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GC.68OC, GOLD GRANDE, YAQI CHROME MELLON - A JOURNEY

DE DOGMA Trips on Gold
July will complete my first year DE shaving. The last eleven months and eleven razors have gone by in a blur. I sold eight of those razors on BST this week. Four still on sale. They were all good razors and moving from one to the next always improved something. EffIciency, smoothness, and the most important comfort. I was careful and lucky to choose the razors that helped define my shave and suit my style. It was never difficult moving from one to the other each razor helped me improve my shave, technique and comfort. The first fork in the road was the GC.068OC. First shave with it I new I could never go back to solid bar. Very easy to sell a razor you won’t use. The Yaqi Mellon and GC.68OC are both fine razors but cannot shave as well as the Grande for me, so they are gone to. The Grande and a long straight open road. My, my another fork In the road jumps up again. Eleven moths ago me a Harry’s cartridge and an old silvertip went down a rabbit hole and found Disneyland. We studied DE Dogma three pass whisker reduction and learned a bunch of acronyms wtg, xtg, atg. Then more confusion more acronyms TTO, three piece, two piece, sb, OC, and on and on. Cart shavers don’t need to know any of that stuff. Most cart shavers know one acronym BBS and if this cart shaver was getting it I wouldn’t have went down the hole. A couple of shaves with the Grande and it consistently completes Glass Smooth BBS. I’ve arrived I’m here it’s done. That is exactly what I thought. Once again I will try to describe a razor I am just beginning to understand. Picking up the Grande once cradled in my hand it might just as well be a tattoo because I do not feel it. Shaving my face and looking at the razor in the mirror. I see the razor moving but I cannot feel it in my hand or on my face. First pass I feel a slight drag resistance through the whiskers after that nothing. The previous eleven razors I had more shaves with and they just are not capable of the performance the Grande delivers. Every time I use the Grande it makes me smile. The other razors did not. Oh ya the next fork in the road. My last shave was not a pre planned (first in my life) two pass ATG shave. If your were lucky maybe one time some one threw you the keys to a fine automobile and instructed you to see what she’ll do. That is the exact feeling I have every shave with the Grande. That is how and why the two pass ATG shave happened. It just happened. Now a day later and I have a growth I would have on the second day of a glass smooth BBS. Six passes to four passes provide a significant skin comfort improvement from shave end till now. My first ATG stroke going up my cheek. My thought was it ain’t no big deal a tad more first pass drag. All sensitive neck areas are well above typical comfort. The three pass glass smooth BBS shave although very close is not as comfortable as a two pass ATG shave. New fork. I’m a two pass ATG shaver.
 
Its a pretty easy shave for me given my beard map is very easy to follow directly ATG.

beard-grain-map-1.jpg
Thanks Mike Exactly the same map for me, sans the swirls. I have the two swirls on the back of my head.

If you enjoy that type of shave, the thicker SE blades may give you an advantage. Using my MMOC, even at 100 hours growth directly ATG first pass, my strokes are twice as long and quicker. It also shaves me closer with a BBS finish that lasts from a high of almost 19 hours to a low of 14 hours.
I‘m just beginning to understand the Grande and it is a thrill for me to use it. I’m interested in other razors but unless it’s a Fatip I don’t get too excited.

A rigid blade is what makes shaving like that, easily and comfortably, possible. Using my R41, even with a fresh Feather blade, I couldnt shave directly ATG until my third pass and even then, only cautiously. The main difference between those two razors is the amount of blade support given to the blade by the baseplate.
Only the Grande is in the den now. I traded my GC.68OC base plate for a Piccolo Special Edition. My understanding is it has the Gentile head. Does it have the same blade rigidity as the Grande? I plan on trying a shave with a Feather. Mike do you think the Feather would increase efficiency?
 
I started shaving directly ATG first pass with my Grande on shave #7 and continued shaving like that for over a year refining my technique and testing blades. Polsilver and Gillette Yellow work the best for me.

Its a pretty easy shave for me given my beard map is very easy to follow directly ATG.

View attachment 1112385

The only areas I need to shave in more than one direction are my two swirl growth patterns and even those are quick and easy.

I've done that shave with a single Polsilver blade through 20 shaves, only needing an extra light clean up from blade wear after shave 12 or so.

I've also done that shave at 78 hours growth without issue. My Grande consistently, no matter the direction I start a shave in, gives me a 12 hour BBS finish.

If you enjoy that type of shave, the thicker SE blades may give you an advantage. Using my MMOC, even at 100 hours growth directly ATG first pass, my strokes are twice as long and quicker. It also shaves me closer with a BBS finish that lasts from a high of almost 19 hours to a low of 14 hours.



