My Grande Journey

[Raven Koenes]

Thanks.

I'm still a bit shocked it went as well as it did. I never dreamed that razor would be as comfortable and easy to use as it is.

It is a very comfortable razor. Great first shave report! I too have a fairly big mole that can get nicked. Mine is on my left side right under my side burn by my left ear. The first time I shaved with my Grande I nicked it. I limited the amount of passes in that spot with a light touch until it healed. It healed completely over the weekend. I shave everyday during the week. Now I can do three passes over that spot with the Grande without nicking it.

 

[Raven Koenes]

How do we know. The number of teeth?

Now I need to learn all about these differences. It never ends! lol

Yup, eleven for the Fatip and nine for the Schone and Boker which is made by Fatip for both companies.

 

[sarimento1]

Yes, but its wonderfully aggressive.

Acqua Di Parma cream. Thats one I've been thinking about lately. Is it as nice as they say it is and how would you describe the scent and does it linger?

ADP is nice, lemon cologny. Cream performs well. Scent is average longevity.

 

[Esox]

It is a very comfortable razor. Great first shave report! I too have a fairly big mole that can get nicked. Mine is on my left side right under my side burn by my left ear. The first time I shaved with my Grande I nicked it. I limited the amount of passes in that spot with a light touch until it healed. It healed completely over the weekend. I shave everyday during the week. Now I can do three passes over that spot with the Grande without nicking it.

Thanks!

That mole really isnt an issue and it just speaks to how close that razor shaves me more than anything.


Too that fact... Here I am roughly 22 hours later as I type this thinking that I want to shave again, but in feeling my face theres simply no need. My cheeks are still BBS, my neck is an excellent DFS borderline BBS, and only a little growth along my jawline and under my bottom lip.

A Derby Extra two pass shave with one very small clean up on my neck. No buffing. 22 hours. TobyC would be proud.

How can this be?

Some people call these blades "dull".

Someone once said they really shine in rigid designs.

Popped a derby in the Postwar Tech today. Derby's really shine with rigidity. I can tell they are not as sharp as other blades but definitely a capable blade. I was able to achieve BBS without too much more cleanup.

Someone is right. I've always liked these blades and I've never understood why they generate so much dislike. "Hate" isnt even too strong a word from some people.

My previous best with this blade was a 10 hour BBS with my NEW SC and an extremely steep angle. It gave me a close shave, but it wasnt this close and not as comfortable.

I've remembered this post since I read it and thought about it often:

I can shave with my shimmed prewar tech or my Merkur Slant using a feather blade and get I nice smooth close shave which will leave my face BBS 10 minutes after I shave.24 hours later my beard will have about the same amount of growth using these 2 razors. Bring in my Gillette OT with a feather and I can feel its much more aggressive and I often get a couple weepers on my neck. After shaving with the OT it will take an hour before my face feels BBS and I can usually go 30 or more hours before I get the same growth that I do with the other 2 razors. Any explanation?

I have no doubt that a 30 hour BBS is possible. With the proper razor, blade and technique I believe it will become routine.

I'm confident I have the razor, and I'm even confident I could get that 30 hour BBS with a Derby Extra seeing where I am right now 22 hours later. I'm almost there now!

I dont believe Derby Extra are sharp enough to give me that single buffing "One Pass Wonder Shave" I hope to accomplish, at least not comfortably. So I'll be changing the blade for tomorrow. To which blade I dont know. I have options...



Derby Extra isnt in the picture. I forgot the tuck was on my shelf but I just opened the first tuck of my 200 blade supply of them yesterday.

I also have 200 Feathers but the last use of one in my post war Tech I didnt enjoy past the first shave. The first shave was nice. Smooth, sharp and comfortable. The second shave was harsh, then harsher again the third shave and I barely finished the 4th shave and tossed it.

I'm really not sure which blade to try next. I guess I'll see which one yells at me tomorrow.

 

[NurseDave]

Following along, thanks for the reads.

 

[Raven Koenes]

I did a search and found the post I was referring too about how I loaded the blade today.



