Balin's Blade Bonanza

[Guido75]

Very interesting. I'm afraid I'm only going to take this particular blade into 3 total shaves by the end of the week, but it's been smooth sailing for me thus far. It's actually a top 2 blade to me if I receive the same experience tomorrow in the Yaqi Mellon that I've had in the Muhle R89 and Gillette Tech.

Yeah, it kind of surprises me too Alex. I might list this as top 3 compared to the other ones so far - even with the discomfort, because it definitely does the job better than the other blades.

I have a Gillette Rubie loaded for tomorrow.

Guido.

 

[Guido75]

So moving on the Gillette Rubie which brings me to the following assessment:

Blade	Sharpness	Comfort	Excalibur potential
Shark Chrome	5	5	Yes
GSB	4	5	Yes
ASCO	4	4	Yes
King C Gillette (MiC)	5	3	Not likely
Sharp Titanium	5	3	Maybe
Racer	3	4	Maybe
Lord Cool	3	3	Unlikely
Silver Star	4	2	Possible
Sputnik	3	2	No

I think the KCG blade has the potential to land higher - I might go for 5 in sharpness and 4 in comfort, but I am basing this on the average of all shaves and not just the first ones. It could also very well be that it behaves differently in modern razors. So more blade usage is needed in future shaves.

 

[Guido75]

Date	26.04.2024
366 daily shaves	117/366

Razor	Blade	Brush
Gillette Red Tip	Gillette Rubie (1)	Abe’s Brush Works Blutt STF
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash KCG Face Wash	Mike’s Natural Soaps Barbershop (99)	Cold splash Proraso Green Balm

Passes	WTG XTG ATG and touch up
Process Quality	Blade Sharpness
9/10 (Small redness)	6/10 (Razor sharp)
Effectiveness	Shave Comfort
8.75/10 (DFS+++)	8/10 (Smoothish)

Notes:

Summary. Glorious shave with the mighty Red Tip and Rubie blade. Fantastic brush as well. Happy camper.

For extended shave notes click here.

Razor and blade. I have never used a Rubie blade before and read a lot of good reports about it. The blade felt harsh, but I am blaming the KCG MIC for that because even during my preshave I felt my skin acting up.

Enjoy your shave!

 

[cranewarrior]

Shave #3 - King C Gillette (China)
Razor: Yaqi Mellon Zamak
Soap: Arko Frankensoap

I got ahold of a zamak version of the Mellon cheaply and I think I like it better than the stainless steel model. It is said to be milder and I concur after trying it this morning.

I felt very much in control and the Mellon harnessed the KCG well. I had another excellent close shave and the blade shows no sign of declining yet on this third use. The Chinese KCG is a top level blade for me. There's no reason I have to hoard them either which is terrific.

 

[Balin]

Date	26.04.2024
366 daily shaves	117/366

Razor	Blade	Brush
Gillette Red Tip	Gillette Rubie (1)	Abe’s Brush Works Blutt STF
Preshave	Soap	Postshave
Cold splash KCG Face Wash	Mike’s Natural Soaps Barbershop (99)	Cold splash Proraso Green Balm

Passes	WTG XTG ATG and touch up
Process Quality	Blade Sharpness
9/10 (Small redness)	6/10 (Razor sharp)
Effectiveness	Shave Comfort
8.75/10 (DFS+++)	8/10 (Smoothish)

Notes:

Summary. Glorious shave with the mighty Red Tip and Rubie blade. Fantastic brush as well. Happy camper.

For extended shave notes click here.

Razor and blade. I have never used a Rubie blade before and read a lot of good reports about it. The blade felt harsh, but I am blaming the KCG MIC for that because even during my preshave I felt my skin acting up.

Enjoy your shave!

Which Rubie? So I know what to use tomorrow. I think I sent you 2 flavours.

 

[Guido75]

Which Rubie? So I know what to use tomorrow. I think I sent you 2 flavours.

Had no idea there were two. It’s the Rubie Plus. And I know what the plus stands for. Plus giant blobs of unremovable glue!

 

[geneaut]

Shave #3 - King C Gillette (China)
Razor: Yaqi Mellon Zamak
Soap: Arko Frankensoap

I got ahold of a zamak version of the Mellon cheaply and I think I like it better than the stainless steel model. It is said to be milder and I concur after trying it this morning.

I felt very much in control and the Mellon harnessed the KCG well. I had another excellent close shave and the blade shows no sign of declining yet on this third use. The Chinese KCG is a top level blade for me. There's no reason I have to hoard them either which is terrific.

I find the zamak Mellon head to be very kind to many blades. Bldes I don;t like in almost any of my other razors often seem enjoyable in the Mellon.

 

[cranewarrior]

I find the zamak Mellon head to be very kind to many blades. Bldes I don;t like in almost any of my other razors often seem enjoyable in the Mellon.

That's great to know!