Excalibur Club - Blade Longevity DE, SE and Injector

[sugardaddy]

90th Shave

Razor: Fatip - Piccolo Black & Gold
Blade: Gillette - Nacet (90)
Lather: RazoRock - What the Puck - Blue
Brush: Declaration Grooming - B5 Badger Rubberset 400
Post: Barrister & Mann - Reserve Cool

General Notes / Exec Summary / TL;DR
Good shave, but a bit disappointed in the lather by What the Puck. But this was my first time with it, so it may get better.

Razor and Blade Notes
Using Open Comb base plate.
Comfortable shave, but not as close as a few days ago.
No irritation of consequence.

Shave Video

 

[Saltchuck]

Shaving is a very personal thing, in truth. I cannot shave with the grain -- or maybe I should say there is no point in doing so, as all it does is put a sharp point on the end of the stubble. Most of my facial hair seems to grow out at a very acute angle and unless I get the ATG angle correct, I don't get a close shave.

So I've been shaving exclusively against the grain since 1974. Might not work well for someone else.
...

It does not work well for me, at least not comfortably so. You wrote, "... there is no point in [shaving with the grain], as all it does is put a sharp point on the end of the stubble." But it also makes the stubble a lot shorter. Just as shaving after 48-hours of growth is less comfortable than shaving after only 24-hours of growth, so, to me at least, shaving ATG as a 1st pass is less comfortable than shaving ATG as a 2nd or 3rd pass. YMMV of course.

Also, I enjoy shaving. Why cut my morning shave short by eliminating the WTG and XTG passes? Even when I was still working, it was worth it to me to get up a 10 minutes earlier in the morning in order to have more time for my daily shave.

I do see how shaving only ATG could help make a blade last longer, but I don't worry about that.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Going straight ATG is less pleasant for me too. There's too much tugging and skin deflection. I can do it, and have done it, but I don't enjoy the experience as much.

 

[Spock88]

That is exactly what I do - press harder - because I can.
I get BBS that way, but still no cuts or burn. This is more true when there's more than 20-30 shaves on a blade, and it doesn't matter which razor (or setting on an adjustable) I use.

Perhaps I am a mutant, and that is my super power.

Haha...perhaps that is one superpower...though I can do the same with my personna red but if i press too hard it can still bite! I think because it's so smooth now after 30+ shaves it is more forgiving of occasional pressure. I've even used it with just water alone to clean up some spots! Maybe not the smartest idea but it doesn't seem to bite me like when the blade was new for sure.

 

[Spock88]

Shave # 35 or 36

Razor: Merkur 23C
Blade: Personna Red
Preshave: Neutrogena Skin clearing shave cream
Lather: Proraso Green
Brush: Boar
Postshave: Pacific Shaving Company Caffeinated aftershave

DE shaving is getting better and better. I had a great shave with just one very small weeper. Due to a bump in the skin already there I think. The more I shave with the blade the more I like it and the more I learn just how important angle is to getting a good shave. Back with cartridges I think you could just brute force a close shave because of the multiple blades but with a single blade you really do have to find the right angle and take your time. Speaking of time, it still takes me about 45 minutes start to finish. That's less when I first started but still feels like a lot of time.

How long does it take you masters of the blade to shave usually?

 

[John Rose]

Speaking of time, it still takes me about 45 minutes start to finish. That's less when I first started but still feels like a lot of time.

How long does it take you masters of the blade to shave usually?

Hardly a "master", but as someone who shaves in the evening, I can take all the time in the world. From the time I step into the bathroom and start considering what stuff to use, including a 5-10 minute prep shower, until cleanup and getting dressed and out, 45 minutes is probably the longest I'd take. More usually, 35 minutes. Twenty minutes if I'm in a rush (which I rarely am).
I generally go for the "full spa experience" and the ritual.

 

[psfred]

Takes me ten or fifteen minutes. Total morning start-up for me is an hour from getting out of bed to backing the car out.

My point about not shaving with the grain is that the hair appears to grow out almost parallel to the skin over most of my face. Shaving with the grain really doesn't do squat for reduction, feels almost exactly the same after two WTG passes as it did to start with. I still have to shave ATG to get rid of the stubble, so there isn't any point in irritating my skin with WTG shaving. I figured that out in 1975.....

 

[Saltchuck]

My point about not shaving with the grain is that the hair appears to grow out almost parallel to the skin over most of my face. Shaving with the grain really doesn't do squat for reduction, feels almost exactly the same after two WTG passes as it did to start with. I still have to shave ATG to get rid of the stubble, so there isn't any point in irritating my skin with WTG shaving. I figured that out in 1975.....

If you've been doing it that way since 1975, I'm guessing that it probably works out pretty well for you.

