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

[BobbyB]

Treet Blade experiment was fun. Looking over my shave log, I compiled the following stats using only my King C Gillette and Van der Hagen razors:

Dura Sharp and Silver 4 good shaves
Falcon and New Edge 3 good shaves
Power 2 good shaves
Classic 1 good shave
Leon, Carbon, Tiger and Tatra yielded no really good shaves
These are my opinions only.

 

[slimshavy]

Treet Blade experiment was fun. Looking over my shave log, I compiled the following stats using only my King C Gillette and Van der Hagen razors:

Dura Sharp and Silver 4 good shaves
Falcon and New Edge 3 good shaves
Power 2 good shaves
Classic 1 good shave
Leon, Carbon, Tiger and Tatra yielded no really good shaves
These are my opinions only.

Thanks for participating, @BobbyB ! Your experiences with the blades came right in line with what I've been getting (laid out in the Third Round Roundup. It's good to see this play out with different razors and different people shaving.

 

[slimshavy]

Treet Classic
Shave One
Oct. 27, 2022

Razor: Gillette Super Speed Red Tip
Aftershave: Mixture of dregs

First shave from the Classic was a pleasant surprise. The first pass could have taken more stubble off, but was in the acceptable range, then the second pass, across the grain, was great. It felt efficient enough that I could cheat a tiny bit on the diagonal toward against the grain. It let me skip that modified XTG/ATG pass that I've grown accustomed to doing with Treets (but hadn't really done with other blades).

Still halfway into the against-the-grain pass I felt I was getting a stealth great shave. I did get resistance from some of the mustache corner hairs, and ended up with a couple fleeting weepers, but overall less trouble than the Super Power. I thought I was going to get out of this almost weeper-free, but it caught up with me with a dot on my chin and some irritation/weepers on the neck.

An interesting thing about this razor is that it forces me into a more shallow (cap-riding) angle than I'm used to. I never really paid attention to it with other blades because I just adjusted without thinking about it, but I notice it here now that I'm paying closer attention. I don't have any conclusions about that, just an observation.

Certainly worth a second shave with this setup, though (I just saw a mirror) my neck is more irritated than I had thought.

 

[slimshavy]

Treet Classic
Shave Two
Oct. 29, 2022

Razor: Gillette Super Speed Red Tip
Aftershave: Mixture of dregs

I made it through the shave just fine, but there’s nothing left of the blade. Other than a couple random weepers early in the shave, no cuts to speak of, although I backed off a little in some spots to prevent irritation and weepers.

The blade is pretty well suited for my mustache. It’s odd how certain blades do better or worse with specific area of my face.

I said no cuts to speak of, but I lied. I was talking to my wife at the end of the shave and gesturing with my hands and I plunked the razor right into my chin. I got a real-life nick, an elongated cut. It made me realize I’ve never had one of these from DE shaving before, despite all the weepers and rashy spots I’ve experienced. Nothing to do with this blade, of course, but I wanted to note it.

On to the next blade, of the dwindling few Treets remaining!

 

[slimshavy]

Treet "Black Beauty"
Shave One
Oct. 31, 2022

Razor: Gillette Super Speed Red Tip
Aftershave: Mixture of dregs

By the fourth "black beauty" blade in the fourth razor, I'm pretty sure I won't be surprised much one way or the other. Despite being in the bottom tier for sharpness and longevity among Treets, I look forward to unwrapping one each time, partially because of vanity and partially in my rooting for the underdog. Heck, this entire exercise with Treets has had a big element of rooting for the underdog, but these blades are undeniably pretty.

I've tried to keep most elements of the shave constant throughout my trials, but small changes have crept in. Given how long I've been at it, my soap puck finally ran out. It wasn't a good soap, and it lasted me about a year. I'm all for science, but I'm not a masochist; I replaced it with a good soap, a glycerine round from Em's Place.

