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Jay21's Journey Journal

I was able to find a pack of Nacets shipped to my door for under $10. I'll have them sometime next week. After reading some of the fine posts here, it may be that the Astra SPs aren't working out for me and many people find the Nacets to be sharper and smoother. I'll try the Nacets in the EJ 89 an attempt to step up the sharpness without committing to the Feathers at first.

While I'm waiting for several shipments to arrive this week (new brush, Proraso pre-shave, Nacets), I'll try out the Derby extras and revisit the Personna blues I have laying around. If I can get irritation-free shaves from the Derby, Personna, and/or Nacet blades, I'll look into a more efficient razor. That was excellent advice to hold off on another razor for now until I can at least see what results in no irritation for me regardless of final closeness.
 
I decided to try a minimalist approach and remove everything and add one thing back at a time. I read here that alum and Nivea aftershave balm can cause irritation, which I've been using both.

I loaded in the Derby blade into the EJ 89. I had to prove it to myself, but I can confirm that those blades are garbage. It was dull and tuggy, and I even managed to nick myself with it! It's quite the feat to nick yourself with an 89 head. I stopped after two passes and called it a day. It's not a very close shave, but it wasn't a bloodbath, either. I didn't use alum or Nivea. I used a cheap Gillette aftershave gel I had from my cartridge days. I can feel some tingles, but no major burns to report. We'll see how I feel in a few hours from now, which is usually when the irritation is the worst for me.

My next step is to use a sharper blade tomorrow. I have some King C Gillettes on hand I was able to get locally. I'll try a two-pass shave with those. I'll still forgo the alum and Nivea but will add those back one at a time.
 
Derby blades are not garbage, in my opinion. I used many of them and I can say they are not on the top when it comes to sharpness. One could call them dull and not be wrong, if you have stubble as tough as mine. Yes they tug, because of that. But that is not a garbage blade, by any means. If one gets nicked or cut while shaving with a Derby blade, or any blade for that matter, it is not because of the blade but because they don't know how to shave with a safety razor.
That is said so to not discourage anyone from trying Derby blades.
 
Derby blades are not garbage, in my opinion. I used many of them and I can say they are not on the top when it comes to sharpness. One could call them dull and not be wrong, if you have stubble as tough as mine. Yes they tug, because of that. But that is not a garbage blade, by any means. If one gets nicked or cut while shaving with a Derby blade, or any blade for that matter, it is not because of the blade but because they don't know how to shave with a safety razor.
That is said so to not discourage anyone from trying Derby blades.
I apologize if my assessment was inappropriate. It was a snap judgement after a poor shave, and one that I allowed an extra day of growth to perform (I hate the feel of 2-day stubble on my face).

Allow me to rephrase. Derby extra blades are not a good fit for my face and whiskers. The one that I used, which was included in a tuck that came with my EJ 89 razor, was not sharp at all and it tugged on my whiskers. The stubble after two passes was taller that stubble left after a single pass of a sharper blade. I was frustrated with the shave and gave up after two passes so I would avoid any irritation to my skin (and emotions). I'm not sure why EJ would have included them with the razor if they were trying to impress first-time users.

As far as the nick, this was the first one I've taken in about a month, which included some trial runs with the Rockwell 6c with the R6 plate. You could blame my technique. You could also blame it on a dull blade, which can cause nicks.

I'll be better in the future about how I word things as to avoid discouraging people from purchasing particular gear. I'm still learning the etiquette around here.
 
Derby blades are not garbage, in my opinion. I used many of them and I can say they are not on the top when it comes to sharpness. One could call them dull and not be wrong, if you have stubble as tough as mine. Yes they tug, because of that. But that is not a garbage blade, by any means. If one gets nicked or cut while shaving with a Derby blade, or any blade for that matter, it is not because of the blade but because they don't know how to shave with a safety razor.
That is said so to not discourage anyone from trying Derby blades.
I actually like Derby blades as well. Just bought 100 premiums for around $6. They don’t get along well in my Gillette adjustables, but in my Blackland Era they perform very nicely. I’m thinking they’ll work well in my pre-war Tech as well, but I’ve yet to try them. I can see them being a bad fit for an 89 head as there seems to be a correlation between rigid clamping and Derby performance for me.

