BassPlayerBoz's Shave Journal

[BassPlayerBoz]

Shark SC w/ the Maggard V3OC, Pre de Provence (for 4 shaves, then a variety rotation), Nivea Sensitive post shave balm, & WD Silvertip, & Crown King Scuttle

I managed to get 8 shaves out of it, but still with more irritation than I'd prefer. Still had more irritation than usual from the first shave with this blade (consistent with the V3A.) I did have less weepers on each shave, but still had anywhere from 1-3. I also reached my frustration theshold w/ the PdP on about shave 4. From then on, I rotated through my WSP Rustic Citrus Blast, Nivea Senstive Cream, and Catie's Bubble Pomander/ La Vert Orange. None of those soaps use a tallow base (as I prefer), but I thought all were better than the PdP and MUCH easier to load/ lather. I had no trouble generating lots of lather with any of them. And in addition to the tons more lather I was able to generate - unlike the lather I could get out of the PdP - the lather from those other 4 soaps/ creams was very persistent ==> much easier to get decent shaves with them. I still experienced some irritation from the Shark blades with the change in soaps, but it was much easier to complete a shave without worrying about stretching the lather to cover 3 passes and a post-shave lather. I'll probably keep using the PdP periodically so as to eventually use it up & avoid tossing it away, but I think I've decided it's not getting replaced when it runs out

Nivea Sensitive Post shave balm results are still good.

Next up is another Shark SC in my Maggard Slant. I think I'm done w/ the PdP - at least for a while. I plan to continue the Nivea Senstive Cream/ WSP Rustic Citrus Blast/ 2 x types of Catie's Bubbles soap rotation. I might work the PdP back in there eventually, but I'm taking a break from it for at least the next couple of weeks. We'll see

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

Shark SC w/ the Maggard Slant, a soap/ cream variety rotation (Nivea Sensitive Cream, Catie's Bubbles Pomander, & WSP Rustic Citrus Blast) Nivea Sensitive post shave balm, & WD Silvertip, & Crown King Scuttle

Again managed 8 shaves out the blade and got some really close shaves (some were nearly BBS everywhere), but there was MUCH more irritation from the start. ("Face on fire" levels of irritation; most days, it was plainly evident the next day - definitely don't like that.) And the last 2 shaves had several weepers & 1 nick each on top of the load of redness all over my neck. And it was consistent among the soaps. ==> Don't like the Shark in this razor either ==> As this is seeming to be a more or less consistent experience through various combinations of razors & soaps, I probably won't get Shark blades again.

I again had no trouble generating lots of lather with any of the three soaps/ cream. Some days were better than others, but overall they were a big improvement over the previous month or two that I'd been using the PdP.

Nivea Sensitive Post shave balm results are still good.

Next up is another Shark SC (maybe my last) in my Merkur 37C Slant. I still have some Shark SCs left, but if results in the Merkur razor are consistent with those using my other razors, I might wash my hands of the Shark blades for good.

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

Shark SC w/ the Merkur 37c Slant, a soap/ cream variety rotation (Nivea Sensitive Cream, Catie's Bubbles Pomander, WSP Rustic Citrus Blast, Gentleman's Chamber Black, and their Cedar Rose ) Nivea Sensitive post shave balm, & WD Silvertip, & Crown King Scuttle

Only managed 5 shaves out the blade (irritation levels caused me to stop here again instead of stretching to 8 shaves). I again got some really close shaves (some were nearly BBS everywhere), but there was again also MUCH more irritation from the start. And this was with a variety of soaps/ creams. So my experience with the shark SCs in a variety of razors with a varitey of soaps/ creams has been fairly consistent... and in a way that's not so good. So my judgement from my last journal entry still stands - I probably won't get Shark blades again.

All the soaps/ creams made good lather. Some were better than others, but that could have been variations in water content by me from shave-to-shave. But it didn't seem to matter in terms of irritation. ==> I attribute my irritation issues to the blade rather than the soap/ lather quality.

Nivea Sensitive Post shave balm results are still good.

