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Participation PIF - The Unobtainium Polsilver Super Stainless

Last night, I had shave #45 with blade #2 of the vintage Polisilver Stainless Steel blades. The blade was held in place with a nickel Fatip OC Piccolo head on a gold Grande handle. This shave was pretty darn excellent!

I used Haslinger Aloe Vera shaving soap and made a good slick and cushiony lather with it. I initially thought I had added too much water, but the lather was super slick and it still maintained a good cushion.

Prior to the shave, I repeatedly splashed myself with warm water while brushing my teeth (including rinsing with mouthwash), used warm water to soak my Semogue Owners Club cherry wood handle finest badger brush, and also soaked my soap puck upside down in my Captain's Choice Seaworthy lather bowl in which I had added just enough water to soak the top of the puck.

After the water in the lather bowl turned filmy, I shook my brush to remove some water from it, then dumped the filmy bloom water into an empty cup. Next, I picked up the soap puck in my left hand and swirled my brush across it for a minute before scooping up the protolather and transferring it to my lather bowl. What I couldn't remove from my hands and the top of the puck, I rubbed on my face.

I then rinsed the remaining soap off my fingers with some tap water and collected the soapy water in the bloom water cup. I picked up my brush and began to stir it in the lather bowl while gradually adding some of the soapy bloom water to make my lather. When my lather looked shave-ready, I applied a little of the soapy bloom water to my face by hand before each lather pass.

I did my usual two pass (WTG and ATG) shave and buffed my trouble areas. I managed to get an irritation-free BBS.

I cleaned up my shave with my usual alum block and felt the tiniest bit of sting in one or two spots. I then cleaned my shaving gear before taking a warm shower, which washed off the alum.

Finishing up the shave, I applied some aftershave splash (Stirling Spice) and aftershave balm (Korres Saffron Spice). I feel a bit more sting from the alcohol in the splash.

All in all, I would give this shave a 99/100.

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45 Shaves!! And the countdown to 50 is underway!!
 
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SOTD #271/2021
16-11-2021

Preshave: shower, frigid tap water
Brush: Semogue Galahad C3 Premium IT Boar
Soap: Mäurer & Wirtz ~ Tabac
Razor: Gillette Super Speed Rocket HD
Blade: Polsilver Stainless (4)
Post shave: frigid tap water, Mäurer & Wirtz ~Tabac ASL.

Blade 5 - Shave no. 4

No countdown here, but such a nice and smooth shave. That's exactly the way I expected this blade to behave and gladly, she 😉 did.

3 passes, BBS. If my skin could have tolerated it, I would have done two more passes...

Onward to shave no. 5.
Have some great shaves!
 
Last night, I had shave #46 with blade #2 of the vintage Polisilver Stainless Steel blades. The blade was held in place with a nickel Fatip OC Piccolo head on a gold Grande handle. I stayed the night and shaved at my sister's place, so I brought my travel kit (though I substituted much of my regular travel shaving supplies, including the razor, with other gear).

I used ColeDapper Cedarwood shaving cream. It was part of a pack with aftershave balm and beard oil I purchased last year. I've been using the bears oil to lubricate my razor stem and I've also used the aftershave balm. This, though, was my first time using the shaving cream. The instructions on the tube say to apply the lotion by hand or brush, not bringing a brush, I opted to apply it by hand. The cream squeezed out of the tube like a a lotion and it spread on my face thinly (i.e., it produced no lather). That said, it was pretty slick and it seemed to help prevent irritation.

Prior to the shave, I took a bath in hot water. After I toweled off, I wet my face a little bit then applied the shaving cream by hand. It made a thin lotion-like layer. Also, something in the shaving cream seemed to cause a slight burning sensation on parts of my face. It felt a little like an alum block sting after a slightly overbuffed shave--but this was before I even applied my razor.

I did my usual two pass (WTG and ATG) shave, which included wetting my face and reapplying more shaving cream for the second pass, and buffed my trouble areas. I managed to get an irritation-free DFS+/BBS- shave, with the exception of the irritation from the shaving cream.

I cleaned up my shave with my travel alum block (Crystal Mineral Deodorant Stick) and felt no sting. I then cleaned my razor before rinsing off the alum.

Finishing up the shave, I applied some aftershave balm (Cole and Dapper Cedarwood).

