Hello everyone,
I finally got around to doing my first shave with the new Edwin Jagger 3one6 this weekend and I thought I would write a post to let you all know how it went. I got the all-stainless version with the knurled handle. Invictus warned me that the razor has a large blade gap, and he was right (thank you, sir). I looked at the rest of the razors in my collection and the only one that seemed to have a comparable blade gap was the Vikings Blade Emperor on the highest setting. I stuck with my usual system, which I will lay out below. This has given me consistently good results with the Rockwell 6C, and I wanted to make sure that the only variable that changed was the razor.
Prep: Proraso Red pre-shave cream and a warm damp brush
Razor: EJ 3one6 in this case, but normally a 6C with R4 for the 1st pass and R2 for pass 2 and 3
Blade: Gillette Nacet (new)
Cream: Proraso White
Aftershave: Alum block and Proraso Green post-shave balm
I understand that the “Proraso mix-n-match” is not standard procedure, and maybe it’s all in my head, but using those specific colors for those specific steps has reliably produced great results for me time after time. I did not find this site until after my first year of DE shaving, so the long solo trial-and-error process may have produced some unusual habits.
1st pass: With the grain. I could tell right away that this was a more aggressive razor than I’m used to and it really made me want to slow down and pay attention to what I was doing. The razor really felt like it was engaging the stubble and almost drawing itself in. I’ve noticed the same thing from the VB Emperor on the higher settings. I decided I would give serious consideration to stopping after 2 passes because there’s definitely a good bit of blade here. At the end of the pass the razor had removed quite a bit, more than most of my other razors do, and it occurred to me that this would be a good option for busy mornings when there is only time for 1 pass. No bleeding or irritation yet. Decided to go on to pass 2.
2nd pass: Across the grain. Once again, taking my time and really paying attention to what I’m doing. At the end, a pretty darn decent shave and on any typical day I’d have left it here and been quite satisfied. Still no bleeding or irritation. I really considered stopping here, because if I cut myself anymore it almost always happens on the 3rd pass. So far the shave is going very well and more reduction really isn’t necessary. But in the end I decided to go on to pass 3.
3rd pass: Against the grain. In some areas it felt like the razor wasn’t cutting anything at all. Perhaps there was nothing left to remove. But then the razor started to feel like it was tugging and pulling a little bit in some specific trouble spots on the neck. I have noticed the same phenomenon with all of my other razors as well, and it always happens when going against the grain in these specific spots. But at the end of pass 3, still no nicks, no cuts, no weepers, and no irritation. I’m feeling pretty pleased at this point.
After the shave, just a slight bit of feedback from the alum block on the neck, but in the same spots as the 6C and no worse than the 6C. Results were at least as close as what I get from the 6C, and perhaps a little better, especially on the neck, which surprised me.
Conclusions: Overall, a pleasant surprise, although I can tell that this razor means business. I expect it to find a spot in my rotation, but I’m not sure if I like it better than the 6C yet. I really like the idea of using it for quick and efficient one-pass shaves. It strikes me as something that would excel in that role. I also like that it serves as a good challenge for my technique, because it really required me to slow down and pay attention. Sometimes the 6C on R2 is so forgiving that I worry about developing bad habits. Switching to a more aggressive razor forced me to think about the fundamentals again in a way that the R2 plate doesn’t seem to require. It would be interesting to try it with the Feather blades that it came with, although I’ll probably stick to Nacets for a little while. It’s quite a nice razor and I’m happy to have it. Will it end up outranking the 6C? Time will tell.
Thanks!
I finally got around to doing my first shave with the new Edwin Jagger 3one6 this weekend and I thought I would write a post to let you all know how it went. I got the all-stainless version with the knurled handle. Invictus warned me that the razor has a large blade gap, and he was right (thank you, sir). I looked at the rest of the razors in my collection and the only one that seemed to have a comparable blade gap was the Vikings Blade Emperor on the highest setting. I stuck with my usual system, which I will lay out below. This has given me consistently good results with the Rockwell 6C, and I wanted to make sure that the only variable that changed was the razor.
Prep: Proraso Red pre-shave cream and a warm damp brush
Razor: EJ 3one6 in this case, but normally a 6C with R4 for the 1st pass and R2 for pass 2 and 3
Blade: Gillette Nacet (new)
Cream: Proraso White
Aftershave: Alum block and Proraso Green post-shave balm
I understand that the “Proraso mix-n-match” is not standard procedure, and maybe it’s all in my head, but using those specific colors for those specific steps has reliably produced great results for me time after time. I did not find this site until after my first year of DE shaving, so the long solo trial-and-error process may have produced some unusual habits.
1st pass: With the grain. I could tell right away that this was a more aggressive razor than I’m used to and it really made me want to slow down and pay attention to what I was doing. The razor really felt like it was engaging the stubble and almost drawing itself in. I’ve noticed the same thing from the VB Emperor on the higher settings. I decided I would give serious consideration to stopping after 2 passes because there’s definitely a good bit of blade here. At the end of the pass the razor had removed quite a bit, more than most of my other razors do, and it occurred to me that this would be a good option for busy mornings when there is only time for 1 pass. No bleeding or irritation yet. Decided to go on to pass 2.
2nd pass: Across the grain. Once again, taking my time and really paying attention to what I’m doing. At the end, a pretty darn decent shave and on any typical day I’d have left it here and been quite satisfied. Still no bleeding or irritation. I really considered stopping here, because if I cut myself anymore it almost always happens on the 3rd pass. So far the shave is going very well and more reduction really isn’t necessary. But in the end I decided to go on to pass 3.
3rd pass: Against the grain. In some areas it felt like the razor wasn’t cutting anything at all. Perhaps there was nothing left to remove. But then the razor started to feel like it was tugging and pulling a little bit in some specific trouble spots on the neck. I have noticed the same phenomenon with all of my other razors as well, and it always happens when going against the grain in these specific spots. But at the end of pass 3, still no nicks, no cuts, no weepers, and no irritation. I’m feeling pretty pleased at this point.
After the shave, just a slight bit of feedback from the alum block on the neck, but in the same spots as the 6C and no worse than the 6C. Results were at least as close as what I get from the 6C, and perhaps a little better, especially on the neck, which surprised me.
Conclusions: Overall, a pleasant surprise, although I can tell that this razor means business. I expect it to find a spot in my rotation, but I’m not sure if I like it better than the 6C yet. I really like the idea of using it for quick and efficient one-pass shaves. It strikes me as something that would excel in that role. I also like that it serves as a good challenge for my technique, because it really required me to slow down and pay attention. Sometimes the 6C on R2 is so forgiving that I worry about developing bad habits. Switching to a more aggressive razor forced me to think about the fundamentals again in a way that the R2 plate doesn’t seem to require. It would be interesting to try it with the Feather blades that it came with, although I’ll probably stick to Nacets for a little while. It’s quite a nice razor and I’m happy to have it. Will it end up outranking the 6C? Time will tell.
Thanks!
