Happy King Day!
A newbie’s journey into DE shaving
- Thread starter Guido75
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #3,402
| Date | 28.04.2024 |
| 366 daily shaves | 119/366 |
| Razor | Blade | Brush |
| Gillette Super Speed Black Handle | Gillette Rubie Plus (3) | Razorock 400 |
| Preshave | Soap | Postshave |
| Cold splash KCG Face Wash | Mike’s Natural Soaps Barbershop (101) | Cold splash Proraso Green Balm |
| Passes | WTG XTG ATG and touch up |
| Process Quality | Blade Sharpness |
| 10/10 (Clean) | 6/10 (Razor sharp) |
| Effectiveness | Shave Comfort |
| 8.5/10 (DFS+++) | 10/10 (GlideFest) |
| Notes: |
Summary. Splendid Sunday Shave with fantastic gear - just an awesome weekend in that sense!
Razor and blade. I will say that this Rubie blade had me impressed. Very nice balance between comfort and sharpness/effectiveness. So far so good and at present I would say double digits is easy. The razor is a favourite (I only have those - feeling very grateful) as it is a birth year one.
Brush and lather. I thought for a Sunday the number one should have a go again. Still my Lather King. Three more days to decide whether or not I will continue using Mike’s or switching for variety.
Technique. No changes. Yesterday’s result was excellent and carried me through the day. Less stubble at least. Otherwise no frills or thrills other than the excitement of having an excellent shave and enjoying the process to the max.
Head shave was splendid as well. The Schick and Personna blade worked in unison. Wonderful!!
- Thread starter
- #3,403
| Date | 29.04.2024 |
| 366 daily shaves | 120/366 |
| Razor | Blade | Brush |
| Matador Deluxe | Gillette Rubie Plus (4) | Mühle Rocca ST |
| Preshave | Soap | Postshave |
| Cold splash KCG Face Wash | Mike’s Natural Soaps Barbershop (102) | Cold splash Proraso Green Balm |
| Passes | WTG XTG ATG and touch up |
| Process Quality | Blade Sharpness |
| 9/10 (Small dot) | 6/10 (Razor sharp) |
| Effectiveness | Shave Comfort |
| 8.5/10 (DFS+++) | 10/10 (GlideFest) |
| Notes: |
Summary. Kickstarting the week with the Matador is always joyful.
Razor and blade. Swedish precision. That’s what the Matador is. It’s a smoother or more comfortable version of the Swing. I plan on getting a more minty version of this one in the future, but my user grade will absolutely do for now. Deceptively smooth with excellent audio feedback. Could easily be a forever razor. The blade is still going strong with consistent performance.
Brush and lather. I love this brush very much. It is on the smaller side compared to what I use these days, but loading is easy, splaying is good and face lathering with it is just a joy. I think I will use Goodfellas in May before either changing back or changing to Tabarko.
Technique. Lovely passes in part because of the blade. Really nice.
If I was still living in Sweden I would have a whole case with just Matador razors! Yep they are that good......
- Thread starter
- #3,405
I
Cheers,
Guido
I think that’s the reason I never completed my Tradera account set up - much too risky!!
Cheers,
Guido
Especially if you got into straights! You can get a lot of them for not much money on Tradera. Tradera would get me in trouble. Now I do have inside proxy in the form of my sister. She can always buy for me and ship or hand it over when I visit. That is what I did with my Matador.
With Heljestrand, Engstrom, Helberg, and a few others, it would take weeks to reach complete financial insolvency, so Swedish straight razors are very safe for one week.
Of course you had to have the complete set of Heljestrands as well.
I’d be content with a stainless Sculpta 3/8 (Thom lied unconvincingly).
- Thread starter
- #3,410
Maybe I should give my sister my account details to eBay…
- Thread starter
- #3,411
That’s the thing - it is relatively speaking dirt cheap. If you are lucky you can snatch a Matador or Swing for less than €10. But even with bidding wars it still is very
I peeked at this site, and I agree that it is quite dangerous to those of us who would want to add a Matador to our collection.
- Thread starter
- #3,413
I posted this in the Balin Blade Bonanza thread yesterday, but not everyone might see that - so I thought I would cross post here as well.
"I was playing around with statistics this weekend (as one does on a regular Saturday) and based on 481 included shaves GSB (which I have used in 16 shaves) comes out on top in terms of smallest standard deviation (i.e. most consistent performance) regarding comfort and end results. In the quality department (i.e. clean versus redness) it is equally low, but there are blades that worked better for me. And just to put things into perspective - the GSB has super close competition from Shark Chrome (which I used in 20 shaves). Almost the same statistical performance with a little more variation on comfort. Shark Chrome has better results on average, but with a little more variation. Feather appears to be in third overall. Interestingly enough KCG (which I consider one of my favourite blades) scores lowest in comparison. And I haven´t used Dorco Titans much, but they score equal to Feathers.