I know these boards are full of people who highly value soaps and brushes. I don't even mention mine here, and not just because I only have one brush and one soap at a time. I just don't think it influences my results much. That said, I'll note that the main difference in the Em's Place soap is that my face feels somewhat conditioned after a shave, like I've already put on a splash containing glycerine.

As for the blade itself, it made its way through the passes with some tugging and some extra strokes. My neck had been a little irritated still, and I didn't belabor the cleanup passes there. Given the blade-razor combo, I knew some problem areas would never get BBS, so I stopped trying earlier than I otherwise might. Still four passes plus cleanups, and BBS except for sideburn-jaw area, mustache, neck. Maybe chin. That's a lot of places, eh? Let's just call it a DFS shave. No persisting weepers, a very few that opened and closed during the shave.

I could really go either way on a second shave here. Now that the experiment is ending, I wonder if the black beauty would make a good daily shaver instead of my every-other-day approach. I suspect it would, but I don't have the bathroom time to make that happen. But I'd imagine I could easily get three DFS or DFS- daily shaves out of one of these instead of the one or two I get now. That's a discussion for another time.

 

[slimshavy]

Treet "Black Beauty"
Shave Two
Nov. 2, 2022

Razor: Gillette Super Speed Red Tip
Aftershave: Mixture of dregs

I got a fine, decent shave out of the second use of the black beauty. That's really all you can hope for. I could feel pulling from the start, nothing severe, just knowing it's not a sharp blade to begin and was less sharp than its first use. I didn't overdo the cleanup passes trying in vain to get BBS where it was struggling (except maybe on the jawline), and as a result I didn't get irritation or weepers (except on the jawline--see a pattern?).

Black beauty, you served me well. I feel I've gotten much better at shaving with not-sharp blades in not-efficient razors recently. On to the last two Treets of these trials!

 

[slimshavy]

Treet Silver
Shave One
Nov. 4, 2022

Razor: Gillette Super Speed Red Tip
Aftershave: Mixture of dregs

It’s the penultimate blade in this whole long experiment, and it’s been a top blade in the other razors. How will it handle the Red Tip?

Pretty well, at first, then less well on the against-the-grain pass. The first two passes and then the third, diagonal XTG/ATG pass were smooth as can be, not even the smallest weeper. The ATG and cleanup raised some weepers. One spot I overshaved, that’s my fault. A few more that I can’t put down to any error of technique. I broke out the styptic pencil, it did its job. No lingering rash, some burn from sweating today. Kind of meh altogether. Jaw isn’t irritated but also isn’t BBS. We’ll shave again with the Silver.

 

[slimshavy]

Treet Silver
Shave Two
Nov. 6, 2022

Razor: Gillette Super Speed Red Tip
Aftershave: Mixture of dregs

Second shave felt like it might be dulling at first, but that turned out to be wrong. I actually overshaved, so it must have been sharp enough.

The good part is a longer-lasting close shave. I was either BBS or the closest thing to it I’ve had in this razor in these trials. The bad part was several weepers remaining at shave’s end and some irritation throughout the day as sweat or other things disrupted the aftershave.

I’ll take a lot of that to user error in misjudging the blade. There’s clearly something left in it and I’ll just have to figure out how to negotiate it in this puzzle of a razor that won’t cut you if you try really hard in some spots but hits some surprise dots of blood in others.

 

[slimshavy]

Treet Silver
Shave Three
Nov. 8, 2022

Razor: Gillette Super Speed Red Tip
Aftershave: Mixture of dregs

One observation on my last shave is that it was slower to grow back and I was presentable longer into the off day. That’s the upside of overshaving, I suppose.

Anyway, I made the mistake of thinking the blade wouldn’t cut me last time, so this time I was extra careful, especially in early passes to make sure I followed the grain of the hair and didn’t cheat. Still, the final pass or maybe the cleanup gave me a good number of stealth weepers, the kind that don’t show up right away but persist after a cold rinse.

Other than that, a close shave with less irritation than last time. It’s hard to figure this blade out in this razor. It was rough in the Slim also, the closest razor to the Red Tip in these trials. It’s certainly sharp enough, but just a little wild. Can’t tell whether it’s dulled enough that it would be tame in a fourth shave or it’s dulled enough that it would cut me up in a fourth shave. Leaning toward moving on at this point.

