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Phoenixkh: An Old Man's Continuum....

Phoenixkh

I shaved a fortune
I wanted a drama free, experiment free* shave today. I got my 5k meter row in. Had my shower.

I did try two new products today. I got the Sterling unscented soap with Beeswax... along with their $5 bar of pre-shave soap. I guess I did experiment with something after all. The two products seem to go well together, though with one shave, I'll reserve judgment until I've used them a few times. First impressions were favorable though.

For the gear end of things, I used one of my two Cocobolo SV 2.0 brushes. It lathered the Sterling effortlessly and gave its usual pleasant, light face scrub. Now that they are all (3) broken-in, I really need to use my Zenith M23 Manchurian with the 506 copper handle again to see how it matches up with brushes almost twice its price.

I went back to a sure thing for the shave itself: the Blutt BR-1 1.20. This razor is such a pleasure to use. Due to the conversations I've been having about my difficulties using the Overlander, I alternated the razor angles a bit to see if I could improve on what I thought was the sweet spot. It turns out, the Blutt is fairly flexible in that regard, at least, for me. *(So much for my experiment free shave....that was the initial plan, but I deviated from it anyway)*. I used a Wizamet Super Iridium blade (2). It seemed to work well all the way through the shave so I'll start with it again next time I use the Blutt. I find the Blutt easy to use around my nose... with, across and against the grain..... all smooth for me. So far, for my face, the Blutt and X1 remain tied. AC SE vs DE blades... you'd think I'd see a difference but both are equally smooth, equally efficient and equally fun to use. I think the Elite might just join them as my three interchangeable razors but I need more time with it to know for sure.

I've started calling the Blutt BR-1 my "Blutt Edge".... just for fun.

The only negative today.... while I was cleaning up and putting things away... I didn't have another dizzy spell, thankfully, but my back started hurting like the Dickens..... I got to the foam roll under my own power and stretched out... did some light weight training exercises and felt much more relaxed. The PT I'm getting on my shoulder seems to showing signs of slow improvement, so that's good.
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
I wanted a drama free, experiment free* shave today. I got my 5k meter row in. Had my shower.

I did try two new products today. I got the Sterling unscented soap with Beeswax... along with their $5 bar of pre-shave soap. I guess I did experiment with something after all. The two products seem to go well together, though with one shave, I'll reserve judgment until I've used them a few times. First impressions were favorable though.


I almost ordered a couple of the unscented Stirling soaps, but didn't.


For the gear end of things, I used one of my two Cocobolo SV 2.0 brushes. It lathered the Sterling effortlessly and gave its usual pleasant, light face scrub. Now that they are all (3) broken-in, I really need to use my Zenith M23 Manchurian with the 506 copper handle again to see how it matches up with brushes almost twice its price.


Go for it.


I went back to a sure thing for the shave itself: the Blutt BR-1 1.20. This razor is such a pleasure to use. Due to the conversations I've been having about my difficulties using the Overlander, I alternated the razor angles a bit to see if I could improve on what I thought was the sweet spot. It turns out, the Blutt is fairly flexible in that regard, at least, for me. *(So much for my experiment free shave....that was the initial plan, but I deviated from it anyway)*. I used a Wizamet Super Iridium blade (2). It seemed to work well all the way through the shave so I'll start with it again next time I use the Blutt. I find the Blutt easy to use around my nose... with, across and against the grain..... all smooth for me. So far, for my face, the Blutt and X1 remain tied. AC SE vs DE blades... you'd think I'd see a difference but both are equally smooth, equally efficient and equally fun to use. I think the Elite might just join them as my three interchangeable razors but I need more time with it to know for sure.

I've started calling the Blutt BR-1 my "Blutt Edge".... just for fun.



Interesting razor. I know very little about it so your reports are much appreciated.



