Great review. I've tagged it and bagged it for the follow-ups.
Blind test #1 - Feather vs 7 O'clock Yellow
- Thread starter Oscroft
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- #42
Yes indeed, the test will continue until one blade is ready for the trash. I'll then try to summarize my thoughts on the whole test, and only after that will I open the razors to find out which is which - I don't want to know until after I've posted my overall thoughts.
On to the shaves... yesterday's closeness really was equal, and today the two sides of my face feel exactly the same in terms of stubble.
I feel shave #7 coming on...
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- #43
Shave #7
Test set up as described here. Red on the right, Black on the left.
It's cold here today, so I felt like something a bit scrubby/scritchy and warming
Brush = Vulfix 660 Pure badger
Soap = Tabac
(Slightly worrying thing about the brush - after behaving well for months, it's suddenly started shedding, and lost 12-15 hairs in this one shave)
Pass 1, WTG: No noticeable difference between the two blades - possibly because the stubble was pretty short today after yesterday's very close shave.
Pass 2, XTG: Definite differences here today. Black exhibited more resistance than Red, as has happened for the last few shaves - but Red started tugging. So Black went smoothly but with some resistance, and Red had less overall resistance but with intermittent tugs. Red gave me 5 very small weepers around the chin/mouth area, which carried on bleeding slightly through the ATG pass. No weepers from Black.
Pass 3, ATG: Similar to XTG - more general resistance from Black, but smoother. Red was a bit tuggy, but with less resistance in between tugs. No more weepers.
Closeness: Still very close, and two sides indistinguishable.
Comfort: Red side weepers irritating, and cold rinse didn't stop them, so I needed to use the styptic. No real discomfort on Black side.
AS: Weepers stopped, but Red side is irritating in the area around them, and that small area feels like a few bumps of irritation have been raised. So I'm going to start with a splash of plain witch hazel as an astringent... Bit of sting around the weepy area, but also on my upper lip, and a mirror inspection shows the Red side of my upper lip looks a bit red and blotchy with the Black side looking fine. I'm going to leave it a few minutes for the WH to do its job and then splash on some warming Jovan Musk... Right, skin is feeling a bit tauter and smoother now (WH is very effective), and the Jovan Musk stings more on the Red Side than the Black side.
I think there have been some clear developments, but I'll hold off any further comment until next time (and I'll keep trying to avoid speculation as to the blade identities)
Test set up as described here. Red on the right, Black on the left.
It's cold here today, so I felt like something a bit scrubby/scritchy and warming
Brush = Vulfix 660 Pure badger
Soap = Tabac
(Slightly worrying thing about the brush - after behaving well for months, it's suddenly started shedding, and lost 12-15 hairs in this one shave)
Pass 1, WTG: No noticeable difference between the two blades - possibly because the stubble was pretty short today after yesterday's very close shave.
Pass 2, XTG: Definite differences here today. Black exhibited more resistance than Red, as has happened for the last few shaves - but Red started tugging. So Black went smoothly but with some resistance, and Red had less overall resistance but with intermittent tugs. Red gave me 5 very small weepers around the chin/mouth area, which carried on bleeding slightly through the ATG pass. No weepers from Black.
Pass 3, ATG: Similar to XTG - more general resistance from Black, but smoother. Red was a bit tuggy, but with less resistance in between tugs. No more weepers.
Closeness: Still very close, and two sides indistinguishable.
Comfort: Red side weepers irritating, and cold rinse didn't stop them, so I needed to use the styptic. No real discomfort on Black side.
AS: Weepers stopped, but Red side is irritating in the area around them, and that small area feels like a few bumps of irritation have been raised. So I'm going to start with a splash of plain witch hazel as an astringent... Bit of sting around the weepy area, but also on my upper lip, and a mirror inspection shows the Red side of my upper lip looks a bit red and blotchy with the Black side looking fine. I'm going to leave it a few minutes for the WH to do its job and then splash on some warming Jovan Musk... Right, skin is feeling a bit tauter and smoother now (WH is very effective), and the Jovan Musk stings more on the Red Side than the Black side.
I think there have been some clear developments, but I'll hold off any further comment until next time (and I'll keep trying to avoid speculation as to the blade identities)
Don't know if someone already discussed this, but I would also wonder if which blade gets which side makes a difference. By that I mean: 1) the growth patterns are different on each side of my face. For example, the grain sort of swirls on the right side my neck, but not my right. It is always a problem spot. 2) I am right handed and feel like I generally have a little better technique on my right side rather than my left. Just a couple thoughts. I would think the blade difference would still shine through these issues.
