Blade Trials, Final Round!

Way back in early November, not long after I started DE shaving, I ordered the 12/75 Blade Sampler from the fine folks at Maggards Razors. Then, in late February, as I was getting down to the last four types of blades, I solicited some feedback on other blade brands to try (see http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/390052-Please-recommend-new-blades-to-try5 for details). The answers of the fine gentlemen who responded to that thread led to purchase of three more types of blades, all of which were auditioned with feedback posted (see http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/391454-My-B-amp-B-All-Star-Blades-Trials).

That was round one of the blade trials. We're now on the Final Round. Of the original 15 blades recommended and/or purchased, six are left. It is now time to reveal the finalists!

Without further ado, the finalists are:

1. Gillette 7o'clock Super Stainless (Green) / Trumper's GFT
2. Polsilver SI / AOS Lemon
3. Feather / AOS Lemon
4. Gillette 7o'clock SharpEdge (Yellow) / Trumper's GFT
5. Astra SP / AOS Lemon
6. Gillette Silver Blue / Trumper's GFT

Interestingly enough, this is also the order they will be competing and the cream they will be auditioned with. Both the blade order and, separately, the cream order were randomly generated thanks to the list generator on random.org.

The rules of engagement are as follows:

1. Each blade will be given one week (three shaves) to strut its stuff.
2. Each blade will be used in my EJ89.
3. The same technique and number of passes will be used for each blade.
4. Blades will be evaluated on the following criteria:
   • First Stroke comfort -- how the blade feels on the very first stroke of the very first pass of the very first use of the blade (ie, when it's a fresh blade)
   • Skin damage -- weepers/nicks.
   • Touch-up duration -- how much cleaning up needs to happen
   • Overall quality of shave

I will, of course, post my impressions of each blade as the week progresses. My hope is that, after six weeks, I will be able to announce my preferred blade. In the event that we reach the end of the six weeks and there is more than type of blade remaining, another "shave off" will be devised... or, I may just consider both of them my preferred blade!

Great idea. You are a lot further along than I am. I'm still trying to narrow down my original stash of 25 blade samples down to six (or so) like you have. And once I get through them all, I was planning to post similar results. Will be interested in your take on those 6 finalists, though I have already eliminated 2 of yours from my list - and you have none of my current Top 3 even listed. Really proves YMMV!

ArmyMedicDad said:

Great idea. You are a lot further along than I am.

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Thank you for the kind words. Keep in mind, I've been doing this since late November, so it's taken me about seven months to get here -- and I'm still almost two months away from an answer!

I'm still trying to narrow down my original stash of 25 blade samples down to six (or so) like you have.

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If I might suggest a strategy, consider this: Use the first round to cull out the dead weight (ie, the blades that are just non-starters out of the gate). Then, a second round to help you move out the blades that are good, but not good enough, with a final round to select a winner. I look forward to seeing your results!

Will be interested in your take on those 6 finalists (though I have already eliminated 2 of yours from my list)

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I am sorely tempted to ask you what you removed that was on my finalists list, but I don't want to bias my own perceptions. May I revisit this with you when this round is over?

Random Shaver said:

I am sorely tempted to ask you what you removed that was on my finalists list, but I don't want to bias my own perceptions. May I revisit this with you when this round is over?

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Sounds good. Once you finish the final trial, I'll let you know what I eliminated from your list (long ago), and what my top choices were that didn't even make it as your finalists.

Good morning, colleagues, and welcome to the inaugural post of the final round of blade trials! This morning's contender is the Gillette 7o'clock Super Stainless (Green).

