Damn Comfortable Shave

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

British Gillette Flare Tip Rocket...a much nicer shaver than Gillette SS...My father bought the British Gillette Flare Tip Rocket in the 50's...You can feel the quality as soon as you pick one up. My SS feels, sorry to say, cheap in comparison...

Thinking back on it, that Brit Rocket and a Polsilver was a match made in Heaven and gave me the same 2 1/2 pass BBS as the NEW SC.

If you feel like it sometime it would be useful to post some pictures of your British Gillette Flare Tip Rocket.

How are they distinguished from the Gillette Flare Tip Rockets with English patents? They are TTO, right? What makes the razor stand out? Not its quality, but what makes it stand out from other Super Speeds and Flare Tips visually in pictures.

If I'm going to find one I have to know more about it. The really good deals on ebay are often found when the seller doesn't know exactly what they have.

Besides, I already bought a razor which the seller said was a Fatboy, but it turned out to be a Slim. I don't think the seller was being deceitful, but just didn't know the difference. Yes, I got my money back (and, so far, still have the Slim, and will until the seller sends me a shipping label; ebay says they probably won't send a shipping label because shipping to their European location costs $9).

Maybe doing a British Flare Tip Rocket tutorial will inspire you to give the razor a spin. Then, I'll ask for a NEW SC tutorial, and, after that, a post-War Tech tutorial.

We'll have you back shaving with carts in no time.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

There are a couple (maybe) on ebay, but they're auctions and I've reached a temporary buying restriction. I've had this mysterious restriction ever since I joined, except for one few minute period when I was allowed to bid one time, during which I won a nice auction and bought something at a low price.

No one seems to know what the buying restrictions are about or how to get them removed. My credit scores are very high. I have top ratings from the sellers of the items I've bought (not auctions).

To me, it is very strange that an auction site would impose restrictions on someone without good reasons, and they clearly could not have any good reason to restrict my activities.

So, I can't bid on the razors which may be British Gillette Rocket Flare Tips. Not now. Maybe never. Who knows what ebay is doing? Answer: ebay. Maybe.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Pretty close.

Today was my second shave with the Stainless Steel Colonial General razor and a Schick Proline blade.

It was pretty close to ideal.

During my second pass I realized - it is okay to laugh - that the razor felt incredibly smooth, almost like it didn't have a blade.

Yes, I was shaving with the wrong side of the single edged razor. No blade indeed.

So, I turned the razor around to shave with the bladed side. Same thing. It didn't feel like there was a blade in the razor.

It has been said this razor is deceptively efficient meaning it is quite efficient without being obvious about it. Without much blade feel at all, it shaves in an efficient manner. Snowman said about this deceptively efficient (his term) razor, "It feels mild, yet reduces whiskers like a more aggressive razor." I agree.

I got a BBS shave - face and neck - with the SS General.

Face passes - three. The last pass was barely necessary.

Neck passes - four. Four passes is pretty low for me, and usually does not result in BBS. In fact, I usually only get a good DFS on my neck with many passes.

I did some touching up here and there, too.

After the first pass I would have been okay to call it a day. The razor is that efficient. However, I did not have a first pass BBS shave, nor a two pass BBS shave. Nor a three pass BBS shave.

So, yes, deceptively efficient is the Colonial General SS, but it is fair, I believe to call it a mild razor.

It would be interesting to try a one pass ATG shave!

Was it a Damn Comfortable Shave?

My standards for DCS are very high. The shave must be comfortable during the shave. The shave must be comfortable immediately after the shave. The shave must remain comfortable until the next shave.

It was pretty close, but no cigar. Obviously, I have to wait to assess the comfort between now and Monday morning, but the shave still loses a point because I received a tiny nick on my chin.

Very tiny nick, gone by the end of the shave. Required no alum. Still, a nick.

My brush was the Stirling Fan badger. The soap was Stone Cottage. I was comparing it with Wickham 1912 soap. The 1912 lather is, I think, better, but I want to compare again before making a firm conclusion.

