My Grande Journey

[Esox]

That is a very generous offer Jim. I have to let you know I'm really enjoying the show though! Esox, Congratulations on what seems to have been a break through shave?

Thanks lol.

I dont understand this blade. Maybe its one of those blades I dont get along with for the first shave or two. By the time I finished that shave the blade was very smooth and comfortable, which is what most say of it out of the box.

I had a fairly close shave too. The BBS finish lasted around 12 hours. If it was like that on first use, it would quickly be top of my list.

Maybe I should try the Platinum...

 

[Raven Koenes]

Thanks lol.

I dont understand this blade. Maybe its one of those blades I dont get along with for the first shave or two. By the time I finished that shave the blade was very smooth and comfortable, which is what most say of it out of the box.

I had a fairly close shave too. The BBS finish lasted around 12 hours. If it was like that on first use, it would quickly be top of my list.

Maybe I should try the Platinum...

Sounds good to me, but you know how much I love Gillette Platinum!

 

[Esox]

Sounds good to me, but you know how much I love Gillette Platinum!

You and many others yep!

The one Platinum I did try I couldnt tell it apart from a GSB on my NEW SC, maybe I can in the Grande.

 

[Esox]

Shave #7

Go big or go home, as the saying goes...

50 hours since last shave

Knowing what I do of Feather blades, I wanted to make sure I had the most slickness available and this Captain's Choice North has never failed in that area, or any other for that matter.

As I said earlier, I have hopes of achieving a "One Pass Wonder Shave" and I thought this blade might be up to it.

Lather up and start directly ATG, paying attention to a shallower angle to try and avoid the harshness I usually find with these blades. Slight tugging but really not bad considering what it had to deal with. Long smooth strokes ATG/XTG all across my face with some light buffing along my jawline ATG/XTG.

Finish that pass and felt I did well but my technique for this type of shave will need some refining and a wipe with a wet hand confirmed it.

I had a very good DFS, and a quick one too. I only had one tiny drop of blood on the right point of my chin.

Lather again and buffed over my entire face. Buffing with this razor really is nice and easy. Partly to the teeth aiding in dragging the lather back and I believe the smooth slick plating. The cap and teeth are so smooth that its really like oiled glass. This razor does not drag over my skin, it skims like an air hockey puck.

Wipe and check when finished, BBS everywhere but my jawline and the base of my neck.

To get a BBS everywhere shave I actually needed two more buffing passes, but I was shaving stubble so short I couldnt feel it with my fingers through the lather and only on checking with a wet hand, but the blade was telling me it was cutting. I stopped when the blade could find nothing else too cut, anywhere.

This shave is very close.

As usual for me with Feather blades, they're a bit harsh. I finished with slight irritation on my neck, more on the right side than the left and these creams leave my skin feeling....I still dont know how to describe it. Fresh, clean, smooth and refreshed would be a good start to describing the feeling it leaves me with.

These blades are sharp, but arent all razor blades. I've never found them to be the ultimate in sharpness and certainly not smoothness. Speaking only for myself, there are sharper and smoother blades. Gillette Yellow leaps to my mind and I'm honestly thinking Derby Extra is right up there! I'll need to try a shave starting ATG with one so I can say with any certainty.

Now that I've actually used a Feather blade in this razor, my only realistic hurdle with blade choice is a Gillette Yellow. I found that blade too sharp in my NEW SC, but that razor has gap and this one doesnt. I think that may make the difference.

Next up, Gillette Yellow or I might test a new blade in my NEW SC. I have a tuck of Sharp Star from md1234 that I'm curious about.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

"Lather up and start directly ATG!"

Wow! That is bold. You're not kidding about going big. First pass ATG + the Feather blade.

This razor seems to be improving as you shave with it, from reading your reports. It's gotta be you, as the razor is static.

I am amazed you got such a great one pass (+) shave.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Esox]

"Lather up and start directly ATG!"

Wow! That is bold. You're not kidding about going big. First pass ATG + the Feather blade.

This razor seems to be improving as you shave with it, from reading your reports. It's gotta be you, as the razor is static.

I am amazed you got such a great one pass (+) shave.

Happy shaves,

Jim

Thanks!

BOSC!

It was surprisingly comfortable too. One needs a sharp blade to shave like that.

I'm improving yes. The razor is so rigid, it feels like one solid piece of brass, or marble, or granite. You get the idea and I have a feeling you know what I'm trying to say because your Schone and your AS-D2 should impart the same feeling in your hand. Because of that extreme rigidity combined with the exposure, it can be unforgiving.

