Carbon Forest of Treets: A deep dive into carbon steel double-edge blades

[slimshavy]

Treet Dura Sharp (blue)
Shave Two
July 25, 2022

Razor: Gillette Slim, set at 8
Aftershave: Barrister and Mann Leviathan

Shave two was better than shave one by most measures. It took even longer to shave, which isn't a great trend for my first day back from vacation. But I had less irritation, fewer cuts (fleeting weepers in the mustache combat zone) and perhaps a closer shave. I thought it was BBS everywhere but mustache and two hairs on the left jawline, but stubble quickly emerged on that jawline, leaving left jawline and sideburn bottom DFS.

(Side note that it's possible to get these areas close, as I've done it on the right side, and that I should study my skin stretching and technique to see how it's different.)

I did four full passes plus extra cleanup buffing in mustache before deciding to leave it alone. Some blades, in some razors, just have their no-go spots and this seems like one. Fortunately, stubble there isn't as visible as elsewhere when it first emerges.

I feel I should give the blade a third shave. I know I debated that in Round One in the NEW as well before deciding against it, but this second shave was better than that one, so I have more to stand on here. Don't have high expectations, and will have to wake up 10 minutes earlier, but maybe the blade has something left.

 

[slimshavy]

Treet Dura Sharp (blue)
Shave Three
July 27, 2022

First big surprise in these trials!

Razor: Gillette Slim, set at 8
Aftershave: Barrister and Mann Leviathan

I approached this shave with trepidation but was surprised by a good shave. It's pretty much a carbon copy of the second shave, perhaps a bit closer in trouble spots. Given the low expectations, I'm exceedingly pleased with this shave.

I knew it would be a slog and it was. It took 32 minutes of active shaving, not even counting cleaning and drying the equipment. If I were unemployed and/or single this would be welcome, but spending an hour in the bathroom doesn't really work for me.

I did four full passes plus cleanup strokes. I wanted better results on the jawline so I did many passes stretching the skin in different directions. This was mostly successful and didn't cause much irritation.

Because I didn't note any real degradation of the blade, I might as well give it a fourth shave. For those of you following along, this is the first big departure from my first-round results, where the Dura-Sharp earned only two shaves.

 

[edw]

Treet Dura Sharp (blue)
Shave Three
July 27, 2022

First big surprise in these trials!

Razor: Gillette Slim, set at 8
Aftershave: Barrister and Mann Leviathan

I approached this shave with trepidation but was surprised by a good shave. It's pretty much a carbon copy of the second shave, perhaps a bit closer in trouble spots. Given the low expectations, I'm exceedingly pleased with this shave.

I knew it would be a slog and it was. It took 32 minutes of active shaving, not even counting cleaning and drying the equipment. If I were unemployed and/or single this would be welcome, but spending an hour in the bathroom doesn't really work for me.

I did four full passes plus cleanup strokes. I wanted better results on the jawline so I did many passes stretching the skin in different directions. This was mostly successful and didn't cause much irritation.

Because I didn't note any real degradation of the blade, I might as well give it a fourth shave. For those of you following along, this is the first big departure from my first-round results, where the Dura-Sharp earned only two shaves.

WOW !

Never get barely near 32 minutes in a shave.

 

[slimshavy]

WOW !

Never get barely near 32 minutes in a shave.

Yeah, it gets into "what are you doing in there" territory.

 

[edw]

Funny story about the Slim: My father-in-law came in when I was shaving today, so I asked him if he had ever shaved with a Slim. He said yes, when he was in the Air Force in the ‘60s and they were bivouacking a few days without electricity but still had to present themselves for inspection, “I had to buy one of those.”

Not exactly a ringing endorsement but, then, he’s always been an electric shaver and early adopter of gadgets and I’m the old romantic.

I have a drawer with a half dozen of these electrics.
Never got a quick nor a decent shave from them.

 

[slimshavy]

I have a drawer with a half dozen of these electrics.
Never got a quick nor a decent shave from them.

Sounds like a sale (or a PIF) waiting to happen!