This was a 100% Ice Water Shave!

Witch hazel. Osage rub. Geo F Thumper's Lime Skin Food.

Bottom line: Pretty close.

Happy shaves to you,

Jim

 

[Cal]

It was pretty close, but no cigar. Obviously, I have to wait to assess the comfort between now and Monday morning, but the shave still loses a point because I received a tiny nick on my chin.

I'm thinking it's a bit rich to deduct points from the equipment which are clearly due to operator error.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I'm thinking it's a bit rich to deduct points from the equipment which are clearly due to operator error.

Probably so.

However, Damn Comfortable Shave standards are not just about the hardware, or even the hardware/software combination. DCS standards are about the totality - hardware/software/user - as judged by the outcome of the shave.

In the same way, a BBS is a BBS, or isn't a BBS. If the shaver could have done four passes and gotten a BBS, but did only three passes, it doesn't make the shave BBS because of what might have been.

My shave report was not in any way meant to cast aspersions on the razor or the blade, but I got a nick.

Aside from the nick, I am noticing a little bit of lower neck burn. So, again, not quite a Damn Comfortable Shave.

And, again, not blaming the blade, or the razor, or the software, or the shaver.

Yes, a little nick is not certainly the razor's fault, but how could we possibly assign blame with certainty. It could just as well be because of the soap.

The standards are very high for Damn Comfortable Shave.

 

[Cal]

^ Now I'm confused. I think I need to lie down.

 

[Esox]

If you feel like it sometime it would be useful to post some pictures of your British Gillette Flare Tip Rocket.

How are they distinguished from the Gillette Flare Tip Rockets with English patents? They are TTO, right? What makes the razor stand out? Not its quality, but what makes it stand out from other Super Speeds and Flare Tips visually in pictures.

If I'm going to find one I have to know more about it. The really good deals on ebay are often found when the seller doesn't know exactly what they have.

Besides, I already bought a razor which the seller said was a Fatboy, but it turned out to be a Slim. I don't think the seller was being deceitful, but just didn't know the difference. Yes, I got my money back (and, so far, still have the Slim, and will until the seller sends me a shipping label; ebay says they probably won't send a shipping label because shipping to their European location costs $9).

Maybe doing a British Flare Tip Rocket tutorial will inspire you to give the razor a spin. Then, I'll ask for a NEW SC tutorial, and, after that, a post-War Tech tutorial.

We'll have you back shaving with carts in no time.

Happy shaves,

Jim

See my thread here: British vs USA Made Razors (PIC HEAVY)

Also:

Easier to tell them apart in your hand, but there are very slight differences outside of the Made in England stamp. British razors seem to me to be slightly more aggressive than the US counterparts.

 

[Esox]

Now I'm confused. I think I need to lie down.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Looking for information on cleaning Secondhand brushes - I acquired two in the auction - I came across a report on drying brushes. If you read the report (dept. of understatement), read the author's other post in the thread about how he actually uses his own brushes.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Looking for information on cleaning Secondhand brushes - I acquired two in the auction - I came across a report on drying brushes. If you read the report (dept. of understatement), read the author's other post in the thread about how he actually uses his own brushes.

Here's a good summary of methods. To it, I would add that the brush needs to be dried for at least several days after cleaning. A week is not too long.

One person advises using an antibacterial soap for cleaning a 2nd hand brush. I generally do not like these soaps but this might be a good use of them.

 

[Johnnynroy]

Unfortunately I don’t have much good information for you. I probably didn’t do as much with mine as I should have, although those brushes sit unused now. I just used dawn dish soap, then lathered with them a couple times in a bowl, rinsing between lathers. Now that I have barbicide, I’d consider a soak in that once I investigated to make sure that wouldn’t ruin the hairs. Since brushes aren’t used in barbershops any longer, my guess is that frequent barbicide soaks are bad for brushes. Maybe rubbing alcohol would do ok for them? Again, more research is probably needed.


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[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I hadn't thought of Barbicide. Having used that stuff on a razor I was reminded of a couple of things. One was working on a farm around powerful chemicals. The other was working in a university research lab around powerful chemicals. Except the Barbicide smelled more toxic.

