Sounds like an amazing shave! You have it dialed in perfectly. 
Further deranged about shaving, is Desertlifter
- Thread starter Desertlifter
- Start date
The Torrey was far and away my favorite out of the 5 razors in that passbox.
It felt comfortable in my hand, so comfortable that I even tried shaving left-handed with it, and it was comfortable there, too.
With this razor, I could definitely control where the razor was going, unlike some of the previous models which often cut less, but usually more, than I intended it to. I lost part of my goatee early on to the Gold Dollar, but it grew back in a few weeks, although it looked lopsided and uneven in-between.
I'm glad to hear you're having as much fun with this passbox as I did. This was my first straight shave in about 40 years, and I learned a lot about straights by using and comparing the different models.
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- #43
After a VERY long day at work, time for shave 3 from the passbox. As requested, a beefcake pic...
CF Midnight Stag (think I like this stuff much?) and my Blades Grim synth brush. And the blade? (drumroll...) Blue Diamond. Another smaller blade with a spike point, this one is to me more comfy in the hand. Something about the balance just makes me want to juggle it, wide open with a brace of running chainsaws. It is just that well fit to me. The scales are reminiscent of a vulcanite pipe stem. Probably because I have pipes with vulcanite stems.
I thought that the shave would be similar to the first ride I took with the LF&C, but it just wasn't. Both are very quick handling blades that still go where they are told, but the Blue Diamond fits me so much better. I think that it is the curve/angle of the tang.
Anyway, shaving was effortless and nick-free. I easily achieved BBS with two easy passes, and my chin was about as challenging as my cheeks. I think that this would be a fantastic razor to learn with, and certainly fits in an everyday rotation for someone with a modicum of time with straights.
The only thing that the Torrey has over this razor is that the more massive Torrey behaves better for me with rougher spots - where my whiskers are thicker and faster growing. If I was shaving with a couple of day's growth, I would reach for the Torrey every time. If I had shaved within 24 hours, it would be a toss-up. Great razor, this.
So there we have it. For the first three razors I've tried in the box, I would rank them as follows for overall performance:
1. Torrey
2. Blue Diamond
3. Landers Frary & Clark
This ranking has nothing to do with the quality of the shaves that I have gotten from the razors, but with how they fit in my particular hands, those hands being a bit ravaged by 6 years of quality time spent doing Uncle Sam's business.
Until next time....
CF Midnight Stag (think I like this stuff much?) and my Blades Grim synth brush. And the blade? (drumroll...) Blue Diamond. Another smaller blade with a spike point, this one is to me more comfy in the hand. Something about the balance just makes me want to juggle it, wide open with a brace of running chainsaws. It is just that well fit to me. The scales are reminiscent of a vulcanite pipe stem. Probably because I have pipes with vulcanite stems.
I thought that the shave would be similar to the first ride I took with the LF&C, but it just wasn't. Both are very quick handling blades that still go where they are told, but the Blue Diamond fits me so much better. I think that it is the curve/angle of the tang.
Anyway, shaving was effortless and nick-free. I easily achieved BBS with two easy passes, and my chin was about as challenging as my cheeks. I think that this would be a fantastic razor to learn with, and certainly fits in an everyday rotation for someone with a modicum of time with straights.
The only thing that the Torrey has over this razor is that the more massive Torrey behaves better for me with rougher spots - where my whiskers are thicker and faster growing. If I was shaving with a couple of day's growth, I would reach for the Torrey every time. If I had shaved within 24 hours, it would be a toss-up. Great razor, this.
So there we have it. For the first three razors I've tried in the box, I would rank them as follows for overall performance:
1. Torrey
2. Blue Diamond
3. Landers Frary & Clark
This ranking has nothing to do with the quality of the shaves that I have gotten from the razors, but with how they fit in my particular hands, those hands being a bit ravaged by 6 years of quality time spent doing Uncle Sam's business.
Until next time....
- Thread starter
- #44
Nice reading and carefully considered ration 1-3.
This!
- Thread starter
- #45
Nice reading and carefully considered ration 1-3.