 

[Spock88]

Shave # 37

Razor: Merkur 23C
Blade: Personna Red
Preshave:
Lather: Arko Shave stick
Brush: Boar
Postshave: Pacific Shaving Company Caffeinated aftershave

I think I might have had my best shave yet! No weepers and my skin feels really good right now. This was my first time trying out Arko. I mashed it into a container and added some JoJoba oil as well as an oil based cologne to change up the smell. Lol...I realize now that I should have let it air out before I attempted to change the smell! Not that the smell bothers me. It's not that bad. Arko is definitely different. Great lather and quite slick..though sometimes it did feel like my face almost felt dry in between reapplication. This was even with my face being wet. Though I can't argue with the results while shaving. The blade is so smooth now! I've even used it with just water for cleanup of a few stray hairs and no cuts at all. Man..at this rate I may never get thru the samples I have of other blades!

As far as the time goes...since I shave in the evening...I don't have to rush..but hopefully I'll be able to get closer to 30 minutes from start to finish in the future. I'm starting to enjoy the ritual of it now as I feel more comfortable with my technique.

 

[anemic]

I probably take 15 minutes from hopping out of the rack to complete the shower & shave process including three passes with three lathering sessions (WTG, XTG, ATG).

I'm pretty quick to brush on a soapy thin lather - before the shower I wet out the brush (which I don't rinse after shaving so it's primed for the next shave), shower, soak the whiskers with a very wet washcloth prior to each lathering. I don't spend any time "building a lather."

Having tried all three directions, my first pass with WTG works best for me & really knocks down the bulk of it to the SAS level. In fact, I think I walked around pretty much with that level of social acceptable shave for many years during the cartridge days. Followups XTG then ATG provide me with a top quality finish.

Today was GSB (38) and this blade has finally delivered many nickless shaves after dozens of nicks of various levels of injury which was frustrating. It now leaves me at DFS overall with some areas of BBS, which for me is satisfying. I'm afraid that any day the blade will crap out on me and start pulling or feeling nasty but I'm hopeful this blade will continue like this!

 

[psfred]

I do love a blade with the excessive initial sharpness gone - so nice to shave without weepers or irritation!

 

[Spock88]

I do love a blade with the excessive initial sharpness gone - so nice to shave without weepers or irritation!

Completely Agree with you on that one!

 

[John Rose]

Last night:
British Flare Tip Rocket / GSB (88)
And to commemorate that...

90th Shave

Razor: Fatip - Piccolo Black & Gold
Blade: Gillette - Nacet (90)

That's getting up there.

 

[Spock88]

Shave # 38

Razor: Merkur 23C
Blade: Personna Red
Preshave:
Lather: Arko Shave stick
Brush: Boar
Postshave: Pacific Shaving Company Caffeinated aftershave

I was a bit rushed on this shave so didn't get the full BBS but came pretty close. No weepers which is always a good thing! Really enjoying the Merkur 23C. Arko still feels a bit drying when I have it on. I may add a bit of pre-shave underneath to see if I can take out the drying feeling. I wonder if I need to change out my shave bowl though. I'm currently using a plastic one and I'm not sure I'm getting as much lather as I should be. Seemed like I was getting more lather in a ceramic bowl. Any of you gents ever seen a difference between plastic and ceramic when it comes to lathering?

 

[Cal]

Any of you gents ever seen a difference between plastic and ceramic when it comes to lathering?

Nope.

But... why not try face lathering?

 

[sugardaddy]

Last night was #99. Tonight will be 100 on the Nacet.!

Sent from my phone using Tapatalk

 

[psfred]

Lol, I gave up on a Nacet at 43. Didn't suit me at all, but that's how razor blades go. Congratulations!

 

[davidsilva]

Fred - that’s not giving up, that’s putting it to bed after stalwart service! That’s really up there!

 

[Spock88]

Shave # 39

Razor: Merkur 23C
Blade: Personna Red
Preshave: Neutrogena Skin clearing Shave cream
Lather: Arko Shave stick
Brush: Boar
Postshave: Pacific Shaving Company Caffeinated aftershave

Good shave. I just just one small point where It was almost a bleeder but not quite. I figured out what as causing my lower amount of lather with the Arko. Thanks to a few suggestions from another forum I realized that I wasn't using enough water!

Once I loaded the brush a bit more and added even more water than usual I had a huge amount of lather! It started to The blade is still super smooth though I'm starting to wonder if I'm approaching the end with it as it feels like it's not removing the hair quite as easily as before. I'll go a few more shaves though before I toss it as that happened before but after continuing the shaves got better. Loving the Merkur 23C still!

 

[John Rose]

Razor: Black-handle SuperSpeed
Blade: GSB (92)
Soap: TOBS Mr. Taylor's
Brush: Simpson Wee Scot
Post: alum block, cold water rinse, Chatillon Lux Pure Lavender

The blade is starting to show its age, but I'm pretty sure it will make it to 100.
Strangely enough, #92 was where the Astra SP started going downhill.

Last night was #99. Tonight will be 100 on the Nacet.!

Got the Champagne on ice?