BassPlayerBoz's Shave Journal

[kingfisher]

Slants rule. I don't use DEs much anymore (or at least haven't in a while), but one of my favorites is a vintage Merkur slant.

By the way, I see by your user name that you are a bass player. Do you have a current band or gig? What type of bass do you play (or should I say, which is your favorite)?

I'm also a bassist. Just played a gig last Saturday in New Orleans. My main axe is a 1976 Fender P-bass, blonde on blonde, with a tobacco pickguard. My other instrument is a Peavey fretless that I string up with flatwounds.

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

...
By the way, I see by your user name that you are a bass player. Do you have a current band or gig? What type of bass do you play (or should I say, which is your favorite)?

I'm also a bassist. Just played a gig last Saturday in New Orleans. My main axe is a 1976 Fender P-bass, blonde on blonde, with a tobacco pickguard. My other instrument is a Peavey fretless that I string up with flatwounds.

OK.... off topic.... but it's my journal and I love talking about this stuff too... so...

No current bands. I took a "leave of absence" from the band scene a few years ago to finish my master's degree. But I don't think I'm going back anytime soon. I do miss playing. But I don't miss unloading/ unpacking out gear at 3AM after gigs, all the time spent ignoring the grandkids to practice, inevitable band drama, and low $$. If I made $2000 a gig, I'd deal with it. But we made $75 - $100 each & we were a fairly well-paid classic rock band for the Tucson area. And there were only a few places in town who would pay that much anyway. Prior to then, I was in various classic rock & original bands on/off since I was 13. For about 3 years or so in the early 2010s, I was in an 80's hair metal tribute called "PoZeR". Hair, aquanet, make-up, ripped-up jeans, spandex, the works.... (Along the lines of "Steel Panther" if you've ever heard of/ seen them.) We were pretty good and it was a lot of fun! But alas, it didn't last long term.

Main axe - Black Rickenbacker 4001 (workhorse since I was 14); replaced a few years ago w/ a black 4003; Also usually had a Cream colored Rick 4001CS tuned to "D" for a few songs, and a Ernie Ball MusicMan Bongo-6 that enabled some work on the low-B and some higher register stuff occasionally that was tough to do on the 4-strings. Main amp - Mesa Boogie Bog Block Titan V-12 though an Ampeg PR-810H cabinet (or 2). Also had a Roland Juno-Gi and PK-6 pedal board for covering some simple keyboard lines & background pedal synth on occasion.

I've played a couple of fretless basses before, but never owned one. They sound cool, but were a fairly hefty investment for something I'd only use occasionally. (I talked myself out of buying a double-neck 6-/12-string guitar years ago for the same reason.)

 

[kingfisher]

Nice. Thanks for the reply. Those Rickenbackers are awesome, and the Ernie Ball MusicMan is a great axe, too.
My amp is a Hartke kickback. Pretty sweet and very portable.

I hear you about the hassle of setting up/taking down. That's why you need roadies, lol!

I picked up the fretless bass secondhand for $200. I like to play it, but I've never taken it to a gig.

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

6th 7 O'Clock SharpEdge (Yellow pkg) "in the bank" (Merkur 37C [slant], Mitchell's Wool Fat/ Haslinger Coconut Soap, Nivea Sensitive Cooling post shave balm, & Omega Pro 48 Boar/ WD Silvertip)...

8 solid DFS shaves. Irritation levels were generally less than with the Maggard Slant I used with the previous blade, but there were a couple of nights when I got a little impatient & gave my self some unnecessary razor burn. Can't balme that on the razor/ blade, though. For the most part, I got another 8 great shaves out of it. ==> still like the 7 O'Clock Yellows.

Finally got tired of using up the MWF. Used it for the first two shaves & lather was mediocre at best (maybe because the puck was small enough that it broke into two pieces & perhaps I wasn't able to pick up enough product?) But after that 2nd shave, I dried out what was left & put the chunks into my "Franken-soap tin" that has chunks of other soaps that I got tired of and/or had chunks that were too small to use on their own (Mike's, TOOBS Sandalwood.) Then I switched to using the Haslinger Coconut full time with the WD Silvertip brush - love that brush & the Haslinger lather. Always have enough for three passes plus a thick coating of post-shave lather to get the post-shave feel. I still don't think the Haslinger post-shave is quite as good as the MWF... but it's nearly as good and much easier to lather & has good slickness ==> I feel it's a better soap overall (at least, for me.)

