GIVEAWAY! Challenge PIF - Vikings At The Gate

[Grundi]

Vikings At The Gate PIF - 3rd Mailing Update​

The 4th batch of Vikings At The Gate Blades are away!! These blades have been entrusted to the US Postal Service in hopes of getting them to our brave volunteers!!

B&B'ers, in this batch, who are guarding the Gates of their villages include @savecn, @om2000, and @Marsh1

I still have quite a bit of Vikings Sword, Crystals, and about 15 Personna Blue Label Blades to share!! (All Personna Red Labels have been sent out). Please join!! Your village needs you at the gate!!

 

[Grundi]

Vikings At The Gate - Crystal Platinum #1 - Shave #4

TL;DR - Shave was consistent with the other Shaves, DFS+ range, and one tiny drama dot

Equipment: SCS Mod A Razor, Crystal Platinum Blade (1), Crazy Goat OF Vanilla Oak Soap, DSC T4 Brush

Shave at the Gate: Hmmm, each of the shaves have started out slightly rough and then smoothed out. Today's was more of the same. My daughter went to my favorite fair (The Fryeburg Fair - I'm not going due to saving my time-off for an upcoming trip) and picked up some Crazy Goat Old Fashion Vanilla Oak Soap. This soap smells great and lathered nicely. The Crystal Platinum did its job keeping the fuzzies from coming thru the Gate!! Although I did receive a small weeper, the end result was right in the DFS+ range.

Up Next: Time to see things from the other side of The Gate.

 

[AndyPanda]

Blades arrived in California. Thanks so much!
I had a great shave today with the Personna Platinum Chrome in plain white wrapper - This must be the one you're calling blue label? (White plastic dispenser, Blue & Silver background with "Personna" in Red ink - isn't this blade AKA Israeli Red? Aren't the Blue and Red label still the identical blades inside?)

I face lathered some A&E Choco Cubano soap with the Kent BK4 badger brush (really enjoying this scent lately). The Masamune razor with the Personna blade was really super comfortable -- did a 3 pass plus touch up and got a very close shave without any irritation at all. Not super sharp but sharp enough and very smooth!

 

[Filudo]

Blades arrived today. Will start using them probably tomorrow. Thanks Grundi , Space Cadet and Mikey.

 

[TheBigL]

Super + Platinum #1 shave #3: Gillette Milord, Omega brush, Arko shave cream (but I'm having a brain fart as to which one!).

I don't do anything special to prolong blade life, just rinse and shake. Shave #3 was the end of this blade. One side felt "bitey" and I only managed one cheek on that edge. The other side was still usable but I have such a habit to flip sides between passes. I had to keep track of the sides. The blade had great degradation and I tossed it. Maybe it would have kept better with an alcohol dip or stropping, but I am no longer interested in trying to stretch blade life.

The AV Musk really had some burn to it. Overall, the shave was acceptable but wasn't that close and kinda prickly early on.

On to the next, I'm thinking Viking Sword.

 

[fast shaver]

Vikings Sword Blade #1 Shave #3
Tools Used: Hone Razor, Mogno soap, Disruptor brush & Bay Rum Aftershave.
Another nice two pass shave this A.M.
The blade is cutting very good so far.
The Bay Rum gave some moderate sting though.

 

[Grundi]

Vikings At The Gate - Viking's Sword #1 - Shave #1

TL;DR - Good shave #1, DFS+/BBS- range, and drama dot

Equipment: Gillette Gold Tech Razor, Viking's Sword Blade (1), Crazy Goat OF Vanilla Oak Soap, DSC T4 Brush

Shave at the Gate: Ok, the view from the other side of The Gate is actually quite nice. Pulling out the Gold Tech, and lathering up some Crazy Goat (Yarr!! Now there's a Crazy Goat in my swimming pool!!), this morning's shave was a good 1st shave with the Viking's Sword. I did get a weeper, which closed quickly, and the results were right in the DFS+/BBS- range. This fuzzy barbarian blade appears to be a force to be reckoned with.

