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Supply Provision Stainless Steel Injector Tour/Pass-Around

well the Supply Provisions Co. razor is back in Texas!
I decided to start with the mild #1 plate. I loaded it with one of my own Chick blades and saw how the key does not open it properly, but with the slightest presser with my other thumb on the base plate it loaded fine. (I'll try to capture that when I change blades next. I was really surprised at how many blades are traveling with this pass-around, this could go on a long time.
$20161006_182934.jpg

As far as I know this is the latest list for the tour, so @hahnevince559 can PM me with address info if they are still interested. I plan to test for about a week, then send it on the road again.
Supply Provision Injector Tour
Graydog
polishaver
ciderguy
tylehman
(shaving)
hahnevince559
ShaverGN
gflande1
mrlandpirate
1kentj
big70tom
ED3054
 
well this morning it whipped up some mitchell's wool fat shaving soap and did a shave with the 1 dot plate. it felt very smooth, no irritation and was about as good as any shave i can get. it felt like i could not cut myself. i could softly hear it cutting but felt nothing. i can get BBS or near it on my cheeks, but never on my neck. i have course hair and on my neck it grown in all direction. i can always feel a little stubble in one direction or another... this was about as good as other razors can do for me, but it did it so smoothly.... that said, i did have some trouble around my chin, and i think the issue may be the very high blade stops.

$20161007_200848.jpg
this picture has the blade installed.

i usually have to go sideways above the chin and below my lip. i think that the high stops interfered a little, and i could not get the rough spots like i can with my schick E3 for example.

i also felt that i could lose my grip a when shaving because of the tapered handle. over all i liked the weight and feel in my hand, i just felt that i could lose my grip as a shifted holds from shaving N-S to S-N for example.

in the end the alum did not sting at all, and the clubman bay rum splash was uneventful.

i will switch the base plate for the 2 dot standard base plate and manually load the same blade for tomorrows shave.
 
well this morning it whipped up some mitchell's wool fat shaving soap and did a shave with the 1 dot plate. it felt very smooth, no irritation and was about as good as any shave i can get. it felt like i could not cut myself. i could softly hear it cutting but felt nothing. i can get BBS or near it on my cheeks, but never on my neck. i have course hair and on my neck it grown in all direction. i can always feel a little stubble in one direction or another... this was about as good as other razors can do for me, but it did it so smoothly.... that said, i did have some trouble around my chin, and i think the issue may be the very high blade stops.

View attachment 693999
this picture has the blade installed.

i usually have to go sideways above the chin and below my lip. i think that the high stops interfered a little, and i could not get the rough spots like i can with my schick E3 for example.

i also felt that i could lose my grip a when shaving because of the tapered handle. over all i liked the weight and feel in my hand, i just felt that i could lose my grip as a shifted holds from shaving N-S to S-N for example.

in the end the alum did not sting at all, and the clubman bay rum splash was uneventful.

i will switch the base plate for the 2 dot standard base plate and manually load the same blade for tomorrows shave.
thanks for the pics and for the detailed review, I have the version 3 preordered with the 3 plates, keep the opinions coming :)
 
shaved today with TOBS lavender cream with the 2 dot plate, same blade as yesterday.
over all it was not as smooth as yesterday with the mild plate. today i paid more attention to the edges of the shave stroke and the tall blade stops really do cut a line outside of the shaving area. maybe i can capture that later. but basically i get a stripe in the shaving cream, then shaving cream again, and then the ares that is being cut. not sure if this is a real problem, but it makes it harder to shave close to my mustache for example. in the end i did have a little alum sting, it just did not feel as good today. i usually can many more shaves from an injector blade, and i don't think i did anything to it when i did the manual load. tomorrow i will try the 3 dot plate. with the same blade, then i may try it again with one of the more aggressive plates with a new blade if i have issues tomorrow.

the razor looks nice on the side of the sink. and there is no reason not to keep it that way between shaves, especially if you don't have a lot of razors.
$20161008_125413.jpg

however; it does not play that well with some of the standard razor stands. although i could get a picture, i would not use it this way, it would be too unstable.
$20161008_133018.jpg
 
i usually can many more shaves from an injector blade, and i don't think i did anything to it when i did the manual load. tomorrow i will try the 3 dot plate. with the same blade, then i may try it again with one of the more aggressive plates with a new blade if i have issues tomorrow.

