Challenge PIF - Shave For The Stars

[slimshavy]

Blade Challenge Recap

I realized I never recapped the shaves, so here we go. First, thanks to @Space_Cadet and @AnimalCatcher for the blades and @Grundi for putting this together.

I used three Gillette razors: Old type, NEW SC and Slim and intended to go four shaves with each blade. It was a lopsided competition, as the Sharp Stars didn’t last as long.

In all, I think the Silver Stars are a decent blade. Not the closest, but not irritating and able to go into the rough patches and end up smooth, albeit with more effort than I’d like. Sharp Stars just couldn’t get the job done in any razor I used, plus were rough on my skin.

I wouldn’t buy a large number of Silver Stars, but I might pick up a few in the future. It’s a rare blade that gives me four good (enough) shaves and costs a dime or less.

 

[lancre]

Shave #2 with Silver Star, Duridium, Edge #1

Equipment:
Rockwell T2, SOC Boar, Vintage Williams Mug Soap

The Shave:
For me, this razor/blade combo was underwhelming. It just felt nasty the whole way through. Changing angles or adjusting the setting of the razor were no help. By dogged persistence I got a decent shave, but I don't think I'll pair these two again.

I finished up with Thayer's unscented astringent WH, followed by Nivea ASB.

TL;DR:
DFS in 3 passes, but it wasn't easy.

 

[Demolition]

Eleventh shave with the Silver Star Super Stainless (Modern) blade #2

Razor: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Simpson Special 18mm Best Badger
Soap: Tabac Shaving Soap Stick (Tallow)

An uneventful shave.

Frankly, there's not much to report because there was nothing particularly bad about this shave. Actually, there wasn't anything particularly good, either. It was just average. However, considering the trouble I've had with this modern Silver Star blade (and the previous one, for that matter), an average shave is a real accomplishment.

Anyway, I followed my new routine with the modern Silver Star of performing only my three usual passes, but completely abstaining from any buffing or touchups. As a result, I'm no longer experiencing any sensitivity or irritation during or after the shave. I'm not getting as close a shave as I'd like (only a SAS, today), but it's an acceptable trade-off.

Overall, though, I'm not very happy with this brand. Its inconsistency is a major issue for me and, if I was rating the three Challenge blades, that alone would drop the modern Silver Star into a distant third place.

 

[Demolition]

Fifteenth shave with the Sharp Star Platinum blade #1

Razor: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Yaqi Moka Express 26mm Two-Band Badger
Soap: RazoRock Blue Label

The Sharp Star continues to provide close, comfortable shaves.

My three usual passes were very quick and trouble-free. The XTG pass is still requiring more effort to complete, but that hasn't translated into any irritation or sensitivity during or after.

Unlike the modern Silver Star, I'm able to buff as much as I like, although it only takes a few strokes to get to a BBS.

Overall, today's shave was excellent. The Sharp Star is currently my favourite of the three Challenge blades, by far.

 

[lancre]

Shave #3 with Silver Star, Duridium, Edge #1

Equipment:
Post-war BET, Maggard 2-band, Vintage Williams Mug Soap

The Shave:
Back to the BET, since that worked well the first time. This time it was a joy to use. Smooth feeling during the shave and smooth as silk results.

The WMS puck is almost gone. Good thing I heard about the discontinuance in time to stock up.

I finished up with Thayer's lavender scented toner WH, followed by Nivea ASB.

TL;DR:
BBS in 3 passes, easy-peasy.

 

[BigJ]

Silver Star blade 2, Shave #9

Razor: Wolfman WR1
Brush: Simpsons duke 2 best
Soap: MWF
AS: Proraso green

Rating: 8.5/10. Time to change out this very fine blade!

 

[Balthier]

Blade: Sharp Star #3 shave #5
Razor: Muhle r89 twist
Soap: PAA FrostByte
Brush: Proraso Boar
Pre-shave: Mentholated Cube
Aftershave: Stirling Strawberry Lemonade
Felt about as good as the last shave so a really good shave. It is slowing down slightly, but still sharp enough maybe it can make it another shave, but the end could be near. It's a really nice blade reminds me of other nice russian blades. These seem to be out in a few places that I looked and mid priced elsewhere.

 

[cwright]

Sharp Star Blade 2, (1). Blackland Era #4 SB, Proraso White Pre-Shave, Declaration Grooming Unscented, Proraso White Post shave. Similar results to my 1st blade, not very comfortable, extra buffing required, will rate a DFS-. Going to give one more try Tue.

 

[Yuritau]

19 - Silver Star #3 (3)
RazoRock Lupo 72, Omega 10086, Tabac

Cut my hair from ~30cm down to 2mm today, so I figured may as well shave too!
Focused on keeping the shave comfortable rather than going for any specific results. Also fully rinsed and re-lathered the brush for each of the three passes, just to push the break in along a little more. And maybe a little bit to use up some of the Tabac, hehe. When I'm down to less than half a centimetre of puck left I get kinda excited to finish it off and unwrap a fresh puck!

 

[BigJ]

Sharp Star blade 2, Shave #1

Razor: Wolfman WR1
Brush: Simpsons 57 best
Soap: La Toja
AS: La Toja

Rating: 9.5/10!! Off to a very fine start!!