Also still really like the Nivea Cooling Sensitive Post shave balm.

Shaves were generally DFS/ BBS. Great results with mostly mild amounts of irritation (other than the incidents of operator error noted above.). Like the Maggard Slant, I didn't feel like the Merkur Slant was all that aggressive. I got nice shaves & wouldn't mind using this combo long term.

Next up .... not sure. Definitely going back to the EJ DE89 in the rotation, but am uncertain of blade choice ... not sure what I have in my inventory I haven't tried... besides the Personna Reds I just bought last week. Maybe I'll try those, but won't know for sure until tomorrow night. (Tonight's shave is with the SR.) Will continue to use the Haslinger soap & Nivea balm.

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

1st Personna Platinum (Red box) "in the bank" (EJ DE89, Haslinger Coconut Soap, Nivea Sensitive Cooling post shave balm, & WD Silvertip)...

8 decent shaves, but irritation levels were generally a little more than with the previous few blades. It wasn't every night, but irritation was overall noticeably more than other blades with the DE89 (which is normally a pretty mild razor).

Used the Haslinger Coconut with the WD Silvertip brush. Always have enough for three passes plus a thick coating of post-shave lather to get the post-shave feel. Almost as good a post-shave feel as the MWF, but much less trouble to generate lather.

Also still really like the Nivea Cooling Sensitive Post shave balm.

Shaves were generally DFS/ BBS, but with more irritation. Though I was able to get good shaves, my incidence of irritation surprised me as the DE89 is probably the mildest razor I have. We'll see how it goes over the next few weeks as I rotate through my other razors, but my inclination after the DE89 is to not buy these blades again.

Next up - the Maggard V3 (which I've found to be noticeably more aggressive than the DE89) with these blades. (We'll see how that turns out ...) Will continue to use the Haslinger soap & Nivea balm.

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

2nd Personna Platinum (Red box) "in the bank" (Maggard V3, Haslinger Coconut Soap, Nivea Sensitive Cooling post shave balm, & WD Silvertip)...

Again, 8 reasonable shaves. But irritation levels were again generally a little more than with the previous few blades. As w/ the DE89, It wasn't every night, but irritation was overall noticeably more than other blades. I suppose that if it came down to using this blade or nothing, I could learn to live with it. But this one seems to have a tendency to irritate/ "bite" me more often than my previous blades in 2 different razors. I'll work through giving it a try in the other 4 in my rotation (maggard V3A, V3OC, Slant & Merkur 37C), but I'm not hopeful about different results

Used the Haslinger Coconut with the WD Silvertip brush. Always have enough for three passes plus a thick coating of post-shave lather to get the nice post-shave feel. Have to figure which soap to use next as the Haslinger puck is starting to get small/ run out. I have about a three year supply of soaps/ creams, but they're mostly non-tallow & tend to dry out my skin. I can use them (& probably should), but I much prefer the tallow-based soaps.

Also still really like the Nivea Cooling Sensitive Post shave balm.

Next up - the Maggard V3A with these blades. Hopefully, I can keep it from biting me too badly/ too often. (Perhaps I'll look at it as an opportunity to practice/ refine my technique.) Will continue to use the Haslinger soap & Nivea balm.

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

3rd Personna Platinum (Red box) "in the bank" (Maggard V3A, Haslinger Coconut Soap/ TOBS Coconut Cream, Nivea Sensitive Cooling post shave balm, & WD Silvertip)...

8 pretty nice shaves. Irritation levels again tended to be a little elevated than with previous blades... but this was in the first few shaves. Though the blade tended to "bite" me more often than in the DE89 & Maggard V3, it also gave me very nice/close shaves - better than in the previous 2 razors (IMHO). I was expecting the V3A to be a lot more irritatiing, but it's actually been a pretty solid performer. Irritation was only an issue in the first few shaves. After that, shaves 4-8 were generally DFS/BBS with comparatively mild irritation (if any). I still got the occasional weeper, but there was nothing major. BL: much better performance for me in this razor than I was expecting.

Used the Haslinger Coconut with the WD Silvertip brush switching to the TOBS Coconut cream on about shave 4 or so. (Could this change have something to do with the lessening of irritation? Hmmm....) Still prefer the post-shave of the Haslinger, but the results I'm getting with the TOBS cream have been great. Haslinger lather was great as usual, but the TOBS cream was quicker & still gave me plenty of thick, rich lather that was obviously good enough to get great shaves.

