If one was to buy a bull pack, which would be the one to buy?
Challenge PIF - Is Your Best Good Enough?!? - Closed!
- Thread starter Grundi
- Start date
Razor: Pre-war Gillette Tech
Blade: Polsilver Stainless (3)
Soap: Pre de Provence No. 63
Brush: Generic badger that I bought off of Amazon (that I actually really like)
Aftershave: Aqua Velva Ice Blue followed by Nivea Sensitive balm
Great shave this evening! The Polsilver Stainless and the Tech work very well together. The Feather and the Tech were…meh.
Next time I’ll use the Feather and the Henson, but so far the Polsilver is ahead of the Feather.
Blade: Polsilver Stainless (3)
Soap: Pre de Provence No. 63
Brush: Generic badger that I bought off of Amazon (that I actually really like)
Aftershave: Aqua Velva Ice Blue followed by Nivea Sensitive balm
Great shave this evening! The Polsilver Stainless and the Tech work very well together. The Feather and the Tech were…meh.
Next time I’ll use the Feather and the Henson, but so far the Polsilver is ahead of the Feather.
Razor: Henson AL13+
Blade: Feather (3)
Soap: Pre de Provence No. 63
Brush: Generic badger that I bought off of Amazon (that I actually really like)
Aftershave: Aqua Velva Ice Blue followed by Nivea Sensitive balm
Very good shave today. The Feather (for me) paired much better with the Henson than with my Tech. It's funny how those things happen. I had said after the last shave that the Polsilver had the lead on the Feather, and I'm not sure that today drastically alters that, but I can say that the most recent shaves with both blades have been very good when paired with the right razor.
Blade: Feather (3)
Soap: Pre de Provence No. 63
Brush: Generic badger that I bought off of Amazon (that I actually really like)
Aftershave: Aqua Velva Ice Blue followed by Nivea Sensitive balm
Very good shave today. The Feather (for me) paired much better with the Henson than with my Tech. It's funny how those things happen. I had said after the last shave that the Polsilver had the lead on the Feather, and I'm not sure that today drastically alters that, but I can say that the most recent shaves with both blades have been very good when paired with the right razor.
Never Mind I misread the comment. I realize they are all the same blade whose names are interchangeable.
Battle 1, Round 6, Shave 12
RazoRock Super Slant L2++, modern Wizamet Super Iridium, Semogue 620, La Toja Shave Stick
Well, I wasn't expecting this. Today is the first shave where the contest wasn't even close. The modern blade took it by a mile. No hint of impropriety from the blade, just a smooth, clean shave. Nothing left to cut after two passes.
And with this shave I'm calling Battle 1 resolved. The Modern Wizamet Super Iridium takes it 4 to 2. I don't have enough razor and base plate combinations left in my arsenal for the vintage blade to have any chance of catching up, heh. And with the conclusion of this battle, I'll make good on measuring the blades with my digital calipers. It's not a micrometer, but they calibrate and zero accurately, so they're good enough for me. Also keep in mind that these measurements are after 6 shaves on each blade. For each measurement I repeated it 10 times and took the average.
The second battle will commence between the vintage Polsilver and my very favorite blade the Kai with my next shave.
RazoRock Super Slant L2++, modern Wizamet Super Iridium, Semogue 620, La Toja Shave Stick
Well, I wasn't expecting this. Today is the first shave where the contest wasn't even close. The modern blade took it by a mile. No hint of impropriety from the blade, just a smooth, clean shave. Nothing left to cut after two passes.
And with this shave I'm calling Battle 1 resolved. The Modern Wizamet Super Iridium takes it 4 to 2. I don't have enough razor and base plate combinations left in my arsenal for the vintage blade to have any chance of catching up, heh. And with the conclusion of this battle, I'll make good on measuring the blades with my digital calipers. It's not a micrometer, but they calibrate and zero accurately, so they're good enough for me. Also keep in mind that these measurements are after 6 shaves on each blade. For each measurement I repeated it 10 times and took the average.
| Vintage Wizamet Polsilver | Modern Wizamet Super Iridium |
| Width (edge to edge): 22.05 mm | Width (edge to edge): 21.95 mm |
| Length: 42.88 mm | Length: 42.70 mm |
| Thickness: 0.11 mm | Thickness: 0.09 mm |
The second battle will commence between the vintage Polsilver and my very favorite blade the Kai with my next shave.