 

[kirbyg]

Viking's Sword Blade #1 - Shave #3
Razor - 1964 Gillette Slim
Blade - Viking's Sword(3)
Brush - Proraso/Omega Boar
Soap - Arko
A/S - Thayers Facial Toner, Pinaud Clubman
Rating - DFS 8/10

This shave was more or less the same as the last. This blade still has plenty of life in it, but in the interest of getting through these blades in a reasonable amount of time, I think I'm going to move on to the next blade.

 

[AndyPanda]

Personna Blue - Shave #2
Had another great shave with the Israeli Personna in the Tatara Masamune. GD Mallard soap face lathered with silvertip badger brush - 3 passes plus touch up - close and comfortable without any irritation. I don't think it's as sharp as a USA comfort coated Personna but it is sharp enough and very smooth.

 

[Chad3]

Viking blade shave 3:
Ti 1.65 WR2
Zingari man Brewer
This shave was a bit rougher than the first two. Definitely has some redness after. End results were still smooth but at a cost that wasn’t even the slightest bit noted during the second shave. I’ll use the blade again on Friday with all the same equipment and see how it fares.

 

[lancre]

Late to the party as usual. USPS delivered a Care package from @Grundi today.
Three varieties of blades to check out starting tomorrow. THanks @Grundi!

 

[helicopter]

I tried the Crystal today. It is a moderate and consistent blade. I prefer a sharper blade, but this one got the job done reasonably well.

7/10.

I actually used the open comb plate on my timeless bronze for the shave.

I guess I prefer Blackbirds to the Timeless.

 

[sidpost]

My Vikings sent via 1st Class USPS mail arrived!

Once my Athena Ares pass-around moves on, I'll start test driving them with my "normal" DE razor.

 

[TheBigL]

Viking's Sword #1 shave #1:

I was impressed! Very smooth and had no problem mowing down my tough spots. A lot of blades have trouble right around my Addams apple. This blade cruised on with no harshness or irritation whatsoever. I did have one ding when I barely nicked myself just under my mouth, but it was my own doing, not the blade's fault. I felt a tinge of irritation around my throat later in the afternoon as I was hot and sweating.

Used: Gillette Milord, Omega brush, Bigelo cream, Lustray Spice AS.

 

[IBieberhoff]

My blades have arrived! I will start with a Viking’s Sword as soon as I toss my current Wizamet. Thanks again to @Grundi @Space_Cadet and @mikey!

 

[mikhou]

Razor: Karve Overlander (brass)
Blade: Viking Sword #1 (1)
Soap: Fine Italian Citrus
Brush: Yaqi 24mm synthetic
Aftershave: Aqua Velva Ice Blue followed by Nivea Sensitive balm

First shave of this PIF. I would say it was good. Not the sharpest blade and not the smoothest blade, but it was alright. The end result is fine. Certainly not my favorite yet, but end of the day, the stubble was removed and it resulted in an acceptable shave.

 

[helicopter]

I whipped out the Vikings Sword (2) again today for a very nice shave with the BRG 24k Yaqi Duomo (HE plate orientation). This is a sweet combination.

8/10 DFS. With some more practice getting the angle of the Duomo, I am sure I could push it further.

 

[fast shaver]

Vikings Sword Blade #1 Shave #4
Tools Used:R41 Razor, MWF soap, RR Disruptor Brush, TRC Green Glow shave bowl, Lustray Spice Aftershave.
Very good close two pass shave today.
The R41 Razor gave me a very close shave & the blade is still going strong.
The aftershave stung more than normal due to the closeness of the shave.

 

[helicopter]

Measurements of the known Israeli UK market Personna blue are up. It does seem to match the later May, 2019 one I tested previously.

 

[geneaut]

Crystal #1 Shave #2

I kept the blade in the same Tech I had it in for shave #1. This was a reasonably easy DFS+/BBS- type shave with minimal effort.

Although both aren't incredibly aggressive, the blade pairs well with the Tech. The shave is smooth and comfortable, and the efficiency is decent. Obviously, this blade is not on the highest scale of sharpness, but it is sharp enough for me. Comfort is top-notch.

Gillette Ball End Tech
Crystal (2)
Omega 49
A&E Amber Rose
Thayers
Pinaud Cognac Neat