 

[Demolition]

Fifteenth shave with the Silver Star Duridium Process (Vintage) blade #1

Razor: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Omega 10005 24mm Boar
Soap: Pré de Provence No. 63

The FOCS/Duridium pairing provided a surprisingly smooth and comfortable shave, today.

On its previous use (March 25), the blade was starting to tug and this seemed to indicate that it was near the end of its life. However, the Duridium's performance seems to have stabilized. Today, my three passes were all smooth and trouble-free. The blade-feel is still negligible, so comfort was also very good. This encouraged me to buff with gusto and I was rewarded with a fairly easy BBS.

Lately, this has been the usual outcome for the Duridum and my opinion of it has risen dramatically over the last few weeks. Currently, the Duridium sits in second place among the three Challenge blades. Considering the way that it started out, I never would have guessed that it would outperform the modern Silver Star. However, it did so quite handily.

 

[lancre]

Shave #4 with Silver Star, Duridium, Edge #1

Equipment:
Post-war SuperSpeed, Semogue 830, Vintage Williams Mug Soap

The Shave:
Close and comfortable. Smooth feeling during the shave and with results almost as smooth.

The WMS puck is gone. RIP, old friend.

I finished up with Thayer's unscented astringent WH, followed by Stirling Barbershop ASB.

TL;DR:
BBS in 3 passes plus a little buffing.

 

[lancre]

Shave #5 with Silver Star, Duridium, Edge #1

Equipment:
Winning, Maggard 2-band, Nivea Men Sensitive Shaving Cream

The Shave:
Close and comfortable. Smooth feeling, with a little stiction during the shave and with results almost as smooth. Now that we're a few shaves in with the Federation blade, it seems to be quite mellow. Or at least it likes the Winning.

It took a bit longer to lather up with the cream than it had with the WMS, but I got there eventually.

I finished up with Thayer's lavender scented toner WH, followed by Stirling Barbershop ASB.

TL;DR:
BBS in 3 passes plus a little buffing.

 

[Demolition]

Twelfth shave with the Silver Star Super Stainless (Modern) blade #2

Razor: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Yaqi Aqua 24mm Tuxedo
Soap: RazoRock Gold Label

A decent shave, nothing more.

Today's outing followed the same routine as the last few with the modern Silver Star. That is, performing only my three usual passes resulted in a reasonably smooth and comfortable shave, but the closeness just wasn't there. Of course, that's because I've been unable to buff with this blade. Frankly, that kind of defeats the purpose of shaving (for me).

So, I ended up with another SAS. The one positive thing that I could say is that my shaves are much quicker without having to buff, but I guess that would be obvious.

Anyway, this blade could probably last indefinitely with my current routine, but that prospect doesn't thrill me. At the first sign of tugging or roughness, I'll be ditching this particular Silver Star and I'm not sure that I'd try another.

 

[BigJ]

Sharp Star blade 2, Shave #2

Razor: Wolfman WR1
Brush: Shavemac beagle 2-band (bulb)
Soap: Vito’s red
AS: La Toja

Rating: 9.5/10. NICE shave, but not quite as smooth or comfortable as the Silver Star.

 

[BigJ]

Sharp Star blade 2, Shave #3

Razor: Wolfman WR1
Brush: Simpsons tulip 2 super
Soap: Fine platinum
AS: Fine platinum

9.5/10. Getting boring, I know, but it is what it is. One good (not quite great) shave after another!!

 

[lancre]

Shave #6 with Silver Star, Duridium, Edge #1

Equipment:
Winning, Semogue 830, Nivea Men Sensitive Shaving Cream

The Shave:
Just like yesterday, close and comfortable. Smooth feeling, with a little stiction during the shave and with results almost as smooth.

I finished up with Thayer's unscented astringent WH, followed by Stirling Barbershop ASB.

TL;DR:
DFS+ in 3 passes plus a little buffing.

 

[Demolition]

Sixteenth shave with the Sharp Star Platinum blade #1

Razor: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Fine Accoutrements Classic 20mm Angel Hair
Soap: Pré de Provence Bergamot and Thyme

Excellent performances from all aspects of today's shave.

The FOCS/Sharp Star duo is still delivering a close, comfortable shave with no post-shave irritation. The consistency has been superb. My three usual passes were very smooth. Only some moderate buffing was required to achieve a BBS.

Overall, a great shave.

 

[BigJ]

Sharp Star blade 2, Shave #4

Razor: Wolfman WR1
Brush: Graydog palm wood 2-band
Soap: Fine santal absolut
AS: Fine santal absolut

Rating: 9/10. This blade may be slowing down, but should still have some good shaves left!

 

[Demolition]

Sixteenth shave with the Silver Star Duridium Process (Vintage) blade #1

Razor: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Yaqi Sagrada Familia 24mm Fan-shaped Tuxedo
Soap: RazoRock Santa Maria del Fiore

A good shave, but performance is down across the board.

It looks like the last shave was an anomaly. Instead of stabilizing, the performance has gone down markedly. Most obvious is the increase in time and effort needed to complete the shave as the blade becomes duller. For this reason, I kind of gave up after a while and settled for a solid DFS instead of going all the way to a BBS.

My three usual passes were smooth for the most part, but I could detect the beginnings of some roughness. Despite that, the comfort level is still reasonably high.

I'm not sure if that's enough reason to keep using the blade, though. I'll give it another try in three days. If it feels the same way, next time, then it might be time to put this blade out to pasture.