The only negative today.... while I was cleaning up and putting things away... I didn't have another dizzy spell, thankfully, but my back started hurting like the Dickens..... I got to the foam roll under my own power and stretched out... did some light weight training exercises and felt much more relaxed. The PT I'm getting on my shoulder seems to showing signs of slow improvement, so that's good.


I hope this is all fixed, Kim, and never returns.

Happy shaves,

Jim
 

thombrogan

Lounging On The Isle Of Tugsley.
I almost ordered a couple of the unscented Stirling soaps, but didn't.

Unscented With Beeswax is the fragrance and lanolin free way to shave the day away with a touch of shea.

Really liked the sample I used, but don’t think it would usurp PAA Scentsless or Canada Shaving Soap.

I hope this is all fixed, Kim, and never returns.

+1
 

Phoenixkh

I shaved a fortune
Unscented With Beeswax is the fragrance and lanolin free way to shave the day away with a touch of shea.

Really liked the sample I used, but don’t think it would usurp PAA Scentsless or Canada Shaving Soap.



+1
At first use... I still prefer Canada Shaving Soap as well. I'm still a bit up in the air about Scentsless. I need to try it several times in a row to dial it in a bit better for me.
 

Phoenixkh

I shaved a fortune
As many of you know, my Lambda Athena showed up yesterday so today was Athena day.

I went back to some regulars for its first shave.

Pre-shave: PAA Cube and Tube 2.0
Bowl: Timeless "Modest Blue" shaving bowl
Soap: Canada Shaving Soap
Brush: SV 2.0 Faux Turtle Shell handle
Razor: The Athena, obviously
Blade: Wizamet Super Iridium (1)
Post Shave: Metro Gel, Hyaluronic Acid and Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel-Cream

I know what I was expecting. Truth be told, I didn't expect the Athena to perform any where near it's style and beauty. People have used words like "mild", "different"..... As a result, I was expecting an average to below average shave. I had a feeling I was going to have the Athena out in our house somewhere, as a beautiful display item.

Now for the hard part. Communicating how a razor feels isn't easy to do, at least, in any meaningful way that could be beneficial to others. This razor, on the first stroke, attacked my whiskers in a similar fashion to my very best razors. It does have a unique auditory feedback... probably because of the Bronze Alloy Theo uses... it has a very pleasant timbre... more sweet, mellow... I'm thinking how some guitars have those sweet middle tones... where the bass and treble sort of melt into the middle and the voice is so sweet... yet clear and concise, not muddled. That might mean a lot more to me than you if you aren't a musician or don't just love music. YMMV and all that. <eg>

I only needed two passes.. and almost zero touch-ups. I was fully prepared to spend quite a bit of time and effort into this shave but that just wasn't the case. The Athena, with my face and technique fall into my favorite category of "mild but efficient". It ranks up there at the very top of my razors as I'm becoming comfortable with them.... So at the moment, I can use any of 4 razors without drama or concern I'm going to have to struggle to get a great shave. To be unbiased, I'll list them in order of purchase.

1. The Blutt BR-1 1.20 w/ Timeless Ti Crown handle. (the .86 plate is excellent as well... but a bit milder... more into the Gillette Tech range)
2. The ATT X1 AC Slant with a Timeless Ti Crown handle
3. The Rocnel Elite OEM handle
4. The Lambda Athena OEM handle

I'm sure there will be others added to this list as I use them and grow comfortable with them but these 4 are all stellar for me. They all provide a relaxing, satisfying shave for me... all lasting up to 12 hours.

I still love the first razor I bought: my Claymore Evolution AC...... but doesn't quite measure up to the 4 above.

A note about the Claymore Evo. Today I decided not to punish my razors because I have these few odd whisker that grow almost right next to my nose and are hard to shave. Rather than fight the Athena head where the blade isn't very close to the end of the cap, I just used my Claymore Evo for the area around my nose and up into my nostrils. It only took seconds. The AC blade on the Claymore is the closest to the end of the cap over every other razor I have. This is probably shaving heresy but I decided.... my nose... my choice. <eg>

OK.. a few photos, if you are still with me:

RE_AthenaBox.jpg


RE_AthenaOpenBox.jpg


RE_AthenaDisplay.jpg
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
As many of you know, my Lambda Athena showed up yesterday so today was Athena day.