Don't know which blades I'll be revisiting next. Maybe I have enough experience to open that pack of feathers that came w/ my DE89. But who knows? I still have at least 100 blades in my stash from my initial sampler pack and a couple of small purchases here & there. I need to revisit some as the last time I used them was still in the first few months of my DE adventure. Perhaps with better technique, a few years of practice, & more experience making lather will yield a different result/ opinion than I originally had of some blades. (The Astra SP comes to mind; everyone raves about it here on B&B, but I didn't think it was all that great. Perhaps I'd think differently now.)

We'll see...

One thing I think I am going to start doing is rotating the soaps. (I like the variety.) I'll stick w/ my current practice of sticking w/ one razor/ blade until the blade is done, though.

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

Gillette Silver Blue w/ the EJ DE89, a soap/ cream variety rotation (Nivea Sensitive Cream, Catie's Bubbles Pomander, WSP Rustic Citrus Blast, & Gentleman's Chamber Black) Nivea Sensitive post shave balm, & WD Silvertip, & Crown King Scuttle

Went with the GSBs as I hadn't tried them yet. Managed 8 shaves out the blade, but irritation levels on the last few shaves were a bit too elevated for me. The first few shaves were very close (DFS/BBS) w/ a weeper or two & fairly mild (manageable) irritation. But on shaves 4-8, my irritation levels rose very noticeably no matter how much attention I paid to proper angles & little/no pressure. I could still get DFS/BBS in terms of closeness, but the irritation levels were increasingly disappointing. Since changing soaps didn't seem to make anything better or worse, I attibuted the issues to the blade rather than anything else.

Nivea Sensitive Post shave balm results are still good.

Overall, I was a little disappointed given the raves I've seen here on B&B about the GSB. I expected it to give me solid shaves with mild or less irritation for all 8 shaves I was trying to get out of it. Alas, it's probably one of those "YMMV" factors that you never really know until you try it personally. We'll see how it does in the next razor - my Maggard V3 (which I've found is noticeably more aggressive than my DE89, even though others here on B&B have written that the V3 is a virtual clone of the DE89.)

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

Gillette Silver Blue w/ the Maggard V3, a soap/ cream variety rotation (Nivea Sensitive Cream, Catie's Bubbles Pomander, WSP Rustic Citrus Blast, & Gentleman's Chamber Black) Nivea Sensitive post shave balm, & WD Silvertip, & Crown King Scuttle

Managed 8 shaves out the blade again, but probably shouldn't have... irritation levels on the last few shaves were a higher than with the DE89 (my shave last night felt like I shaved with a piece of broken glass - and I wasn't in a hurry & took care to try to use as light a touch as I could.) As with the DE89, the first few shaves were very close (DFS/BBS) w/ a weeper or two. Irritation was (I thought) a little more than w/ the DE89, but (I also thought) still fairly mild (manageable). But results on shaves 4-8 were like the DE89 - good closeness, but with even more irritation ==> wouldn't use this blade in this razor for more than 3-4 shaves again. Again, changing soaps didn't seem to matter.

Nivea Sensitive Post shave balm results are still good.

Overall, still a bit disappointed with the GSB. Next razor - my Maggard V3A.

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

Gillette Silver Blue w/ the Maggard V3A, a soap/ cream variety rotation (Nivea Sensitive Cream, Catie's Bubbles Pomander, WSP Rustic Citrus Blast, & Gentleman's Chamber Black) Nivea Sensitive post shave balm, & WD Silvertip, & Crown King Scuttle

Got 8 shaves out the blade again. Performance was similar to what I experienced with the DE89 with maybe slightly less irritation overall. As with the DE89, the first few shaves were very close (DFS/BBS) w/ a weeper or two & manageable irritation levels. Shaves 4-8 still gave me close shaves, but with a noticable incidence of irritation (nowhere as bad as I experienced w/ the V3, though.) Again, changing soaps didn't seem to matter.

Nivea Sensitive Post shave balm is still a solid performer.

Overall, still a bit disappointed with the GSB. Next razor - my Maggard V3OC. Will prob just use one (maybe two) soaps/ creams as I'll be visiting the folks in Tampa for the next 2 weeks.

