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DE Shaving: Thoughts, Impressions and a Runon Thread

Hi All, I very much enjoy reading threads such as js_nocal's, particularly those new to DE shaving, as well as other's thoughts on products to try, technique tips, etc.

As I am only a couple months in myself, I don't want to clutter the existing review section just yet but have been posting "informal" reviews on products tried and how they performed in "our" section here to hopefully make at the very least interesting reading and at most perhaps steer people to new stuff to try that has offered quality performance.

With that in mind I tried three more products yesterday/today and thought I would just start a master thread of product impressions, shaving revelations (if they come) and other random things instead of totally separate posts.

Hope it proves helpful!

P.S. anybody else trying some interesting stuff please chime in as well!
 
Picked up a gold Weishi razor from QED to use traveling as I travel quite a bit for work. Wanted to try the Weishi as it is very polarizing, love/hate and has a reputation for being a mild shaver - felt this may pay dividends when shaving half awake after a long flight.

The razor comes nicely packaged in a plastic travel case, mirror, brush and 5 Dorco blades enclosed. I was impressed by the weight of the razor (more than I expected) and overall pleased, particularly as my first TTO.

Even more so when I read that the razor "Needlessly load and dischange shaver Inimitably rotate tang". You shot who in the what now?

Regardless, I went for a two shave day yesterday and lathered up last night with another QED soap: Grapefruit/Peppermint.

The Weishi is in fact very mild, so much so that I felt it was almost making me more careless in a way. However, I was able to find the sweetspot of blade angle that allowed for a decent shave after a modest amount of trial and error.

The thing is, the zone for blade angle was not as broad as Merkur or EJ razors that I also use and I found that if I let it slip to either to shallow or too deep by even a small amount the razor would simply scrape lather vs. cut whiskers.

Conclusion: All in all, for the price I think this will be a good little travel razor and with appropriate attention deliver good shaves! In fact, I could see this as being a good razor for some of our newer female DE shavers as it is very accomodating.
 
No secret I have become a HUGE fan of QED soaps/sticks since picking some up a few weeks ago...

The latest arrival was Grapefruit/Peppermint, Special 218 and Mocha Java stick. They all smelled fantastic and I couldn't wait to take the Grapefruit for a test run. Literally. So I lathered up last night and had a shave.

The scent is, well, like grapefruits. The hint of peppermint offers up even more crispness on top for a great "hot weather" soap. As it was 106F here yesterday with heat index it was perfect!

After loading, the lather was typical of Charles' products: thick and creamy, very rich in the scent of EO and quickly filled the bathroom with a refreshing citrus. I felt like I was back in SoCal standing in a citrus grove! After about a 20sec load I had plenty of lather for a three pass shave + touch up and even with a new razor (Weishi) got solid results.

Conclusion: $13.95 for 5oz is a great value in my opinion and his soaps have quickly become some of my favorites based on the availability of solid, non-perfume"y" scents that perform as well or better than any soaps I have tried to date.

I heartily recommend checking 'em out!
 
What can you say? I picked up a tub as this is a classic and felt that it was a "must try". Definitely a reason for this!

I was a little concerned as the tub is fairly small and even with a "soft" soap I have found that loading my brush properly is the most important step for getting decent lather. There was barely enough room to swirl on top but I shouldn't have worried.

After loading (I didn't pre-soak the surface of the soap) for 45sec or so with a pre-soaked but mostly dry brush a la Jim's tutorial I began building lather in a bowl. The smell was great: rich with the nutty scent of almonds. Very old school and with the slow addition of a few sprinkles of water the lather just exploded.

This lather was so rich and thick it was unlike any soap I have tried. In fact, it was more like shaving gravy. It was all over the place, sticking to the sides of the bowl, my hand, the brush. Couldn't wait to get busy.

On the face, the lather made for a great and well cushioned shave (I used an EJ DE89L with Shark Super Chrome blade) and provided a base for a zero irritation shave, even with a bit of overdoing it on the neck just to try some different ATG passes.

Applying I found that for some reason this soap just begs to be face lathered vs. bowl and as such I don't think I will go the bowl route: just feels more "right" to face lather with it.

Conclusion: Cella is a great soap, one that based on performance alone I can recommend that all DE shavers should give a shot. Add the fact that it has changed little in 100 years and you have a real piece of shaving history at your fingertips. Five beards up!
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
Hey Luc, thanks for reading. Unfortunately I am unable to post reviews as of yet due to site constraint but will add some content when able for sure.

Ah, you must be close to 45 days then...
 
Reckon so... have to be pretty close to the 45 day chip.


Today tried the QED mocha java shave stick with DE89L, Shark Super Chrome blade.

I am not a cologne sort of guy by nature, tend to the more "outdoors-y", subtle scents or soaps that smell like soap. Nonetheless, I was very curious about the mocha java as it just sounded so different and by other reports is great for sensitive skin: all true.