So GSBs are in fact really good blades. Another very good steady performer is the Gillette Black from India.
The Rubie Plus I am currently using is no slouch either by the way. End results score better than GSB according to statistics."
"I was playing around with statistics this weekend (as one does on a regular Saturday) and based on 481 included shaves GSB (which I have used in 16 shaves) comes out on top in terms of smallest standard deviation (i.e. most consistent performance) regarding comfort and end results. In the quality department (i.e. clean versus redness) it is equally low, but there are blades that worked better for me. And just to put things into perspective - the GSB has super close competition from Shark Chrome (which I used in 20 shaves). Almost the same statistical performance with a little more variation on comfort. Shark Chrome has better results on average, but with a little more variation. Feather appears to be in third overall. Interestingly enough KCG (which I consider one of my favourite blades) scores lowest in comparison. And I haven´t used Dorco Titans much, but they score equal to Feathers.
So GSBs are in fact really good blades. Another very good steady performer is the Gillette Black from India.
The Rubie Plus I am currently using is no slouch either by the way. End results score better than GSB according to statistics."
- Thread starter
- #3,414
lasta
Blade Biter
Cheers Guido!
I've amassed quite a few more varieties since then and would be happy to share!
But honestly, vintage blades, while fun and filled with interesting history, is kind of pointless considering GSBs can still be bought.
- Thread starter
- #3,416
I know these blades cannot be bought anymore, but I thought it would fun to do anyways!
- Thread starter
- #3,417
| Date | 30.04.2024 |
| 366 daily shaves | 121/366 |
| Razor | Blade | Brush |
| Eclipse Red Ring | Gillette Rubie Plus (5) | FNX Barber Boar |
| Preshave | Soap | Postshave |
| Cold splash KCG Face Wash | Mike’s Natural Soaps Barbershop (103) | Cold splash Proraso Green Balm |
| Passes | WTG XTG ATG and touch up |
| Process Quality | Blade Sharpness |
| 9/10 (Small dot) | 6/10 (Razor sharp) |
| Effectiveness | Shave Comfort |
| 8.5/10 (DFS++) | 10/10 (GlideFest) |
| Notes: |
Summary. Fabulous close to Vintage April with the Red Ring performing admirably together with the blade.
Razor and blade. Final shave of Vintage April and I thought to use a staple in shaving history again. Just a great razor. I may send it for repairs someday but for now it shaves just great. And I did the first repairing myself (with help from B&B threads!) with moderate success so the need is lower. The blade continues to perform with smoothness and comfort throughout. I think this definitely has double digits potential.
Brush and lather. My biggest brush and it was wonderful in usage today as it usually is. Great lather and comfortable face lathering. The knot is so huge that I use the Turkish barber technique which is pinching the knot while lathering rather than holding the brush by the handle. It is a Turkish brush after all.
Technique. Steady and familiar territory. Excellent results. I have noticed my right side beating more stubble in the morning than my left side. I am a lefty so apparently my angle is different there. But yesterday I shave the right side with my right hand with the same result so pressure is at play as well. No big deal - I feel smooth all over right now.
- Thread starter
- #3,418
| Date | 10.05.2024 |
| 366 daily shaves | 122/366 |
| Razor | Blade | Brush |
| Timeless Ti95 SCL | Gillette Rubie Plus (6) | Abe’s Brush Works Saturn Synbad |
| Preshave | Soap | Postshave |
| Cold splash KCG Face Wash | TGS Savage (4) | Cold splash Proraso Green Balm |
| Passes | WTG XTG ATG and touch up |
| Process Quality | Blade Sharpness |
| 10/10 (Clean) | 6/10 (Razor sharp) |
| Effectiveness | Shave Comfort |
| 8.75/10 (BBS-) | 10/10 (GlideFest) |
| Notes: |
Summary. Ahh…coming home after using fabulous vintage razors in April what better way to kick off Modern May than with my favourite overall razor. Simply bliss.
Razor and blade. Blade continues to shine and displays a very consistent performance. First time using it with my Ti95 and the pairing of the two is wonderful. The shave was fantastic - I just love this razor, period. It might not be the razor that gives me the closest results in comparison, but everything about it is simply amazing.