After a leisurely Sunday morning shower while the Omega 48 soaked, I lathered up the GFT and then applied to my face. Without much further ado, my shave commenced. I performed my normal three-pass-plus-touch-up shave. According to the criteria listed in the first post, here's how this blade stacked up:

• First Stroke comfort: On first stroke, the blade moved with the smallest bit of resistance through my few-day-old growth. So far, so good.
• Skin damage: There were a few tiny weepers, but nothing to be concerned about.
• Touch-up duration: Touch-up was average, mostly the tract from my chin down to my throat, the hollows of my cheeks, and my jawline. Typical places for me.
• Overall quality of shave: Overall, this blade performed well. It was not as sharp as I remember, but I have to keep in mind that this was the first blade I tried after a month of Derby's when I did my one-month shave break-in. Still, it acquitted itself well, giving me a smooth -- heck, BBS -- shave. It wasn't as comfortable as I would have liked, but if this was the blade I had to use on a long-term basis, I wouldn't complain.

After my shave, I followed up with a round of witch hazel then after cleaning up the sink counter and doing some other related things, I finished with a hit of Captain's Choice Lime. A short bit of sting told me that either I went a little too hard on the pressure or this blade was a fine exfoliator. Given the overall quality of shave, I'd bet on mostly the latter with perhaps a little of the former.

There's some stiff competition in the field, and this blade still has two shaves left to go! Stay tuned!

Finals baby!

Day two of the Week of Gillette Green has come and gone with the passing of this evening's shave. Keep watching after the review of the standard criteria for a little something extra!

After I got home from work and took care of a few things, I soaked my Semogue SOC while I ate dinner. Then, I washed my face with cold water, whipped up a fresh batch of GFT lather, and set about my evening shave. Here is my four-part evaluation:

• First Stroke comfort: Only applicable with a fresh blade.
• Skin damage: A few more weepers on my personal weep-magnet, which is ancient Padagonian for "chin".
• Touch-up duration: Touch-up was a bit longer than usual, and earned this blade a lower grade for this shave. See below for some insights.
• Overall quality of shave: Overall, this blade performed merely adequately for a second shave. It seems like it lacks longevity of edge. As with yesterday's shave, it wasn't as comfortable as I would have liked. Based on tonight's shave, I'm not sure I'd want to use this blade long term as I'm entirely too aware of edge of the blade. This, to me, is an indicator that the blade is dulling. Still, it's earned a full three shaves, and it's going to get them. Tonight's performance hurt its chances at winning the competition, however, and it's going to take a stellar performance on Wednesday to make up for it. I'm not sure if it has the proverbial legs to last that long.

That little extra. . .


Because our colleagues here on B&B have spoken so highly of Fine Accoutrements' line of aftershaves, I ordered a seven-pack of samplers from Maggards (disregarding the Snake Bite, which is super-mentholated). This is my first experience with mentholated aftershaves, having only used Captain's Choice and Nivea Sensitive up until now. While I intend to continue using both of those wonderful products, it's always nice to see what else is out there.

Tonight's sample was "Fresh Vetiver". To tell you the truth, I had no idea what to expect from this scent, as I don't have any experience with vetiver. The scent, as best as I can describe it with my Mark I Scent Discriminator, is earthy and woody. I'm reminded of something, but I can't place what -- maybe a hint of the smell of the forest after the rain has passed, but everything smells "alive"? Unfortunately, I can't describe scents well, so if someone has a better description, I'm all ears (and nose!).

That said, it went on easily, and there was no sting. The menthol effect was subtle, except in those places that don't typically see a blade (sides of the neck, for example) which saw a more pronounced results. It wasn't uncomfortable by any means, but it was something of a surprise. When it gets hot out, I can see this being a benefit.

So far, it seems to agree with my skin, and the scent doesn't disagree with my nose, so I do believe I'll keep using it until the sample is gone. Then, we'll see if it's something I want to order.

Random Shaver said:

...Tonight's sample was "Fresh Vetiver"...

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Vetiver in French means grass, hence the green smell. It's a common male fragrance in Mediterranean countries for the heat.