The KCG blades should be much nicer in the 89. I absolutely love them in my KCG Razor and Mühle R89
 
No worries and no need to apologize, at all.

Cool cool. I'm still learning the ropes around here and I didn't want to get shunned my first week for not following forum norms. I'm a member of a home theater forum as well, and that place can get very argumentative and critical. This place seems extremely polite and professional.

The KCG blades should be much nicer in the 89. I absolutely love them in my KCG Razor and Mühle R89

I'm hoping they'll be nice and I'm trying one out tomorrow morning. I was able to get some at Walgreens locally while I'm waiting for my order of Nacets to arrive in the mail later this week. Once I get accustomed to their sharpness in my EJ 89, I'll try them in my Rockwell 6c with the R4 plate.

What blades do you have?

I have:
  1. Derby Extra green "verticals." They came with my EJ 89 and were very dull.
  2. Personna Blue USA. I bought a 100 pack several years ago when I had my Parker 96. I tried them in my EJ 89. They were fairly irritation free with 2 passes, but they aren't overly sharp. A third pass added irritation. Those led me to buy Astra SP.
  3. Astra SP. I bought these based on reviews. They are the sharpest blades I have but, for some reason, they give me irritation. A third pass is DFS, but the irritation makes me want to stop after 2 passes. Maybe I need to work on my lather some more. I switched to Proraso cream and I followed the video instructions to get the same consistency as their "barber," but it's still pretty runny. Maybe that's the issue. I'll try using soap again because I know I can get a silk lather from that, even inexpensive soap like Van der Hagen. I have some Proraso pre-shave arriving in the mail this week as well, which I'm sure will help some more in the protection under the soap.
  4. Van der Hagen. These came with my Van der Hagen TTO. They were very rough and gave me severe razor burn that took 3 days to heal. No need for me to try them again. I'll save them in case I need to shave during the cordyceps apocalypse.
  5. Rockwell. These came with my 6c. I haven't used them based on reviews. They don't seem like they'll be sharp enough for me.
  6. KCG. I was able to get some locally while I wait for Nacets to arrive in the mail. I read they are pretty similar, which will help me acclimate to using sharper blades.
  7. I have Nacets on order from the Amazon Marketplace from a seller named SafetyRazorPlace. The price was extremely inexpensive, but I have no reason to believe that there's a counterfeit market for Nacets.
 
I'm hoping they'll be nice and I'm trying one out tomorrow morning. I was able to get some at Walgreens locally while I'm waiting for my order of Nacets to arrive in the mail later this week. Once I get accustomed to their sharpness in my EJ 89, I'll try them in my Rockwell 6c with the R4 plate.
In my experience Nacets are good blades - very sharp and pretty smooth, but not the smoothest. The KCG’s are not quite as sharp, but very smooth. The KCG are among my favorites, up there with Wizamets and Personna platinum chrome.
 
Welcome. 🙂

I'm going to repeat some wise points already made by others with much more experience than me:

The more a blade is dragged across your face, the greater the potential for irritation, or worse. Part of having good technique, IMO, is knowing when to stop.

Not every (or any) shave will be a true BBS. I've never achieved a true BBS, which I define as not a trace of stubble anywhere when feeling in any direction. I've gotten close but knew if I pushed it I would regret it in terms of discomfort. I've learned to live with near BBS or what I consider DFS+. I still may have areas of stubble when feeling ATG, but WTG my face feels like glass, and MUCH better than any other shaving method that I've used.

Not getting nicks or weepers is not necessarily an indicator of good technique. To me, it is equally important to get a comfortable shave.

Changing too many things too quickly may be a hindrance. Of course you seem to have tried some different things, but changing or adding/removing many variables at the same time may make it difficult to identify the cause of your irritation. Obviously you feel a need to change something, but I would be methodical: make a single change and try to stick with it for a bit before changing something else.

Anyway, that's my two cents.
 