I went back to some regulars for its first shave.

Pre-shave: PAA Cube and Tube 2.0
Bowl: Timeless "Modest Blue" shaving bowl
Soap: Canada Shaving Soap
Brush: SV 2.0 Faux Turtle Shell handle
Razor: The Athena, obviously
Blade: Wizamet Super Iridium (1)
Post Shave: Metro Gel, Hyaluronic Acid and Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel-Cream

I know what I was expecting. Truth be told, I didn't expect the Athena to perform any where near it's style and beauty. People have used words like "mild", "different"..... As a result, I was expecting an average to below average shave. I had a feeling I was going to have the Athena out in our house somewhere, as a beautiful display item.

Now for the hard part. Communicating how a razor feels isn't easy to do, at least, in any meaningful way that could be beneficial to others. This razor, on the first stroke, attacked my whiskers in a similar fashion to my very best razors. It does have a unique auditory feedback... probably because of the Bronze Alloy Theo uses... it has a very pleasant timbre... more sweet, mellow... I'm thinking how some guitars have those sweet middle tones... where the bass and treble sort of melt into the middle and the voice is so sweet... yet clear and concise, not muddled. That might mean a lot more to me than you if you aren't a musician or don't just love music. YMMV and all that. <eg>

I only needed two passes.. and almost zero touch-ups. I was fully prepared to spend quite a bit of time and effort into this shave but that just wasn't the case. The Athena, with my face and technique fall into my favorite category of "mild but efficient". It ranks up there at the very top of my razors as I'm becoming comfortable with them.... So at the moment, I can use any of 4 razors without drama or concern I'm going to have to struggle to get a great shave. To be unbiased, I'll list them in order of purchase.

1. The Blutt BR-1 1.20 w/ Timeless Ti Crown handle. (the .86 plate is excellent as well... but a bit milder... more into the Gillette Tech range)
2. The ATT X1 AC Slant with a Timeless Ti Crown handle
3. The Rocnel Elite OEM handle
4. The Lambda Athena OEM handle

I'm sure there will be others added to this list as I use them and grow comfortable with them but these 4 are all stellar for me. They all provide a relaxing, satisfying shave for me... all lasting up to 12 hours.

I still love the first razor I bought: my Claymore Evolution AC...... but doesn't quite measure up to the 4 above.

A note about the Claymore Evo. Today I decided not to punish my razors because I have these few odd whisker that grow almost right next to my nose and are hard to shave. Rather than fight the Athena head where the blade isn't very close to the end of the cap, I just used my Claymore Evo for the area around my nose and up into my nostrils. It only took seconds. The AC blade on the Claymore is the closest to the end of the cap over every other razor I have. This is probably shaving heresy but I decided.... my nose... my choice. <eg>

OK.. a few photos, if you are still with me:

View attachment 1557831

View attachment 1557833

View attachment 1557834


Nicely done, Kim.

I'd like to hear though how the razor works for the entire shave. (Not that I have any right to the information. Not that I get a vote. Just "I'd like to...")

Happy shaves,

Jim
 

Phoenixkh

I shaved a fortune
Nicely done, Kim.

I'd like to hear though how the razor works for the entire shave. (Not that I have any right to the information. Not that I get a vote. Just "I'd like to...")

Happy shaves,

Jim
The first WTG pass cleared up a lot of my whiskers... I didn't do an XTG pass, I went right to an ATG pass and that cleared up almost everything, even on my chin.. my most problematic area. I did re-lather my chin and upper lip a third time. A few simple J-hooks on the chin and an extra different direction XTG and ATG combo on my upper lip did the trick.

If you would like to know something in addition to that, if I know, I'd be happy to provide details.
 