 

[slimshavy]

Treet Falcon
Shave One
Nov. 10, 2022

Razor: Gillette Super Speed Red Tip
Aftershave: Mixture of dregs

The end is nigh! More than five months into these trials and the last tuck is empty, the last carbon Treet loaded into the fourth and final razor. I have some mixed feelings, but this experiment is about cold, hard science, so let's get to it.

The Falcon was at least as efficient in early passes as the Silver, reducing my beard well enough that it started to feel smooth except in dense areas after the second pass. I did the diagonal XTG/ATG over much of my face to prepare for a true ATG pass and didn't have any incidents.

It wasn't quite enough, as the blade caught mustache hairs and gave some resistance, which resulted in a couple weepers. On the neck and chin, it didn't seem to catch any resistance but I had a couple weepers there too. Overall, probably less irritation and fewer weepers than the Silver gave, but also not as close a shave as the first Silver shaves. Left jawline stayed DFS despite repeated attempts to catch the last bits of stubble.

Decent shave overall. I'm glad I saved the Red Tip for last in these trials, because I haven't been having the best results from it. I had worried that these months of Treet-specific experience would bias the experiment by making me more skillful for the final shaves than I was for the first. If that's true, it hasn't resulted in better shaves in the Red Tip. Entirely possible that I would learn better Red Tip-specific technique given enough uses, but that's beyond the scope of this experiment.

I'll use the Falcon again in two days and then who knows?

 

[slimshavy]

Treet Falcon
Shaves Two AND Three
Nov. 12 and 14, 2022

Razor: Gillette Super Speed Red Tip
Aftershave: Mixture of dregs

Pardon my absence; I'm wrapping up these trials at a time of extreme busyness and preparing to travel. The second shave was at least as good as the first, maybe better in that it didn't give as many weepers but also didn't shave as close as the first shave. The shave was also not particularly long-lasting.

The third shave, today, felt like the blade was settling in; the dulling had smoothed it a bit and it was the first shave in a long time with no weepers to note (OK, maybe the tiniest, fleeting one). I took extra time, a full fourth pass, but was surprised to not get lit up by the ATG pass. I didn't overtax the cleanup passes, which, I'm starting to think, at this late stage, might be key for successfully using the Red Tip. Not much irritation and the third shave might actually last longer than the second, although it's too soon to say. I've turned on the furnace and the air is drier than earlier in the trials, so yet another variable sneaks into the experiment.

Easily earns a fourth shave, and then I'll have another break whether the blade is done or not, as I'm traveling and can't take a blade with me. Either way, I'll recap this whole experiment after I'm back from the trip.

Thanks for reading, you loyal few still with me!

 

[slimshavy]

Treet Falcon
Shave Four
Nov. 16, 2022

Razor: Gillette Super Speed Red Tip
Aftershave: Mixture of dregs

The end has come. The Falcon delivered an able DFS without cuts and with slight irritation. I could feel the resistance as I tried to go against the grain and backed off when I estimated I couldn't get close without damage. It was still an adequate shave for the day, and it let some of the irritation I'd been building on my neck fade a bit.

This marks the end of these trials. I'm traveling now, so I won't be able to recap the round and the entire experiment until after I return and crunch the numbers. Looking forward to it!

 

[T Bone]

I'm looking forward to a recap and maybe a ranking as well, I've enjoyed following everyone's trials. Blades has become my latest rabbit hole as there are so many different ones and they're much cheaper than, say, razors.