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

Gillette Silver Blue w/ the Maggard V3OC, Nivea Sensitive Cream or Catie's Bubbles Pomander, Nivea Sensitive post shave balm, & WD Silvertip

Got 8 shaves out the blade again. Performance was similar to what I experienced with the V3A - maybe a little less irritation than with the DE89, but still managed to get 2-3 weepers on each shave no matter how much care I took. As with the previous razors, the first few shaves were very close (DFS/BBS) w/ irritation levels increasing on shaves 4-8 (though it was still - for the most part - at a manageable level.... but I would prefer it to be milder in any blade I select as my "go to/ long-term" blade solution....) And this was again consistent between the two soaps.

Nivea Sensitive Post shave balm is still a solid performer (as usual).

Next razor - my Maggard Slant. And since I'm back home, I'll be going back to the soap rotation that includes the WSP Rustic Citrus Blast & the Gentleman's Chamber Black.

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

Gillette Silver Blue w/ the Maggard Slant, soap rotation (Nivea Sensitive Cream, Catie's Bubbles Pomander, WSP Rustic Citrus Blast, Gentleman's Chamber Black), Nivea Sensitive post shave balm, & WD Silvertip

Made my target of 8 shaves, but probably should have put this one away early. Early shaves were nice & close (DFS/BBS), but w/ 2-3 weepers & more irritation than I'd be willing to live with long-term. Still - I could live with it short-term to ensure it wasn't just my technique. But on shaves 4-8, my incidences of weepers and irritation went up dramatically. My 8th shave on this combo was last night and I had 2 weepers on my chin area, 1 near my right corner of my mouth on the upper lip, 6 on my neck, and a "truck load" or irritation that was VERY noticeable. I looked like I'd shaved with a piece of broken glass. (And it felt that way, too.) ==> Definitely won't use this combination again

Nivea Sensitive Post shave balm soothed the irritation a bit, but there was enough burning that I was uncomfortable for a few hours after shaving and could even feel that my neck was still a little raw this morning.

Next razor - my Merkur Slant. Probably will break out the pack of Gillette Platinum Plus blades. But I think there are only 3 of them in there ==> won't get to try them in all 6 razors I normally rotate through (unless I go get some more; but I'm trying not to do that as I still have enough blades for another few years & am trying not to become a blade hoarder/ victim of gear acquistion syndrome ["G.A.S." as RAD, SAD, and the like are known in the musician's world.)

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

Gillette Platinum Plusw/ the Merkur 37C Slant, soap rotation (Nivea Sensitive Cream, Catie's Bubbles Pomander, WSP Rustic Citrus Blast, Gentleman's Chamber Black), Nivea Sensitive post shave balm, & WD Silvertip

Got 8 shaves out of it. Had a couple of weepers & some relatively mild irritation here & there, but this combo was much milder than my experience with the last few blade razor combos. Still got nice, close shaves but with a lot less discomfort than I consistently got w/ the GSB in the last few razors.

Nivea Sensitive Post shave balm performance was solid (as usual.)

Next razor - back to the DE89.

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

Gillette Platinum Plusw/ the EJ DE9, soap rotation (Nivea Sensitive Cream, Catie's Bubbles Pomander, WSP Rustic Citrus Blast, Gentleman's Chamber Black), Nivea Sensitive post shave balm, & WD Silvertip

Again managed to get 8 shaves out of it. Shaves were pretty good as far as closeness goes, but I had a lot more irritation on shaves 7 & 8 than I'd normally expect from the DE89. The first 5 shaves had mild- if any - irritation. Shave #6 had a little more. And shaves 7 & 8 had more irritation than I'd want to live with long term. I can't help but wonder if I'm sensitive to the Pomander & Citrus soaps. I seem to notice some irritation more when I use those soaps. But it might just be my imagination/ perception bias. Considering going back to using a single soap to try to sort this out.

That Nivea Sensitive Post shave balm soothes any irritation pretty well. Glad I found a blam I like that's available locally. (The Stirling Executive Man balm I have is also great, but costs a little more & has to be ordered ==> right now, I mostly save that for use w/ the SR - especially since I like the Nivea stuff.)

Next razor - Marrage V3 w/ my last Gillette Platinum plus.