The week of Gillette Greens is now officially over. Overall, this blade was a disappointment, but I strongly suspect that my prior experience set the bar too high for it. Recall that this was the first blade I tried after Derby, so by comparison, it was stellar. For sake of completeness, here are the Four Criteria:

• First Stroke comfort: Only applicable with a fresh blade.
• Skin damage: No chin weepers, but one little weeper just to the right of the mustache area.
• Touch-up duration: Touch-up was longer than usual, and resulted in some skin irritation due to the poor condition of the blade.
• Overall quality of shave: Many of my prior comments stand, though it's worth noting that the performance of this blade is further degraded. It just doesn't have the legs for a full three shaves. Its score has been reduced to reflect this.

Next up is the Week of Polsilver SI, to commence on Sunday!

ETA: I forgot to add, I tried another sample of Fine's products tonight -- Savon Lavande. When I opened the sampler to take a good whiff, I was not terribly impressed. It smelled soapy to me, and there was another scent (lavender, as it turns out) that didn't particularly appeal to me. I took the requisite amount into my palm spread it between both hands, then applied. No alcohol sting, but the scent of soapy "something" (lavender) filled my nostrils. The menthol was kind of nice, given how humid it was today, but it's pretty clear that lavender isn't for me. No worries -- I still have another five to try!

Happy Sunday, one and all, and a very special Father's Day to all of you reading this that are privileged to guide and mentor the next generation of shavers!

This being Week Two of the Final Round, Polsilver SI has the spotlight. Here are the Four Criteria:

• First Stroke comfort -- High marks here. It sliced through the fresh whiskers on the first stroke like they weren't there.
• Skin damage -- One slight weeper on my weeper magnet (that round thing at the center of my jawline underneath my lower lip). A tiny penalty applied for this for sake of consistency.
• Touch-up duration -- High marks here as well. Other than my sideburn area (which, for some reason, I'm stubborn about keeping BBS when I shave), the only other place that needed work was under my jaw and neck. Both of the latter places are typical for me. It's worth noting that the hollows of my cheeks did not need touch-up.
• Overall quality of shave -- High marks, too, as the shave was BBS with no irritation. This blade set a high bar for the remaining four blades to measure up to. We'll see how it holds up for the remaining shaves this week.

After the shave, I used a sample of Fine Accoutrements' L'Orange Noir aftershave. It performed well enough, but the scent was a turnoff. It smelled like what my hands might smell like after peeling/separating oranges rather than what the oranges themselves would smell like. It was not nearly as bright as, say, Captain's Choice Lime AS or AOS Lemon cream, as the scent seems marred/weighed down by something that diminishes the scent in a way that I found unflattering. This is not on my "to purchase" list, which presently includes the Platinum and Fresh Vetiver scents.

One day down, four more until the weekend! To celebrate surviving MurphyDay (also known as "Monday"), I decided to take a shave... just like I've done every Monday since late October!

Through the B/S/T, I purchased a shave bowl with the spiderweb design in it. I received it today, washed it out, and put it into use tonight. I'm speechless. Honestly, I am. I didn't think that the spiderwebbing (or any other kind of pattern in the clay) would make this big a difference, but I'm now a believer. The lather wasn't as stiff I would normally have liked, but I think that's because it was airier than I would normally make it. That isn't to say it was poor lather. It was just on a different axis of good, and there was plenty to go around for my passes.

Now on to the "Four Criteria":

• First Stroke comfort -- N/A, not a fresh blade.
• Skin damage -- One weeper on my cheek, two on my neck. Score reduced to reflect this.
• Touch-up duration -- While touch-up was shorter than typical, it was longer than it was when this blade was fresh. This time, the hollow of my cheeks needed a little work. So, while the blade performed well, it was not as good as yesterday. Accordingly, the score in this area for this shave is lower than yesterday's.
• Overall quality of shave -- I'm still pleased with this blade's performance. It's not as good as it was yesterday, but it's also not a fresh blade like it was yesterday.

To follow up, I used Fine Accoutrement's American Blend. I felt a little sting from the alcohol, then the menthol turned on -- WOW. Definitely more menthol than I was expecting. After the menthol calmed down and the scent came out, well, I'm not sure what to make of this scent at all. It's not bad or unpleasant, but I'm not sure it gets my motor going like Platinum or Fresh Vetiver did. Still, I'll give it another try later on in the rotation to see what I think.