Nice photos! I ended up loading the blade at the same time that I changed heads. It seemed better than trying to feed the blade in there and worrying about it ruining the edge. I'm happy to hear it is shaving well for you.
 
well now for my latest installment.

first i wanted to show you what i see as i shave with the tall stops. as you can see here it makes a line were the stop rubs away the shaving soap,and because of the height, the blade can not cut anything too close to the stop. for the most part that is fine, because you can just get it on the next pass, but as a result it is hard to get in close to spots you don't want to shave, like up against my mustache, or sideburns. there is also a spot in the curve of my chin that i can not get from any direction with this razor, because i can not get the edge in there. not something that shows much but i can feel it on my chin and other razors can get that spot with two sideways passes with the edge of the razor.
$20161009_104712.jpg
yesterday i used the 3 dot plate and had some irritation on my neck, it was also the 3rd shave on the blade. i thought that maybe i did something to the blade when changing it out each day with new base plates. so i thought i would try a new blade for today. i know that this was a first run and is known to have some problems, but the beauty of the injectors is how the blade change works. in my first attempt, it tried to load a second blade on top of the first
$20161009_134241.jpg
with a little pressure on the base plate i could get it to work properly or so i thought
$20161009_134336.jpg
but as i loaded it further the blade started to go crooked.
$20161009_134455.jpg
i hope the newer ones have fixed this issue, because one of the nicest things about injectors is the ease of changing the blades.

so far my most pleasant shave was with the mild 1 dot plate. it may be that i wanted a closer shave with the more aggressive setting and just did too many passes, expecting a more efficient shave and trying to get it there, and maybe i did not have those expectation with the mild first try. i can get a decent shave with all of them but i have been doing more passes that i usually do with other razors trying to get especially my neck better, but ending up with some irritation that last an hour or so.

tomorrow i am using the blade i just used today and going back to the 1 dot base plate. i may try a DE on one side to see if i am just trying too hard with the Supply Provisions razor, or if i am expecting too much because i want the more expensive razor produce a better shave.
 
The New and The Old

i have really been perplexed about how the Supply Provisions SS Injector razor shaves. i am not one that shies away from aggressive razors. i really like the Gem MMOC and E3, Gillette New Improved, and the Merkur Futur, but on this anything above the 1-dot did not feel smooth and gave me problems on my neck.

today i use the same blade that i loaded yesterday but switched back to the 1-dot plate. i also decided to compare by using 2 razors. i shaved the right side with the Supply Provisions and the left with a Gem E3.
$20161011_202729.jpg

i used the RazorRock green tea soap.
i could tell right away that the 1-dot plate made all of the difference. like the first time, the shave was very comfortable and really as close as any of the more aggressive plates. on the left i used the E3 and although not quite as smooth feeling i could shave with no irritation. i did 3 passes on both sided. in the end i would say the E3 has the slight edge and it did do better in the inside curve of my chin that i blame the high blade stops on the Supply Provisions razor for its difficulties. both sides felt fine, and did not sting with alum or Captains Choice Bay Rum AS. i will probably do one more blade change with the ted pella blades just to see if that make a difference.

so far i am feeling that this nice looking Stainless Steel razor is not enough better for me justify the cost. if i was to buy, one i am really surprised to say, that i would go for the mild 1-dot model. the fact that it has so much trouble working as an injector, is also a big problem for me. (that may have been fixed by now, i understand this is a first generation model) looking at the plates it is very hard to see what the difference is. i think that the safety bar just drops a little as the aggression goes up. and that may be causing me to use the razor at a slightly steeper angle, causing more irritation.

i am feeling that i have gotten a good feel for the razor, so i will be ready to pass it on soon. thanks again poonjaji for making this pass-around possible. so far i have not heard from @hahnevince559 and will wait through the weekend before contacting the next on the list.
 
well i have shaved several more times and for the the 1 dot is the best for me. when i held up the different plates i really had an hard time seeing difference. so i took a picture of all 3 and can now see that the bars is slightly lower as going from 1-3 dots.
$20161015_221507.jpg
as a result i think i was changing my angle when shaving, which is why i was getting the feeling that i was shaving with too steep of an angle with the 2 and 3 dot base plates. maybe with more time i could have gotten better with more aggressive plates, but for a quick morning shave before work, the 1 dot plate was foolproof for getting a decent comfortable shave, without even being fully awake. overall i think that with the 1 dot plate it would be a nice razor if i was a one razor guy. it looks good on the side of the sink, it feels like a quality tool when you hold it. it does a fine job but not the best i have. if i had moved from a cartridge to this, i could be perfectly happy with the decision. but alas i have RAD and i love vintage, so for the price, i could have 5 to 10 vintage razors....i can tell you i could have saved money if i had just bought a Supply Provision razor and stopped.

now it is time to get it packed up and sent off to the next person on the list [MENTION=65597]ShaverGN[/MENTION].

