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- #1,901
Thanks @Buttercup - O was thinking along the lines of a toothbrush as well. I’ll get the hang of it. Also curious about blade longevity.
Cheers,
Guido
Cheers,
Guido
A newbie’s journey into DE shaving
- Thread starter Guido75
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #1,902
Thanks again Mitch - it was really fun this morning. I felt some afterburners in the office, so I think I did too much pressure when I thought not - but the different blade design means I need to compensate even more.
I have found Personna blades at Connaught Shaving and they also carry GEM blades, which will likely be the next adventure! But still in between if I should use a DE tomorrow or again the Injector or the GEM or ….
Man! I love this hobby!!
Since the majority of my Schick razors are not so easy as my E2 to clean, I leave the blades loaded and don't really track the number of shaves. For my whiskers and technique, I would probably expect 6-10 shaves per blade which is similar to what I get on a GEM PTFE SS blade.
I have ordered and am using the Personna Injector blades from Connaught Shaving. I find them to work fine for me with no complaints about the blades themselves. I know there are some folks that swear by the Chinese Schick blades, but I've not ordered any. The only complaint with the Personna's is the cheaply made key/cartridge. You really have to be careful when loading. Hard to explain, but you'll know what I mean when you try them.
Bonus Tip: I keep my Buttercup E2 sitting in the open next to my bathroom counter, mostly because it's just about the prettiest razor to look at. But, it is also an excellent for cleaning up underneath the nose and around my ears. Just as Mitch stated, so darn maneuverable!
I keep my 1950s Eversharp Hydro-magic injector on my sink for the same reason!
I forgot to mention that I've had really good luck finding and purchasing vintage injector blades, often for less per blade than "new" ones. I've also found that the vintage stainless steel blades provide a fabulous shave. And, I'm sure my fascination with vintage items does not color my experience in the slightest
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- #1,905
That’s exactly was I was thinking of when shaving this morning! Great minds!
I have also found my local shave shop actually carries Schick blades called Schick Injector 10 blades per cartridge, but he seems to charge a bonus. At least compared to other stores. Mitch has set me up with a number of blades to get started so taking 6-10 as a guidepost I should be able to shave for a month or so!
GEM blades seem easier to clean, but they are carbon blades so I need to watch for rust I think. Maybe have them out in the open outside of the bathroom (which is where I stroke my blades anyway) seems like a good idea.
The GEM blades that Connaught sells are the stainless steel PTFE-coated blades. In fact, I bought 50 of them. The ones (one?) I sent you are the same type, but I bought them from tryablade.com when I got my first GEM-type SE razor. These are the best blades for shaving in this form factor.
The Personna GEM PTFE coated stainless steel blade, as sold by Connaught's, is the way to go in my book. I started my GEM journey using Treet carbon steel and quickly made the switch.
Jinx!
Please order the GEMs from Connaught’s, @Guido75
If you need Bryan, Mitch, and me to offset the expense, please let us know
If you need Bryan, Mitch, and me to offset the expense, please let us know
By the way, I have a very nice cased Featherweight that includes instructions to guide you before you give that Featherweight a try. Here are a couple photos:
I don't know that I actually lay the top of the razor face flat on my face, but I come pretty close. The tip for reaching your upper lip is a good one.
I don't know that I actually lay the top of the razor face flat on my face, but I come pretty close. The tip for reaching your upper lip is a good one.
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- #1,911
Super Mitch! @mgweatherly.
And I stand corrected about the blades. Stainless is great obviously! And @thombrogan thanks for the offer, much appreciated, but Connaught's is just across the pond and if I order above (I think) GBP 60 it's free shipping also for mainland Europe. And even below that I think it's still less than shipping from CONUS to EU!
And I stand corrected about the blades. Stainless is great obviously! And @thombrogan thanks for the offer, much appreciated, but Connaught's is just across the pond and if I order above (I think) GBP 60 it's free shipping also for mainland Europe. And even below that I think it's still less than shipping from CONUS to EU!
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- #1,912
August Evaluation
With August just ended the monthly evaluation is due.
The theme for September is Single Edge September. And I can always be found in the monthly GRUME thread.
With August just ended the monthly evaluation is due.