Thats what I did and it worked perfectly for me. I did hold the pins to snug the handle up before actually lifting it into my hand and tightening it completely.

Thanks to muzichead for the tip!

I remember muzichead stating how to load the blade. I do that and more often than not it aligns perfect. I don't know why and I'm not one to question! Great bit of advice.

 

[rabidus]

There was blood, not a lot, but a small weeper at the right corner of my mouth because I didnt stretch enough, and one each again on either side of my adams apple.

Derby blades always seemed to cause a weeper on the first shave, I don't think the edge is refined like other blades.

 

[Esox]

I don't think the edge is refined like other blades.

Nothing a little face stropping wont fix lol.

 

[Esox]

Shave #2.

Going by my first stellar shave with a Derby Extra, I thought I might up it a notch by using this combination today.

I've used this blade once before in my NEW SC and felt it was incredibly smooth and only lacking a bit of sharpness.

I also previously stated that I felt this Grande would show the differences between blades more easily than the other razors I own.

Let me tell you, I was right and those differences are as clear as Swarovski crystal between the two blades I've thus far used in this Grande.

Its okay, you can roll your eyes and groan if you must, but like ripping a band aid off, I'll just DO IT!

Derby Extra is a sharper blade.

Not only is it sharper, its smoother for me in this razor. This blade overwhelmed me with smoothness in my NEW SC. In this Grande, on my first stroke before I got to my jawline, I grimaced. I literally grimaced lol. I took the razor from my face and looked at it in disbelief.

It was okay above my jawline, but on that first, and consecutive strokes, again full length to the base of my neck, it was not nearly as smooth and when I got below my jawline which is XTG, it started to tug. Considerably at the base of my neck, even below my chin where its directly WTG.

I tried varying the pressure very very slightly, no joy. I adjusted the angle from extremely shallow, which did make it less harsh but made the tugging worse, to extremely steep which made it unbearably harsh. I couldnt find a comfortable angle.

No joy to be found in this shave, with the exception of the refreshingly crisp scent of that soap however.

Instead of the simple, easy, smooth and comfortable 2 pass shave of my first with a Derby, albeit with a small single clean up that I didnt really need, after that first pass was complete I knew before I checked with a wet hand, that 3 full passes and clean ups, would be the order of the day.

As it worked out, 3 clean up passes over my neck and chin and I still have a little strip down my left side jawline thats not BBS and on the right side of my chin thats also not BBS. Why did I stop? The blade was too harsh. Its simply not sharp enough and was tugging the hairs, lifting the skin and irritating me. Here I am around an hour later, and the two trouble spots on my neck are still warm.

I'm as surprised as anyone because I felt that with it in the SC lacking sharpness just a little, it would shine in this razor.

How wrong I was...

Next shave I believe I'll try and shatter my illusions once again with a blade that very quickly moved into #1 spot in my Gillette Regent. Perma-Sharp Super.

Or maybe go to the complete other end of the spectrum and try a Feather or a Gillette Yellow.

Decisions decisions...

 

[Raven Koenes]

Shave #2.

Going by my first stellar shave with a Derby Extra, I thought I might up it a notch by using this combination today.

View attachment 824053

I've used this blade once before in my NEW SC and felt it was incredibly smooth and only lacking a bit of sharpness.

I also previously stated that I felt this Grande would show the differences between blades more easily than the other razors I own.

Let me tell you, I was right and those differences are as clear as Swarovski crystal between the two blades I've thus far used in this Grande.

Its okay, you can roll your eyes and groan if you must, but like ripping a band aid off, I'll just DO IT!

Derby Extra is a sharper blade.

Not only is it sharper, its smoother for me in this razor. This blade overwhelmed me with smoothness in my NEW SC. In this Grande, on my first stroke before I got to my jawline, I grimaced. I literally grimaced lol. I took the razor from my face and looked at it in disbelief.

It was okay above my jawline, but on that first, and consecutive strokes, again full length to the base of my neck, it was not nearly as smooth and when I got below my jawline which is XTG, it started to tug. Considerably at the base of my neck, even below my chin where its directly WTG.