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- #45
Yep, it's for that reason that I'm swapping sides for each shave - to even out such differences during the longer term course of the test.
Not that I'm impatient or anything, but if you had that many problems with Red today, don't you think it's time to cut your losses and bin the thing? That way you can get to the overall summary stage and then unveil the results! Plus you avoid any more painful shaving experiences; it's only going to get worse if you continue........
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- #47
Nah - bleeding edge research requires personal sacrifice
It wasn't too bad today really, and I did actually end up with a nice close shave on both sides - I don't think one day with a few small weepers is enough to end the test, but it could well happen soon.
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- #48
Shave #8
Test set up as described here. Red on the left, Black on the right this time.
Brush = Vulfix 404 Grosvenor mixed badger/boar
Soap = Col Conk Amber
(Very nice soap this - thanks for the recommendation, Nick)
Pass 1, WTG: Pretty acceptable, same as yesterday, and no noticeable difference between the two blades - but again only very short stubble there.
Pass 2, XTG: Again, more resistance with Black, but it was steady. Red still seems sharper, but a bit of tugging and an actual nick on my top lip - used styptic on it.
Pass 3, ATG: Same again really - Red still sharper but more erratic and less comfortable. Two tiny weepers in the centre of my chin area, one from each blade.
Closeness: Red was a bit closer in the sideburn area, black a bit closer under the chin - other than that, no real difference.
Comfort: Definitely a bit of razor burn developing now. Top lip and the chin area directly below my mouth feeling a bit irritated and looking a bit blotchy. Slightly more irritation on the Red side, but it's there from both blades.
AS: Used some witch hazel again, and it soothed and tightened the irritated area. I could really do with a balm today, like Nivea or RSC, but as this is a test I'll have a splash of Arko to see if there's any difference in the sting on both sides... and that was getting into "ouch" territory, with more sting on the Red side.
That's effectively 4 full shaves each, and both blades are clearly past their best now. In normal situations, I'd have tossed the Red blade yesterday as soon as I felt the first tug and got a new one. And I'd have ditched the Black one today, but probably not until after the shave, as it wasn't really until the ATG pass that it got too uncomfortable.
I'd like to try to push it to one more shave, but I'm feeling a little bit sore now, so I think that's it.
I'll look back over all shave results, put together a summary, and then.... the revelation!
Edit: Half an hour on, and I've had to apply some balm to soothe my skin - the Real Shaving Company "Moisturising" variety, which is great stuff.
Test set up as described here. Red on the left, Black on the right this time.
Brush = Vulfix 404 Grosvenor mixed badger/boar
Soap = Col Conk Amber
(Very nice soap this - thanks for the recommendation, Nick)
Pass 1, WTG: Pretty acceptable, same as yesterday, and no noticeable difference between the two blades - but again only very short stubble there.
Pass 2, XTG: Again, more resistance with Black, but it was steady. Red still seems sharper, but a bit of tugging and an actual nick on my top lip - used styptic on it.
Pass 3, ATG: Same again really - Red still sharper but more erratic and less comfortable. Two tiny weepers in the centre of my chin area, one from each blade.
Closeness: Red was a bit closer in the sideburn area, black a bit closer under the chin - other than that, no real difference.
Comfort: Definitely a bit of razor burn developing now. Top lip and the chin area directly below my mouth feeling a bit irritated and looking a bit blotchy. Slightly more irritation on the Red side, but it's there from both blades.
AS: Used some witch hazel again, and it soothed and tightened the irritated area. I could really do with a balm today, like Nivea or RSC, but as this is a test I'll have a splash of Arko to see if there's any difference in the sting on both sides... and that was getting into "ouch" territory, with more sting on the Red side.
That's effectively 4 full shaves each, and both blades are clearly past their best now. In normal situations, I'd have tossed the Red blade yesterday as soon as I felt the first tug and got a new one. And I'd have ditched the Black one today, but probably not until after the shave, as it wasn't really until the ATG pass that it got too uncomfortable.
I'd like to try to push it to one more shave, but I'm feeling a little bit sore now, so I think that's it.
I'll look back over all shave results, put together a summary, and then.... the revelation!
Edit: Half an hour on, and I've had to apply some balm to soothe my skin - the Real Shaving Company "Moisturising" variety, which is great stuff.