My first stroke was a bit quick and slightly reckless and I stopped myself and thought "werewolf!" and slowed down. This razor is up to the job if I am. I just need to find the right blade for it and get more use to using it.

If I can match a blade to it as well as the Perma Sharp to my Regent, my world will be complete.

 

[Johnnynroy]

Thanks!

BOSC!

It was surprisingly comfortable too. One needs a sharp blade to shave like that.

I'm improving yes. The razor is so rigid, it feels like one solid piece of brass, or marble, or granite. You get the idea and I have a feeling you know what I'm trying to say because your Schone and your AS-D2 should impart the same feeling in your hand. Because of that extreme rigidity combined with the exposure, it can be unforgiving.

My first stroke was a bit quick and slightly reckless and I stopped myself and thought "werewolf!" and slowed down. This razor is up to the job if I am. I just need to find the right blade for it and get more use to using it.

If I can match a blade to it as well as the Perma Sharp to my Regent, my world will be complete.

I don't know how the RazoRock OLD compares to the Fatip, but I can vouch for how amazing the rigid blade is in the OLD type. Hearing the whiskers being cut like that is an amazing experience. You might take a look at the 7 o'clock blacks in the Fatip, obviously in addition to the yellows. Here's hoping you find your blade for your one pass shave!

 

[dangerousdon]

Excellent account of your shave. I love the Go Big or Go Home mentality!

 

[Esox]

I don't know how the RazoRock OLD compares to the Fatip, but I can vouch for how amazing the rigid blade is in the OLD type. Hearing the whiskers being cut like that is an amazing experience. You might take a look at the 7 o'clock blacks in the Fatip, obviously in addition to the yellows. Here's hoping you find your blade for your one pass shave!

Thanks!

Hmmm, Gillette Black. You may be on to something there. Its a blade that hadnt even crossed my mind until I read your post. It does have potential.

Excellent account of your shave. I love the Go Big or Go Home mentality!

Thanks!

Maybe its a Canadian thing. We're all tough, live in the bush and chew the bark off trees right? hahaha

I have a goal in mind and today was the first step at achieving it. Now I know I can, I just need to become better at it.

 

[Esox]

Just over 24 hours later and slight growth feeling ATG over my entire face so that was a pretty good shave yesterday. I know I can do better though and have with my Regent and a Polsilver. 23 hours BBS with that combo, but it wasnt the most comfortable shave.

If I can with it, I know I can with this Grande.

Funny. Polsilver being a favorite blade, this is the first I've thought of it in this razor. So many blades left to try...

Right now I'm thinking shaves 8, 9 and 10 will be Polsilver, Gillette Black and Gillette Yellow will be the order for the next shaves.

 

[NurseDave]

Don't you go proving all us three pass shavers wrong

 

[Esox]

Don't you go proving all us three pass shavers wrong

One is the goal. Not sure if I can manage it, but I'm trying!

Six with a Feather in my Tech is the norm and too many, even in a Tech. Quick and easy 3 pass shave with no buffing for a BBS with a Gillette Yellow in my SS. 2 1/2 passes in my NEW SC or Regent is the norm and thats pretty good.

One pass would be better, but its looking like quite a challenge.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I understand one pass as a goal (or sorts). Nothing wrong with that sort of goal. After all, some of what we're doing is shaving as a hobby. Guys pursue all sorts of hobby related objectives far weirder than a one pass shave.

Sometimes we probably need a quick prep and a quick shave because of time pressures. At the same time, we may need an excellent shave. That would be another place for a great, and quick one pass shave.

On the other hand, most of the time I enjoy shaving. If I could accomplish a quick, great, close, long lasting, comfortable one pass BBS shave the downside would be less time spent shaving.

You caught that, right? "The downside would be less time spent shaving."

Is this a BOSC thread?

 

[Esox]

Is this a BOSC thread?

LOL! I have to laugh.

BOSC yes, right up my alley so to speak lol. I do however get where you're coming from. I enjoy it too, but I also enjoy efficiency.

The act of shaving I do enjoy, all of it really, but speaking only for myself, if I can eventually get a single pass BBS shave that I'm happy with, and it will need to be a damn good shave for me to be happy with, the act of achieving the efficiency of that shave, in my mind would be perfection and an extension of that enjoyment.

Jeff Cooper said it best. I read it years ago and always remembered:

"Einstein’s dictum was that everything should be kept as simple as possible, but no simpler. Following that lead we may say that a race driver must always drive as fast as possible, but no faster. For the marksman/expert shooter this becomes one should always shoot as quickly as one can, but no quicker."