Stay tuned for Polsilver's third and final performance on Wednesday!

Tonight was my third and final shave with the Polsilver SI, completing the Week of Polsilver. Without further ado, let's go on to the Four Criteria:

• First Stroke comfort -- N/A, not a fresh blade.
• Skin damage -- A few small weepers, but nothing major. A small penalty was applied to compensate.
• Touch-up duration -- As with the last shave, this touch-up was shorter than typical but longer than the first shave with this blade. The hollow of my cheeks didn't need much work, but my neck and jawline did as usual This blade performed on par with the previous performance. As a result, there was a small downtick from the original shave, score-wise, but it was even with the previous shave.
• Overall quality of shave -- This shave was quite nice overall, and I'm happy with the quality of shaves I've received from this blade. Good marks here, but not as high as the original shave.

Overall, this blade is in #1, with two blades having had their final round trials.

Next up is the blade everyone loves to be careful around -- the Feather!

Subscribed

You have my 2 favorites on your list, and I'm going to try the polsilvers soon. They are in the mail coming from TGBE. I think we have similar taste in blades so far. We'll see how the feather goes for you though.

-Wes

Jwesleym said:

You have my 2 favorites on your list, and I'm going to try the polsilvers soon. They are in the mail coming from TGBE. I think we have similar taste in blades so far. We'll see how the feather goes for you though.

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Welcome to the thread, Wes! I'm looking forward to getting back to the Feathers. In my original trials, they were effective. They were also quite aggressive at exfoliation, so I'll be interested to see how my improved technique impacts this. Sunday's shave is going to be quite interesting!

What are your two favorite blades?

I like the Astra SP and Gillette Silver Blues. I'll be trying the Polsilver SI blades soon, it seems many Astra SP users also like them. The Feathers really let me down after reading all the hype, but I'm using a '62 Tech and I have found that changing the razor does make a huge difference. So, I'll give the feathers another try someday with a different razor. Right now I'm working on my technique without changing variables for another week or so. The Polsilvers will be the first variable I change.

A pleasant morning to each and every one of you on this fine Sunday!

This morning's shave kicks off the Week of Feather, the blade everyone loves to fear. As indicated above, our cream of choice this week will be AOS Lemon. On to the Four Criteria:

• First Stroke comfort -- When I first tested this blade, I found that it was a little hesitant on the first stroke (over and above my over-caution given this blade's reputation). While I did not experience quite the same thing, that first stroke was not as smooth as I would like. Therefore, the score for this area has been reduced accordingly.
• Skin damage -- A few small weepers, including one in a spot I don't normally get them. Another ding on the score.
• Touch-up duration -- All of my usual spots needed touch-up, but I only needed a single touch-up pass to get everything cleaned up. The sole exception to this was the hollow of my cheeks, which required more manipulation of my skin than I've had to do at any point in the past. We'll see if it's my facial topography or the blade (or, to be fair, my technique).
• Overall quality of shave -- This shave was quite nice overall No irritation, and a very smooth shave. Good marks here.

I finished up my shave with a sample of Fine's Fresh Vetiver, which I'm growing quite fond of. I think this AS is a keeper, alongside the Platinum that i also love.

Until tomorrow, my friends, stay well and shave smoothly!

Happy Monday, my friends! One day down, four left to go!

Today marks day two of the Feather Trials. Here are the Four Criteria:

• First Stroke comfort -- N/A, not a fresh blade.
• Skin damage -- A few small weepers, including one on my Weeper Magnet. A small ding on the score to account for this.
• Touch-up duration -- All of my usual spots needed touch-up, but I only needed a single touch-up pass to get everything cleaned up. Tonight's touch-up was faster than yesterday's, so the score in this area was marked up from yesterday to account for the improvement.
• Overall quality of shave -- This shave was quite nice overall No irritation, and a very smooth shave. Good marks here.