Supply Provision Injector Tour
Graydog (done)
polishaver (done)
ciderguy (dine)
tylehman (done)

hahnevince559 (decided to pass)
ShaverGN (in transit)
gflande1
mrlandpirate
1kentj
big70tom
ED3054

tonight i have all parts in the sonic cleaner and will get it all boxed up. the shipping label has been printed and it will be on its way to ShaverGN Monday.
$20161015_222310.jpg
i did have to retire the USPS flatrate box and get a new one. the old one had no place to add postage anymore and it was mostly packing tape anyway.

thanks again to [MENTION=16186]poonjaji[/MENTION] for generously providing his razor for the Pass-Around.
 
Received my long awaited Supply Provision razor this afternoon.
Inspected, cleaned, and loaded for an early morning shave.
First impression...with the key inserted in the razor, there's way to much play between the razor head and the base. The blade can easily fall out. See the attached picture.

$Supply Provision # 1.jpg
 
First shave. MWF with a RR synthetic brush.
Used a one dot base plate and a Schick blade.
Solid metal construction gives a very noticeable tactile and auditory feed-back.
The set-up is very mild. Too mild for my taste. I did 5 passes (WTGx2, ATGx2, XTGx1) and still did not achieve BBS. It is possible that I might have dulled the blade while inserting it into the razor.
Irritation, as judged by alum sting, was minimal.
 
First shave. MWF with a RR synthetic brush.
Used a one dot base plate and a Schick blade.
Solid metal construction gives a very noticeable tactile and auditory feed-back.
The set-up is very mild. Too mild for my taste. I did 5 passes (WTGx2, ATGx2, XTGx1) and still did not achieve BBS. It is possible that I might have dulled the blade while inserting it into the razor.
Irritation, as judged by alum sting, was minimal.
its possible, happened to a lot of people when loading even the vintage injector razors, this one is not immune to that also.
 
Shave # 2. Two-dot base plate, new Schick blade, same soap and brush.
Much closer shave. Probably should have stopped after 3 passes. After 5, I had BBS, a few small wheepers, and some minimal irritation.
 
Shave # 3.
Three-dot base plate and Schick razor blade.
To avoid damaging the blade, I placed it into the base, then screwed the base to the body of the razor. It's very easy to do.
The three-dot base plate is significantly more aggrieve. Three passes and minimal clean-up gave me almost a BBS. One small weeper on Addams apple.
I will next try all the base plates with Ted Pella blades.
Report to follow.
 
Very interesting that we each have different experiences with this. The biggest letdown to me was the poor injector performance, but loading manually is very easy.

sent with much dificulty with Tapatalk on my phone
 
Shave # 3.
Three-dot base plate and Schick razor blade.
To avoid damaging the blade, I placed it into the base, then screwed the base to the body of the razor. It's very easy to do.
The three-dot base plate is significantly more aggrieve. Three passes and minimal clean-up gave me almost a BBS. One small weeper on Addams apple.
I will next try all the base plates with Ted Pella blades.
Report to follow.
would love to hear how Personna blades will perform for you
 
Member added.

Supply Provision Injector Tour
Graydog (done)
polishaver (done)
ciderguy (dine)
tylehman (done)

hahnevince559 (decided to pass)
ShaverGN (shaving)
gflande1
mrlandpirate
1kentj
big70tom
ED3054
mdevine
 
For my last three shaves, I used Ted Pella blades. Tried them with one, two, and three dot base plates.
I feel like Goldilocks. One dot was too mild; three dot too aggressive; two dot just right.
I didn't see much difference between Schick and Pella blades.
Also, tried shaving my nugget with two dot base plates. Two passes. Had a small nick on the back of my head and minimal irritation.

A few more shaves, and the razor will be passed to @gflande1.
 
[MENTION=16186]poonjaji[/MENTION] I'd love to sign up and partake in this passaround as well! Looks like a very nice razor.
Member added.

Supply Provision Injector Tour
Graydog (done)
polishaver (done)
ciderguy (dine)
tylehman (done)

hahnevince559 (decided to pass)
ShaverGN (shaving)
gflande1
mrlandpirate
1kentj
big70tom
ED3054
mdevine
 
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