A rigid blade is what makes shaving like that, easily and comfortably, possible. Using my R41, even with a fresh Feather blade, I couldnt shave directly ATG until my third pass and even then, only cautiously. The main difference between those two razors is the amount of blade support given to the blade by the baseplate.

I can use any of my razors like that, from my Gillette post war Tech, NEW SC and Old Types and even my Slim. Smoothness of the blade remains a constant only the efficiency and comfort of the shave differs. The more blade exposure, the higher the efficiency and the less gap the more comfortable and easier the shave is.

Mike Thank You so much for your support and guidance

There arent many of us that shave like that, but there are a few.
ATG/XTG all across my face with some light buffing along my jawline ATG/XTG.
Can ATG/XTG be smoother or more comfortable than ATG/ATG?

Lather again and buffed over my entire face. Buffing with this razor really is nice and easy. Partly to the teeth aiding in dragging the lather back and I believe the smooth slick plating. The cap and teeth are so smooth that its really like oiled glass. This razor does not drag over my skin, it skims like an air hockey puck.
AMEN OH YEAH! Not a big a big hockey fan, but in baseball terms definitely GRANDE SLAM!

Wipe and check when finished, BBS everywhere but my jawline and the base of my neck.
ditto

To get a BBS everywhere shave I actually needed two more buffing passes, but I was shaving stubble so short I couldnt feel it with my fingers through the lather and only on checking with a wet hand, but the blade was telling me it was cutting. I stopped when the blade could find nothing else too cut, anywhere.
ditto: Your explanation is exactly how I’ve always blind shaved the back of my head. blade and finger feel.

As usual for me with Feather blades, they're a bit harsh
I’ve found Feathers harsh every time I’ve tried them. The Voskhod is the magic blade in the Grande for me.
A Piccolo Special Edition is coming. Do you think a Feather could be better than my Voskhod in a mild razor.

These blades are sharp, but arent all razor blades. I've never found them to be the ultimate in sharpness and certainly not smoothness. Speaking only for myself, there are sharper and smoother blades. Gillette Yellow leaps to my mind and I'm honestly thinking Derby Extra is right up there! I'll need to try a shave starting ATG with one so I can say with any certainty.
Is ATG more effective than XTG first pass? What is your favourite blade in the Grande at this time?
Always Splendid to have navigation on a trip. Thank You Mike
 
If you enjoy that type of shave, the thicker SE blades may give you an advantage. Using my MMOC, even at 100 hours growth directly ATG first pass, my strokes are twice as long and quicker. It also shaves me closer with a BBS finish that lasts from a high of almost 19 hours to a low of 14 hours.
Thank You Mike. My devotion to the Gold Grande is way too strong. I recently traded CG.68OC baseplate for a Piccolo. Fatip is the only razor permitted in the den at this time. Most importantly My Grande‘s last shave clearly spoke to me “ You are half way up the Bell Curve enjoy the rest of the ride to the top” I never argue with the Grande. It is the only razor out of the dozen I’ve used that gave me a bite behind the ear.
 

Esox

I didnt know
Staff member
I‘m just beginning to understand the Grande and it is a thrill for me to use it. I’m interested in other razors but unless it’s a Fatip I don’t get too excited.

I keep hoping for a Fatip AC razor. Fatip however, isnt reading my mind. Or maybe they are and just taking the slow road again haha.


My understanding is it has the Gentile head. Does it have the same blade rigidity as the Grande? I plan on trying a shave with a Feather. Mike do you think the Feather would increase efficiency?

I think both bases are equally supportive and support the blade in the very same way.

I believe Feather blades, especially on their first shave, do give a more efficient shave. They really are sharp but I think because they are so sharp and the edge is so fine, the sharpness drops off drastically after the first shave for me. I use them for two shaves, but the first is always the best, by a pretty large margin too.

My best DE shaves come with my Grande, a fresh Feather blade and Wickham 1912 soaps. That combination rivals my MMOC in smoothness and comfort.


Exactly Mike but that instinct or thought never occurred to me with any other razor.

The Grande OC makes it easy. very easy really, once your technique is dialed in for that type of shave.


It is the only razor out of the dozen I’ve used that gave me a bite behind the ear.

Fatips OC's dont tolerate any weaknesses in technique. That however, makes them very good teachers of proper technique. I'm apparently a slow learner haha. I bled my first 7 shaves in the same place, the right side of my mouth. As soon as I understood why, I changed my direction of shave slightly and bled no more.