I tried varying the pressure very very slightly, no joy. I adjusted the angle from extremely shallow, which did make it less harsh but made the tugging worse, to extremely steep which made it unbearably harsh. I couldnt find a comfortable angle.

No joy to be found in this shave, with the exception of the refreshingly crisp scent of that soap however.

Instead of the simple, easy, smooth and comfortable 2 pass shave of my first with a Derby, albeit with a small single clean up that I didnt really need, after that first pass was complete I knew before I checked with a wet hand, that 3 full passes and clean ups, would be the order of the day.

As it worked out, 3 clean up passes over my neck and chin and I still have a little strip down my left side jawline thats not BBS and on the right side of my chin thats also not BBS. Why did I stop? The blade was too harsh. Its simply not sharp enough and was tugging the hairs, lifting the skin and irritating me. Here I am around an hour later, and the two trouble spots on my neck are still warm.

I'm as surprised as anyone because I felt that with it in the SC lacking sharpness just a little, it would shine in this razor.

How wrong I was...

Next shave I believe I'll try and shatter my illusions once again with a blade that very quickly moved into #1 spot in my Gillette Regent. Perma-Sharp Super.

Or maybe go to the complete other end of the spectrum and try a Feather or a Gillette Yellow.

Decisions decisions...

Interesting, I have a love hate relationship with Gillette yellows in certain razors (I don't know why). I don't remember if they worked well in my Fatip's it has been so long. I think they did. They certainly didn't in my NEW LC, but lack of rigidity came into play. My two favorite blades that work well in any razor are GSB and Gillette Platinum. They are fantastic in my Fatip's and pretty much my go to. Astra's work well in them for me as well. I really don't think I've found a blade that didn't work well in my Fatip, so I'm a bit curious about the trouble you had with the Green's. I have a pack of them lying around but never got to trying them yet. As they say tomorrow is another day and better luck next time.

 

[Esox]

Interesting, I have a love hate relationship with Gillette yellows in certain razors (I don't know why). I don't remember if they worked well in my Fatip's it has been so long. I think they did. They certainly didn't in my NEW LC, but lack of rigidity came into play. My two favorite blades that work well in any razor are GSB and Gillette Platinum. They are fantastic in my Fatip's and pretty much my go to. Astra's work well in them for me as well. I really don't think I've found a blade that didn't work well in my Fatip, so I'm a bit curious about the trouble you had with the Green's. I have a pack of them lying around but never got to trying them yet. As they say tomorrow is another day and better luck next time.

I didnt find that much difference between Gillette Green and GSB, or the single Platinum I did use. I couldnt tell it apart from the GSB if you had a gun to my head. Both I found slightly sharper than the Green and virtually as smooth.

The Yellow, I've used a single blade so far. It started in my NEW SC for the first shave and I found it exceedingly sharp and moved it to my D2 SS. Its got 10 shaves on it in that razor and the last shave gave me a 3 pass BBS shave, no issues whatsoever.

I'm thinking the Grande, with the great rigidity it has, and the exposure it offers, will really like the sharper blades, but I admit to being a bit hesitant as I've only used it twice. No mistakes made yet as far as technique, but better to have made them with a more forgiving blade...maybe. BOSC!

Good thing I dont mind paying a price in blood now and then haha.

 

[Esox]

Based on the discussion in this thread: Schöne Italian DE Blade Alignment Problems I decided to check all my loose blades in this Grande and see if I could see any variance.

I checked;
Blue Diamond Titanium x1 - Made in India
Gillette Green x1 - PPI Blade
Gillette Yellow x2 - PPI Blade
Derby Extra x2 - Turkish Blade
Polsilver SI x1 - PPI Blade

I could find no difference in how they fit this Grande. All have considerable play around the pins. None fit tighter or looser that I could tell by eye or touch.

I still havent decided which blade to try tomorrow...

 

[Esox]

Shave #3.

Roughly 48 hours since last shave.

I had to try a Perma-Sharp Super before I ordered 100, so today was that day. I was given these blades by md1234 along with several other types.