I have to admit, after switching to DE and traditional wet shaving, I'm rather fond of shaving with slick and cushiony lather. This also means I've become not fond of shaving without a good lather. Unfortunately, the ColeDapper was altogether too thin on lather for my preference. Also, the irritation caused by the shaving cream makes the ColeDapper a bin candidate. But the rest of the shave felt good.

All in all, I would give this shave a 98.5/100.

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Last night, I had shave #47 with blade #2 of the vintage Polisilver Stainless Steel blades. The blade was held in place with a nickel Fatip OC Piccolo head on a gold Grande handle. This shave was pretty darn excellent!
I used Haslinger Aloe Vera shaving soap and made a good slick and cushiony lather with it.
Prior to the shave, I repeatedly splashed myself with warm water while brushing my teeth (including rinsing with mouthwash), used warm water to soak my Semogue Owners Club cherry wood handle finest badger brush, and also soaked my soap puck upside down in my Captain's Choice Seaworthy lather bowl in which I had added just enough water to soak the top of the puck.

After the water in the lather bowl turned filmy, I shook my brush to remove some water from it, then dumped the filmy bloom water into an empty cup. Next, I picked up the soap puck in my left hand and swirled my brush across it for a minute before scooping up the protolather and transferring it to my lather bowl. What I couldn't remove from my hands and the top of the puck, I rubbed on my face.

I then rinsed the remaining soap off my fingers with some tap water and collected the soapy water in the bloom water cup. I picked up my brush and began to stir it in the lather bowl while gradually adding some of the soapy bloom water to make my lather. When my lather looked shave-ready, I applied a little of the soapy bloom water to my face by hand before each lather pass.

I did my usual two pass (WTG and ATG) shave and buffed my trouble areas. I managed to get an irritation-free BBS.

I cleaned up my shave with my usual alum block and felt no sting whatsoever. I then cleaned my shaving gear before taking a warm shower, which washed off the alum.

Finishing up the shave, I applied some aftershave splash (Aqua Velva Ice Blue) and aftershave balm (Korres Tobacco Spice). As with the alum blick, I felt no sting from the alcohol in the splash.

All in all, I would give this shave a 99.5/100. If I ever gave perfect scores, this shave would qualify.

Unfortunately, I spent the day at a wedding (I just got back) and forgot to take a picture of my gear the night before. As a result, I don't have a photo to post of my shave gear from last night.
 
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SOTD #275/2021
23-11-2021

Preshave: shower, frigid tap water
Brush: Thäter 4125/1 2-band Silvertip badger
Soap: Mäurer & Wirtz ~ Tabac
Razor: Merkur Progress
Blade: Polsilver Stainless (5)
Post shave: frigid tap water, Mäurer & Wirtz ~Tabac ASL, Nivea Sensitive asb.

Blade 5 - Shave 5
Nothing to report today but a super nice and close bbs shave.

Enjoy your shaves, y'all!
 
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View attachment 1367150SOTD #275/2021
23-11-2021

Preshave: shower, frigid tap water
Brush: Thäter 4125/1 2-band Silvertip badger
Soap: Mäurer & Wirtz ~ Tabac
Razor: Merkur Progress
Blade: Polsilver Stainless (5)
Post shave: frigid tap water, Mäurer & Wirtz ~Tabac ASL, Nivea Sensitive asb.

Blade 5 - Shave 5
Nothing to report today but a super nice and close bbs shave.

Enjoy your shaves, y'all!
Love the "noir mystery" look to your pic!!
 
Last night, I had shave #48 with blade #2 of the vintage Polisilver Stainless Steel blades. The blade was held in place with a nickel Fatip OC Piccolo head on a gold Grande handle. This shave was pretty darn excellent!

I used Haslinger Aloe Vera shaving soap and made another good thick, slick, and cushiony lather with it.

Prior to the shave, I repeatedly splashed myself with warm water while brushing my teeth (including rinsing with mouthwash), used warm water to soak my Semogue Owners Club cherry wood handle finest badger brush, and also soaked my soap puck upside down in my Captain's Choice Seaworthy lather bowl in which I had added just enough water to soak the top of the puck.

After the water in the lather bowl turned filmy, I lightly shook my brush to remove some water from it, then dumped the filmy bloom water into an empty cup. Next, I picked up the soap puck in my left hand and swirled my brush across it for a minute before scooping up the protolather and transferring it to my lather bowl. What I couldn't remove from my hands and the top of the puck, I rubbed on my face.