Razor: Pre-war Gillette Tech
Blade: Polsilver Stainless #4 (4)
Soap: Frankensoap (1/3 each of Arko, VDH Luxury, Dove Men+Care 3 in 1 Extra Fresh)
Brush: Generic badger that I bought off of Amazon (that I actually really like)
Aftershave: Aqua Velva Ice Blue followed by Nivea Sensitive balm
Last shave with with the Polsilver Stainless. I don't know why it took me so long to pair this with a Tech, but once I started doing that, it has shaved beautifully. I'm not BBS today because I missed a spot on the jawline below my chin, but other than that a very nice shave. I could probably take it for another spin, but for my comparisons I am going with 4 shaves with each blade. My next shave will be the 4th with a Feather blade in a Henson AL13+. I'm betting that the Polsilver wins this head-to-head matchup.
Blade: Polsilver Stainless #4 (4)
Soap: Frankensoap (1/3 each of Arko, VDH Luxury, Dove Men+Care 3 in 1 Extra Fresh)
Brush: Generic badger that I bought off of Amazon (that I actually really like)
Aftershave: Aqua Velva Ice Blue followed by Nivea Sensitive balm
Last shave with with the Polsilver Stainless. I don't know why it took me so long to pair this with a Tech, but once I started doing that, it has shaved beautifully. I'm not BBS today because I missed a spot on the jawline below my chin, but other than that a very nice shave. I could probably take it for another spin, but for my comparisons I am going with 4 shaves with each blade. My next shave will be the 4th with a Feather blade in a Henson AL13+. I'm betting that the Polsilver wins this head-to-head matchup.
And so begins the second battle! As with the first, we begin with the challenger, and we begin in my favorite razor. Nearly identical to the previous first shave, except this time there is no audible feedback at all. In short, it's an outstanding blade, and I would not hesitate to add it to a prime position in my blade rankings if it was still in production.
Razor: Henson AL13+
Blade: Feather (4)
Soap: Frankensoap (1/3 each of Arko, VDH Luxury, Dove Men+Care 3 in 1 Extra Fresh)
Brush: Generic badger that I bought off of Amazon (that I actually really like)
Aftershave: Aqua Velva Ice Blue followed by Nivea Sensitive balm
Well color me surprised! The Feather delivered a wonderful shave today. I expected it to fall off a bit, but it hung in there very well and mowed through the chin stubble with no effort whatsoever. There are blades other than the Polsilver Stainless and the Feather that I find to be more smooth and comfortable, but these two did the job. This is the end of my participation in this PIF, and I'm going to call it a draw between these 2 blades.
Blade: Feather (4)
Soap: Frankensoap (1/3 each of Arko, VDH Luxury, Dove Men+Care 3 in 1 Extra Fresh)
Brush: Generic badger that I bought off of Amazon (that I actually really like)
Aftershave: Aqua Velva Ice Blue followed by Nivea Sensitive balm
Well color me surprised! The Feather delivered a wonderful shave today. I expected it to fall off a bit, but it hung in there very well and mowed through the chin stubble with no effort whatsoever. There are blades other than the Polsilver Stainless and the Feather that I find to be more smooth and comfortable, but these two did the job. This is the end of my participation in this PIF, and I'm going to call it a draw between these 2 blades.
- Thread starter
- #729
As an interesting coincidence, the last couple of times I used a Feather, shave #4 was the best of the shaves.
Interesting. I would definitely say that this shave was the best of the 4 shaves with the Feather. I'd be tempted to try another one, but I just like the idea of binning a blade after 4. So many blades; so little time.