 

[Time Bandit]

Treet Yo Self Carbon Blade PIF / Animal Week / NOCvember

Pre: P.A.A. Cube 2.0 w/ Cube Dock

Razor: T.R. Cadman & Sons "Bengall"
Razor: Haircut & Shave Company Ti Efficient
Blade: Tiger (carbon steel)

Soap: P.A.A. Frost Byte
Brush: Omega Boar 10005/80005
Bowl: Bluff Cove Pottery

Post 1: P.A.A. Alum No-Slip Grip System w/ Dry Dock System
Post 2: Dickinson's Enhanced Witch Hazel Deep Cleansing Astringent w/ Menthol & Eucalyptus
Aftershave: P.A.A. Sci-Fi Lime
Post 4: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel-Cream Extra-Dry w/ Hyaluronic Acid


Wow! What an incredibly interesting shave this was. I decided to go with the Phoenix Shaving Frost Byte soap even though this is pretty much the worst time of year to try it. But seeing as the samples I have were loaned to me for testing and this is the last shave soap new to me, I just had to see how this would play out.

I'm still loving and learning the Bengall straight razor, and seeing as its Animal Week I paired a Tiger carbon steel blade with the H&S Co. Ti Efficient. My Omega boar brush is also in the mix. So needless to say this was a real rodeo.

After face washing with the Cube, I lathered up some Frost Byte and applied it to my face. Wooow! This stuff is frosty!

I did my first, with-the-grain pass with the Bengall and seem to have an easier time shaving the right side of my face. It seems that my whiskers on the left side are just a touch thicker. The straight still did very well with the job assigned to it.

Now the real interesting part was the bizarre feeling of warm water on a heavily mentholated face when rinsing. Relathering also has a very chilling effect.

I continued on with my remaining passes but the Tiger carbon steel blade really dropped the ball. Even though this was the blade's first use it struggled. If you follow my shaves you'd know I'm a bbs chaser. Not today! I hard to throw in the towel as going against the grain was very irritating and inefficient. Oh well, just more to shave off next time.

The usual suspects played their roles in post but for today I tried some Phoenix Shaving Sci-Fi Lime aftershave. Man is this stuff actually really good! I don't know how you can make something as simple as lime smell sophisticated but here it is. It has a somewhat unique lime scent and the dry-down is very pleasant. I'd have no problem using a full set.

Well there you have it gentlemen. Another entertaining shave brought to you buy me. Time Bandit!

Rock on my good friends and enjoy your shaves!

 

[slimshavy]

Thanks for the writeup! Anyone who gets through a shave with the carbon Tiger deserves a medal like those they give to marathon finishers. Glad you made it through in one piece!

 

[Time Bandit]

Thanks for the writeup! Anyone who gets through a shave with the carbon Tiger deserves a medal like those they give to marathon finishers. Glad you made it through in one piece!

Oh man you just game me the idea... What if this site has actual achievements? I would have just earned the Tiger Blade achievement.

 

[Time Bandit]

Thanksgiving Day / Treet Yo Self Carbon Blade PIF / Blackland Thursday / Three-Piece Thursday / Animal Week / NOCvember

Pre: Topsy Blends Gold & Glowing Raw Honey Cleanser Foaming Face Wash used w/ a Clarisonic Mia Men

Razor: Blackland Blackbird
Blade: Treet Falcon (carbon steel)

Soap: Stirling Soap Company Hot Apple Cider
Brush: Vie-Long Brocha Vintage (brown horse)
Bowl: Bluff Cove Pottery

Post 1: P.A.A. Alum No-Slip Grip System w/ Dry Dock System
Post 2: Dickinson's Enhanced Witch Hazel Deep Cleansing Astringent w/ Menthol & Eucalyptus
Aftershave: Stirling Soap Company Hot Apple Cider
Post 4: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel-Cream Extra-Dry w/ Hyaluronic Acid

Considering the holiday I went with the always amazing Stirling Soap Company Hot Apple Cider shave soap and aftershave set. This stuff is spot on and just a wonderfully warm scent prefect for this time of year.

As it's Animal Week, Blackland Thursday and Three-Piece Thursday, I matched up a Treet Falcon blade with the tried and true Blackland Blackbird.

I did a three-pass shave using lather whipped up by my Vie-Long horse brush and had a great time.

A bbs shave was had on this Thanksgiving holiday. What more could I ask for?