Phoenixkh

I shaved a fortune
Congrats Kim! It is a marvellous looking razor and from your excellently descriptive story I get the sense you had a wonderful shave.

The head design has some closed comb/open comb thing going on. Would it be R41-effective or milder?

Enjoy your very fine collection.

Guido
Guido, I haven't used my R41 yet but I didn't feel like the Athena was in any way aggressive. It shaved close but not dangerously so.
 
As many of you know, my Lambda Athena showed up yesterday so today was Athena day.

I went back to some regulars for its first shave.

Pre-shave: PAA Cube and Tube 2.0
Bowl: Timeless "Modest Blue" shaving bowl
Soap: Canada Shaving Soap
Brush: SV 2.0 Faux Turtle Shell handle
Razor: The Athena, obviously
Blade: Wizamet Super Iridium (1)
Post Shave: Metro Gel, Hyaluronic Acid and Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel-Cream

I know what I was expecting. Truth be told, I didn't expect the Athena to perform any where near it's style and beauty. People have used words like "mild", "different"..... As a result, I was expecting an average to below average shave. I had a feeling I was going to have the Athena out in our house somewhere, as a beautiful display item.

Now for the hard part. Communicating how a razor feels isn't easy to do, at least, in any meaningful way that could be beneficial to others. This razor, on the first stroke, attacked my whiskers in a similar fashion to my very best razors. It does have a unique auditory feedback... probably because of the Bronze Alloy Theo uses... it has a very pleasant timbre... more sweet, mellow... I'm thinking how some guitars have those sweet middle tones... where the bass and treble sort of melt into the middle and the voice is so sweet... yet clear and concise, not muddled. That might mean a lot more to me than you if you aren't a musician or don't just love music. YMMV and all that. <eg>

I only needed two passes.. and almost zero touch-ups. I was fully prepared to spend quite a bit of time and effort into this shave but that just wasn't the case. The Athena, with my face and technique fall into my favorite category of "mild but efficient". It ranks up there at the very top of my razors as I'm becoming comfortable with them.... So at the moment, I can use any of 4 razors without drama or concern I'm going to have to struggle to get a great shave. To be unbiased, I'll list them in order of purchase.

1. The Blutt BR-1 1.20 w/ Timeless Ti Crown handle. (the .86 plate is excellent as well... but a bit milder... more into the Gillette Tech range)
2. The ATT X1 AC Slant with a Timeless Ti Crown handle
3. The Rocnel Elite OEM handle
4. The Lambda Athena OEM handle

I'm sure there will be others added to this list as I use them and grow comfortable with them but these 4 are all stellar for me. They all provide a relaxing, satisfying shave for me... all lasting up to 12 hours.

I still love the first razor I bought: my Claymore Evolution AC...... but doesn't quite measure up to the 4 above.

A note about the Claymore Evo. Today I decided not to punish my razors because I have these few odd whisker that grow almost right next to my nose and are hard to shave. Rather than fight the Athena head where the blade isn't very close to the end of the cap, I just used my Claymore Evo for the area around my nose and up into my nostrils. It only took seconds. The AC blade on the Claymore is the closest to the end of the cap over every other razor I have. This is probably shaving heresy but I decided.... my nose... my choice. <eg>

OK.. a few photos, if you are still with me:

View attachment 1557831

View attachment 1557833

View attachment 1557834
Congratulations Kim!
What a beautiful razor!
And I'm glad it worked for you. The beauty matches the performance which is great.
The maker has good taste in blades as well. Those Astor Bic's are tied with my Personna Lab
Blue's as my favorite DE blades. A hidden gem that no one talks about!
 

Eric_75

Not made for these times.
As many of you know, my Lambda Athena showed up yesterday so today was Athena day.

I went back to some regulars for its first shave.

