Hello, all,
I haven't posted in some time. First there was the distraction of my new-to-me '15 BMW 328i in early 2019; then the distraction of having it totaled in a flood that summer, and of buying a very nice '16 Buick LaCrosse to replace it; and this year the big nationwide panic and having to set up home Internet and work from my dining table. Through it all, however, I have continued to DE shave and to read here.
Two weeks ago, reading about Merkur's possible (or probable?) bankruptcy, and having always liked the Progress's looks and its good reviews here and elsewhere, I bought one. It's the travel set in the black-and-clear case. On Tuesday last I researched how to put in the blade and to align the head arrow, had a 2-day beard, and used a new Wilkinson Sword blade and Tabac stick. I was careful to set it to the mildest setting, the 1.
Result: peculiar. Even at 1 the razor seems quite a bit more aggressive on my beard than, say, my Slim at 7. I took the route around my face very carefully, and wound up with a nick on my lower lip, admittedly my weak spot. Two passes on the cheeks and lip, three on the throat, as I usually do with a 2-day beard. And as I cleaned up on my throat, I noticed that the skin no longer felt slick. The razor did not seem to glide as my razors usually do, whether I use cream or soap.
Well. No burn, and a very close shave.
I repeated the same shave, all the conditions the same, this morning, 48 hours later. Another mild nick on the lower lip in the same spot, a tiny dot of blood on the left cheek (extremely rare for me), and again the sensation of the skin not being slick at all as I wound up the shave.
Again no burn. But I wonder: Is this razor really this aggressive? I've been DE shaving for 8 years now, and even my Hoffritz slant, my other close shave champ, doesn't nick me or give me the impression that it has used up my soap!
Did I just get an odd one -- or is this razor not right for someone who loves his Slim, his Tech, and his NEW?
I haven't posted in some time. First there was the distraction of my new-to-me '15 BMW 328i in early 2019; then the distraction of having it totaled in a flood that summer, and of buying a very nice '16 Buick LaCrosse to replace it; and this year the big nationwide panic and having to set up home Internet and work from my dining table. Through it all, however, I have continued to DE shave and to read here.
Two weeks ago, reading about Merkur's possible (or probable?) bankruptcy, and having always liked the Progress's looks and its good reviews here and elsewhere, I bought one. It's the travel set in the black-and-clear case. On Tuesday last I researched how to put in the blade and to align the head arrow, had a 2-day beard, and used a new Wilkinson Sword blade and Tabac stick. I was careful to set it to the mildest setting, the 1.
Result: peculiar. Even at 1 the razor seems quite a bit more aggressive on my beard than, say, my Slim at 7. I took the route around my face very carefully, and wound up with a nick on my lower lip, admittedly my weak spot. Two passes on the cheeks and lip, three on the throat, as I usually do with a 2-day beard. And as I cleaned up on my throat, I noticed that the skin no longer felt slick. The razor did not seem to glide as my razors usually do, whether I use cream or soap.
Well. No burn, and a very close shave.
I repeated the same shave, all the conditions the same, this morning, 48 hours later. Another mild nick on the lower lip in the same spot, a tiny dot of blood on the left cheek (extremely rare for me), and again the sensation of the skin not being slick at all as I wound up the shave.
Again no burn. But I wonder: Is this razor really this aggressive? I've been DE shaving for 8 years now, and even my Hoffritz slant, my other close shave champ, doesn't nick me or give me the impression that it has used up my soap!
Did I just get an odd one -- or is this razor not right for someone who loves his Slim, his Tech, and his NEW?