I use Proraso pre shave, lot of people don't see an improvement, I do. A good lather from a quality shave soap, I use Sterling most of the time. A sharp blade, Feather, Kai, Nacet are a few of my favorites. With a sharp blade and good lather, use very little pressure, will allow 2 or 3 passes, beard reduction with each pass.
 
I'm happy to report that I had a DFS this morning. I used two passes with touchups with the KCG. I lathered the soap more than I thought I ever could, and it might have even been a little too thick. I gave my face a witch hazel splash immediately after the shave, and there was no tingle at all. I have just the slightest tingle from the aftershave still lingering, but it's nowhere near the irritation I have been experiencing. It's about on par from what I get with cartridges. The areas that tingle are from the touchups, so I need to learn to stop or add even more lather before touching up.

I can confirm the KCG is an excellent blade, and it's much sharper and smoother than the Astra SP. I was able to get the same results with two passes from the KCG that would require three passes with the Astra, and maybe the KCG was still closer in the end after two passes. I have thick, dark stubble on a fair face, so my stubble is very noticeable. My face looked much cleaner after using the KCG than from the Astra. If the Nacets I receive later this week are even sharper, I may not even need a more efficient head design than the EJ 89.

Thanks everyone.
 

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
Lots of things matter: prep, lather and a good choice of razor/blade combination for your face/beard. But if you're getting plenty of irritation I'd bet even money that the biggest problem is your technique. Blood only comes from poor technique, not blade choice.

99% of new shavers (documented by careful guesswork) use way too much pressure. That's the easiest way to get irritation, but it's also the easiest thing to correct - use less, then use half of that. I like to feel like I'm almost (but definitely not) in danger of dropping the razor in the sink - more of a "feel" than real.

The other part of technique we all had to spend time learning was the best shave angle. That will take a bit of experimenting, but by all means try a few different angles. If you do what you did you'll get what you got.

And stop buying stuff. You can get a bloodless, irritation-free shave with just about any functional razor and blade. The shave won't necessarily be a close one, but try and get rid of the irritation first. when you've got your technique on more solid ground you'll be in a better place to evaluate razors and blades. Then spend tons of money.
 
Welcome to B and B!

You all ready have all kinds of Great advice here. I'll only add enjoy the process. It takes time to learn. I use about 10x less pressure with a de razor than driving a cart around my face. Have fun enjoy the ride!
 

Phoenixkh

I shaved a fortune
Welcome to the B&B community. You are getting some great advice and you are already putting it in practice. Well done.
 

Old Hippie

Somewhere between 61 and dead
Welcome to B&B! After some years the Astra SP is the only DE blade I use, pretty much. But they're not for everyone, as is true of all things shaving. Makes it hard to get a good recommendation!

I have tried the Israeli Red, now probably the "German Red" since it's no longer made in Israel. They were, for me, slightly rougher than the Astras but otherwise pretty much the same shave. You've got some good ones suggested to try. I've never tried the KCG blades -- they're over a dollar apiece for me and Astras run about 15 cents. (I'm Scottish. Yes, shaving's a hobby but still...)

O.H.
 
I can get a great shave from the 6c. you just haven't learned the proper angle of the head. The more aggressive razors have a wider opening. This allows for a wider sweet spot. Meaning the angle is open more to get a good shave. The smaller the blade gap the less wiggle room you have to shave with or a smaller sweet spot for the proper angle.

It just takes more practice. Now some folks will say the soaps you are using are fine. but IMO you are using the bottom of the barrel soaps. Soap is a personal thing. But when you have been at this for decades you learn a lot about soaps. Sure, some cheaper soaps are fine. But for the inexperienced you need all the help you can get. I do have Arco in my soap rotation. But I know what I'm doing with it.

Cold water shaving is great in the summer. And some people feel they get a more comfortable shave from it so if it works for ya, go for it. I love a cold water shave after I've mowed the yards and taken a shower. You have two good razors. I like to start new guys off with the 6c and the 4 plate. Stick with them and learn them. Changing to different razors is not the answer. Learning them is. Changing to different baldes can help and better soaps. Practice and learn the angle and how to use no pressure. It takes a bit of time but not as long as if you were learning to use a Straight Razor.
 
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