After a few successful tries at the gym, I decided to put the Proglide head to head with a straight.
Razors
Fusion Proglide brand-new just out of the box (non-vibrating model)
Filarmonica Doble Temple #14 freshly touched-up off an Escher and 60 passes on Leather
Challenge
A two-pass shave using my standard hot water prep, Proraso Pre/Post, T&H 1805, and IT Floid Blue with 444 added in. Each shave would be conducted 24-hours apart to keep conditions as close as possible.
Criteria
The first criteria is closeness to be judged by detecting stubble rubbing fingers both with and against the grain. This test to be conducted on all areas of the face. The second criteria is post-shave irritation to be judged by the bite of the AS as well as any visible redness after applying the AS. The last criteria is the 12-hour check to see how much of the face is still smooth.
Straight
Shave - Standard two pass shave for me is N-S followed by a S-N and then some touch-up. The Fili worked very well and gave its normal smooth shave. Took about 20 minutes.
Criteria 1 - Cheeks, sideburns, mustache and upper neck were all smooth. A small amount of stubble could be felt in the chin area and the lower center of neck as well as just above the collar. All in all, a comfortable DFS with 80% of the face BBS.
Criteria 2 - Not much bite with the AS but there was noticeable redness on the neck only after the AS was applied. All redness disappeared after 10 minutes. No itching, burning, or nicks.
Criteria 3 - Still a comfortable DFS 12-hours later with very little shadow. Some sections of cheek are still smooth. Stubble has a smooth feel ATG with no sandpaper quality. Shirt collar is still comfortable and I am still presentable.
Proglide
Shave - Slight tugging on WTG pass with the resulting stubble. Nothing major, but not as smooth as the Fili. Really needed to spend some time touching-up with the single blade on the back and even after, areas around the nostril and edge of mouth were still not smooth. Took about 10 minutes.
Criteria 1 - Cheeks, mustache, chin, and collar area had noticeable stubble when rubbed ATG. Upper neck was BBS. Overall, DFS with about 40% of the face BBS.
Criteria 2 - No real bite with the AS and only very pale redness which faded within 10 minutes. No itching, burning, or nicks.
Criteria 3 - Still comfortable, but a noticeable shadow and the stubble has a sandpaper feel to it when rubbed ATG. Shirt collar is not comfortable but I am presentable.
Verdict
Criteria 1 - This goes to the Straight. 80% BBS vs. 40% BBS. Even though the collar area had more hair with the straight, the overall results were much better.
Criteria 2 - The proglide was much, much less irritating than the Fili. This would make sense given that the proglide did not do as good of a job removing hair. Proglide is the winner here.
Criteria 3 - The straight shave left less hair 12-hours later and that hair was smoother to the touch which makes it less likely to get caught in shirt collars, scarves, or other clothing. Also it was more comfortable to my wife, so this gives major points. Lastly, there was noticeably less shadow after I used the straight.
Overall, it should be noted that the proglide did an acceptable job on a 2-pass shave. Also, it took only 10 minutes versus the 20 minutes, which included stropping, for the straight. In addition, it did not take me 12 months to learn how to use and maintain the proglide. The straight required a large investment in time and money. I do not consider the straight to be a cheaper option than the proglide. Both tools are definitely costly but the proglide is very simple to use when compared to the straight. Lastly, the irritation was much lower with the proglide. However, any irritation with the straight faded after 10 minutes and I was left with superior results. For me, the winner is clear, the Fili. I have made the investment to learn the straight and the results are all that matter to me at this point. Any downside of using the straight was gone after the 10 minutes and I was left with a clearly superior shave.
Razors
Fusion Proglide brand-new just out of the box (non-vibrating model)
Filarmonica Doble Temple #14 freshly touched-up off an Escher and 60 passes on Leather
Challenge
A two-pass shave using my standard hot water prep, Proraso Pre/Post, T&H 1805, and IT Floid Blue with 444 added in. Each shave would be conducted 24-hours apart to keep conditions as close as possible.
Criteria
The first criteria is closeness to be judged by detecting stubble rubbing fingers both with and against the grain. This test to be conducted on all areas of the face. The second criteria is post-shave irritation to be judged by the bite of the AS as well as any visible redness after applying the AS. The last criteria is the 12-hour check to see how much of the face is still smooth.
Straight
Shave - Standard two pass shave for me is N-S followed by a S-N and then some touch-up. The Fili worked very well and gave its normal smooth shave. Took about 20 minutes.
Criteria 1 - Cheeks, sideburns, mustache and upper neck were all smooth. A small amount of stubble could be felt in the chin area and the lower center of neck as well as just above the collar. All in all, a comfortable DFS with 80% of the face BBS.
Criteria 2 - Not much bite with the AS but there was noticeable redness on the neck only after the AS was applied. All redness disappeared after 10 minutes. No itching, burning, or nicks.
Criteria 3 - Still a comfortable DFS 12-hours later with very little shadow. Some sections of cheek are still smooth. Stubble has a smooth feel ATG with no sandpaper quality. Shirt collar is still comfortable and I am still presentable.
Proglide
Shave - Slight tugging on WTG pass with the resulting stubble. Nothing major, but not as smooth as the Fili. Really needed to spend some time touching-up with the single blade on the back and even after, areas around the nostril and edge of mouth were still not smooth. Took about 10 minutes.
Criteria 1 - Cheeks, mustache, chin, and collar area had noticeable stubble when rubbed ATG. Upper neck was BBS. Overall, DFS with about 40% of the face BBS.
Criteria 2 - No real bite with the AS and only very pale redness which faded within 10 minutes. No itching, burning, or nicks.
Criteria 3 - Still comfortable, but a noticeable shadow and the stubble has a sandpaper feel to it when rubbed ATG. Shirt collar is not comfortable but I am presentable.
Verdict
Criteria 1 - This goes to the Straight. 80% BBS vs. 40% BBS. Even though the collar area had more hair with the straight, the overall results were much better.
Criteria 2 - The proglide was much, much less irritating than the Fili. This would make sense given that the proglide did not do as good of a job removing hair. Proglide is the winner here.
Criteria 3 - The straight shave left less hair 12-hours later and that hair was smoother to the touch which makes it less likely to get caught in shirt collars, scarves, or other clothing. Also it was more comfortable to my wife, so this gives major points. Lastly, there was noticeably less shadow after I used the straight.
Overall, it should be noted that the proglide did an acceptable job on a 2-pass shave. Also, it took only 10 minutes versus the 20 minutes, which included stropping, for the straight. In addition, it did not take me 12 months to learn how to use and maintain the proglide. The straight required a large investment in time and money. I do not consider the straight to be a cheaper option than the proglide. Both tools are definitely costly but the proglide is very simple to use when compared to the straight. Lastly, the irritation was much lower with the proglide. However, any irritation with the straight faded after 10 minutes and I was left with superior results. For me, the winner is clear, the Fili. I have made the investment to learn the straight and the results are all that matter to me at this point. Any downside of using the straight was gone after the 10 minutes and I was left with a clearly superior shave.
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