You'll notice the SuperMax Blue Diamond taunting me from the bleachers. It has a single shave on it in my Regent and it really wants to go in the Grande, just not yet. Wait your turn!

I've been looking forward to this blade as it is, so far, the best blade in my Regent. Using it in the Regent is like using a Derby Extra in this Grande. Sharp, smooth and amazing. Those two razor and blade combinations are really shaving nirvana for me and I've asked myself why I bother looking for better. Well maybe, just maybe, there is a better shave out there waiting for me to find it. Or maybe, BOSC? I dont know, but the quest continues. I believe this Grande to have more in it, I just need to find it.

Sorry to say, the Perma-Sharp is staying where it belongs, in my Regent.

Its sharper than the Gillette Green of last shave, but still tugged a little on my first WTG/XTG pass. Its considerably smoother than the Green in this razor as well, but still a bit harsh ATG over my neck.

Simple 2 pass+ shave and a nice BBS but I did have some light irritation on my two trouble spots but only one tiny weeper left side of my mouth. Again, I didnt stretch enough and with this razor, much like my NEW SC, "The Planer Effect" comes into play and it neatly planes off any high spots like a sharp planer blade over a soft knot in Pine.

My entire second pass was a buffing pass ATG and XTG, and if I couldnt hear and only just slightly felt if I paid attention, to the stubble being cut, I would have sworn there was no blade in the razor, buffing was that smooth.

I didnt need the extra buffing pass over my neck but BBS Rules! For that BBS finish I did pay a small price with the irritation but since I have the sample of Captain's Choice Sandalwood AS Balm The Captain himself sent me, I thought it was the perfect time.

I've havent used any AS products since the early 1980's as I havent really felt the need, but I will say as soon as I applied that balm to my neck my skin cooled in seconds. It was still slightly red, but not warm and that redness was gone in minutes.

The Sandalwood scent is very nice. Soft, rich, deep and lingers nicely.

The 100 fold buy of these blades is on hold for the time being. I still have 4 of the 5 blade tuck and as the one I used in my Regent went well past a dozen shaves, that razor and blade combination is good for a while.

The more blades I try in this Grande, the more I'm amazed by the performance of Derby Extra. I knew it was a nice blade, but I never knew it was this nice. I'm glad I have 200 of them, and more may be in order.

Next up, as Rave suggested, GSB! A blade I found very smooth again and only slightly lacking sharpness in my NEW SC. I have high hopes, but I did for the Green and the Perma-Sharp too.

After the GSB its anyones guess. If that shave goes well, as nice as Derby Extra or better, it will stay in that razor until the shaves deteriorate. If not, maybe a Gillette Black, Polsilver, Blue Diamond Titanium or I dont know...

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Blue Diamond!

Not that my vote counts here. Not even a little bit.

 

[Esox]

Blue Diamond!

Not that my vote counts here. Not even a little bit.

Its sitting there taunting me for a reason. Poor blade has no razor to call home lol.

 

[Esox]

Shave #4.

47 hours since last shave. I wonder if one single hour makes a difference...

I'm noticing a pattern or two emerging.

Todays shave was good. Not quite the stellar shave of my first with Derby Extra, but close, in comfort if nothing else.

Blade of choice, just to get that out of the way was the Blue Diamond Titanium thats been glaring at me from the shelf and had a single shave on it from my Regent. I'm sure others are glaring too, but they're in my blade box and I cant see them! The tuck of Derby Extra is still sitting there on the shelf in smug contentment...

Captain's Choice 45th Parallel Cream.

This shave was good as I said, smooth and comfortable. Two pass and 2 clean ups and a very nice BBS shave. I did have a little tugging at the base of my neck, nothing I'm not use to and no worse than any other typical shave with my NEW SC. This blade is very smooth. I think I've said that before. It's also suitably sharp. My entire second pass was constant buffing. I cant say I felt the blade at all. Thats a very notable thing with this razor, but if the sharpness was there would I have needed two more buffing cleanups? I dont think so. Could the initial sharpness of the blade been lost on the first shave? Possibly. Is this razor exposing the differences in blades better than my other razors. Oh hell yes.