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

Gillette Platinum Plus w/ the Maggard V3, soap rotation (Nivea Sensitive Cream, Catie's Bubbles Pomander, WSP Rustic Citrus Blast, Gentleman's Chamber Black), Nivea Sensitive post shave balm, & WD Silvertip

Again managed to get 8 shaves out of it, but still more more irritation than I'd prefer to live with on an ongoing basis. All the shaves were nice & close, but irritation levels were generally at least as high as w/ the DE89 (I usually expect that as [IMHO] my Maggard V3 is noticeably more aggressive than my DE89.) There was less on shaves 1 & 2 than there was on shaves 7 & 8, but still a bit more than I would like. Even on the days when I thought I'd taken my sweet ol' time & concentrated on a light touch and good technique, I could still feel it post-shave when using the alum block. And even on the days that the alum treatment was not as bad as the others, I would look at my neck in the mirror 30-40 min after shaving and thought I looked like I'd shaved with a piece of broken glass. ==> frustrating. Fortunately, it usually subsided (mostly) by the next morning so my shirt collars weren't bothering me at work. (Might be much worse if I wore ties on a routine basis.)

I did notice that I experienced less (a little less) irritation on the days I used the Nivea cream. It's not my favorite soap/ cream as I don't think it's as slick or easy to build lather with as the CB or WSP soaps. But it doesn't have the "spices" in it that give the other 3 soaps I've been using lately their scent. So.... ==> I'm thinking I'm noticing a trend of the scents/ spices in the other soaps aggravating my irritation problem. I don't think they're the sole cause, but maybe a contributing factor. I was going to try to 3017 these soaps to use them up before buying any more, but I might try to pick up some plain, unscented, tallow-based soap somewhere to try to fix this issue. Maybe some Stirling unscented. I really liked the WSP Formula T Matterhorn I tried a couple of years ago (my favorite soap, so far.) But i didn't care for the scent & I don't think they make an unscented version. We'll see....

Next razor - Maggard V3A w/ ... whatever blade I have next in the pile... not really sure what that will be...

 

[Clay S]

I'm thinking I'm noticing a trend of the scents/ spices in the other soaps aggravating my irritation problem.

Always nice finding a possible irritant so that corrections can be attempted!

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

Always nice finding a possible irritant so that corrections can be attempted!

Yeah... I hope so. Not convinced of it yet, though. It's entirely possible that the relative aggressiveness of the blade might be a bigger factor. Or even that I've become complacent and my technique has developed some poor habits. But it's something I'm keeping my eye on. Too bad as I really like some of the citrus/ spicy scented soaps. But there are plenty of other "mild" scents out there (i.e. don't remember any of the coconut scents giving me any issues), uncented soaps (i.e. Stirling), or even some stuff I haven't tried (i.e. Tabac - about which I've heard many good things.) We'll see...

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

Personna Red (a.k.a. Crystal? Made in Israel?) w/ the Maggard V3A, soap rotation (Nivea Sensitive Cream, Catie's Bubbles Pomander, WSP Rustic Citrus Blast, Gentleman's Chamber Black), Nivea Sensitive post shave balm, & WD Silvertip

Got to my target of 8 shaves. Irritation levels seemed to be hit/ miss. Had some elevated irritation on shaves 3 & 6 along w/ some weepers. But shaves 7 & 8 seemed fine as far as blade performance went ==> can't blame those bad days on blade/ edge problems. Never had a shave that was really "face-on-fire" bad though. But there still seemed to be a touch more irritation than I'd prefer. Almost all the shaves were pretty close. I did notice that some of the "rougher" shaves where I didn't get as close (but they were still pretty decent) were also consistent with the days I had more irritation, so.... ==> hurrying/ poor technique those days?.... Probably. But I also still noticed than those elevated irritation days were when I used the CB Pomander & the WSP Citrus. Less so w/ the GC Black, but never had the issues w/ the Nivea ==> something in the spices/ scents bothering me? Maybe... not very scientific, but the correlations seem to be building.

Still planning 3017 these soaps to use them up before buying any more. (WSP Citrus is nearly gone - maybe another 4-5 shaves left in it. But still have at least a few months left in each of the others.)

Next razor - Maggard V3OC w/ another Personna Red....

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

Personna Platinum (in the Red pkg ==> a.k.a. Crystal? Made in Israel?) w/ the Maggard V3OC/ Slant/ Merkur 37C, Nivea senstive Shaving Cream/ VDH puck combination, Nivea Sensitive post shave balm, & WD Silvertip

Decided to try a super lather on these as I was travelling a bit & took the cream & cheaper soap on the trip to have a choice. While on the trip, I decided to combine them & just stuck with it for a while. Seems to work fine - gives me easy to build lathers, good slickness, and doesn't tend to dry out my face.