Same routine per Luc's great stick lathering tutorial and off and running per usual with the QED products. Great, thick, cushioning lather. The stick itself is coincidentally a chocolate brown in color and consequently the lather is not white but more of an almond color.

Smell is more chocolate than java but if you're in to chocolate (my wife) you'll love it (my wife, again). The bathroom smelled like Willy Wonka by the end of the shave with a side order of baked brownies.

Since the lather is tan in color, I did feel it was a little messier than regular soap's white peaks, particularly as I was face lathering which is slightly messier for me anyway. In fact, I worked up a bowl with KMF lime after to fully clean my brush. Probably not necessary but I am "particular" that way.

The shave itself was great, plenty of rich lather for 4x passes and no sign of irritation whatsoever.

Just didn't click for me though. I am not a chocolate fan by nature and although this stick definitely performs, it's not my cup of tea. Glad that I tried it as it is very unusual but made me feel like I was rubbing a candy bar all over my beard! I guess I just prefer the mainstream vs. fringe soap flavors.

Conclusion:Solid performer and great if your last name is Hershey. Slightly more expensive than other QED sticks at $13.50 but a little goes a long way.
 
EJ DE89L
+
Astra Superior Blade
+
Tabac (saving the Special 318 for the weekend and wanted to see if the smell had grown on me. No.)
+
Rooney 3/1
= One of my best shaves ever!

I had read that the Astra blades were worth trying and ordered a couple packs from WCS. They are packaged in cardboard with dual paper wraps on each individual blade. The blade itself is secured in the inner with what seemed a overdone amount of adhesive but no big deal.

These things are SMOOTH like Isaac Hayes. Particularly on neck passes. After two passes on my cheeks I could literally hear NO whiskers being cut on the third pass. Zero weepers, rash, burn, etc. Pretty amazing how balanced these blades performed.

Thus far I like Feather and Crystals the most however these combine the best of both sharpness and comfort and certainly will remain a go to blade if not take the top spot in selection!

Conclusion:
If you have not tried these yet and are struggling with ATG passes or other general discomfort I highly recommend checking 'em out. As always YMMV.
 
DE89L + Crystal Blade + Rooney 3/1

Short and sweet - buy this stick.

Performs great (better than great actually) and is unscented. Smells like very clean soap - perfect for me as I generally have shied away from "scented" products my entire life.

The stick is tallow based, ships in a cardboard box enclosed in paper. To use, I simply tore off ~.5 inch of the paper, applied after a warm shower and began to face lather. This stuff is so pure that, regardless of whether actually true or not, the lather seemed more white than any other soap I have tried.

"It's like, how much more white could this be? And the answer is none. None more white."

Shave was superb, very cushioned and I frankly overloaded on lather despite a relatively light "load" on the face ending with much more produced than I needed.

Grab a stick for $9 from your favorite retailer and treat your face to 107 years of shaving history.

Conclusion: This will be a regular part of my soap selection and in fact I want to try the actual almond soap now. Italian products seem to be the hot ticket for me (Proraso, Cell and Volabra all above average).
 
EJ DE89L + Crystal Blade + Rooney 3/1

I ordered a tub of QC Key Lime from our very own Matthew (mretzloff) this past Wednesday afternoon. The package arrived Saturday - very timely, particularly for a business that just announced their grand opening August 14. Great service and the soap arrived with a personalized note of thanks. Nice touch from a fellow B&B member.

The 4 oz. of soap itself was packed well and upon opening there was a very nice lime scent. Actual lime, not a version of what lime is "supposed" to smell like. The soap itself is a very soft soap, more similar to cream (it's billed as a shave soap cream) and has a unique appearance due to the lack of colorants. Almost like steel cut oatmeal in color and very much apparent that this is artisan quality product.

On shaving this morning I scooped an almond size portion from the tub and began building lather in a bowl as is custom with a new soap, getting the feel. [Next time I will actually load the brush from the tub I think].

It didn't take much as this soap seems to need to produce lather as a life goal. It literally created so much that I had lather all over my hand, brush, bowl. Everywhere. And this stuff was thick and rich offering both great cushion and a slick feel. Perfect.

While mixing, the scent of lime EO actually "bloomed" getting more intense as I continued to work the lather for a very pleasant lime scent. More akin to the smell of actual lime peel than the Jello-like interpretation of other lime scented products I have tried.

On to the shave: great. I couldn't stop as I had too much lather. I must have done 6 passes on my neck alone. Poor whiskers didn't stand a chance and none were left standing. I not only achieved BBS but think I polished my face in the process with no sign of irritation or ill effect. Pretty amazing as I did totally over do it by normal standards but I couldn't stop.

Conclusion: this is a remarkable soap/cream and one which I would heartily endorse at twice the price (it is $7.50 for 4oz. tub). There is definitely some elfin magic going on as it really blends lather with lubricity for an optimum shave. No doubt due to the vitamin E, tallow, coconut/olive oil and kaolin clay that Matthew has blended to perfection. 100% paraben free too!

Great product and very curious to see where he takes his assortment next.
 
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