SE newbie going for DeSEmber. G-Bar and Bullet Tip.

A while back, I got my first two SE's, a G-bar and a Bullet Tip. I only got one shave in with the G-bar before OCtober started and had a couple of other razors to try out during November, so now I'm going to dedicate the last four weeks of the year to learning the art of shaving with my Gems. I'll be using Gem Stainless that I picked up from Walgreens.



My first shave with the G-bar back in September was good enough, but I managed to nick myself on the chin due to the unfamiliar head geometry. Fast forward to Sunday and I could begin things in earnest. Sunday and Monday The results were good enough, but not quite as close as I get with my DE's, and the Alum gave me just a little sting. I skipped Tuesday due to Time constraints but came back Today (Wednesday) with the best result yet. Mostly BBS except for a couple of problem areas around the adam's apple and the bottom edge of my throat that I still have to figure out. The alum block gave me an improved grade too. I'm feeling pretty confident now that practice will make perfect So I'm going to finish out 2 weeks with the G-Bar and then take 2 weeks with the Bullet Tip.

I'm curious to see how long the blades will last as I usually get in the low 30's from my Astra SP's when I shave DE. I'm also thinking about going for a wetter mixture in my lather. Some of my go-to strokes with a DE don't work on my face with the SE head geometry and the shallow angle so I'll be refining a few of those things too. I'm looking forward to a month of trying new things.

A stainless PTFE blade in the G-Bar shaves wonderfully for me. I did not like the G-Bar as much as I now do when I was previously using Drug Store Stainless Blades.

I don't know if it's that my touch is improving or if the blade has smoothed out with a little use, but it's gotten more comfortable now that I'm up to 6 shaves on the blade. Perhaps it's a combination of factors. I know I'll be getting some of the PTFE blades down the road as they have such a good reputation, but I'm thinking that the stainless are going to turn out all right for me. That's kind of cool because I seem to have a special attraction for stuff I can find in the real world.

The G-bar itself is getting more fascinating the more I use it. The handle with it's slanted foot tab is really quite unique. I'm finding I'm using that tab for all kinds of fine control with my third or fourth finger. Each and every shave I've been making refinements to my technique and each shave has been better than the previous. I definitely think the G-bar will be a welcome member of my rotation. I'm becoming of the opinion that SE shaving is likely to be neither better nor worse than DE shaving for me. That's great, because I enjoy variety.

PM me if you want some PTFE Gems.