Blade/ razor combos were hit/ miss. All gave pretty close shaves, but.... This blade in the V3OC was pretty rough - only made it to 4 shaves & had to stop. At least 4 weepers on every shave and lots of very noticeable irritation. (It looked like I'd shaved with a piece of broken glass every day at work ==> after the 4th day, I'd had enough & retired that blade/ combo.) Got better results in the Maggard Slant overall (made it to 8 shaves with this combo), but still had a weeper or two each shave & more irritation than I'd like (though it was better than in the V3OC.) The Merkur 37C was the best of these 3 razors with this blade, but I still had to be a bit careful to avoid excessive irritation. Weepers were less (maybe 1 every 2-3 shaves) and irritation levels were pretty decent.

Next blade will be... well... who knows? I have plenty in my stash & have tried them all out (I think). But I need to go back to working through them instead of succumbing Acquisition Disorder and buying more blades to try when I have at least 50 of various types still stacked up in the medicine chest. (And yes, I know many of my fellow B&B'rs would consider that to be "almost out", but that's nearly a 2 year supply for me.) Also going back to the top of the razor rotation - the DE89. Planning to stick w/ the super lather (Nivea cream/ VDH puck) for now. The VDH is nearly gone & this is a way to use it up.

The journey continues...

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

Voskhod w/ the EJ DE89, Nivea senstive Shaving Cream/ VDH puck or WSP Rustic Citrus combination, Nivea Sensitive post shave balm, & WD Silvertip (And Neutrogena Skin Clearing Shave Cream as a pre-shave on the last 3 shaves.)

Continuing to use the super lathers. The first four shaves used up what was left of my VDH puck (the scraps from that went into my "franken-soap" container with remnants of others from the past few years. Will I ever get around to using them?) The last four shaves I've used the WSP Rustic Citrus Blast (probably have less than 4 shaves left of that before its remnants also go into the "franken-soap" container.)

These blades are left from the packages PIF'd to me by DangeousDon when I first started using the DE & joined B&B. My results back then were a bit mixed, but I think that was at least partially due to the fact that my experience/ skill level was low. Now that I have a few years of practice, I thought I'd try these out again. My perception is that my results were better than I remember/ wrote in the early entries in this journal. But still experienced more irritation than with other blades I've used.

The last few shaves, I added the Neutrogena Skin Clearing Shave cream as a pre-shave. It did tend to help with irritation (though I still had a little), but it also tended to collect under the blade in the razor head. The residue wasn't quite enough to clog up the razor, but nor was it an insignificant amount of gunk that seemed to be accumulating as I shaved. And it took a bit of effort rinsing it out of there post-shave. ==> not sure I want establish using it as part of my "normal" practice (though I might continue to try it out for the next few weeks or so.) It did add slickness, but it frustrates me that the soaps I've been using lately would seem to need the addition of a pre-shave to get as slick as I'd prefer. (Maybe need to get some more WSP - I remember their Formula T being pretty darned slick all on its own. Or maybe some more Stirling or Haslinger. I think I tend to prefer the tallow-based soaps.)

We shall see if this continues. I have a few Voskhod blades left & the next one will go into the Maggard V3 - which I think is noticeably more aggressive than my DE89. How will my irritation levels be? Better after a few years of experience? Maybe? We'll see...

The journey continues...

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

Voskhod w/ the Maggard V3, Nivea senstive Shaving Cream w/ WSP Rustic Citrus, GC Black, or PdP combination, or Caties' Bubble Pomander, Nivea Sensitive post shave balm, & WD Silvertip (And Neutrogena Skin Clearing Shave Cream as a pre-shave on one shave.)

Continuing to use the super lathers on most, but not all shaves. Used up the last of the WSP Citrus Blast (finally).