I then rinsed the remaining soap off my fingers with some tap water and collected the soapy water in the bloom water cup. I picked up my brush and began to stir it in the lather bowl while gradually adding some of the soapy bloom water to make my lather. When my lather looked shave-ready, I applied a little of the soapy bloom water to my face by hand before each lather pass.

I did my usual two pass (WTG and ATG) shave and buffed my trouble areas. I managed to get an irritation-free BBS.

I cleaned up my shave with my usual alum block and felt no sting whatsoever. I then cleaned my shaving gear before taking a warm shower, which washed off the alum.
Finishing up the shave, I applied some aftershave splash (Pinaud Clubman) and aftershave balm (Korres Saffron Spice). As with the alum block, I felt no sting from the alcohol in the splash.

All in all, I would give this shave a 99.5/100. This was another practically perfect shave.

I'm really loving the combination of the Polisilver Stainless Steel with the Fatip OC. With 50 shaves in sight, I really expect to be able to surpass it and to reach 60!

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Last night, I had shave #49 with blade #2 of the vintage Polisilver Stainless Steel blades. The blade was held in place with a nickel Fatip OC Piccolo head on a gold Grande handle. This shave was excellent after a blade realignment mid-shave.

I used Haslinger Aloe Vera shaving soap and made another good thick, slick, and cushiony lather with it.

Prior to the shave, I repeatedly splashed myself with warm water while brushing my teeth (including rinsing with mouthwash), used warm water to soak my Semogue Owners Club cherry wood handle finest badger brush, and also soaked my soap puck upside down in my Captain's Choice Seaworthy lather bowl in which I had added just enough water to soak the top of the puck.

After the water in the lather bowl turned filmy, I lightly shook my brush to remove some water from it, then dumped the filmy bloom water into an empty cup. Next, I picked up the soap puck in my left hand and swirled my brush across it for a minute before scooping up the protolather and transferring it to my lather bowl. What I couldn't remove from my hands and the top of the puck, I rubbed on my face.

I then rinsed the remaining soap off my fingers with some tap water and collected the soapy water in the bloom water cup. I picked up my brush and began to stir it in the lather bowl while gradually adding some of the soapy bloom water to make my lather. When my lather looked shave-ready, I applied a little of the soapy bloom water to my face by hand before each lather pass.

I did my usual two pass (WTG and ATG) shave and buffed my trouble areas. I managed to get an irritation-free BBS. During the first pass, I realized that one side of the razor had a tone of blade feel while the other felt like there was no blade feel. I finished the pass with the heavy blade feel side and then realigned my blade so the blade feel was closer to 50-50. My second pass felt great with both sides of the razor.

I cleaned up my shave with my usual alum block and felt a little sting. That was likely due to the first pass where I wound up shaving with more blade feel than was optimal. I then cleaned my shaving gear before taking a warm shower, which washed off the alum.

Finishing up the shave, I applied some aftershave splash (Pinaud Clubman) but forgot to apply aftershave balm (I had planned to apply Korres Tobacco Spice). As with the alum block, I felt a little sting from the alcohol in the splash.

All in all, I would give this shave a 99/100. This was another practically perfect shave. I'm looking forward to reaching shave #50, which should be in a couple nights!


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SOTD #277/2021
26-11-2021

Preshave: shower, frigid tap water
Brush: Graydog Chechen x Shavemac D01 Silvertip 3-band badger
Soap: Zingari Man ~ Explorer
Razor: Mühle R94 Rocca
Blade: Polsilver Stainless (6)
Post shave: frigid tap water; Zingari Man ~ Explorer asb.

Blade 5 - Shave 6

Another smooth shave with the Polsilver. The Polsilver offered no surprises today, it just worked flawlessly, one more time.

The combination of Rocca and Polisilver is a match made in razor heaven - this isn't news to you, but I'll keep mentioning it anyway since the combination is such a joy to use.

3 passes today with no touch ups made for an almost bbs shave.

Onward to shave no.7!
Happy shaves!
 
Last night, I had shave #50 with blade #2 of the vintage Polisilver Stainless Steel blades. The blade was held in place with a nickel Fatip OC Piccolo head on a gold Grande handle.

I used Pre de Provence 63 shaving soap and made a good, thick, slick, and cushiony lather with it.