After the last week or two of doing Fine's aftershaves, I returned to Captain's Choice Bay Rum tonight. It was a nice change of pace. There was a tiny bit of sting from the alcohol, but then a pleasant dry down. The one thing I found surprising is that I missed the menthol chill I've had for the past two weeks with Fine's products. It's amazing what you can quickly get used to!

See my next post for a special announcement!

When I was doing the B&B All-Star Blade Trials (see link in the first post), I finished up the original round and moved into the wildcard round with something I called RAD Rewards. Basically, I had just acquired a '56 Ball-End Tech and decided to use it. While the blade, a Voshkod, didn't agree with my face, I liked the intermission enough to do it again.

I have a social engagement in the evening on Saturday which is going to throw my Sunday shave schedule off. So, in the interests of consistency and not giving a blade a different shave cycle vs the others, I'm going to do another RAD Rewards Round. The timing here is most opportune, as this is the third of six weeks -- halftime!

Therefore, starting this Saturday (6/23), I will shave Saturday afternoon, Monday evening, and Wednesday evening. For this RAD Reward, I will use a new acquisition -- a birth year Super Speed! I bought this on B/S/T back in Mid-April but haven't used it until now. So, I'll pair this with a Feather blade (owing to the thought I've seen posted here that a mild razor like a Tech or Super Speed should be paired with a sharp blade) and give it a drive.

Of course, I'll be posting my results. Also, to make the half-time show a little more fun, I'll also be using an as of yet unspecified shaving cream sample for the week as well. Sure, this means I'm changing two things at once, but that's ok. I'm sure I'll re-visit the Super Speed under more disciplined circumstances later on.

Tonight's shave brings the Week of Feather to a close. Here's the Four Criteria for this final shave:

• First Stroke comfort -- N/A, not a fresh blade.
• Skin damage -- A few small weepers. A small ding on the score to account for this.
• Touch-up duration -- All of my usual spots needed touch-up, but I only needed a single touch-up pass to get everything cleaned up. Tonight's touch-up was similar in time to Monday's, so the score for this area during this shave is the same great marks it scored for the prior shave.
• Overall quality of shave -- This shave was quite nice overall No irritation, and a very smooth shave. Good marks here.

Thus far, Polsilver SI is the blade to beat, but Feather came in a very close second place. What hurt this blade's score was the subpar first stroke comfort score and the skin damage category. This is a great blade, but it's also a very unforgiving blade. The results speak for themselves in both positive terms and not so positive. If this blade won, I could easily live with that, but right now, Polsilver is holding the crown.

Next week will be RAD Rewards Round #2, then we'll return the following week on Sunday for the third competitor of the final round -- Gillette 7 o'clock SharpEdge (Yellow).

Stay tuned!

Hail and well met, fellow traveler on the De-Whisker Highway!

Today's shave was the first of RAD Rewards Round 2. The first time I did this, I used my '56 Ball-end Tech with a Voshkod blade. While the Voshkod tore up my chin with my usual EJ, it did a good job with the Tech. The challenge there was getting used to the Tech after months of EJ.

Fast forward to today, and enter the '71 Super Speed, this time with Feather blades. While I used this blade last week during my EJ trials, I decided to pair this mild razor with the sharp Feather and see what my results were like. Needless to say, the SS is a wonderful razor -- light, agile, forgiving, and mild. Feather, of course, is well-known as a sharp blade.

I now see first-hand the wisdom of pairing a very sharp blade with a very mild razor, as this combination yielded a wonderfully close, smooth, comfortable shave. Touch-up took a little longer than usual, which I chalk up mostly to getting used to the razor with a side-order of razor mildness. I would seriously consider this combination of razor and blade as a rotational alternative to my EJ and whatever blade wins the blade trials. In fact, once I'm done selecting a blade, I may try the finalist in the SS to see how well it works. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow night's shave, and, again, Tuesday's!

As a side note, the rest of my equipment for this iteration was: SOC Boar, Trumper's GFT, Fine's Fresh Vetiver AS.