This!
- Thread starter
- #46
I tried to post this twice from my iPad, but it is being a right bastard, so had to switch to the computer.
Anyway, I decided to give the Gold Dollar a go on Thursday. I didn't know what to expect, knowing the reputation of these. I also don't know whether this is a modded GD or a stock razor. Either way, here is how it went.
The razor is comfortable in hand and easy to manipulate. It has a more stiff spine, if that makes sense - there is a different feedback from the razor than the more flexible double-hollow and full hollow grinds than I am used to.
That does not reflect poorly on the shave. While the feedback is different with this razor, it feels like it is more controlled. The stiffness and the mass of the razor have it plowing through tough spots rather than skipping over them, and I found the GD to be very easy to control, even in difficult spots. The end result? The shave was quick and very comfortable, and I completed two full passes that gave a mostly BBS shave, with only a couple of spots that were still DFS.
With a shave like that - and the price of entry that these provide - this would be a great travel razor. No major investment lost if it falls into the black hole of lost luggage, easily functional enough to provide comfortable shaves. The razor is NOT the same however. If my previous shaves were with sports cars, this is a full-sized SUV. A bit more staid in handling, but still functional for sure.
Only question that I have is whether this is a stock GD. If it is, I can't wait to see what the modded ones shave like.
Anyway, I decided to give the Gold Dollar a go on Thursday. I didn't know what to expect, knowing the reputation of these. I also don't know whether this is a modded GD or a stock razor. Either way, here is how it went.
The razor is comfortable in hand and easy to manipulate. It has a more stiff spine, if that makes sense - there is a different feedback from the razor than the more flexible double-hollow and full hollow grinds than I am used to.
That does not reflect poorly on the shave. While the feedback is different with this razor, it feels like it is more controlled. The stiffness and the mass of the razor have it plowing through tough spots rather than skipping over them, and I found the GD to be very easy to control, even in difficult spots. The end result? The shave was quick and very comfortable, and I completed two full passes that gave a mostly BBS shave, with only a couple of spots that were still DFS.
With a shave like that - and the price of entry that these provide - this would be a great travel razor. No major investment lost if it falls into the black hole of lost luggage, easily functional enough to provide comfortable shaves. The razor is NOT the same however. If my previous shaves were with sports cars, this is a full-sized SUV. A bit more staid in handling, but still functional for sure.
Only question that I have is whether this is a stock GD. If it is, I can't wait to see what the modded ones shave like.
- Thread starter
- #47
Last but not least, the mystery shave. One of the blades is marked as unknown as to its maker.
The blade is smaller. I measure it a 5/8" compared to the 6/8" Blue Diamond and the 6/8" Torrey. At least to my amateur measure. The logo on the tang reminds me of that of a Stanwell pipe, and it has jimps on the bottom.
I lathered up with CF Summer Storm and went to work.
And didn't care for it. For some reason, this one just doesn't speak to me. Any work on the outer half of the blade feels like it is going to either jump or pivot on my face, which is not a good thing. Of all the razors in the pass, this is the only one that I felt compelled to put down halfway through the shave, something I've not done in a long (for me) time.
Did it do its job well? Yes. Although I did get some burn and a couple of weepers, I got a very close shave. I just couldn't complete the job, and switched to a DE to finish since I use one for my head anyway. I'm sure it is a great razor for many folks, but it just isn't the one for me.
In the end, this is how I rank the offerings that I've tried:
1. Torrey
2. Blue Diamond
3. Gold Dollar (seriously - I want to try a wedge now)
4. Landers Frary & Clark (very close to the Blue Diamond in quality, the GD just beat it with its ease of use and close shave)
5. Unknown
Thanks so much (again) to [MENTION=110007]doc47[/MENTION] and company for putting this on. As a newer SR shaver, I feel that the pass afforded me a lot of teachable moments to carry forward with my burgeoning straight razor obsession.