Pre-shave: PAA Cube and Tube 2.0
Bowl: Timeless "Modest Blue" shaving bowl
Soap: Canada Shaving Soap
Brush: SV 2.0 Faux Turtle Shell handle
Razor: The Athena, obviously
Blade: Wizamet Super Iridium (1)
Post Shave: Metro Gel, Hyaluronic Acid and Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel-Cream

I know what I was expecting. Truth be told, I didn't expect the Athena to perform any where near it's style and beauty. People have used words like "mild", "different"..... As a result, I was expecting an average to below average shave. I had a feeling I was going to have the Athena out in our house somewhere, as a beautiful display item.

Now for the hard part. Communicating how a razor feels isn't easy to do, at least, in any meaningful way that could be beneficial to others. This razor, on the first stroke, attacked my whiskers in a similar fashion to my very best razors. It does have a unique auditory feedback... probably because of the Bronze Alloy Theo uses... it has a very pleasant timbre... more sweet, mellow... I'm thinking how some guitars have those sweet middle tones... where the bass and treble sort of melt into the middle and the voice is so sweet... yet clear and concise, not muddled. That might mean a lot more to me than you if you aren't a musician or don't just love music. YMMV and all that. <eg>

I only needed two passes.. and almost zero touch-ups. I was fully prepared to spend quite a bit of time and effort into this shave but that just wasn't the case. The Athena, with my face and technique fall into my favorite category of "mild but efficient". It ranks up there at the very top of my razors as I'm becoming comfortable with them.... So at the moment, I can use any of 4 razors without drama or concern I'm going to have to struggle to get a great shave. To be unbiased, I'll list them in order of purchase.

1. The Blutt BR-1 1.20 w/ Timeless Ti Crown handle. (the .86 plate is excellent as well... but a bit milder... more into the Gillette Tech range)
2. The ATT X1 AC Slant with a Timeless Ti Crown handle
3. The Rocnel Elite OEM handle
4. The Lambda Athena OEM handle

I'm sure there will be others added to this list as I use them and grow comfortable with them but these 4 are all stellar for me. They all provide a relaxing, satisfying shave for me... all lasting up to 12 hours.

I still love the first razor I bought: my Claymore Evolution AC...... but doesn't quite measure up to the 4 above.

A note about the Claymore Evo. Today I decided not to punish my razors because I have these few odd whisker that grow almost right next to my nose and are hard to shave. Rather than fight the Athena head where the blade isn't very close to the end of the cap, I just used my Claymore Evo for the area around my nose and up into my nostrils. It only took seconds. The AC blade on the Claymore is the closest to the end of the cap over every other razor I have. This is probably shaving heresy but I decided.... my nose... my choice. <eg>

OK.. a few photos, if you are still with me:

View attachment 1557831

View attachment 1557833

View attachment 1557834
Congrats, my friend!
 

Phoenixkh

I shaved a fortune
I had 5 days growth yesterday for my second shave with my Lambda Athena. As I said after my first use, I was surprised it's as good at it is. It isn't just a beautiful thing to look at: it shaves my face and whiskers in comfort, close but smooth feeling. The extra few days growth didn't present any difficulty for it. As I'm typing this, I have 17 hours after the shave yesterday evening. I can feel my whiskers on my upper lip and chin.. and slightly on the rest of my face if I rub against the grain. The Athena is right there for me with my Blutt BR-1 1.20, Rocnel Elite and ATT X1 AC Slant. All of these are expensive razors.. not at the very top of the price scale for razors but in the second tier, if you will. It's going to be a challenge to motivate myself to use the other new razors I have but I'm going to do just that. *See below.*

I talked to Scott @Captain Pre-Capsize of Captain's Choice in PM a few weeks ago about unscented soaps. He said they used to offer one but it wasn't a tremendous seller for them so they took it offline. He had a few of them still around so I bought two of them. I've only used it once so far but yesterday, it was a stellar performer.

I used a Wizamet (2) again. This blade seems to be hit or miss for people here on B&B. Some rave about them: some absolutely hate them. As you know, my experience with DE blades is very limited at this time but the Wizamets have worked well for me every time I've used them. For that reason, I think I'll keep using them as I experiment with the new razors I've yet to try, just to keep things consistent for evaluations. Let's see.. what other blades do I have around this place.