I was shaving straight into the right side of my mouth and no matter how little pressure you might use, there will always be a wave of skin that travels in front of the blade. By shaving straight into the side of my mouth I didnt give that wave of skin a place to travel into, my skin would bunch up and I'd get a weeper. A very slight change of direction gave that wave room to travel. No more weeper.

The other thing I've learned is that no matter how little pressure you apply to your skin, there will be a 'wave' of skin ahead of the blade. It may be very small and quite likely is judging from the size of weepers that are occurring, but they can happen because that 'wave' has no distance to propagate into. The more pressure used, the taller that wave ahead of the blade becomes and the larger, and deeper, that weeper could be.

Think about the below pic and how waves propagate. The razor starting to move top left instigating that movement. The blue and/or red waves would be your skin surface ahead of the razor from the pressure applied. When those waves can no longer travel, they bunch up, you shave into and over them and plane off the tops creating a weeper.

400px-Seismic_wave_prop_mine.gif


This is why I was always getting a weeper right side of my mouth. The same spot every time. I'd be stroking from my ear towards the corner of my mouth. A wave of skin ahead of the razor and blade, and when I'd get to the corner of my mouth, that wave had no where to go, bunched up and I'd plane the top of that wave off just a tiny bit and get a weeper.

To overcome that I stretch my skin tighter and shave in a slightly different direction. Either slightly up or slightly down when I get to the same spot, but never straight into the corner of my mouth anymore. That wave needs a direction to travel in, so I gave it one. No more weeper there.

I can get weepers over my swirls as well with too steep an angle using my Grande. The stubble there can be difficult to cut and its quite dense. The Grande has generous blade exposure and when using a steep angle over those two areas I can actually feel the blade edge flexing against the resistance. The solution to that for me was a shallower angle so the blade edge would meet that resistance more squarely forcing the blade into the stubble instead of imparting flex to the edge. In essence, using a shallower angle to make the blade edge more rigid.

Shaving shallow over those two areas now with the same blade that would give me a weeper with a steep angle, wipes that stubble off like it was never there with a shallower angle.

Hydrodynamics and wave propagation in relation to shaving, who'd a thunk it! lol
 
My best DE shaves come with my Grande, a fresh Feather blade and Wickham 1912 soaps. That combination rivals my MMOC in smoothness and comfort.
I’m waiting on a Wickham 1912 sample.

Can ATG/XTG be smoother or more comfortable than ATG/ATG? or more efficient.
 
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Esox

I didnt know
Staff member
Can ATG/XTG be smoother or more comfortable than ATG/ATG? or more efficient.

That would depend on you I think. Personally, directly ATG is more comfortable than XTG/ATG and certainly gives me a closer shave more quickly.
 
That would depend on you I think. Personally, directly ATG is more comfortable than XTG/ATG and certainly gives me a closer shave more quickly.
Thanks Mike Looks like I got lucky first time. I will continue to improve and refine my ATG/ATG technique. I would like to think I know what happens next. The Grande is full of surprises. I shine it up extra after every use.
 

Esox

I didnt know
Staff member
If I shave XTG sometimes I can have a very tuggy and painful shave in some areas, mainly my swirls. My stubble is tough and hard to cut and if I shave more directly XTG I think the hairs can roll as they're being cut. Keeping to directly WTG and ATG eliminates that but its not easy to do over my swirls. I cant shave in a circle haha.
 
If I shave XTG sometimes I can have a very tuggy and painful shave in some areas, mainly my swirls. My stubble is tough and hard to cut and if I shave more directly XTG I think the hairs can roll as they're being cut. Keeping to directly WTG and ATG eliminates that but its not easy to do over my swirls. I cant shave in a circle haha.
Have you used G slides and j hooks with the Grande?
 
I was doing them with my Grande before I knew what they were called lol. I still do both without even thinking about it.
I used them for years also in cart shaving and didn’t know there was a name for the moves. Will be using them again directly.
 

Esox

I didnt know
Staff member
I used them for years also in cart shaving and didn’t know there was a name for the moves. Will be using them again directly.

Almost every stroke I make when shaving N>S and S>N is a Gillette Slide stroke. The only place I really J Hook, is right to left and left to right over my swirls and S>N ATG on my jawline to cheeks. I do it all the time and never really notice I am doing it just because its what gives me the closest shave most comfortably.
 