A single pass shave seems to follow that idea, however its anything but "simple". I've always tried to do the best I could at anything I've done and never avoided challenges. Shaving is no exception. Thats not to say I'll strive for that very thing every shave, but it is a point I'd very much like to reach.

I'm really not sure that I can achieve it, but I am going to try. Perhaps its an unreasonable goal, but theres only one way to find out.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Ah, very good, bringing Jeff Cooper into the shaving world. Nicely done, that.

Also, a very nice - but decidedly non BOSC - explanation of what you're doing. I like it.

Doesn't mean I won't jerk your chain about it though. Anybody attempting a one pass BBS shave can take it.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Esox]

Shave #8

48 hours since last shave.

Polsilver has been a favorite of mine since my first use of one in the first sample pack I bought. I've been so busy trying new blades, leaving reviews ect that I hadnt actually used one for quite a while now. I thought it was time I did.

I've always said this is a smooth sharp blade and I've said this razor might show the differences in blades and that has proven correct. This razor now also highlights and exposes more of the best things in great blades. Polsilver is a great blade.

Lather up with what has become my favorite shave cream of all I own, and dive right in hard ATG for a first buffing pass. I buffed my entire face letting the razor tell me if it was still cutting or not and because of the rigidity of this razor, that feedback is very good and very accurate.

This cream is so slick I didnt even need to add any water to my skin. No dragging, no jumping or skipping. Air Hockey.

No tugging, no blood, no discomfort of any kind. The only time I felt the blade at all was when I changed to a steeper angle to get an even closer shave. Outside of that I didnt even pay attention to the angle used, I just let the razor do its job as it is very good at what it does.

When I thought I was finished, I wiped with a wet hand and found I needed one light clean up pass over my two trouble areas on my neck as I didnt change directions enough buffing over them and also on the corners of my chin and just under the face of my chin.

Knowing my exact beard map and direction of growth is critical for such a quick shave and I'm still working on that. This is one reason why I tend to shave as close to 48 hours later as I can so the growth is consistent.

These blades are sharp and smooth. This simple sentence says it all and yet doesnt say nearly enough.

How was the shave?

I finished with a BBS everywhere shave. Very light irritation that was gone after a quick rinse and I toweled off. My skin is cool, tight and comfortable.

So there it is, a single buffing pass ATG with a single light clean up pass. I've just long jumped towards my goal and I believe I will easily achieve it now.

The hardest part is knowing the exact direction of growth so that I can shave directly ATG and let this razor wipe that stubble off in a single pass as closely as it can. The only other variable I can see now is knowing where I need a shallow angle and where I need a steep, or even a very steep angle.

It seems like along my jawline and the points of my chin are the hardest places for me to get a close shave. Those areas need a fairly steep angle to shave me close.

It was only in May or June of this year that my two hardest to shave areas were the trouble spots either side of my adams apple. This razor deals with them like no other razor has and they arent nearly causing me the issues they previously had.

This has really been a testament to Polsilver SI blades. They are a simply fantastic blade and now I can breathe easier knowing I have 150 or so left.

Two blades are standing out so far, by a very long shot too. Derby Extra and Polsilver SI. There will be a direct comparison of all blades I find worthy at the end of my trials.

Up next, Gillette Black. I have high hopes for it too, but I'll say it now. I think it will lack the sharpness, but I have hopes it will prove me wrong.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Nice.

 

[Raven Koenes]

Very nice Esox. I've been rooting for you in your one pass quest.

I have yet to do my shave report on my new Reto. It seems as aggressive as my Joris. We shall see tomorrow. It seems like every time I try a different Fatip OC it either feels more or less aggressive than the one I just used, and that can be going back and forth from ones that seemed less aggressive now seeming more. So it all might be in my mind.

I say this because with my Retro I felt my skin after my first wtg pass and it was as close as a two pass. I decided just to go for a second pass using atg with normal touch ups and it was a very nice dfs. I'm kind of sad really because I love 3 passes to draw it out, but there definitely seems to be less chance of irritation with such an aggressive razor. I may continue this experiment. Fatips are definitely the razor to use in your experiment. No ingrown hairs showing up?

 

[NurseDave]

Love me some Captain's Choice too. Good reads.

 

[Esox]

Very nice Esox. I've been rooting for you in your one pass quest.

I have yet to do my shave report on my new Reto. It seems as aggressive as my Joris. We shall see tomorrow. It seems like every time I try a different Fatip OC it either feels more or less aggressive than the one I just used, and that can be going back and forth from ones that seemed less aggressive now seeming more. So it all might be in my mind.