Also still really like the Nivea Cooling Sensitive Post shave balm.

Next up - the Maggard V3OC with these blades. Will continue to use the Haslinger soap/ TOBS cream & Nivea balm.

 

[kingfisher]

Have you tried Polsilver SI blades? My favorite DE blade by a long shot.

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

Have you tried Polsilver SI blades? My favorite DE blade by a long shot.

I have not tried those. They were on my list to try, but I keep reading in various places about them being discontinued and/ or "counterfeit" blades being sold, etc. And they're pricey by comparison to most other blades (not that any DE blade is really all that expensive when compared to a Gillette Fusion cartridge.) And I still have at least a couple of years worth of blades from my sampler pkg & the "one-sie/ two-sie" packs I've bought locally. I'll get around to them eventually (assuming the rumors about their demise are unfounded), but it might be a while.

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

4th Personna Platinum (Red box) "in the bank" (Maggard V3OC, TOBS Coconut Cream/ Haslinger Coconut Soap, Nivea Sensitive Cooling post shave balm, & WD Silvertip)...

8 decent shaves. Blade performance in this razor was comparable to the last couple of razors - irritation levels tended to be a little more elevated & tended to "bite" me more often than in the DE89 & Maggard V3. It did give me pretty decent shaves, but not quite as good as the V3A. And unlike in the V3A, I tended to experience more irritation/ weepers with this blade/razor combo in my later shaves. Still - it was manageable & I suppose I could develop the touch to deal with it long term if I had to do so. But since there are so many other blades to try/ that have worked better for me in this razor, I probably wouldn't do this combination again.

Used the TOBS Coconut cream with the WD Silvertip brush, but switched back to the Haslinger Coconut on about shave 3-4 or so. (Not for any problem with the TOBS - just intend to 3017 the Haslinger; the puck is getting pretty small & I just want to use it up.) OBTW - Still prefer the post-shave of the Haslinger & lather was consistently great as usual.

Nivea Cooling Sensitive Post shave balm is also still working very well for me.

Next up - the Maggard Slant with these blades. Will continue to use the Haslinger soap & Nivea balm.

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

5th Personna Platinum (Red box) "in the bank" (Maggard Slant, TOBS Coconut Cream/ Haslinger Coconut Soap, Nivea Sensitive Cooling post shave balm, & WD Silvertip)... and a new Crown King Scuttle!


8 close shaves, but with more irritation and weepers than any of the previous razors I've tried with this blade. It seemed that no matter how much care I took to use a light touch, be patient, and/or take my sweet ol' time, I always got more irritation and anywhere from 1-4 weepers per shave. Definitely dissapointed with this combination & wouldn't do this again.

Finally 3017'd th Haslinger & put the bit that was left in the Franken-soap container. Used the TOBS Coconut cream with the WD Silvertip brush for the last 2-3 shaves. OBTW - Still prefer the post-shave of the Haslinger & lather was consistently great as usual. Lather from the TOBS coconut was also good, though. But the variety of soap/ lather made no difference in the level of irritation/ weepers.

Nivea Cooling Sensitive Post shave balm is still working very well for me.

Also started using a Crown King scuttle my spousal unit bought for me for our 18th anniversary. It works decently and I really like the warmer lather. One thing I need to get used to is that the sides are slanted as opposed to the staright vertical side of my VDH mug. Because of this, when I build lather it's a little easier to slosh it over the sides. But so far so good.

Next up - the Merkur 37C Slant with these blades. Not really looking forward to this based on this blades performance in the Maggard Slant. But then again, this blade "bit" me a bunch in the DE89, V3, & V3OC and ended up giving me great shaves w/ little irritation in the V3A. So... we'll see...

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

6th Personna Platinum (Red box) "in the bank" (Merkur 37C Slant, TOBS Coconut Cream, Nivea Sensitive Cooling post shave balm, & WD Silvertip), & Crown King Scuttle!


8 close shaves. But while I had less irritation than w/ the Maggard Slant, I still had a higher incidence of irritation than I think is "usual". And I had at least 1-2 weepers on every shave no matter how careful I was. While I got better results than with the Maggar Slant, I'd say this experience was similar the the results w/ my other razors (except the V3A - had good results with that razor & this blade.). Overall though, still dissapointed with this combination & wouldn't do this again.

