Beginning to end - my DE journey and search for a RFL

[PersistentlyBlunt]

I do also find it interesting how some blades do better in some razors

From memory, other than most blades doing better in the Rockwell, I have not had any stark differences in blades that I would use in one razor and not in another. But I have not tried a large number of razors either so that may also be my issue.

Maybe that will change as I spend more time and run some different blades through other razors.

 

[Ckmaui]

From memory, other than most blades doing better in the Rockwell, I have not had any stark differences in blades that I would use in one razor and not in another. But I have not tried a large number of razors either so that may also be my issue.

Maybe that will change as I spend more time and run some different blades through other razors.

Interesting

and granted it was usually my top say 5 blades more of a order change where each razor seemed to have its favorite and the #1 would change

Like certain sharks as much as I loved the package never were good in anything

Side note this morning I decided to do another side by side shave with the Noble Otter soap and my Green 7 vs the GSB and I preferred the Green 7 last few shaves yet with my CC Cream the GSB is the better blade by a tiny touch in the post comfort
not like night and day but when side by side I can tell the difference for me the Green 7 is much sharper feeling when cutting

 

[PersistentlyBlunt]

Day 1 Gillette Silver Blue (GSB) in Rockwell 6C.

Today was standard prep, Razorock Big Bruce, Rockwell 6C and Tabac soap.

Lather was a good, great coverage and slick for both passes in the standard N-S first pass and then ear to nose down to jawline and then S-N on neck and under jaw.

My first trial of the GSB gave me a gritty feel on the blade. The cutting did not seem to be an issue but from day 1 the feeling was a bit gritty, like I had sand on my face which was stuck under the razor.

Today I re-tested the GSB in the Rockwell on plate 3. The 3 plate is one down from my usual and I thought maybe the GSB had felt gritty because of the sharpness on the more aggressive setting.

The shave from the first run was great, blade felt smooth and no feeling of grit or roughness at all. There was some good blade noise as it sliced effortlessly through the whiskers. Both passes passed without incident and plate 3 provided a very safe feeling for the whole shave.

Final result was a damn fine shave, but only just a damn fine shave. No nicks cuts or weepers and no feedback on application of Tabac aftershave.

I am tempted to try the GSB again tomorrow but up the aggression to see if I can repeat the gritty feeling to try and see if it is an aggression thing or a one off bad blade previously thing. Or maybe this is a one off good blade and I need to try another blade to see if it is good or bad and take the average. Or maybe I just need to buy 100 of each blade I have tested and work through them all to make sure I have got the right impression.

@Ckmaui one thing we can agree on, after testing them all again in Shark fortnight this year, is that the Shark blades in all forms are not moving up my ranking list.

After today the GSB are back in contention for a good blade and higher tiers.

Happy shaving all.

 

[Ckmaui]

@PersistentlyBlunt hahahah you and me both brother I love the package and the blade lives up to its danger name hahahahah

 

[Chandu]

After nearly 30 years of cartridge shaving, a misguided shopping trip for a bearded friend resulted in me being the owner of a KCG safety razor.
Not one to let an oppotunity pass I looked into whether anyone still uses safety razors to shave with and here I am taking my first steps down the rabbit hole.

I am very new to this having only been shaving with a safety razor for nearly two weeks. I was not going to start a journal but I have followed the advice of the forums and recently purchased a blade sample pack to see if there was any difference to the different baldes. I am now on to my third blade and thought given my advancing years it would be good to have a permanent record of the journey.

So my initial DE shaving was with the KCG razor and one of the KCG blades that it came with. Being new to the whole game I was not sure what to expect. The first day was a bit scratchy but the next was not too bad and whether it was technique or blade was feeling better smooth, not pulling but with blade noise on the stubble. By day five it was feeling less smooth so I switched to my first sample blade, a Muhle.

I was not expecting much as most posts do not rate these blades but the shave was smooth. Very smooth and little stubble noise. It was so smooth and the reviews that this balde was not sharp made me think it may not be cutting. However after the shave was finished, it was a DFS. The blade remained smooth for another coulple of days and after 4 shaves I was getting more feedback and noise on the blade. Overall a great little blade.