Still ambivalent about the Voskhods. More irritation with these in the V3 (expected). I could make them work, but my 8th shave - while nice & close - wasn't comfortable at all. For a few hours, I felt like I'd shaved with a piece of glass. Of course, the Pomander has a "citrus-y" scent & those seem to irritate my skin more so than others. And the alum highlighted the irritation as well. But still... they seemed rougher on shave 8 than other blades I've tried

I've about had it w/ the PdP. I've read some reviews on B&B that just rave about it, and I got it for a birthday/ Father's day present because I put it on my Amazon wish list because of those reviews. But that has not been my experience. It seems that no matter how much/ long I load, I can't generate enough lather. If I add water to make enough to stretch the lather to 3 passes, it's thin. And I could live with that if it was at least slick. But once the lather's gone, there's no residual slickness at all. The only way I could make decent lather is to super-lather it with the Nivea cream. And the only way I could make it slick was to add the Neutrogena cream. This may go to the back of the shelf never to be used again or given away to a local area friend to try.

I also found the spices/ fragrances in the GC Black seemed to irritate me more than usual the last few times. But perhaps it was just the combination with the last few shaves on the blade that was the issue as I'd never experienced that before (at least, not to this degree.)

Next up, another Voskhod in the V3A...

The journey continues...

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

Voskhod w/ the Maggard V3A, Nivea senstive Shaving Cream, GC Black, Nivea Sensitive post shave balm, & WD Silvertip

Used the super lathers on all shaves.

Still not sold on the Voskhods, but.... there seemed to be less irritation than with the last blade/ razor/ soap/ cream combo. 8th shave on this set was actually pretty good (DFS for the most part). I had some slight irritation on my left neck, but only in one small spot and I knew exactly when I did it & why (I was hurrying & not paying attention.)

I still think the spices/ fragrances in the GC Black aggravate any irritation I get, but blending it with a cream like the Nivea Sensitive (and even the C.O. Bigelow on one shave) seems to alleviate that a bit. Would prefer a soap that doesn't need to be combined with another cream, but am determined to use up my supply & not throw it away ==> will likely continue the super-lathers for a bit.

Next up, another Voskhod (maybe my last one) in the V3OC...

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

Voskhod w/ the Maggard V3OC, C.O. Bigelow/ GC Black super-lathers, Nivea Sensitive post shave balm, & WD Silvertip

Voskhods were solid in this razor. (IMHO - better than in the previous 2 razors.) There was more pulling on the later shaves, but I generally still got very good/ solid DFSs with little/ no irritation. I did get 1-2 weepers over the 8 shaves, but nothing consistent. Overall, good combo/

Blending the GC Black w/ the C.O Bigelow seemed to also stem some irritation I've had using this blade. I still had some, but I'm thinking the menthol in the C.O.B. might have helped counter-act what I perceive as the aggravting effects of the "spices" in the GC Black. Would still prefer a soap that doesn't need to be combined with another cream,... and will probably go back to a Haslinger/ Stirling-like soap in the future... but I'm still bound & determined to not throw away the GC Black ==> intend to continue the super-lathers for a while.

Next up, another Voskhod (this one is my last one) in the Maggard Slant...

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

Voskhod (my last one) w/ the Maggard Slant, C.O. Bigelow/ GC Black super-lathers, Nivea Sensitive post shave balm, & WD Silvertip

Overall results were similar to those of the previous 2 weeks w/ the V3OC ==> My last Voskhod blade was pretty solid in the Maggard Slant. There was still a bit more pulling on the later shaves (6-8), but it was very manageable & I generally still got very good/ solid DFSs with little/ no irritation & only 1-2 weepers over the 8 shaves ==> Overall, good combo.

GC Black / C.O Bigelow super-lather still working OK. Will probably use up the GC black over the next 2-4 weeks. Uncertain what soap/ cream I'll be going to next. Maybe just continue using the C.O. Bigelow on its own to see how that goes, but we'll see. It seems to me the last time I used it I didn't think it was as slick on its own as many of my preferred soaps. But again, we'll see..

Next blade/ razor.... who knows... The next razor in my rotation would usually be the Merkur 37C slant. But I don't know what blades I have to try/ need to use to get them out of the way. Maybe I have enough experience now to try the 10-pk of Feathers I've had for 3 years (since I got the DE89 when I started) but have been hestitant to break out. If I break those out, I might start the rotation over again w/ the DE89 & work my way back to the Merkur. Or maybe I'll just pick a couple other blades to use up with whatever razors are in the rotation. Or just grab whatever blades happen to be at the top of the stack... whatever....