 

[slimshavy]

Treet Dura Sharp (blue)
Shave Four
July 29, 2022

FOUR! FOUR! FOUR!

Razor: Gillette Slim, set at 8
Aftershave: Barrister and Mann Leviathan

This blade has been steady and dependable after the rough first shave. Even though it hasn't declined much since the previous shave, I'm retiring it now.

Again, I did four full passes above the jaw, something I've never done routinely. Fifth pass in the mustache, and plenty of buffing. That's definitely the Achilles heel for this blade; it really gets stopped by the mustache hairs and even with all the passes doesn't manage to get the area baby smooth. I kept at it a bit and got some irritation around the upper perimeter of the mustache, but no persistent weepers.

In general, the Slim-Treet pairings haven't been bloody which is good because I've found the Slim in the past to leave cuts indiscriminately. My small weepers today came from attacking the jawline with multiple passes and doing cleanup passes with only residual shaving cream. I could have left more stubble but I traded a few dots of blood for a BBS under the jawline (and at least DFS elsewhere).

Like the previous shaves, this one took forever. If it were just the time involved, science would have me keep using this blade. However, it's a combination of the time, the irritation and the low-and-waning efficiency that puts this one to bed.

Still: four shaves! It's a tremendous accomplishment from a blade that only made it to two in the first round.

 

[slimshavy]

Treet New Edge
Shave One
July 31, 2022

Photo: Handsome gentleman checks to see if the bleeding has stopped from his New Edge shave

Razor: Gillette Slim, set at 8
Aftershave: Barrister and Mann Leviathan

When I tried this blade in the NEW short comb, it was a terrible shave with lots of cuts. In the Slim, I'd say it's a not-great shave with lots of cuts.

This blade's hard to figure out. It has difficulty cutting hair, but it cuts close enough to cut skin. Yet I end up with a close shave, and the cuts (many of them in the mustache) all healed up by shave's end. Some lingering irritation when I would sweat or get wet but no rash or redness.

I'm going to guess that this blade doesn't have a uniform edge and that makes it something of a wild card. I'm hoping I have just stropped it with my face and that may have tamed it somewhat. I'm giving it a second shave to see. The Dura Sharp gave me a better second shave than the first and I'm hoping (if not expecting) that the New Edge has something good to offer.

 

[T Bone]

Photo: Handsome gentleman checks to see if the bleeding has stopped from his New Edge shave

(Sorry.)

 

[slimshavy]

Treet New Edge
Shave Two
Aug. 1, 2022

Razor: Gillette Slim, set at 8
Aftershave: Barrister and Mann Leviathan

Shave two may have been better than shave one but not so much better that there will be a shave three. Definitely fewer dots of blood, only a few that closed quickly. Somehow the shave was quicker than the long Dura Sharp shaves, though I'm at a loss to explain why. It doesn't strike me as more efficient.

Still a rough blade, meaning both the blade feel and the condition it leaves my face hours after the shave. Some lingering/recurring irritation, lots of aftershave burn. Makes me feel a little like when I was first learning to shave.

The existence of this second shave again represents an improvement over my results with the New Edge in my Gillette NEW short comb razor. It's not a huge difference, and I can't rule out that I'm better now at shaving with Treets or that I expect less from them.

It will be interesting to see what happens when I go back to the Old Type razor, after I've tried them all in the Slim.

 

[slimshavy]

Treet "Black Beauty"
Shave One
Aug. 4, 2022

Razor: Gillette Slim, set at 8
Aftershave: Barrister and Mann Leviathan

I won't say that I'm shallow, but I suspect that I wouldn't like this blade at all if it weren't so pretty. After I got done enjoying the look of it in the light, I shaved with it, and the shave was on par with the worst Treets. None has been terrible and I got a decent result out of it, but it wasn't great.

I got a small cut on the first pass and more on the third/fourth passes. Thicker hairs tripped it up and I needed many many passes to get my chin close. It's still not close. I kicked up plenty of irritation along the way.

A bit frustrating because I have to go into the office today and I selected this blade as one that could give me a decent first shave, if not a decent second shave. But it's not really that.