Battle 2, Round 1, Shave 14
Tradere OC, Kai, Wee Scot, Tabac (tallow), Captain's Choice Bay Rum Aftershave
I said this was my very favorite blade, and today it exemplified why that is. It gives me just a little extra blade feel (which I like) without feeling like it's trying to bite (which I appreciate), and it opens up the shaving angles of a razor just a little bit. And in every razor I've tried it in, it performs. And while it's entirely irrelevant to the actual shave, I quite enjoy the fact that they don't waste any resources on printing or wax spots on the blade itself, heh.
Having said all that, I am unable to feel a difference in the results of these two shaves. So, in order to avoid obvious bias, I'll go the other way and give this round to the vintage blade.
Tradere OC, Kai, Wee Scot, Tabac (tallow), Captain's Choice Bay Rum Aftershave
I said this was my very favorite blade, and today it exemplified why that is. It gives me just a little extra blade feel (which I like) without feeling like it's trying to bite (which I appreciate), and it opens up the shaving angles of a razor just a little bit. And in every razor I've tried it in, it performs. And while it's entirely irrelevant to the actual shave, I quite enjoy the fact that they don't waste any resources on printing or wax spots on the blade itself, heh.
Having said all that, I am unable to feel a difference in the results of these two shaves. So, in order to avoid obvious bias, I'll go the other way and give this round to the vintage blade.
Put my last Polsilver in the 1.65 today for a great shave. Missed a few tiny spots on my jawline but no fault of the razor. I’ve stated in the past that this blade doesn’t seem to shine in super aggressive razors which is what I use almost exclusively. It works wonderfully for one or two shaves but does not sustain beyond that.
I’ll see where this one takes me by the end of the week. Thank you as always to @Grundi for the work putting these together. I very much enjoy participating in these.
I’ll see where this one takes me by the end of the week. Thank you as always to @Grundi for the work putting these together. I very much enjoy participating in these.
So instead of doing a shave-versus-shave challenge I just detoured and did four shaves in a row with the Super-Max Platinum, three in the German 37 and one in my "3D Tech." They were passable, not great, not super sharp and not super long-lasting but smooth enough.
Took the last vintage Polsilver out today, back in the German 37. I had closer to a day and a half of stubble instead of my usual two-day stubble, which is sometimes dangerous. I had a few small whiteheads that would probably have been emergent hairs given the normal time frame. I shaved one of those off and then got lots of other weepers, largely in the mustache but one decent cluster on my neck.
Styptic pencil took care of it, but not a great shave. A lot at play here, so I won't make much of it. Nevertheless, this isn't winning any battles. Next shave will be better.
Took the last vintage Polsilver out today, back in the German 37. I had closer to a day and a half of stubble instead of my usual two-day stubble, which is sometimes dangerous. I had a few small whiteheads that would probably have been emergent hairs given the normal time frame. I shaved one of those off and then got lots of other weepers, largely in the mustache but one decent cluster on my neck.
Styptic pencil took care of it, but not a great shave. A lot at play here, so I won't make much of it. Nevertheless, this isn't winning any battles. Next shave will be better.
It's a quality blade in a Lupo, ergo it was a delightful shave. Three passes of unwavering comfort, top notch results. Not really much else to say about it.
A second shave in the same setup was indeed better. Still some weepers, but fewer. No need for styptic. This blade is perfectly serviceable and I don’t mind the lack of smoothness, but I wish it shaved a bit closer. I don’t mind trading weepers for a close shave.
Battle 2, Round 2, Shave 16
Lupo 72 OC, Kai, Wee Scot, Stirling Varen, Captain's Choice Bay Rum Aftershave
As with the last round, it is too difficult to discern any difference and confidently say one was better than the other, so I'll keep the score even and give round 2 to the Kai.