I say this because with my Retro I felt my skin after my first wtg pass and it was as close as a two pass. I decided just to go for a second pass using atg with normal touch ups and it was a very nice dfs. I'm kind of sad really because I love 3 passes to draw it out, but there definitely seems to be less chance of irritation with such an aggressive razor. I may continue this experiment. Fatips are definitely the razor to use in your experiment. No ingrown hairs showing up?

Thanks!

I wonder if the handles are giving each razor a different personality.

I've never really been susceptible to ingrowns, but the Mach 3 would give me the odd one when a blade became dull. That was the point in my early shave career where I knew it was time to change blades.

It's always seemed the only time I had any ingrown hairs was from a dull blade that pulled the hair to high and in the case of a Mach 3 with 3 blades, either cutting it off to far above the skin line because the preceding blade was pulling, or more likely, breaking it off so that the jagged edge of the hair got caught below the skin line.

Images like this come to mind.

In saying all that, the day after my first shave with the GSB in this razor, I did have a couple very slight ingrown hairs, but as I said, they've really never been a problem for me and that was an exceptionally bad shave lol.

Irritation is something that I've always battled because I think, I have sensitive skin. I can get irritation from either dull blades and needing to apply more pressure forcing them to cut more effectively, or from sharp blades that just shave me too close. The latter however being a weakness in technique more than anything, or perhaps, a side effect of a sharp blade combined with gap in a razors design.

One thing I've noticed is, this Grande is a more comfortable razor for me to use than my NEW SC. As much as I do like that razor, its very rigid and a very good design, I'm learning that I dont like the gap it has and I'm beginning to think I really dont like any gap.

Its my thinking that with the gap my NEW SC has, the wave of skin ahead of the blade, for lack of a better term, can get slightly pinched between the comb and the blade, essentially forcing that tiny amount of skin against the blade edge increasing friction on my skin. Think of a Gillette adjustable and turning the dial up. That adjusts the gap, and makes the razor more aggressive while at the same time, making that pinch point larger to cut a broader area more aggressively.

That also may be one reason why the NEW SC is so effective. That very slight pinch is helping to force the hairs too be cut. This is why I learned with that razor that 2 1/2 pass shaves were good, 3 passes still being okay. The more passes I'd use, the more irritation I would end up with because it would accumulate with the number of extra passes. With my NEW SC, smoothness of a blade was more important than sharpness of a blade.

The Fatip razors, being an extremely rigid design with no gap whatsoever to speak of give me a more comfortable shave because theres less friction against my skin. As long as I get the angle right, with a sharp blade, the stubble has no escape. The razor cant skip because of the rigidity, and with a sharp blade, the stubble cant bend or flex. Combined with the exposure, these razors are the ultimate in efficiency in my mind. I just need a sharp blade to cut my coarse dense growth as easily as possible, and at the same time I appreciate the smoothness from certain blades.

I'm finding also with this Grande, that a blades sharpness is much more a critical factor than a blades smoothness. For the life of me, I cant understand why Derby Extra works so well for me, in every razor I've yet used them in, and so poorly for the vast majority of those that have used that blade.

Love me some Captain's Choice too. Good reads.

Thanks!

These Captain's Choice creams are simply awesome.

I dont have a lot of experience with many soaps and/or creams. I started with Nivea Sensitive Skin shave cream, quickly moved to Proraso Green, then White. Then I jumped to Stirling samples, and I have 12 of those. I was sent a sample of Captain's Choice North cream and that was really it for me. I right away bought a tub of 45th and I now have another in reserve and a tub of Bay Rum and a bowl on its way I won in a Captain's Choice vendors contest.

Since I've started with these creams, I've honestly only gone back to the Stirling samples for a change of pace, but in my opinion, they cant hold a candle to Captain's Choice creams.

___

About yesterdays shave. My previous best with a Polsilver in my NEW SC was a BBS finish that lasted 9 hours or so, 9 1/2 at most. In my Gillette Regent, 23 hours. That razor also has blade exposure, but is no where near as comfortable in use as this Grande.

Yesterdays shave lasted 12 hours. I'm pretty happy with a 12 hour BBS, but I can better that by adjusting the angle to shave me closer.

One other thing I'm noticing today is my skin feels better than it has for a while. I'm not sure why, but I'm thinking along the lines of what I've stated above. This razor is easier on my skin because it has no gap and it's the only razor I've used for the last 8 shaves.