I started up a ( new to me ) Lord Asco Super Stainless blade yesterday. This is a blade that I basically ordered to round out my purchase to an even $20 so it was purchased blind and in small numbers. I generally like to do a 'first use' in my Gillette Slim at a setting of 3, so that is how I approached the shave. I did my typical pre-shave routine like I would for a regular shave. Typically I start a new blade out with VDH Luxury, but yesterday I went with Stirling Sharp Dressed Man. Not perfect for keeping things uniform in my first use technique, but the Stirling has always treated me well so I wasn't very worried.
My first shave with it was ... for lack of a better word ... lackluster. The first few strokes on my cheeks were good which is always a nice start. Some blades let me know right there you are in for a bad shave. However, when I moved to my neck I started running into some resistance. The smoothness of the shave was not impressing me, but I got through that pass with no major issues beyond it being mildly uncomfortable. No surprises, and it was certainly not the worst shave I've ever experienced from a comfort standpoint.
Pass 2 ( XTG ) went a little better, but it still at times just didn't feel top-notch. I decided to skip the ATG pass and just finished with an additional WTG pass. A cold water splash and cleanup revealed I certainly didn't get a BBS, but it was a Socially Acceptable Shave and I went with it. A quick application of Skin Bracer didn't reveal any problem areas so that was a plus.
Throughout the day I just kept noticing I didn't get a real close shave. By early last evening I had a decent 5 o'clock shadow. Now, in the Asco's defense, a Slim set to 3 is definitely not a BBS machine for many blades, but even in that context I was less than impressed. I also realize I skipped my ATG pass so some of that lies on my decision there.
Now moving to day 2. I seriously almost just skipped it altogether to take another spin on the Rapira Lux that has been a recent addition to my collection ( a lovely blade to be sure ). However, I felt in fairness I should at least give the Asco another shot. It's not like Shave 1 was painful, or resulted in facial damage. Like a trooper I reached for the Slim, but I went ahead and bumped it up to 5.
And I was rewarded. Shave 2 was perfectly adequate. Far smoother, and I went for my typical 3 pass shave with no mishaps. I kept my cleanup very minimal so I'd classify this as a DFS+ shave, but it's mainly because the typical problem areas I normally run into didn't get the extra buffing I might normally give them. The Skin Bracer didn't show me any hotspots so huzzah.
My take-away is that ( for me ) the Asco falls into that category of blades that seem to need at least one shave to settle down a bit and get fully into the comfort zone. It may be that the PTFE coating on it needs to wear down and expose the blade a little more, and that the lack of smoothness yesterday was actually the blade being covered up a little too much by the coating.
2 shaves in and it is also looking to me that it probably will never be a bonafide favorite of mine in the Slim. Today's shave was good, but even then it wasn't great. The Asco just seems ( for me ) to be average sharpness wise and it just doesn't provide me with a super enjoyable experience. That said, I'm moving it to my SLOC tomorrow to give it a go there and see what it does. It's certainly a good enough blade that I am not afraid of it so it's got that going for it at least.
I'd love to hear anyone else's experience with these blades.
My first shave with it was ... for lack of a better word ... lackluster. The first few strokes on my cheeks were good which is always a nice start. Some blades let me know right there you are in for a bad shave. However, when I moved to my neck I started running into some resistance. The smoothness of the shave was not impressing me, but I got through that pass with no major issues beyond it being mildly uncomfortable. No surprises, and it was certainly not the worst shave I've ever experienced from a comfort standpoint.
Pass 2 ( XTG ) went a little better, but it still at times just didn't feel top-notch. I decided to skip the ATG pass and just finished with an additional WTG pass. A cold water splash and cleanup revealed I certainly didn't get a BBS, but it was a Socially Acceptable Shave and I went with it. A quick application of Skin Bracer didn't reveal any problem areas so that was a plus.
Throughout the day I just kept noticing I didn't get a real close shave. By early last evening I had a decent 5 o'clock shadow. Now, in the Asco's defense, a Slim set to 3 is definitely not a BBS machine for many blades, but even in that context I was less than impressed. I also realize I skipped my ATG pass so some of that lies on my decision there.
Now moving to day 2. I seriously almost just skipped it altogether to take another spin on the Rapira Lux that has been a recent addition to my collection ( a lovely blade to be sure ). However, I felt in fairness I should at least give the Asco another shot. It's not like Shave 1 was painful, or resulted in facial damage. Like a trooper I reached for the Slim, but I went ahead and bumped it up to 5.
And I was rewarded. Shave 2 was perfectly adequate. Far smoother, and I went for my typical 3 pass shave with no mishaps. I kept my cleanup very minimal so I'd classify this as a DFS+ shave, but it's mainly because the typical problem areas I normally run into didn't get the extra buffing I might normally give them. The Skin Bracer didn't show me any hotspots so huzzah.
My take-away is that ( for me ) the Asco falls into that category of blades that seem to need at least one shave to settle down a bit and get fully into the comfort zone. It may be that the PTFE coating on it needs to wear down and expose the blade a little more, and that the lack of smoothness yesterday was actually the blade being covered up a little too much by the coating.
2 shaves in and it is also looking to me that it probably will never be a bonafide favorite of mine in the Slim. Today's shave was good, but even then it wasn't great. The Asco just seems ( for me ) to be average sharpness wise and it just doesn't provide me with a super enjoyable experience. That said, I'm moving it to my SLOC tomorrow to give it a go there and see what it does. It's certainly a good enough blade that I am not afraid of it so it's got that going for it at least.
I'd love to hear anyone else's experience with these blades.
