Item of the Week 8/5 - Shark Blades

Hello to all.

This will be the twenty-fourth in a series of "item of the week" threads that I am promoting in the general shave discussion forum.
The rules:

1. It is very simple. Use the item of the week for the week that it is scheduled and post your thoughts on that item in its thread.
2. Everything else in your shave line-up may be rotated at will, but keep the featured item of the week as part of each shave.
3. The weeks will start on Monday and end on Saturday. Sunday could be a free day, or an overlap day for the next week or whatever.

The twenty-fouth featured item of the week will be Shark Razor Blades

In correlation with this thread:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/354136-Shark-Week-2013

Celebrating Shark Week at B&B!!

Very nice! I am a night shaver so i will post my thoughts later tonight.

Excellent!

I will be able to continue my explorations of the Mystic Waters samples I have left. The Shark SS is my favorite blade so I am looking forward to what others have to say about them!

This morning I used a Shark SS blade in my Maggard MR20 I was going to use the QCS Green Irish Tweed that I got in a PIF but my soap lathering technique still needs some work so I went to the standby C.O. Bigelow cream. Being a newbie and this being my second DE shave I am not sure how the blade compares to others, I just know compared to Friday's shave I did a better job around the neck as I got the hang of holding the blade at the proper angle; the alum block did reveal a lot of stinging, well so did the cold water rinse afterwards, still need to work on my technique there but I was pleased with the overall results. Now I just need to work on getting the soap lathering technique down so I can see how it does with a proper lather there.

An item of the week that I can participate in. It officially start tonight at 8:00. I'll be a hour or so behind, but I'll be starting tonight.

I'll be a few days late on this one, but I have both kinds of Sharks en route.

Up untill quite recently I was a Shark SS man through and through(several years worth under my belt bought in 300's or 500's). What happened was I ran across Astra SP's and found they were better in a Fatip for me. I used the remaining 300 though and moved over. I found they were a smooth and comfortable shave, a good price point and avalible in large amounts. For anyone starting to hone their DE technique the Shark SS or Platinum is well worth having a go with.

I'm in for Shark week, starting tomorrow.

I started today using a Shark SS in my Merkur 1904 Classic. It gave me a so-so shave. I actually got a much better shave with it in my FatBoy. I am doing that tomorrow. Let's Roll!

Kirk

Ill be starting with my Parker shavette in the morining. Haven't used it in a while so well see how it goes. May have to bow out and go back to my regular straight. Hopefully my skills have improved enough.

Up my alley. I am new to DE and was planning to change to a new blade this week. I have some Sharks from my sampler set, so this made the decision much easier.

Gillette pre-war fat handle tech w/ Shark SC
Stirling Soap's Anise
Omega 31064 Boar brush

Based on my experience, Shark SC blades are not as smooth/sharp as an Astra SP. Knowing this, I did a full "Kyle's Prep" process in the shower. Sorry to digress and get a little off-topic, but "Kyle's Prep" works wonders and can make a ton of blades feel as sharp as feathers...

In any case, the shave was very smooth and nick-free. The lather was extremely slick and the Tech/Shark SC combination sliced through 3 days worth of growth without any hesitation.

Monday shave with a Shark Super Stainless blade.

This feels like coming home from a long trip. Shark SS is my go to blade and has been for the last five years. So be aware that you are not going to get any unbiased opinions from me on this blade!

I have been testing blades this year because my other blade ( Gillette Yellow Russian) became too harsh for me. I think I have found a few replacements (red IP and german Wilkinsons) but I have not used my beloved Shark SS other than for comparisons.

I shave with my Holy Grail razor system in a very specific way. I start with the Feather head on the Weber handle and switch to the Ikon baseplates every 3 -4 shaves. I do two passes (XTG - ATG) and a freeform bronzing pass without adding lather. The result is BBS and I shave every day. I usually shave 12 to 15 times with a Shark.
Todays shave was very predictable with a fresh Shark SS and the Feather (AS-D1) head. I used a sample of Mystic Waters Bay Rum soap with my FS Pur-Tech 28 mm synthetic brush. The AS was DR Harris Windsor balm and the result was excellent, effortless and comfortable BBS. Postshave feeling is very good and I didn't need any extra moisturizer because we have over 80% humidity in Stockholm. I have a dry skin that needs extra moisturizer on a daily basis during cold season.

Parker srw shavette
Shark super stainless half blade
Speick stick milled into a puck
Merkur barber pole silvertip
Aqua velva musk

Great shave. Apparently it was my technique that was lacking. Unfortunately as I finished I discovered that the scales of my shavette have been broken. They are barely holding together. Hopefully it will survive the week.

In other news, we did manage to catch a bit of shark week last night--megalodon. Giant prehistoric shark that may still be alive in the depths of the ocean

Monday 8/5/13

Pre: Proraso White crema pre barba
Razor: Gillette NEW LC w/ Ikon Shavecraft handle
Blade: Shark Super Chrome (shark week!)
Brush: Semogue Italian Barber LE
Cream: Old Spice Original
Post: Thayer's original + Old Spice Classic AS

Chaloney said:

In other news, we did manage to catch a bit of shark week last night--megalodon. Giant prehistoric shark that may still be alive in the depths of the ocean

Click to expand...

I watched this as well and was in awe thinking if this shark really does exist...

Razor: 1936 Gillette Aristocrat
Blade: Shark Super Chrome
Brush: Morris & Forndran "Chief"
Soap: QCS Iced Key Lime
Balm: QCS Vostok

The Shark SC used to be my daily go to blade in my Futur. It gave me incredibly smooth BBS shaves on a regular basis. In my 1936 Aristocrat, the shave is not as comfortable. I get a bit of tugging and require a bit more effort to get the blade moving. I did achieve a great BBS shave, but I don't think this blade will do well over the course of the week. It just goes to show how blades perform drastically different in each razor. BTW, my face is absolutely frozen right now from the Iced Key Lime and Vostok....which is great because I'm about to go outside and mow the lawn in the hot sun.

Since my brother got a Supervising Editor title for his work on Shark Week this year I guess I have to take part!
So for today:
Semogue 1438
Razorock XX
EJ89 w/ Shark SS
Nivea Energy AS
Lacoste Sport EdT

Hmmm, isn't this week "Shark Week" on Discovery Channel? I'm not in on this IOTW because no sharks are lurking in my den. I will stay tuned and see if the posts here talk me into trying some.