Monday June 15
Ten minute hot shower
SHAVE #13
Gold Grande
Voskhod (1)
Shaving-Brush-Knot Oumo 28/75 from knot bottom Finest Two Band Chubby Fan - Oumo Acrylic Handle First use
RazoRock Pre - Shave Soap - Charcoal Lime
Tabac
Osma Alum Block
Hyaluranoic Acid
Thayers Aloe Vera Lavender Witch Hazel
Lucky Tiger After Shave & Face Tonic
Pinaud Lilac Vegetal

The Grande offers a one pass ATG DFS. What is not too like? I may as well get it out of the way. Grande is an amazing razor because other razors can’t do what it does. Three pass will give you a BBS glass smooth shave. Two pass will give you a solid BBS (which I know I could improve with more practice) One pass ATG will give you A Damn Fine Shave. Another Grande first for me but I’m pretty much starting to just accept it. I have been a BBS dude all my life regardless of what I used to shave with. I would just go after a BBS. Most often at the expense of skin comfort. The exceptional, fantastic, Grande just gave my skin the best shave it has ever had for Pure Comfort. I’m going to make a bold statement. I’m a ONE PASS ATG DFS Dude. Two weeks away from one year DE shaving, have I arrived, am I there yes, and yes. To nights growth four days as if that would make any difference, the Grande effortlessly glides through. The whole shave was steep. A little buff here and there along the way. Face and head DFS one pass. I do not have a memory of a more comfortable shave. Alum block zero face and head, the Vegetal zero face and head. Going from three face and head passes down to one face and head pass. It’s like going through a barrier or something. The shave was so quick and smooth. I am so calm and relaxed about this shave and all shaves to follow.

While I was applying the pre shave I’m looking at the brush. It’s a 28mm but it looks like a thirty-two. when I had hand lathered it I didn’t think there was much of a fan. I was feeling a little dubious and hoping it wasn’t going to be a mistake. Tabac is a fabulous soap. Great lather, glide, cushion. Nice slick coat under the lather. I’m so happy I’m going to use it for the next two shaves. I never considered I was going to do two passes face and head. It looked like I had loaded four to six passes of lather in that brush. This is a coarser hair in the nicest softest kind of way. It is not as soft as either of my silvertips. While I was hand lathering this brush it also got plenty of towel workouts to wear the scritch out of it. There is no scritch in this brush. I hate scritch. I have sensitive skin and find it irritating. None of my brushes have scritch. The lather painted on a little pasty, beautiful. The brush fans across my chin to collar bone, and this is the only brush I have that will do that. The lather can be painted on thick. A few drops of water on the tips. Instant lather factory. The brush soap become one. It has a little cloud of lather around the tips. This brush is so crazy comfortable. It feels like a heavily feathered soft cloud moving across my skin. Lays out the lather thick thin no problem. It has a harder softness to the hair but short of coarse. A very nice comfortable scrubber. It does not have to be splayed nor does it want to. If you splay it too much while scrubbing, it goes a little limp but re-takes shape when you back off. The brush worked better than I thought it would. Since I had set the knot it doesn’t get any better for me. I’m very excited and happy with this fine two band. I’ll do photos and brush measurements next shave. Probably in three days.
 
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Almost every stroke I make when shaving N>S and S>N is a Gillette Slide stroke. The only place I really J Hook, is right to left and left to right over my swirls and S>N ATG on my jawline to cheeks. I do it all the time and never really notice I am doing it just because its what gives me the closest shave most comfortably.
Mike on a different note if I may. Have you done any measurements of the Grande for blade exposure and gap? I would also like to find the numbers for the Special Edition Piccolo.
 
Friday June 19
Ten minute hot shower
SHAVE #14
Gold Grande
Voskhod (3)
Shaving-Brush-Knot Oumo 28/75 from knot bottom Finest Two Band Chubby Fan - Oumo Acrylic Handle Second use
RazoRock Pre - Shave Soap - Charcoal Lime
Tabac
Osma Alum Block
Thayers Witch Hazel with Aloe Vera
Hyaluranoic Acid
Nivea Men Balm Cool Kick
Lucky Tiger After Shave & Face Tonic
Pinaud Lilac Vegetal

