Artist Club SEs - keep them or sell them?

[pbrmhl]

I'm totally out of Artist Club razors - everything sold. Wondering if I need to keep on with GEMs even. I'm getting my best shaves ever with R41, Timeless Bronze OC .78 and Karve OC E plate. All on titanium handles. Nacet, Yellows and GSB blades. They cut closer than anything else - even my Micromatics. I see very efficient DEs as my future in shaving. I'm not sentimental about the hardware. It's dog eat dog.

I also enjoy the R41 (2011 version), Timeless Bronze OC .78 and Karve (with an F open comb plate). On my face, the Asylum RX, ATT SE2 and Schick E2 (with the swiveling spring) are just as efficient. All of my Gem-blade razors, and the rest of my AC-blade razors and injectors, fall a bit behind. On my face.

 

[Steve_in_CT]

Yes - variety is great. I'm a guy with 30 artisan soaps! But the question I have to ask myself is whether I can compromise on the shave quality. My very efficient DEs are so far outdoing the rest in shave quality. Going less efficient means more strokes, more stubble. Is it worth it? I can rotate soaps and brushes and they'll have virtually no effect on the quality of the shave, but the razor and the blades are pretty crucial.

I have sold most of the razors that either don’t yield super close shaves or which irritate my skin. While the Game Changer .86 comes up a bit short on closeness compared to my single edge razors, the difference is barely perceptible and it’s a joy to shave with it. If, like you, my SE razors didn’t measure up to my DE razors, I also wouldn’t hesitate to sell them. For me, it was the other way around and I sold most of my DEs.