There's not a lot of differentiation in this razor between this blade and the New Edge. I've been pushing the blades a bit, and having slightly better experiences than I did in the first round (except, perhaps, this blade), but it's still been a while since I had a really good shave. I might use the Silver next, which was the first round winner in the NEW.

 

[ShaverAZ]

Try the Treet Carbons in a Gillette Old Type, New Improved, Goodwill, New LC or SC & you should see an incredible difference. For some reason, none of these blades work very well in Tech, Super Speeds, Super Adjustables or the Slim.
I haven't tried any of them in a Schick Krona yet.

 

[slimshavy]

Try the Treet Carbons in a Gillette Old Type, New Improved, Goodwill, New LC or SC & you should see an incredible difference. For some reason, none of these blades work very well in Tech, Super Speeds, Super Adjustables or the Slim.
I haven't tried any of them in a Schick Krona yet.

Yes, the whole first round of this thread was done in a NEW SC and the third will be done in an Old Type. For what it’s worth, the black beauty wasn’t much better in the NEW, if at all. The Slim has actually outperformed the NEW with other blades. Switching to the Old will help me figure out how much of the difference is down to improved technique versus the hardware.

 

[slimshavy]

Treet Silver
Shave One
Aug. 6, 2022

Razor: Gillette Slim, set at 8
Aftershave: Barrister and Mann Leviathan

For the first time in this exercise, frustration is setting in. I’ll stay scientific, but I’m annoyed.

I have been having bad experiences with the blades lately, so I turned to the blade that performed best to in the first round (in the NEW short comb): the Treet Silver. Nothing about the shave was easy, and it was an altogether unpleasant affair.

No cuts on first pass, but not that efficient either. Cuts on second pass and the kind of stubble that tells me I’ll be giving some blood to get it.

I can go on: four passes or so, irritation, bleeding that persisted past the rinse and aftershave. One of the worst shaves so far.

It’s odd that the blades in the Slim were outperforming what they did in the NEW and now they seem to be underperforming, for no reason I can discern.

I can’t tell if this is a fluke or what. Should I load a new Silver, try again with this one or just move on?

 

[APBinNCA]

This is starting to feel like reality TV where you know somebody is about to get physically hurt; you can laugh a little bit for a little while until you realize that it’s not acting and that person is in real pain. Then it’s no longer entertaining and you feel dirty as the paramedics put a neck brace on the poor fellow. Or you are de-sensitised to violence from watching too much TV and you can’t wait for more! Like a modern Roman.

Now get back to bleeding for our entertainment!

(Or switch to another in the pack to see if you have a dud.)

 

[slimshavy]

This is starting to feel like reality TV where you know somebody is about to get physically hurt; you can laugh a little bit for a little while until you realize that it’s not acting and that person is in real pain. Then it’s no longer entertaining and you feel dirty as the paramedics put a neck brace on the poor fellow. Or you are de-sensitised to violence from watching too much TV and you can’t wait for more! Like a modern Roman.

Now get back to bleeding for our entertainment!

(Or switch to another in the pack to see if you have a dud.)

Ha, I think I will grab a new blade. Thanks for watching!

 

[T Bone]

I’m starting to think that next time @Grundi sends me random Mysteree blades, you’ll sit out that round of “Guess the Blade”.

 

[slimshavy]

I’m starting to think that next time @Grundi sends me random Mysteree blades, you’ll sit out that round of “Guess the Blade”.

I probably couldn’t help myself! Nevertheless, I’m generally having a lot of fun with this. I’m definitely learning more about technique and about the individual razors and their differences. I hope I can also leave something of a guide for anyone trying to find a cheap but effective blade (even if I haven’t found one for myself) or some insight about blade-razor pairings.

 

[ShaverAZ]

Get a Gilette Old Type, New Long comb, Short Comb or a Goodwill and try the carbon blades. You'll be surprised at the smooth & close shave.

 

[sucker_dad]

You inspired me to get out my Treet blades (carbon steel). I havent used one in a long while. The do give me a great shave. I just get frustrated with having to take them out after each use.