The blade is smaller. I measure it a 5/8" compared to the 6/8" Blue Diamond and the 6/8" Torrey. At least to my amateur measure. The logo on the tang reminds me of that of a Stanwell pipe, and it has jimps on the bottom.
I lathered up with CF Summer Storm and went to work.
And didn't care for it. For some reason, this one just doesn't speak to me. Any work on the outer half of the blade feels like it is going to either jump or pivot on my face, which is not a good thing. Of all the razors in the pass, this is the only one that I felt compelled to put down halfway through the shave, something I've not done in a long (for me) time.
Did it do its job well? Yes. Although I did get some burn and a couple of weepers, I got a very close shave. I just couldn't complete the job, and switched to a DE to finish since I use one for my head anyway. I'm sure it is a great razor for many folks, but it just isn't the one for me.
In the end, this is how I rank the offerings that I've tried:
1. Torrey
2. Blue Diamond
3. Gold Dollar (seriously - I want to try a wedge now)
4. Landers Frary & Clark (very close to the Blue Diamond in quality, the GD just beat it with its ease of use and close shave)
5. Unknown
Thanks so much (again) to [MENTION=110007]doc47[/MENTION] and company for putting this on. As a newer SR shaver, I feel that the pass afforded me a lot of teachable moments to carry forward with my burgeoning straight razor obsession.
That symbol on the Unknown is called an Aesculap ... it is a medical symbol, much like the Caduceus.
Several other members helped me research it, and you can read more about this razor and the history behind it in my diary.
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...dpm802-s-Diary-of-a-Mad-Wet-Shaver?highlight=
I believe that the Unknown razor was designed to shave someone else, not the user himself ... such as might be required prior to surgery.
Your ranking of the razors is practically identical to my own ... That Torrey really rocks!
Several other members helped me research it, and you can read more about this razor and the history behind it in my diary.
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...dpm802-s-Diary-of-a-Mad-Wet-Shaver?highlight=
I believe that the Unknown razor was designed to shave someone else, not the user himself ... such as might be required prior to surgery.
Your ranking of the razors is practically identical to my own ... That Torrey really rocks!
- Thread starter
- #49
Thanks! I was wondering about the symbol - it is very similar to the crown symbol used by Stanwell, but not quite.
I'm glad you learned from the pass.
- Thread starter
- #51
Well, it has been a while, dear reader. Nevertheless, I have continued my war on facial hair, dutifully hacking away at it with my German steel.
I find myself falling into a comfort zone now, no longer stressed over those spots on my chin. My first pass is almost always DFS, and a second nets me BBS on most of my war zones.
But out there is room for improvement, and in comfort comes complacency, and in complacency comes avulsions. I've avoided such thus far, and at this point I get a better shave with my straights than with my DE razors.
Still want to try a slant, though.
So so what now/where next? I have absolutely found that larger blades are my preference. Although my first razor still gets work and holds a warm spot in my heart, the larger Torrey is much more comfy for me to use. That said, the Wester Bros. really needs a trip to a honemeister, something I will remedy soon.
Until next time, keep your skin stretched and your spine close to the same.
I find myself falling into a comfort zone now, no longer stressed over those spots on my chin. My first pass is almost always DFS, and a second nets me BBS on most of my war zones.
But out there is room for improvement, and in comfort comes complacency, and in complacency comes avulsions. I've avoided such thus far, and at this point I get a better shave with my straights than with my DE razors.
Still want to try a slant, though.
So so what now/where next? I have absolutely found that larger blades are my preference. Although my first razor still gets work and holds a warm spot in my heart, the larger Torrey is much more comfy for me to use. That said, the Wester Bros. really needs a trip to a honemeister, something I will remedy soon.
Until next time, keep your skin stretched and your spine close to the same.
Avulsions... I like that word! Please don't be a stranger!
Please don't be a stranger!- Thread starter
- #53
Nice to hear from you Brian and I'm really glad to hear things are still going so well for you. Just what slant razor were you thinking of?
I'm a bit infatuated with The Holy Black's SR-71, and I really dig vintage stuff, but the Bakelite ones just don't click for me.
The he stuggle is real.