Brush and lather. TGS soaps tend to be on the harder side of a croap. I loaded using my little scoop and what I usually do is smear it in a bowl. But I am used to face lathering now so I found myself smearing it on my face and then start lathering. The soap was a bit dry so it took some effort and direct to the face isn't the best option for TGS soaps. They tend to be weirdly harder when lathering (sort of the brush moving the soap in a circle rather than lathering up if that makes sense). So I transferred the soap to a larger bowl so I have brush load again instead of using a little scoop. Compared to Mike's Savage explodes into a whipped cream type of lather. Scent is very nice and also lingers around even after aftershave and balm.
Technique. Consistently doing what works. Some red spots, but they disappeared during passes. Clearly this razor shaves closer than my vintage razors. Effective, efficient and comfortable. Simply bliss.
Enjoy your shave!
- Thread starter
- #3,419
| Date | 02.05.2024 |
| 366 daily shaves | 123/366 |
| Razor | Blade | Brush |
| Karve CB OC-C | Gillette Rubie Plus (7) | Abe’s Brush Works Smokey Bandit |
| Preshave | Soap | Postshave |
| Cold splash KCG Face Wash | TGS Savage (5) | Cold splash Proraso Green Balm |
| Passes | WTG XTG ATG and touch up |
| Process Quality | Blade Sharpness |
| 9/10 (Red spot) | 6/10 (Razor sharp) |
| Effectiveness | Shave Comfort |
| 8.75/10 (BBS-) | 10/10 (GlideFest) |
| Notes: |
Summary. Marvellously close shave with a gorgeous open comb. Smooth and comfortable with excellent results.
Razor and blade. Blade is still showing no signs of fatigue whatsoever. Pretty darn good. I think the Shark Chrome is less bitey in comparison, but this is the best of the @Balin bunch I have tried so far. Paired today with a gorgeous Christopher Bradley open comb. I am so in love with its design and the fact it’s all brass. Smooth combs at that and a nice close shave. Pairing of blade and razor was good.
Brush and lather. So I pressed the sample down into a larger tub to make loading a little easier and also somewhat more regular (i.e. the way I load the brush nowadays). This worked very well and gone are the solid residual pieces of soap after rinsing my brush or lathering up. Soap exploded into lather again. The Silk Smoke knot is super dense and firm yet wonderfully soft in application. Pretty on par with the Plissoft knot in my experience.
Technique. Consistent as usual. I like the positive exposure of the Karve. Not too much, but enough to be very effective while also remaining smoothness. Fabulous razor. It carries a little more weight to it and that did lead me to somehow press down a little more. At least the shave was much closer than yesterday judging by the aftershave sting. Not a big deal just something I noticed.
Enjoy your shave!
- Thread starter
- #3,420
| Date | 03.05.2024 |
| 366 daily shaves | 124/366 |
| Razor | Blade | Brush |
| Razorock Game Changer .84SB | Gillette Rubie Plus (8) | Yaqi Lucky Dice |
| Preshave | Soap | Postshave |
| Cold splash KCG Face Wash | TGS Savage (6) | Cold splash Proraso Green Balm |
| Passes | WTG XTG ATG and touch up |
| Process Quality | Blade Sharpness |
| 10/10 (Clean) | 6/10 (Razor sharp) |
| Effectiveness | Shave Comfort |
| 8.75/10 (BBS-) | 10/10 (GlideFest) |
| Notes: |
Summary. A truly superb shave with the Game Changer today and no signs of a Rubie going on 8. This is an amazing razor with similarly amazing results. Happy happy joy joy!!
Razor and blade. Another run with the Rubie Plus and still a great performing blade. I definitely want to try and hit 10 shaves with this one so I should be good until Sunday. The razor is fantastic and lives up to the reputation it has in our community. I have no idea how the other blade gaps are - I only have the .84 ones - but I might be tempted to get the 1.05 just to test. No itch that needs scratching. Not for a long time anyway. Maybe even never. I also used this razor to connect to @Butch Waxx (I received nine from him) - I talked to him earlier and he is ok, but there are matters he needs to attend to and the name of this razor is very fitting. Sending you love and prayers my friend!
Brush and lather. Using the Yaqi today to send some Lucky Energy to @lasta as I have a feeling he could benefit from some extra universal positivity. I am sticking with synthetics while using TGS because I think a boar or badger will rip the sample completely apart.
Technique. Uneventful in terms of technique. I have changed my XTG on the neck to more horizontal and N-S directions rather than my usual SE-NW/SW-NE. It feels more comfortable, but also less effective. I noticed something else interesting. While the modern razors shave closer than the vintage razors I have been using there amount of stubble in the morning is more than the last few shaves I had with vintage razors. Funny right? Today's result is bordering on clean BBS, but for missed hairs here and there I will go with BBS-.
Enjoy your shave!
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