Once again, one tiny weeper left corner of my mouth. This razor is really making me work at my technique...

I did find that using a shallower angle, riding the cap quite a lot, I'd guess 80/20% favouring the cap made the difference. You know the face a dog makes when you scratch it on its back at the base of its tail or behind its ear? Thats what buffing was like lol. Nirvana +1. Buffing Bliss. That needs to be a "thing".

Two patterns seem to be standing out to me.

One - Derby Extra is a very sharp and incredibly smooth blade and needs the right razor to highlight that fact. Or, that one single blade, or perhaps tuck, or hopefully, the entire box, is a one off and I got very lucky. I have my doubts about that.

Two - I've had 4 shaves thus far with this razor. Two have been with Captain's Choice 45th Parallel Cream. Two have been with Stirling soaps. The two really nice shaves have been with the 45th.

I'm not sure what the differences are. I've been using Stirling soaps almost exclusively since May. My first samples came in May 25th.



I know how I like my lather and I settle for nothing less. I cant really pinpoint what the difference is between these two products. Stirling is just as slick and rich, and feels as protective in its lather as Captains Choice, but Captain's Choice has something... different. I'll need to research and compare ingredients of them both and see if I can understand what that difference is. The post shave feel of Captain's Choice is also superior to Stirling. My skin always feels oddly cleaner or fresher....or something.

Sorry Rave. GSB next, or Platinum. You pick, I'll shave! lol BOSC!

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Amazing how many factors go into the quality of a single shave, and how difficult it is to determine how to create much less reproduce the very best shaves.

 

[Esox]

Amazing how many factors go into the quality of a single shave, and how difficult it is to determine how to create much less reproduce the very best shaves.

It really is surprising when you stop and think about it. Reloading bench rest ammunition is an easier task! There are less variables lol.

I'm finding that the two trouble areas on my neck are less a factor than I had originally thought, at least with this razor. This Grande BBS's those areas very well and surprisingly easy. My hardest to shave areas seem to be along the edge of my jawline and either side of my chin up to the corner of my mouth.

Technique seems critical to the best shaves with this razor and apparently, I need to keep working on that. I can just feel the faintest hint of growth along my jawline and on the right side of my chin/mouth area. I'll need to remember to skin stretch a little more and pay closer attention to direction of growth.

I've said before that when I started back to DE shaving if someone would have told me its such a progression and evolution of technique I would have laughed, but it is.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I've said before that when I started back to DE shaving if someone would have told me its such a progression and evolution of technique I would have laughed, but it is.

Could just buy a OneBlade razor. At least that's what the reviews say. Some of them. Almost no learning curve. No technique to amount to anything. Etc.

Probably cheaper, too, except for the blades.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Raven Koenes]

This shave was good as I said, smooth and comfortable. Two pass and 2 clean ups and a very nice BBS shave.

Sorry Rave. GSB next, or Platinum. You pick, I'll shave! lol BOSC!

You're getting there!

My Fatip Retro was supposed to be here today. It was sent from Chicago and made it to Denver which is 50 miles away. It left Denver at 3 in the morning and is now in Omaha Nebraska. Going the wrong way now. Last time an order went from Denver to San Diego back to Colorado. I've had better mail service in Thailand than with the USPS. Oh well, the expected delivery date was Tuesday but they upped it to today just to get my hopes up lol!

Well Cal used a GSB last week in his Fatip Testina Gentile, and I have a fresh GSB loaded in my Fatip Zebrano as it looks like that will be my implement for the first week of OCtober! Yay! So, I say give a GSB a go next. Imo not as sharp as a Gillette Platinum but smoother out of the box. Best of luck my friend there is a learning curve to Fatip OC's.

Here are some pictures of my Zebrano loaded and ready to go. It aligned very nicely the first time using the towel on counter placing top cap and dropped blade over posts, base plate on top, lightly pressed down on the base plate enough to keep the blade from moving and screwed on the handle method (Chan Eil Whiskers).