Today I started the next blade in my pack (moving in order of sharpness or that is what I am lead to believe anyway). The next blade is a Parker in a black packet. First comments is that the blade was nearly impossible to get out of the little black plastic thing. A similar design to the Muhle which you could just slide a blade out of, but the Parker appears to have wrapped their blades in paper wider than the plastic container. Anyway this has no effect on the shaving experience.

The shave was okay, the blade felt smooth, not as smooth as the Muhle, but smooth and less ragged than the KCG and my alum feedback at the end was higher than I had for the Muhle shaves so I was expecting a DFS. It was close but the shave does not feel as close as previous shaves I have had. Still well above a SAS but not as smooth, still a very slight stubble feel that I didn't have on the Muhle or on the good KCG shaves.

I will keep using the blade, usually get four good shaves per blade so far so will see how it goes. It may improve after the first shave.

Other than the initial two KCG shaves all shaves have been with the KCG razor using Tabac shaving soap applied with a Frank Shaving synthetic brush. Shave prep is a hot shower and splashing more hot water on face prior to shaving soap.

Enjoy the journey. I think the Muhle are worth what they charge. I have heard they are made by Personna and similar to a Med Prep or Blue. A top tier blade for me.

 

[PersistentlyBlunt]

they are made by Personna and similar to a Med Prep or Blue

That is very intersting. I have trialed all three of these and from memory I think I got a very similar shave from all three . They feel smooth and are a lovely blade, I just don't think they go as close for me as other blades, that could well be my technique or that they require a more agressive razor for me.

I am looking at my four blade selection for smooth, smooth-sharp, sharp-smooth and sharp for my next round of testing, maybe I need to try the Muhle/Personna/MedPrep in a more agressive razor.

 

[PersistentlyBlunt]

Day 2 Rockwell 6C - Gillette Silver Blue

So today was standard prep, hot shower, splash of water to face, Tabac loaded on Razorock Big Bruce and lathered on face. Two tip dips per side to hydrate. Two pass shave, N-S all over for first pass and ear to nose on face down to jawline and then S-N on neck and under jaw.

Lather was again very nice but I think the Tabac soap makers need to make the whole puck of soap out of the same soap formula they use for the bottom pieces around the base of the bowl. I am sure I worked through the whole bottom layer of the soap in a few days but these last few pieces are holding out and giving a good amount of lather without any apparent reduction in volume.

I increased the aggression to plate 4 on the Rockwell to see if this introduced any grit to the feeling of the blade. No appreciable grit was detected and the blade again felt smooth and sharp. Shave was a very pleasant affair with only one small nick where a small lump had stuck its head up under my jaw.

Final result is closer than yesterday, a solid damn fine shave.

The GSB has moved up the rankings, but I am not yet certain it is one of my best. It is smooth (assuming my first experience was the outlier and not this one) and a nice blade to use. However, it is not getting me to quite the same level of smooth that other blades have.

It has a couple more days to impress, but a good re-test experience none the less.

Happy shaving all.

 

[PersistentlyBlunt]

Day 1 Feather - Rockwell 6C

Despite closing out yesterday with the comment that I would give the GSB a couple more days, as I am not currently in formal testing, I thought why not try a Feather in a mild razor as well. The Feather in original testing went about as well as the GSB. So I loaded up the Feather in the Rockwell on plate 3 and set about shaving.

Standard prep, one of the four quarters of soap in the bottom of my Tabac bowl is looking like it may soon be gone the other three are still standing strong.

First pass was not too bad, sharp feel and on the edge of smooth. First pass went by without incident but still felt like I needed to take a good deal of care to not get bitten. Second pass I moved to the 2 plate. Felt safe and a bit hard to find the angle at times, very little feedback from blade.

Final result was not quite a damn fine shave. First pass I think was quite close but second pass left my face far from smooth. I think the 2 plate is too mild and/or my technique needs to improve with finding the right angle.

No nicks, cuts or weepers.

Still an acceptable shave to outward appearance, just not as nice to the touch.

For the next round of testing I am trying to determine which smooth to sharp blades I should use that I have previously enjoyed.

Current thoughts:

Smooth - Merkur, Big Ben SS, Astra SP
Smooth Sharp - Gillette Wilkinson Sword (Chinese), Gillette 7 O'Clock Yellow, GSB
Sharp Smooth - Lab Blue, Astra SS, Gillette 7 O'Clock Green/Black
Sharp - BIC, PermaSharp, Feather

Happy shaving all.

