Battle of the Razors

[jakespoppy]

This morning I tried something new. Having just finished another American Idol season, and now with no weekly contest to see who's the best, I came up with another "competiton" - Razor vs Razor. I shaved one side of my face with one razor, and the other side with another razor. Same prep, same shaving cream, even same DE blade, just moved the blade back and forth between the two razors. Since I'm always looking for the next great razor, and razor/blade combination, I thought this would be a "fair" way to see how they stack up, with everything else being equal.

So this morning I used a Merkur HD on one side, and a Superadjustable at Setting 3 on the other side, and a superlather of Proraso/Pre de Provence.

This morning the HD won, hands down, although the Superadjustable did come in a very close second. I'm not sure that I would have been able to see quite as clearly how much better the HD did without the direct comparison this way, if instead, I'd shaved with them on consecutive days. And of course, as always, YMMV. After all, there's only one vote in my contest - mine!

I won't have time to do this every day, and it may be more trouble than most (maybe all of you) think it's worth. But for me, it was kind of fun. Just thought I'd share.

Tomorrow, it's Fatboy vs Slim.

 

[DunEdinRanger]

Just to throw one more variable in there, you should alternate which side of your face gets which razor every day you shave.

For example, since I am not always as clear as I think I am...

Mon. Right HD Left Adjustable
Tues Left HD Right Adjustable

without changing any other variables.

 

[jakespoppy]

That's a good point. My technique could easily vary from one side of the face to the other, with the different angle reaching up and across.

Of course you did assume (correctly) that I'm not completely ambidextrous and can use either hand with equal dexterity.

 

[Ohio]

Just to throw one more variable in there, you should alternate which side of your face gets which razor every day you shave.

For example, since I am not always as clear as I think I am...

Mon. Right HD Left Adjustable
Tues Left HD Right Adjustable

without changing any other variables.

I was going to suggest that. I do testing for a living, and you haven't isolated the variables enough to have a valid conclusion.

Of course, there is no way to "blind" this test, so we'll ignore that part.

 

[highball]

Just to throw one more variable in there, you should alternate which side of your face gets which razor every day you shave.

For example, since I am not always as clear as I think I am...

Mon. Right HD Left Adjustable
Tues Left HD Right Adjustable

without changing any other variables.

I always shave the left side better with anything I use. I think #4 on the super is a better match for gap settings. The HD and the 34C have the same head. If you look at this chart it shows the HD gap at a .64MM and the 34C as 71MM, and .74 is #4 on the super.
http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/Double-Edged_Safety_Razors_Ranked_by_Aggressiveness

 

[jakespoppy]

I was going to suggest that. I do testing for a living, and you haven't isolated the variables enough to have a valid conclusion.

Of course, there is no way to "blind" this test, so we'll ignore that part.

That's fair enough. But since the conclusion I'm trying to draw is "what is best for me?", wouldn't it be interesting if my perfect setup turned out to be one razor/blade for the left side and a different setup for the other side?

Sorry, that was a lame attempt at humor from me. The contest will continue as planned!

 

[highball]

That's fair enough. But since the conclusion I'm trying to draw is "what is best for me?", wouldn't it be interesting if my perfect setup turned out to be one razor/blade for the left side and a different setup for the other side?

Sorry, that was a lame attempt at humor from me. The contest will continue as planned!

Just as American Idol , I think this competiton is rigged from the start

 

[jakespoppy]

I always shave the left side better with anything I use. I think #4 on the super is a better match for gap settings. The HD and the 34C have the same head. If you look at this chart it shows the HD gap at a .64MM and the 34C as 71MM, and .74 is #4 on the super.
http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/Double-Edged_Safety_Razors_Ranked_by_Aggressiveness

I agree. If I read that chart correctly, the Super on #4 is a .66 Gap setting, since it is "one setting smaller" than the Fatboy and Slim. Is that correct?

 

[Darjeeling Express]

Fatboy v.s. Slim or Who do you think would win in a fight Bat Man or Superman? Green Lantern or Atom? (Remember those last two??) Jake, we are eager to hear who the victor is in tomorrow's battle.

 

[jakespoppy]

Just as American Idol , I think this competiton is rigged from the start

At least I promise not to go on any talk shows campaigning for my projected "winner"!

 

[jakespoppy]

Fatboy v.s. Slim or Who do you think would win in a fight Bat Man or Superman? Green Lantern or Atom? (Remember those last two??) Jake, we are eager to hear who the victor is in tomorrow's battle.

Superman would kick Batman's *** - unless Batman had some Kryptonite, of course.

 

[talibeard]

I always shave the left side better with anything I use. I think #4 on the super is a better match for gap settings. The HD and the 34C have the same head. If you look at this chart it shows the HD gap at a .64MM and the 34C as 71MM, and .74 is #4 on the super.
http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/Double-Edged_Safety_Razors_Ranked_by_Aggressiveness

There is a little bug in that list since the HD is the 34C while the supposed HD (38C) is the barberpole.

This topic came up some time ago too and there was no clear conclusion afterwards so I am interested where this is going.

Everybody is pointing in the right direction I guess because the shave is different left or right on your face. Back then the general presumption was that the part of your face opposite to your shaving hand was getting the closest shave.

So, keep us informed!!

 

[Darjeeling Express]

Superman would kick Batman's *** - unless Batman had some Kryptonite, of course.

Says your old man!

 

[jakespoppy]

Says your old man!

Oh, come on!!! "Faster than a speeding bullet, stronger than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound". And don't forget the X-ray vision behind those great Buddy Holly hornrims. What does Batman have? A cool car and Robin? Get real!

Though I will admit, Batman's caped get-up does make SM's blue leotards and red boots look pretty lame in comparison.

 

[Stubblefield]

Fatboy v.s. Slim . . . ?

My money is on the Slim.

 

[jakespoppy]

I started a new thread "Battle of the Razors - Fatboy vs Slim" this morning after the shaving round...