Lupo 72 OC, Kai, Wee Scot, Stirling Varen, Captain's Choice Bay Rum Aftershave
As with the last round, it is too difficult to discern any difference and confidently say one was better than the other, so I'll keep the score even and give round 2 to the Kai.
This shave had great results, but was slightly lacking in comfort. No irritation or cuts or anything, just a tiny bit more scrape than glide to the blade.
Battle 2, Round 3, Shave 18
RazoRock Game Changer 84 OC w/Super Knurl handle, Kai, Maggards Timberwolf travel size, Saponificio Varesino Tundra Artica
I did feel a little scrape with this one too, but not as much as with the vintage blade, and the overall feeling was much more comfortable. Still doesn't hold a candle to the Lupos, however. Kai takes this round.
Next round I'm going to bring in a newcomer to my roster, as I recently acquired a L1++ OC plate for my Super Slant!
RazoRock Game Changer 84 OC w/Super Knurl handle, Kai, Maggards Timberwolf travel size, Saponificio Varesino Tundra Artica
I did feel a little scrape with this one too, but not as much as with the vintage blade, and the overall feeling was much more comfortable. Still doesn't hold a candle to the Lupos, however. Kai takes this round.
Next round I'm going to bring in a newcomer to my roster, as I recently acquired a L1++ OC plate for my Super Slant!
A rare morning shave for me, as I typically do my shower & shave routine after work (showering before going to a sewer plant is a bit of a wasted effort, imho). But as I was awoken by an intense calf cramp an hour early, I figured why not, heh.
It might be a bit presumptuous to say such things after only one shave with the new plate, but I think I already like the L1++ OC better than the L2++ SB. This shave was, for lack of a better way to describe it, perfect. I found the correct angle for this plate with ease, the shave was so smooth it almost felt like there was no blade installed, and at the end of three passes I could not feel any remaining stubble anywhere it had been. Even the Captain couldn't find me anything when I sent it looking for casualties.
I love the Kai, but it's got an uphill battle to match this performance. This razor also cements a trend I am noticing, RazoRock makes amazing Open Comb razors. They do not slouch in the Solid Bar variety either, but the OC's are a cut above.
Battle 2, Round 4, Shave 20
RazoRock Super Slant L1++ OC w/barber pole handle, Kai, Semogue 620, La Toja shave stick, Captain's Choice Aftershave
It was an uphill battle, but the Kai showed up ready to climb. Another very excellent shave. Smooth enough to encourage complacency (more on that later), effective enough to make the third pass feel almost unnecessary. I will of course verify with my other blades later, but this L1++ OC plate might be enough to encourage me to sell the L2++ SB plate, heh.
Regarding complacency.. the shave was going so smoothly that on the third pass I let my technique slip and gave myself a scrape on the side of neck. No cut or anything, just a little redness. Also not the blade's fault in any way, so I'm not going to factor that in to the comparison. The Captain made sure to let me know my errors, hehe.
In the end, both shaves were top notch, and I would not have any complaints with these results from any future shave. But I need to pick a winner, and this time the vintage narrowly edged out the Kai by leaving ever so slightly smoother skin behind.
RazoRock Super Slant L1++ OC w/barber pole handle, Kai, Semogue 620, La Toja shave stick, Captain's Choice Aftershave
It was an uphill battle, but the Kai showed up ready to climb. Another very excellent shave. Smooth enough to encourage complacency (more on that later), effective enough to make the third pass feel almost unnecessary. I will of course verify with my other blades later, but this L1++ OC plate might be enough to encourage me to sell the L2++ SB plate, heh.
Regarding complacency.. the shave was going so smoothly that on the third pass I let my technique slip and gave myself a scrape on the side of neck. No cut or anything, just a little redness. Also not the blade's fault in any way, so I'm not going to factor that in to the comparison. The Captain made sure to let me know my errors, hehe.
In the end, both shaves were top notch, and I would not have any complaints with these results from any future shave. But I need to pick a winner, and this time the vintage narrowly edged out the Kai by leaving ever so slightly smoother skin behind.
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