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I predict Black is Feather.
It's interesting how close the blades have been in performance. My experimenting with Yellows and Feathers brought me to conclude that the blades were significantly different but I can understand how a minor or almost imperceptable difference could be amplified in my mind if I KNEW that I was using one blade vs. another.
It wouldn't surprise me if you continued with these blindfold tests that we don't actually see dramatic differences in many blades and that most of the higher priced blades and even some of the budget blades produce very similar results.
DE shavers by definition may tend to be nick picky, OCD types that "think" they can tell the difference between comperable products but actually can't.
Using the Feather in the first experiment contributes to the startling results as many would insist that out of all the blades available the Feather is the most distinctive. I know that would be my personal claim.
It's interesting how close the blades have been in performance. My experimenting with Yellows and Feathers brought me to conclude that the blades were significantly different but I can understand how a minor or almost imperceptable difference could be amplified in my mind if I KNEW that I was using one blade vs. another.
It wouldn't surprise me if you continued with these blindfold tests that we don't actually see dramatic differences in many blades and that most of the higher priced blades and even some of the budget blades produce very similar results.
DE shavers by definition may tend to be nick picky, OCD types that "think" they can tell the difference between comperable products but actually can't.
Using the Feather in the first experiment contributes to the startling results as many would insist that out of all the blades available the Feather is the most distinctive. I know that would be my personal claim.
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- #50
Yep, before this test I'd have said the same - I've only used a Feather once or twice before, but I was convinced I could really tell the difference.
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- #51
OK, looking back over the tests, I think I can summarise it thus
Both started out as very sharp blades, with Red initially appearing a bit sharper and smoother and giving a closer shave.
Both blades improved after the first shave, and I couldn't tell any difference on shave 2, but by shaves 3 and 4 the Red was pulling ahead - although they were not miles apart.
By shave 5, Red seemed clearly the sharper blade, with noticeably less resistance than Black, but on shave 6 they were much more even again - was Red starting to lose it?
By 7, Red had started to tug and was causing me discomfort, but Black seemed to be degrading more gracefully and was still smooth (if noticeably less sharp). Red would have been discarded and replaced for this shave if I was shaving normally.
And by 8, both had degraded too far, and I got razor burn from both of them.
In normal shaving, I'd have discarded Red at the start of shave 7, and Black at the end of shave 8 - so I'd have got 3 full shaves from Red and 4 from Black.
Both started out as very sharp blades, with Red initially appearing a bit sharper and smoother and giving a closer shave.
Both blades improved after the first shave, and I couldn't tell any difference on shave 2, but by shaves 3 and 4 the Red was pulling ahead - although they were not miles apart.
By shave 5, Red seemed clearly the sharper blade, with noticeably less resistance than Black, but on shave 6 they were much more even again - was Red starting to lose it?
By 7, Red had started to tug and was causing me discomfort, but Black seemed to be degrading more gracefully and was still smooth (if noticeably less sharp). Red would have been discarded and replaced for this shave if I was shaving normally.
And by 8, both had degraded too far, and I got razor burn from both of them.
In normal shaving, I'd have discarded Red at the start of shave 7, and Black at the end of shave 8 - so I'd have got 3 full shaves from Red and 4 from Black.
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- #52
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- #53
Try the two Sharks. The SS is my current favorite and I wonder if I should give the CS a go.
I'd love to see the Bic take on either the Timor or the Bolzano. My prediction is that the Bic blade is a lot better blade than most people think it is.
Or you could pit the Timor against the Bolzano.
Or you could pit the Timor against the Bolzano.
Here's some match-ups I'd like to see:
Astra SP vs IP Red (Both are often noted for smoothness)
Iridium Super vs. Gillette Yellow, Perma-sharp Super or Polsilver (Many claims that all of these blades are close to identical in preformance)
Personna Med vs Personna Lab (Once almost unanimously believed to be identical but recent micro-photos show differences)
Astra SP vs IP Red (Both are often noted for smoothness)
Iridium Super vs. Gillette Yellow, Perma-sharp Super or Polsilver (Many claims that all of these blades are close to identical in preformance)
Personna Med vs Personna Lab (Once almost unanimously believed to be identical but recent micro-photos show differences)
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- #60
As it was only half a face per shave, the Feather actually managed the equivalent of 3 whole shaves before I'd have replaced it in real life - and I have less tough hair than most, so getting 3 good shaves from one would fit in with other peoples' experiences pretty well, I think.