1. Wizamet Super Iridium
2. Gillette 7 O'clock Black
3. King C Gillette (I only have 7 of these left from a tuck of 10)
4. Gillette Platinum "Light"
5. Gillette Perma-Sharp
6. Personna Labs Premium "Blue"
7. Kai

And two that were gifted to me: Astra Superior Platinum "Green" and SilverMax.

I liked both the KCG and Gillette 7 O'clock Blacks when I've used them. So I've only tried three DE blades at this point and all of them have worked for me. Truth be told, I haven't noticed any significant differences other than they all are toast for me after 3 shaves. This isn't that surprising since I can only get 6 shaves out of an AC blade.

As I noted early on, I tried a Kai in my British Flat Bottom Tech to disastrous effect. I do plan to try them again when I get back to the Overlander to see if that helps that razor work better for me.

*Next up? The Blackland Era with the L4 OC base plate. I also have the L5 OC but I think I'll try the L4 first. I already hit the Era with Simichrome polish once and that took off that bit of grit you often get with Ti matte finishes. I've done the same thing with all my Timeless Ti Crown handles. You get a lovely luster finish that I quite enjoy.
 

Phoenixkh

I shaved a fortune
@Guido75 and I have been discussing razor rankings. You know... Unicorn, Holy Grail and Goldilocks razors. I guess we could throw in Unobtainable, or whatever is the right word for that one.

If you are interested, I'd love to hear your definitions and which razors are in those categories for you.

I would start but I don't know where to begin.

Guido's comment:
Well I believe you are on to something. Just as an idea:

Unicorns are the razors you really like to have or try, but they are harder to get (like your Athena).

Goldilocks razors are similar but are easy to get. This is the dangerous category with rabbit hole safety disclaimers.

Holy Grail is the razor top of your wanted list and that you could shave with the rest of your life because it’s that good. Might be multiple - but usually just one or two. And yes YMMV YMMV YMMV YMMV.

Guido
What do you think?
 

thombrogan

Lounging On The Isle Of Tugsley.
I have and like the Captain’s Choice Unscented, too.

Unscented soaps generally don’t sell well. Thankfully, it seems Canada Shaving Soap and PAA Scentsless are at least forum famous
 
@Guido75 and I have been discussing razor rankings. You know... Unicorn, Holy Grail and Goldilocks razors. I guess we could throw in Unobtainable, or whatever is the right word for that one.

If you are interested, I'd love to hear your definitions and which razors are in those categories for you.

I would start but I don't know where to begin.

Guido's comment:

What do you think?
I think it’s a cool idea - let me ponder some more on definitions and get back to you.

Cheers,

Guido
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
Next up? The Blackland Era with the L4 OC base plate. I also have the L5 OC but I think I'll try the L4 first. I already hit the Era with Simichrome polish once and that took off that bit of grit you often get with Ti matte finishes. I've done the same thing with all my Timeless Ti Crown handles. You get a lovely luster finish that I quite enjoy.


That's not something I knew could be done. Great idea. You don't happen to have before and after photos do you?

I have zillions of DE blades but use only Wizamet SI/Polsilver SI. The others will be used when I run out of those which will be when I'm 174 years old.

Happy shaves,

Jim
 

Phoenixkh

I shaved a fortune
That's not something I knew could be done. Great idea. You don't happen to have before and after photos do you?

I have zillions of DE blades but use only Wizamet SI/Polsilver SI. The others will be used when I run out of those which will be when I'm 174 years old.

Happy shaves,

Jim
Regrettably, I didn't take any "before" photos...

Here's what it looks like now:

RE_EraPolished.jpg


I'll probably hit it one more time with Simichrome tonight... you get a bit more luster every time you do it.. at least, that's what I found with the Timeless Ti Crown handle in matte.
 
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