- August was High Efficiency Summer as was July and saw 31 shaves with an average effectiveness score of 8.2 (July: 8.3) - which equates results at mostly DFS+ level. Marginally less effective than July therefore, but the difference is negligible.
- I took 2 blades into double digits: French Gillette (11 shaves) and a Gillette Black (13 shaves).
- Lowest score this month was a 6.5 on effectiveness with a GC1 and my Ti95. Mainly pairing with the blade or the blade ending performance. Several shaves were BBS and I found my shaver with my Gillette prewar to be a highlight of the month together with a shave with the Karve CB OC
- Razor usage in July:
- Timeless Ti95 (16%)
- Fatip Piccolo (10%)
- Mühle Rocca (10%)
- Gillette Techs (20%)
- I enjoyed my razor rotation this month and feel pretty relaxed about it. The razor stand is fully packed and provides a good overview to choose from.
- Soap of the month was AlphaMen 2.0 for Aventus August which I took to 57 shaves and the bottom has been reached. I think this croap puck can give me about 70-80 shaves. It lathers fantastically (also showing the streak of GlideFest and Butterysmooth shaves I have had) and has a super nice post-shave feel to it.
- New additions to the den were a Gillette postwar, Gillette prewar (@mgweatherly
), Schick G1 (Mitch again), GEM Featherweight (Mitch again) and a Karve CB OC c plate.
The theme for September is Single Edge September. And I can always be found in the monthly GRUME thread.
Good point, @Guido75 ! Offset the postage on a £14 box of blades by ordering two tins of SV70th soap for free shipping
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- #1,914
| Razor | Blade | Brush |
| Schick Injector G1 | Schick Plus Platinum (2) | Omega Proraso |
| Preshave | Soap | Postshave |
| Cold splash KCG Face Wash Proraso Green preshave | Lavanda | Cold splash Aftershave Balm |
| Passes | WTG XTG ATG |
| Efficiency (details here) | Quality / My process |
| 8/10 (~20m) | 10//10 (Clean) |
| Effectiveness | Comfort / Blade condition |
| 5/10 (CCS) | 5.5/10 (Harsh and tuggy) |
| Notes to this shave: |
Summary - After yesterday’s smooth shave with the injector razor today was tuggy and harsh. No idea why, but it happened. So I didn’t go for the usual closeness and just went for acceptable.
Razor and blade - I believe I may have inadvertently flipped the blade while cleaning and drying the razor. And I also believe that that doesn’t help with thicker blades. You might get away with it using a DE blade, but injector blades are a different bunch. Lesson learned if I am right. But that’s ok. All part of this learning game called traditional shaving. The razor itself is still blade to use and I can see where @Buttercup is coming from with the looks department of this razor.
Brush and lather - Lavanda is very pleasant to use. Rich cream, excellent glide and a superb scent - subtle and clearly lavender. The boar made a great lather effortlessly, but a third pass requires some extra attention, because as usual my big boar started eating away from my lather!
Technique - Basically a repeat from yesterday. I tried varying the angle a bit to see what happens, but other than that pretty much a consistent shave.
Enjoy your shave!
lasta
Blade Biter
The Proraso Pro is a very hungry oinker, can't be stingy with it at all!
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- #1,916
Definitely! Even if I load heavy I still need to pay attention!
I hate tuggy shaves. I'd rather multiple weepers then a tuggy shave. My most tuggy shaves have been with my Ever Ready Gem SE. It's probably my fault though. But I did get a good shave with that razor with a half DE blade so I have to assume it's partially not me.
lasta
Blade Biter
It's not you, it's the blade.
I tried an Ever Ready not too long ago, loved the razor, but them Personna blades are no good.
- Thread starter
- #1,919
I need to test my new GEM next week, but indeed scraping or tugging is no fun!
Sorry to hear about your difficulties, Guido. Since you had such a terrific shave yesterday, I suspect you are correct and something happened to the blade.
The few times I've loaded an injector blade into an "empty" Schick Injector Razor, I've been super careful watching to ensure the blade doesn't scrape along the blade stops when going in. Doesn't seem to be an issue if there is already a blade in the razor that you are simultaneously ejecting.
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