Prior to the shave, I repeatedly splashed myself with warm water while brushing my teeth (including rinsing with mouthwash), used warm water to soak my Semogue Owners Club cherry wood handle finest badger brush, and also soaked my soap puck upside down in my Captain's Choice Seaworthy lather bowl in which I had added just enough water to soak the top of the puck.

After the water in the lather bowl turned filmy, I lightly shook my brush to remove some water from it, then dumped the filmy bloom water into an empty cup. Next, I picked up the soap puck in my left hand and swirled my brush across it for a minute before scooping up the protolather and transferring it to my lather bowl. What I couldn't remove from my hands and the top of the puck, I rubbed on my face.

I then rinsed the remaining soap off my fingers with some tap water and collected the soapy water in the bloom water cup. I picked up my brush and began to stir it in the lather bowl while gradually adding some of the soapy bloom water to make my lather. When my lather looked shave-ready, I applied a little of the soapy bloom water to my face by hand before each lather pass.

I did my usual two pass (WTG and ATG) shave and buffed my trouble areas. I managed to get an almost-irritation-free BBS.

I cleaned up my shave with my usual alum block and was surprised to feel a little sting. I then cleaned my shaving gear before taking a warm shower, which washed off the alum.

Finishing up the shave, I applied some aftershave splash (Pinaud Clubman) and aftershave balm (PDP 63). As with the alum block, I felt a little sting from the alcohol in the splash.

All in all, I would give this shave a 98.5/100. I've managed to reach shave #50 with this blade--now on to shave #60!

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Last night, I had shave #51 with blade #2 of the vintage Polisilver Stainless Steel blades. The blade was held in place with a nickel Fatip OC Piccolo head on a gold Grande handle.

I used Proraso red shaving soap in the tub and made a wet and thin lather. The lather looked good in the lather bowl, but once I applied it to my face, it thinned out considerably. I may need to go back to how I used to my previous way of making lather with Proraso in the tub instead of in the shave bowl.

Prior to the shave, I repeatedly splashed myself with warm water while brushing my teeth (including rinsing with mouthwash), used warm water to soak my Semogue Owners Club cherry wood handle finest badger brush, and placed an almond-sized slice of the soap in my Captain's Choice Seaworthy lather bowl in which I added just enough water to soak the soap slice.

After the water in the lather bowl turned filmy, I lightly shook my brush to remove some water from it, then dumped the filmy bloom water into an empty cup. Next, I picked up my brush and began to stir it in the lather bowl while gradually adding some of the soapy bloom water to make my lather. When my lather looked shave-ready, I applied a little of the soapy bloom water to my face by hand before each lather pass.

I did my usual two pass (WTG and ATG) shave and buffed my trouble areas. The razor occasionally dragged (instead of glided) across my skin. I don't think the lather was quite slick enough this time. Still, I managed to get an irritation-free BBS.

I cleaned up my shave with my usual alum block and was surprised to feel no sting. I then cleaned my shaving gear before taking a warm shower, which washed off the alum.

Finishing up the shave, I applied some aftershave splash (Stirling Spice) and aftershave balm (Nivea Men Sensitive Soothing Post Shave Balm). Unlike with the alum block, I felt a little sting from the alcohol in the splash.

All in all, I would give this shave a 99/100.

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10th and final shave with this blade this am. Once again, good result. (BBS minus) with Palmolive Classic cream but lots of strokes needed. Oddly, the 9th shave yesterday was DFS minus minus.

I have 3 of these blades left in the generous PIF’d tuck. The comparison for the next blade, in a 1970 Tech, will be a big league GSB.
Yesterday was the 12th and final shave with PIF Polsilver #3 in my Tatara Masamune. Most of the shaves were with Palmolive cream, but some were with Stirling Varen soap. No problem with either of these!

The 1st two shaves were with the OC baseplate. Those were unpleasant, including nicks. I may retire that baseplate. Shaves 3-12 were with the Masamune SB baseplate. Those shaves were much like the shaves with a PIF Polsilver in my ATT S1—smooth and comfortable but close only with repeated strokes. In other words, pleasant but not very efficient.

Still, results were pretty good through shave 10. But I shouldn’t have stretched to get 12 shaves out of the blade. Efficiency dropped off the cliff in shave 11 and even moreso in shave 12. But smoothness remained fine through the end.

This morning, I switched to a new GSB, still in the Masamune SB. As many (but not all) B&Bers have said, blade is in a different league!
 
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