Used the TOBS Coconut cream with the WD Silvertip brush. Lather from the TOBS coconut was good/ easy to generate as usual. Getting a little better at keeping the lather from sloshing over the sides of the Crown King scuttle. Concentrating swirls of the brush in the middle of the scuttle & pushing it down slightly to still get some bristles up on the textured sides seems to help. The lather builds up on the upper sides & will fall back on to the brush/ back into the scuttle to be churned some more. (well... mostly.) And I think I'm becoming spoiled with the warmer brush/ lather. I'm, therefore, apprehensive about the eventual road trip where I can't take the scuttle along. Nivea Cooling Sensitive Post shave balm is also still doing very well.

Overall, I've been pretty disappointed with the results I've experienced with this blade in most of my razors. V3A results were pretty good, but I had way too much irritation & too many weepers with the others to put this blade in my normal rotation again

Next up - back to the DE89, but am uncertain of the blade to use. I think I might have worked my way through all the varieties I got in my initial sampler & the here/there purchases from the Crescent Moon Smoke Shop. For certain I've got enough blades to last me a few years ==> not going to go buy any more just to try them out. Maybe I'll go back & re-visit a few that I tried early on in my DE adventure. (Like maybe the Sharks SCs I used for my first month or so & haven't used since.) Maybe it would be interesting to compare my perceptions of them then to my results now after a couple of years of DE experience. But I'll have to go through my supply to see what I have.

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

1st Dorco Stainless "in the bank" (EJ DE89, TOBS Coconut Cream, Nivea Sensitive Cooling post shave balm, & WD Silvertip), & Crown King Scuttle


Not sure if this package is the Platinum ST3008 variety. I thought the package had just a plain "Dorco Stainless" label, but I'll have to look at them closer when I get back home tonight.

Got just OK shaves. They were close enough, and I got 8 shaves out of it but... the blade seemed to be tugging/ pulling from the 1st shave. And I had a higher incidence of irritation than I think is "usual" - especially considering it was in an EJ DE89 (a relatively mild razor.) And I again had at least 1-2 weepers on every shave no matter how careful I was.

Used the TOBS Coconut cream with the WD Silvertip brush & Crown King Scuttle. Still loving the scuttle & the warm lather. Learned a lesson on the last shave, though (last night). I mistakenly added too much water & made the lather a bit thin. As a result, it was barely thick enough to facilitate shaving & slickness was nearly non-existent. The combination of thin, non-slick lather and the 8th shave on a blade that was pulling/ tugging since the first shave on it made for an unpleasant experience. I got through it OK, but the shave wasn't nearly as good as I usually expect from my DEs. Nivea Cooling Sensitive Post shave balm is also still doing very well.

Next up - Dorco stainless from the same package, but w/ the V3. Nervous about using this blade in what I perceive as a more aggressive razor than the DE89. We'll see how it goes.

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

2nd Dorco Stainless "in the bank" (Maggard V3, TOBS Coconut Cream, Nivea Sensitive Cooling post shave balm, & WD Silvertip), & Crown King Scuttle


I checked the Dorco packaging after posting the last review and these blades are indeed the ST3008s.

Again - Got 8 shaves out of it & they were better overall with this blade & the V3 than with the DE89. They were about the same level of closeness, but there was less tugging/pulling and less irritation. There was still more than I thought I should get, though. I had a few weepers here & there, but less than w/ the DE89.

Used the TOBS Coconut cream with the WD Silvertip brush & Crown King Scuttle. Still loving the scuttle & the warm lather. I thought I'd learned a lesson during the last shave before my previous post regarding too much water ==> not enough slickness w/ the TOBS lather. But apparently, it took me a few more shaves to dial it back in as the first few shaves were a little rough because of me making the same d&%$ed mistake with the lather. As a result, the razor/blade weren't gliding over my skin nearly as good as I usually expect. I still got better results than with the last combo, but I don't think I can blame any shortcomings I got this time on the blade as my lather was likely the major problem. Even considering that, though, I still don't think the blade was really all that great. It was serviceable... and was much better in this razor than in the DE89... but I still don't think it was as good in either razor (so far) as the 7 O'Clock Yellows/ Rapiras were in every razor in which I remember trying them.