I will look into it though.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Barbicide for cleaning brushes - B&B thread.

I found and linked a British barber academy advising Barbicide use with brushes.

May be overkill, but some bugs are of potential concern on second hand brushes. I am not concerned about my own bugs, just someone else's.

You have an opinion on that?

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

From a number of posts and stuff on the 'net, the brushes do not suffer harm from a brief, like five minute, soak, followed by loads of rinsing, and washing with soap and water, and more, much more rinsing, and days of drying.

The stuff smells bad, and lingers. I did one razor with it, my NEW SC, before shaving with the vintage razor bought from an ebay vendor. Better safe than sorry.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

See my thread here: British vs USA Made Razors (PIC HEAVY)

Thanks. Very helpful. Not so easy to tell them from other American razors without loads of good pictures.

 

[Esox]

Virtually all Gillettes have the country of origin stamped into the base plates. Outside of that it can be difficult to tell them apart from pictures alone. There are differences, but they're minor in most cases.

 

[Esox]

A pharmacy should have a suitable soap for that type of disinfecting. I'd talk to a Pharmacist if I had concerns.

A quick Google search gave me this: https://www.amazon.com/Hibiclens-Antiseptic-Antimicrobial-Liquid-Fluid/dp/B00EV1D79A?th=1

"Gentle to skin even with frequent use " I cant see it hurting a brush.

In the Q&A section:

Question: Is this clear?

Answer: No it's a cross between hot pink and red. One word of caution - if you let the soap dry on the shower wall(s) or sink and then spray the area with clorox cleanup, streaks of red appear (it looks like blood). That being said this is the BEST product on the market!

Given that bit of information, I'd be sure to rinse thoroughly, and then again just to make sure.

It contains this: Chlorhexidine (Topical Application Route) Description and Brand Names - Mayo Clinic

Apparently thats one of three different chemical compounds added to soaps used by surgeons as part of their prep before performing surgeries.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Some of the people using this, and writing about their use of it on Amazon, are using it in ways that are specifically contraindicated (from reading the healthcare professional information on the company's website).

Also, this is great stuff for skin washing, but it is not Barbicide, and really is more like a very effective antimicrobial soap.

Still, it might be effective for washing second hand brushes. The key word being might.

 

[Esox]

Doctors have hair on their arms. Brushes have hair in the handles. The logic fits! BOSC!!!! lol

I have read the harsh cleaners such as ammonia and alcohol are very hard on brush bristles and hairs. Boar being bristle and badger being hair, but no idea whats in Barbisol, but I did find this: Barbicide Harmful or Not for Brushes?

Don't use it.

A dip in Barbicide will probably stain your knot blue ... and of course, you don't want it to contact the handle at all.

There are other popular ways to clean a brush, such as a mild shampoo (I use J&J Baby Shampoo). You don't want to use hair conditioner at all, since that might change the characteristics of the knot like backbone and bloom. Dishwashing liquid is a common method, but I haven't tried it.

No matter what you do, even using Barbicide, nothing will make your shave kit "sterile," and it doesn't really have to be.
The best you can hope for is "thoroughly cleaned."

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Today I shaved ATG on the first pass, hoping for a one pass shave.

No joy.

However, I got a good enough shave with two passes + some touching up. Not BBS on my neck, but okay DFS.

SS Colonial General + Schick Proline blade
Stirling Black Cherry
Stirling Fan badger
Witch hazel
Osage Rub
Thumper's Skin Food
Special Reserve AS

Cold water entirely.

The Black Cherry lathers very well - better than Stone Cottage, much the same as Wickham 1912 - its smell is overpowering. Is that good or bad? Subjective entirely.

No nicks or blood.

I made a great effort to apply the razor very lightly to my skin. The shave was, so far, comfortable enough. Not 100% comfortable right after the shave, but comfortable enough.

This Colonial General SS razor is fabulous! I love it.

Happy shaves,

Jim