I had shaved twice each with the three razors before starting this Journal. Rotating the three razors I got to shave number nine. It was blatantly obvious two razors could not keep up. They could not shave as comfortably, efficiently or as smoothly as the Grande. The two open combs left honourably. Shave ten and eleven for me were at shave and comfort levels I’d never experienced. Shave twelve my first Two Pass ATG BBS. Shave thirteen my first One Pass ATG I called a DFS but this is day four it was a DFS+ licking the BBS line. So here we are from a Three Pass Glass Smooth BBS to a Two Pass ATG BBS to a One Pass ATG DFS+ to a One Pass ATG BBS in three shaves. What does that feel like? It feels like my present technique is struggling to keep up to the performance of this razor. Yes I am extremely comfortable and relaxed using the Grande. My technique and my shaves continually improve. My technique and practice can not access performance I can feel is there. Practice continues. The achieved BBS came with a little more buffing. A little re-lather strip under the left chin and behind the right ear. The face shave is predominately steep angle but I am slipping in shallow strokes over circular and tougher growths. Moustache continues to be WTG/xtg/ATG. The head shave is predominantly shallow strokes especially on the hard surfaces. A little extra buff here and there, very nice head shave. The Osma Alum was a touch warm but not a sting. Right lower neck. Balance of skin alum smooth and cool.

Todays shave I looked forward to second use of the Two Band Chubby Fan. The 28mm knot measures 33mm dry at the lip of the handle. The free loft or usable loft from glue bump measured 53mm. Two SHD badgers have me solidly in that camp. I’ve ordered a third SHD Silvertip knot. Should get it by September. Loading the Two Band I remembered, only load for two passes, one face one head. A few seconds later I painted a nice dense thick lather on. Dip a few tips into the water. I new what to expect this time. A second little dip. The brush forms a big band of lather around the tips. It looks like a Lather Hovercraft. So soft, comfortable, well into a luxurious lathering experience. This brush only performs with tips no mashing allowed, which I learned from first use. For it’s large size it moves around accurately with purpose. Increasing comfort as it moves. I had to check myself and just say, you’ve lathered enough let’s shave. This is the most balanced brush out of the rotation so far. I had set this knot to allow wet swelling to only be snug at the handle lip rather than tight, which is the norm. All hair movement reverberates back to the glue bump and not the handle lip. The large knot sits in a donut of lather. You feel the lather more than the handle. To date this is the most comfortable brush I’ve used. Extremely comfortable head lathering. Yea I love this brush. Rotating out after third use. I also realized now that I could have used the Silvertip Chubby differently and I will next time. The two SHD brushes I have are strictly tip performers, maybe because they are both Chubbies. They do not like to, or perform well if splayed, even a little.

I had binned the Voskhods after a blade flip and the Second three pass face & head (6 total passes)
I will now get three One pass face & head shaves out of the double flipped Voskhod. (6 total passes) Looks like I’m going to save on blades. Why don’t I try for more shaves on the Voskhod? Seventh pass on a Voskhod starts to loose the smoothness a touch. This is a very uncomfortable feeling shaving the back of your head blind. All parts of my shave. The Pre, the shave, & the Post continue to improve in comfort.

On my blade count. One face & One head single pass shave I count as two shaves on the blade. With single pass shaves my blade count will show (1) (3) (5) bin. After every third shave. Rotate brush and soap. Four days right now seems to be when my skin whiskers are the most comfortable for a shave. Nothing is written in stone Rocking The Gold Grande.
 

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Esox

I didnt know
Staff member
Mike on a different note if I may. Have you done any measurements of the Grande for blade exposure and gap? I would also like to find the numbers for the Special Edition Piccolo.

I have not but as far as blade exposure goes, it mostly depends on the width of the cap and that width seems to vary a bit from cap to cap. The wider the cap, the less blade exposure.

The calipers just arrived.

Now I know. My Grande cap is 19.44mm wide

As far as blade gap goes, its minimal but I havent tried measuring it and I'm not completely sure I could with calipers but I may give it a try.

Blade gap marked in green.

Gillette NEW SC. .023" blade gap.

NEWSC_Gap-Exposure.JPG


For comparison, my Grande.

FatipGrande_Gap-.Exposure.JPG


The only razor I've seen with less blade gap are the Gillette Old Types which have none. Well maybe half a blade width, so ~.002" given a blade .004" thick, but thats not really "blade gap". Thats more like edge gap haha.

Canadian.jpg


The Fatip Piccolo uses the same head as the Grande, only the handles differ. All OC Fatip heads are the 'same' but as refinement of the heads continues, the caps have become wider, reducing blade exposure and increasing rigidity of the blade while at the same time making them more user friendly.

My Grande will be three years old this September and has a cap 19.44mm wide. My nephews Piccolo SE, new last year, has a cap 19.64mm wide.

5f834b51d9f6a7e01b417309829b4747a2c47095.jpg


The Fatip Mk.1's have a cap around 18mm wide. Fatip has slowly progressed, and apparently continues to progress, to slightly wider caps.
 
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