Nivea Cooling Sensitive Post shave balm was also good. But I'll be moving back to the non-cooling version as I have 4 bottles of that & just ran out of the cooling version.

Next up - Dorco stainless from the same package w/ the V3A.

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

3rd Dorco Stainless ST3008 "in the bank" (Maggard V3A, TOBS Coconut Cream, Nivea Sensitive post shave balm, & WD Silvertip), & Crown King Scuttle


Again - Got 8 shaves out of it. And as this variety of blade seemed to perform better in the V3 than in the DE89, I thought the same with the V3A (that they were slightly better still in the V3A.) There was still more irritation than I thought I should get, though.

Used the TOBS Coconut cream with the WD Silvertip brush & Crown King Scuttle. (Will prob run out of the TOBS in the next couple of weeks.) Lather was overall much better in this 2-week period than with the last blade/razor combo. (I tended to err on the side of not enough water when making lather this time - adding water to my face if I thought the lather came out a bit dry.) ==> Any irritation I got I don't think can be the result of poor lather. But I still noticed more incidence of irritation on my later shaves. So about the same conclusion as last time - the blade was serviceable... not as good in as I remember the 7 O'Clock Yellows/ Rapiras being.

I'm back to the Nivea Sensitive Post shave balm - not the cooling version. It seems to be thicker/ creamier than my bottle of the cooling version was. For that reason, I like the feel of it better. (It seems to work better at moisturizing for whatever reason.) But... whenever I experience any irritation, I really miss the cooling sensation of the other version. BL: I like both versions & might have to keep a cooling & non-cooling version in the line-up (instead of 3017ing them as I do w/ soaps, creams, & blade packages.)

Next up - Dorco stainless from the same package w/ the V3OC.

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

4th Dorco Stainless ST3008 "in the bank" (Maggard V3OC, TOBS Coconut Cream/ Pre de Provence, Nivea Sensitive post shave balm, & WD Silvertip, & Crown King Scuttle)


Again - Got 8 reasonably good shaves out of it. Performance was about on par w/ the V3 & V3A - less tugging and more comfortable shaves than w/ the DE89, but also more irritation than I want to live with long term. (Not that irritation levels were execessively bad - just more than I've had w/ other blades. One particular shave I could contribute to user error. But even considering that my irritation levels still seemed elevated.)

Used up the TOBS Coconut cream then switched to the Pre-de Provence on about shave 4-5. Still used the trusty WD Silvertip brush & Crown King Scuttle. Lather w/ the Pre de Provence was rich/ thick (as I've been getting over the past few weeks w/ the TOBS.) While nice, it doesn't seem to be as slick/ post-shave soothing as the tallow-based soaps I've tried ==> Though I like it, I still prefer the tallow soaps (of which, I think the WSP is still my top choice - though Stirling & Haslinger are right up there.) Still noticed more incidence of irritation on my later shaves - normal, I guess. So ==> same conclusion as last time - the blade was serviceable... and I could likely learn to live with it... but I'd prefer the 7 O'Clock Yellows/ Rapiras.

Nivea Sensitive Post shave balm is good - as usual. Glad I found this stuff as it's relatively inexpensive and available at any local grocery store. I still use my Stirling Executive Man post-shave balm for after my SR shaves and really like it. But it - and balms like it & after shaves from various artisans like WSP, Reef Point, Soap Commander, et al. - aren't available except during gear orders from Maggard's. And since it lasts a while, there are other artisan balms I'd like to try, and I have enough stuff that I'm running out of storage space & can't order from Maggard's every month... it might be a while before I replenish it.

Next up - Dorco stainless from the same package w/ the Maggard Slant.

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

5th Dorco Stainless ST3008 "in the bank" (Maggard Slant, Pre de Provence, Nivea Sensitive post shave balm, & WD Silvertip, & Crown King Scuttle)


Again - Got 8 shaves out of it, but barely. Performance decent for the first few shaves, but just tolerable at best for shaves 4-8. And as with the previous razors, I had more irritation than I want to live with long term.

