. Sort of laughing it off, I started an XTG pass just to prove to myself the Derby wasn't going to cut it (heh). It did not pull at all on my cheeks and only did so in my medium or thick/heavy areas. I noticed with my shave yesterday (Med Prep) I can get a great shave with a little pulling and it doesn't irritate if the pulling isn't too bad. This pass finished well, but I wanted a little closer, so I decided to stop at a final pass between XTG and ATG. It went so well at first I switched it up to full ATG in my light areas. That pass finishing well, I decided to do some ATG touch-ups. Again, it pulled a bit, but not too bad. Two little weepers that I hit with a styptic.

I had no more irritation than yesterday or the day before with the Med Prep - just a light tingle on two small spots on my neck as I applied my Nivea Arctic Freeze.


Outcome
I was shocked to find a DFS+ on most of my face with very little irritation. Shocked.


Takeaways
- I'm dumbfounded.
-For one, a light tug from blades doesn't cause irritation from me and can give a fantastic shave, even when I have to really force the blade on ATG?
-Second, Derby?! How? I hated these blades before. Clearly my technique is better, but they used to skip across my face even on the WTG pass on my cheeks. Sure, my lather is better, etc., but I'm not sure what to think.
- I'm going to try the Proraso before the shower again sometime with a Feather and see if that might be what helped this shave.
- The Derby didn't tug or pull all that much more than the Med Prep. A little, but not much.


Questions
- So, could it be that my technique and lather are that much better and now Derbies are alright/pretty good for me?
- Could the Proraso before the shower have helped that much?
- Is up now down and left now right?
- Are Derbies sharper than Lords? The Lord pulled all the way through the WTG pass; the Derby did, but was better halfway through.
 
I have used Derby blades plenty of times, but I have only used Lord blades a couple of times. So take this with a grain of salt, but for me the Lord blades are pure crap. Derby blades are usable, but not one of my favs.
 
Technique, technique, technique! I've found blades that I tried a year ago, when I was just getting back into wet shaving after decades of carts and electrics, actually performed pretty well now that I know what I'm doing. To be honest, I haven't had a bad shave in months that I can blame on a blade, and I've used quite a few.
 
Day 2 on that Derby. I applied proraso pre to only half my face to see if it made any difference. It didn't. So, the Proraso will be gone with a PIF or trade in the future. I tried my hand at uber lather with TOBS sandalwood cream and soap as well as about 4-5 drops of glycerin. That gets a hearty meh. I couldn't really tell any big difference to the cream alone. The soap scent overpowered the cream - and I certainly prefer the cream smell.

The Derby was just as yesterday. It shaved pretty close and I only gave myself a couple small bleeders where I was dumb and went over a couple areas without re-lathering. It still pulls in every direction, and any more and I wouldn't be able to stand it. It scares me to force it through the thick areas as I have to, but it still shaves well without tearing me up.

DFS with no irritation this time.

But, I don't want to put up with that much tugging and pulling, so into the bin it went. I can use the Derbies when I need to, but won't buy any as they do tug too much. Sharper blades are necessary, but in a bind, these can be serviceable.
 
The nice thing about the single-blade disposables (and particularly the Bic Metal) is they don't get clogged up with whiskers and lather like the multi-bladed versions. I find the Bic can give me an acceptable shave, and it's fine for the times when I want to travel fast and light, but it's no comparison to my DEs. SEs, or Injectors.
Agree in every way. The multi-blade jobbies demand I rinse them and often run my finger with the blades (from top-to-bottom) ever single stroke. These Bics did very well in that regard - the same as my SS as I noted. It clogs more often (by far) than the DE89 and about the same as my SS. As a quick-and-dirty-shave device, they're nice enough. Never tried an injector or SE - maybe some day after I try an open comb and slant.

Plus BB&B had them at $1.60 for a 5-pack here in NJ. Amazing. That's DE blade prices!
 
Tried out an Asco blade today. Sharper than a Derby and seemed closer to the Med Prep, though certainly not as sharp as a Feather. This could be a good blade for me if it lasts.

Did a bit more work in some areas and tore my jaw line up a little by going too fast on some touch-ups. I did some blade buffing on the left side of my chin to see if I can get closer than I normally do. It's far better and is BBS with little if any irritation. I'll certainly try that again. Getting better on my neck and around my AA as well, though still not perfect. I really want to try an open comb and am on the list to try a traveling Sheraton OC. That should happen in a few weeks or so.

Overall a DFS with some BBS areas and more irritation than normal (though not on the BBS areas, go figure). I'll give this Asco until it starts to bother me as it seems like a decent blade.
 
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