 

[thombrogan]

No nicks, cuts or weepers.

Victory!

 

[PersistentlyBlunt]

Day 2 - Feather and Rockwell

A bit of a rushed shave today, but stuck with standard prep and Tabac soap with RazoRock Big Bruce brush.

One quarter of the Tabac bowl soap ring gave up today and fragmented all around the bowl, not long until it will all be gone. Which is why it is a good thing the refill has arrived. I also managed to pick up a Tabac soap stick in the original formula with tallow. Will be interested to see how it compares to the non-tallow. Scent wise it has a distinct extra tang over the non-tallow which smells smoother, more even.

Shave stayed on plate 2 today and was a smooth shave, felt very safe all around. Only problem was the result was not the closest by a long shot. I did a bit of a no soap, just the slickness of residual soap, third pass against the grain to tidy up a few areas and still the final result was a damn fine shave double minus, which may be generous.

Given my short time, I did not worry about increasing the aggression or attempt to get closer it was socially acceptable. I don't think the razor got close enough to the skin to cause any nicks, weepers or burn.

End of Newvember has become a bit of a random re-try of certain good and not so good blades. To see out the month I am going to re-test Gillette Wilkinson Sword (Chinese), Willy's, Wizamet Iridium and Merkur. All of these performed reasonably well with the Willy's, Merkur and Wilkies quite high. Depending on how they go I may be able to slot in one more. But as Apollo 440 would tell us, 'time is running out'.

Happy shaving all.

 

[PersistentlyBlunt]

Day 1 - Gillette Wilkinson Sword

Today was a re-try of the Gillette Wilkinson Sword (Chinese) blades in the Rockwell 6C on plate 3. Standard prep of hot shower, splash of hot water to face and then face lathered with Tabac original (with tallow) soap stick. It is a much larger stick than Arko! but I used the same process of wetting face and then rubbing stick directly on face. I dipped the end of the soap stick in the water before application to soften.

Lathering was on face with the Razorock Big Bruce brush which was used damp (squeezed) and initially lathered on face to get a dry white soap pre-lather forming. Dipping of tips of the brush and application on each side required 3 dips per side, this soap seems thirstier than the new Tabac. Final lather was lovely, smooth and creamy with great slickness. The lather gave excellent coverage.

Shave was two passes, North to South on first pass and then ear to nose on face down to jawline and then South to North under jaw and on neck.

I had a bit more stubble than normal because of the less than close shave yesterday. The blade in the Rockwell felt very smooth and cut effortlessly through the whiskers. Wash up post first pass already felt quite smooth and after the second pass the result was a very nice damn fine shave. No nicks, cuts or weepers.

The tallow Tabac seemed to produce a much creamier lather than the new Tabac. It may just be luck from how I lathered, but whether the soap being thirstier meant the lather formed slower and hence creamier I am not sure. The lathering did not seem as messy as normal, the brush did not run lather down my arm on the first couple of water applications and nothing ran down the brush until the end. Rubbing the big stick on my face may have applied more soap than I usually use giving the appearance of a thirstier soap and having more soap would also potentially give me a creamier lather.

Either way, the soap and blade in the Rockwell gave me a very nice, very easy shave experience. From the one shave I don't have enough data to comment on old Tabac v new Tabac but there was nothing wrong with today's lather and no stand out differences that came to mind (other than a creamier feel and appearance).

Happy shaving all.

 

[PersistentlyBlunt]

Day 2 - Gillette Wilkinson Sword

Standard prep today using new formula bowl of Tabac and Razorock Big Bruce brush. I think the bowl has nearly ended, I only hope there is enough in there for one more shave.

Lather was good again, not as creamy, but I also think I added more water to it than I added to the soap yesterday. Lovely slick lather.

Standard two passes, North to South and the ear to nose on face and south to north on neck and under jawline.

Blade felt okay today, not as sharp as yesterday but still a nice feeling shave, no pulling or tugging. Rockwell was still on plate 3.

Final result was a damn fine shave. Only one very small weeper that fixed in post shave washup. Alum feedback was minimal but Aftershave feedback was significant in places. Overall, a nice shave.