Still used the trusty WD Silvertip brush & Crown King Scuttle. Lather w/ the Pre de Provence was decent - until I tried glycerin as a pre-shave & ruined my lather for the next few nights (I forgot this lesson I learned about glycering & lather when I first joind B&B; Don't know how long it'll take to get that lather-killing glycerin out of the brush/ soap... or how -exactly to do it; lather has been foamy/ rapidly thinning ever since that fateful evening.) Noticed more incidence of irritation on my later shaves that was probably amplified by the lather issue. But there was also more on the first few shaves - and more incidences of nick & weepers, as well - before the lather issue ==> I wouldn't pair this blade with this razor again. As this blade doesn't seem to be a versatile in my various razors, I'll likley never try it again.

Nivea Sensitive Post shave balm results are still good.

Next up would normally be another Dorco in my Merkur 37C. But I'm out of Dorcos w/ no intention of getting any more. So we'll have to figure out what comes next. Maybe revisit the Sharks? We'll see....

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

Revisiting the Shark SCs w/ the EJ DE89, Pre de Provence, Nivea Sensitive post shave balm, & WD Silvertip, & Crown King Scuttle

I decided to re-visit the Shark SCs. These were the first blades I used when starting my DE adventure. Only was able to reliably get 5 shaves out of them back then before they started to feel "tug-gy" w/ elevated irritation. This time, I was able to get 8 decent shaves out of them w/ out too much issue.

And the performance might have been better but for the problems I've been having lately w/ the Pre de Provence soap for whatever reason. I started loading for 2 minutes as opposed to the 1 minute for the previous few soaps (load for a minute, squeeze out the soap from the brush into the scuttle, load for another minute while grapsing the brush at the base of the bristles to give it more backbone) and that seemed to help... for a day or two. But then I'd have thin, runny lather again... which would be OK if is was still slick. But it seems that if the PdP thins out/ dissipates, its slickness decreases as well. I liked this soap at first, but I'm not sure if I'm sold on it now. I just can't seem to get enough good & persistent lather. Will keep at it though as I tend to 3017 the soaps to give them an honest effort. (I want to make a judgement based on a big enough sample size to know that my assessment of the soap/ cream is not based on a few bad days.) Regardless, I still prefer the tallow soaps I've tried (WSP, Haslinger, Stirling, et al.) in terms of slickness - even after the lather was shaved off. And those 3 specific soaps I seems to remember as being the nicest of the tallow soaps I've tried.

Nivea Sensitive Post shave balm results are still good.

Next up is another Shark SC in my Maggarg V3 - which I did not have when I tried these last time. Hoping to figure out my lather issue as well. Since my experience w/ my V3 is that it's more aggressive than the DE89, I'm anticipating a bit more irritation/ weepers if I can't get the PdP lather issue sorted out. Maybe I'll go back to my Omega Pro 48 boar brush for a shave or two. (I'm thinking it's a bigger knot w/ stiffer & longer bristles ==> more product loaded ==> more lather/ less chance of making it runny.) We'll see....

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

Revisiting the Shark SCs w/ the Maggard V3, Pre de Provence, Nivea Sensitive post shave balm, & WD Silvertip, & Crown King Scuttle

Got 8 shaves, but felt a little more incidence or irritation on shaves 4-8. However, I feel that this could possibly be due to my continuing issues w/ the PdP lather rather than any problem with the razor/ blade. Even going back to the Omega Pro 48 boar brush (a big knot - 28 mm), loading for 2 minutes after blooming the soap while I shower, then lathering for 2 minutes is barely getting me enough lather for 3 passes. Frustrating....

Nivea Sensitive Post shave balm results are still good.

Next up is another Shark SC in my Maggard V3A. Still sticking w/ the PdP to see if I can sort out the lather... or at least, use it up so I can move on to something else without feeling wasteful.

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

Had to stop @ 4 shaves - Shark SC w/ the Maggard V3A, Pre de Provence, Nivea Sensitive post shave balm, & WD Silvertip, & Crown King Scuttle

Only got 4 shaves instead of my normal 8. Had more irritation than usual from the first shave with this razor. Also had at least 5-6 weepers per shave no matter how careful I tried to be. I'm managing to generate enough lather w/ the PdP using the Omega Pro 48. It's still not as slick as the tallow soaps I remember and - along with the more aggressive razor - could be contributing to the irritation. But regardless of the root cause, I opted to toss this blade & move on to a fresh one w/ the next razor (V3OC) after just 4 shaves.

Nivea Sensitive Post shave balm results are still good.

Next up is another Shark SC in my Maggard V3OC. Still sticking w/ the PdP in spite of my disappointment with it lately.