adjustable question

I'm sure some of you saw my post the other day acquiring an adjustable, but here goes: I purchased a 1963 Gillette I2 Slim adjustable and it came in the mail yesterday. Which setting should I start with? I've never used an adjustable before, and I think I'll wait to shave with it for the first time until Monday when I have a few days' growth, but I'm unsure where to start. I'm thinking about starting at 5 for the first WTG pass and then deciding whether or not I need to go up or down. The skin on my face is pretty tough and does not irritate easily, but my neck is very susceptible to irritation.

Start with 3 on a Slim, 5 on a Fat Boy, but it depends upon the blade, how many passes you plan to make, etc. I'd start with 3/5 with a sharp blade like an Astra, Feather, 7 'o'clock Black, etc.

3/5 is kind of Tech-like, or Super Speed to me.

To me, starting at 5/7 would be the low end of aggressive, rather than middling with a sharper blade brand. The blade is an important factor.

virtualkelly said:

Start with 3, but it depends upon the blade, how many passes you plan to make, etc. I'd start with 3 with a sharp blade like an Astra, Feather, 7 'o'clock Black, etc.

3 is kind of Tech-like, or Super Speed to me.

To me, starting at 5 would be the low end of aggressive, rather than middling with a sharper blade brand. The blade is an important factor.

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Agreed. I started on 3 and ended up on 4 eventually. So 4 is fine for me, but you may find 5 or 6 is better for your face. Just start low and go slow.
Great razor, BTW.

I'd start with 5. It's smack in the middle.

BSAGuy said:

I'd start with 5. It's smack in the middle.

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I started with 5 on the Slim with the same logic. Aggressiveness-wise, it seemed almost like a Gillette NEW LC to me at 5, surprising for a closed comb razor (the NEW is open comb). Then I went to 3 and liked it better. But if you have an aggressive beard, maybe 5 is indeed better. I think I settled at a 4 like garak7 did. On the Fat Boy, I needed to dial it up more to 5 to start.

BSAGuy said:

I'd start with 5. It's smack in the middle.

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+2 on this. I just got a slim about a month ago and figured right in the middle was the best place to start to get a feel for the "average" aggression of the razor. Then I could go up or down from there. I seem to have settled on 4-5 for a single days growth and 7 when I have a few days to cut down.

I use 1.5 to 2 on their 6 point scales with my Mergress and Merkur Futur. The advice I've always heard is start low and if that works and doesn't seem too aggressive, go up a notch. Aggressiveness, to me is about blade gap, or exposure, which is what gets adjusted, along with angle to a degree. Greater blade exposure is what you get in an open comb, isn't it? Blade sharpness differences don't seem particularly relevant to this, I feel.

I prefer to start low, you can always move up if its not close enough. Its been a while since ive used mine, but i recall 1 and 2 hardly remove anything, so i would start at 3. If you do adjust upwards during shave, open the jaws a bit first, then retighten.

I might add... keep track of what you like because everyone who looks at your razor will mess with the setting! Oops. Surprise!

Fat Boy is different than a Slim to me, which might be different than a Black Beauty (yucky nickname), and so on. The Fat Boy is milder to me than the Slim and therefore needs dialed up a bit more.

And the razor's condition might play a factor too (they are all vintage). But I ramble on...

AbbyW2 said:

I use 1.5 to 2 on their 6 point scales with my Mergress and Merkur Futur. The advice I've always heard is start low and if that works and doesn't seem too aggressive, go up a notch. Aggressiveness, to me is about blade gap, or exposure, which is what gets adjusted, along with angle to a degree. Greater blade exposure is what you get in an open comb, isn't it? Blade sharpness differences don't seem particularly relevant to this, I feel.

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If that were the case, one would only have to adjust angle and/or pressure to fix a poor edge on a straight razor. I don't think so. Blade sharpness is germane to aggressiveness. Also, your adjustables are somewhat more aggressive than the vintage Slim the OP mentioned.

Start at two or three and go up from there until you find your favourite. It took me a couple shaves to dial in on what I liked best. Then play around with the setting for different passes/areas of your face to see what is best for you and when. That's the great thing about adjustables, you get 9 razors in one!

I agree with "Start at three."