Happy shaving all.

 

[thombrogan]

Not to leave anyone out

 

[PersistentlyBlunt]

Not to leave anyone out

Thank you @thombrogan, happy belated thanksgiving to you too.

I think the biggest thanks I will be giving is if I never meet one of those 'turkeys' in your photo in real life. I have only ever seen a Cassowary in captivity but even then it made it very clear that it wanted bad things to happen to us all and it would prefer to be the one making those things happen.

Hope you had a good thanksgiving.

 

[PersistentlyBlunt]

Today was day one Wizamet Iridium in the Rockwell 6C plate 3.

The previous two days were the Willy's razor blade in the Rockwell 6C plate 3.

Two days ago I had a later than normal shave and with a bit of extra time decided to go for a three pass shave. Tabac soap loaded on Razorock Big Bruce. Standard prep of hot shower and splash of water. Passes were firstly, North South,then ear to nose line all over and then South to North all over.

Blade was good. Not super sharp, not rough, not super smooth but good, nice, not hard to shave with at all. After all three passes I had a baby bottom smooth shave. No nicks, cuts or weepers.

Yesterday having had a baby bottom smooth shave late the day before I was low on stubble. I decided to shave like I used to with the cartridge, North to South followed by South to North all over. Soap was again Tabac, but that was also the end of the Tabac bowl so I have now finished my first full triple milled soap puck. Razor was again good, not super smooth but not rough just a good shave. final result was just a damn fine shave. There are a lot of changed variables to compare but the face shave with second pass of South to North did not feel as close overall as my now usual ear to nose second pass.

The Willy's is a nice blade, if I didn't know of the existence of better blades I would happily shave with this constantly. They are also crazy cheap so not a bad budget option.

Today's shave was the Wizamet Iridium. Standard prep, Razorock Big Bruce, Arko! stick lathered on face. Standard Arko! process followed, wet face, dip stick in water to soften, rub on face and dip again if needed. Once face covered in milky white soap, splash of water on soap to begin hydration. Lather on face with brush with two tip dips per side to hydrate.

A great lather from the Arko! but what else would you expect.

My previous use of the Wizamet was a little disappointing, I don't think it was an issue with the feel of the blade, mostly the longevity. Today's shave was a very nice shave, smooth, but not super sharp, sharp enough that there was no feel like it was struggling, but not the super sharp of whiskers giving up before the blade feels like it has touched them.

Standard two passes for this shave, North to South all over and then ear to nose on face down to jawline and then South to North on neck and under jaw.

Final result was a damn fine shave plus plus. A lovely shave and great result, no nicks, cuts or weepers and only minimal feedback from aftershave.

Lathering the Arko! on the face with the Big Bruce was a bit splattery again today, until the lather really started to build, water and some lather was being flung around with relative ease. Having used the Big Bruce for nearly a month, I am getting a better appreciation for it, I still think my other natural fibres are better, but I am not as anti the synthetic as before.

A nice shave today to start the week.

Happy shaving all.

 

[thombrogan]

I thought cassowaries were supposed to be docile. Maybe after they eviscerated everything near them, but eventually docile.

Thanksgiving was excellent. Thank you.

 

[PersistentlyBlunt]

I thought cassowaries were supposed to be docile.

I think they may be classified as one of the most dangerous birds as they have killed several humans. They don't hunt us down as far as I know, but if we disturb them they can get a bit shirty. They are a flightless bird so maybe that only leaves them with the one option in the fight or flight response...

I think the most recent death was a man in Florida in 2019.

From memory the keeper for the one I saw said they can run at over 40km's per hour through rainforest so unless you can run faster than that leave them alone.

 

[thombrogan]

That’s why I added the caveat of “Maybe after they eviscerated everything near them”

 

[lasta]

I think they may be classified as one of the most dangerous birds as they have killed several humans. They don't hunt us down as far as I know, but if we disturb them they can get a bit shirty. They are a flightless bird so maybe that only leaves them with the one option in the fight or flight response...

I think the most recent death was a man in Florida in 2019.

From memory the keeper for the one I saw said they can run at over 40km's per hour through rainforest so unless you can run faster than that leave them alone.

I didn't know they were dangerous!

When I first read your post, I thought you meant cassoulet!

 

[ButterfaceX]