Please be thankful today and enjoy your family, friends and/or whatever you're doing today.

Take care my friends, and shave on!

 

[slimshavy]

Treet Fourth Round Roundup
Gillette Super Speed Red Tip

Fourth and final razor finished its trials with the Treets. To recap, here's the number of shaves each reached:
Four shaves:
Dura Sharp, Falcon
Three shaves:
Silver
Two shaves:
New Edge, Super Power, Classic, Black Beauty

The Red Tip round didn't have many surprises. One might have expected better performance in this round because I'm pretty familiar with the individual Treets by now. The Red Tip might also be expected to shave something like a Slim, whose geometry is similar, but it doesn't really seem to be that close, as you can see by comparing the Round Two and Round Four overall scores.

These are listed by number of shaves in NEW, Slim, Old Type and Red Tip, respectively, with the sum from all four in parentheses:

Silver (16 total shaves)
3, 4, 6, 3
Dura Sharp (14 shaves)
2, 4, 4, 4
Falcon (13 shaves)
3, 3, 3, 4
Classic (8 shaves)
1, 3, 2, 2
Super Power (8 shaves)
2, 2, 2, 2
New Edge (8 shaves)
1, 2, 3, 2
Black beauty (7 shaves)
2, 1, 2, 2

The Falcon had its best showing in the Red Tip, going four shaves impressively. Dura Sharp also lasted four, with a decent showing there. Black Beauty didn't last any longer than in other razors, at two shaves, but they were enjoyable shaves. Silver, the overall winner of these trials, struggled a bit in the Red Tip but still earned three shaves. None of the lower-tier blades redeemed themselves in the Red Tip, allowing the top three to pull away from the bottom four.

Which gets me to ... lessons from these trials.

 

[slimshavy]

Lessons From the Carbon Forest of Treets
I've arrived after more than five months of exclusive carbon-steel blade use, nearly all of it seven brands of Treet blades. I've already said a lot, and could go on forever, but I'll distill it into four thoughts.

1. Whether you're going for shave quality or longevity, three blades stood out: Silver, Dura Sharp and Falcon. They all had better or worse pairings among the four razors, but none lasted fewer shaves (in any razor) than the lower-performing blades.

2. Going for Silver: This blade had the widest variation, earning three shaves each in the NEW and Red Tip but a best-in-trials six shaves in the Old Type. By number of shaves, it's the overall winner of these trials. It's also the cheapest blade in the bunch: it's the same price (via razorbladesclub) as the cheapest Treets, but its "10 packs" actually contain 11 blades, making Silvers cheaper per blade. If you find a good pairing, you can't beat these blades for quality, and you can't beat them for value period.

3. On the other hand, if you want a solid performer in any razor (well any of these four), you can't go wrong with the Falcon. It got at least three shaves in all four razors, and four in the Red Tip. The Dura Sharp actually edged out the Falcon in overall number of shaves, giving an impressively consistent four shaves in three of the razors but only two shaves in the NEW. If value is an issue, the Falcon's consistency will cost you: $2 per 100 more than the Dura Sharp (and slightly more than that over the Silver).

4. The rest: There's not much to say about these. They don't last and they don't give great shaves. They seem perfectly designed for two shaves on my face, but not two great shaves. They're just not great. If you want the consistency of knowing a blade lasts exacly two shaves, you can try the Super Power which, as I've noted, is more expensive than other blades. I can't imagine I'll ever buy a Super Power. I might buy a Black Beauty, which earned the lowest total number of shaves, because it's black. And beautiful. So sue me.

That's all I've got! Thanks again to @T_Bone, my Treet benefactor, and everyone who has contributed to these trials. Thank you all for reading! I hope people will continue to add to this thread and, in particular, use it as a resource when considering these unique blades.

 

[ewk]

Thank you @slimshavy and @T Bone . I thoroughly enjoyed my run with the Treet carbon steel blades. I have yet to try the Tiger blades, but I fully intend to. I will update when I do.