Hang's Harangues

[Rosseforp]

Are there 46 different types of blade feel? How do you remember the small miniature variations? And with different razors, soaps, brushes, aftershaves, and even general psyche of that shave day, is it even a fair comparison?

I have found that some razors are very forgiving of blade choice, while other razors can be quite picky about blade selection. And some blades that are total duds in all but one razor.
I keep a journal.
While deciding which setup I wanted to use during the FFFMM, I had been going through all of my DE razors using 5 different blades in an effort to find the best razor to test blades with. Then the Executive showed up on my doorstep the day before the Fixed started...

 

[hangblague]

Are there 46 different types of blade feel? How do you remember the small miniature variations? And with different razors, soaps, brushes, aftershaves, and even general psyche of that shave day, is it even a fair comparison?

Not even close to fair. Especially considering that different blades were experienced in different razors. I just enjoy the exploration. I learn what I can about each blade and record my impressions here to jog my memory (post #108).

I have different reasons to react favourably to a blade. Number 1 is not being injured, followed closely by result. But there are extraneous considerations as well. For example, I hope to not settle on a P&G blade. (But I would if ultimately I couldn't match the excellence of a Nacet or Indian WS).

When I'm through with unreliable first impressions, I'll have a number of rejects - blades that were clearly inferior. Rejecting a blade after one shave isn't close to fair, but I only have one lifetime.

It's not so much a question of true ranking as it is about which blades hold my interest. I enjoy my own biases. I try an obscure blade hoping to be pleasantly surprised. I try a vaunted blade curious to see if I'll be similarly impressed. I seek a blade from a company whose history and current management attracts me, wondering if the blade itself will live up to my attraction.

When I finish this first exploration round, I'm likely to revisit most of the blades again, perhaps with a clearer knowledge of what razor set-up I want to stick with. Someday, when I pick my first big sleeve of blades, I'll still have most of these samples to compare on occasion. Even now I'm gaining a benchmark - the Voskhod.

 

[hangblague]

Voskhod Teflon Coated Blade (3)
Brass Karve Razor, SB B Plate
Proraso White Soap
Semogue 2010 Pure Badger Brush
Aqua Velva After Shave

Yet again with this setup I get a trouble-free comfortable and close shave. 3 passes with extended touch up to achieve a solid DFS. Maybe a bit better than usual, and a few spots accidentally BBS. Somehow the shave often seems closer while the face is still wet. I'm finding the fixed 4 month to be long as I can't tell what I'm learning anymore from this combo. 8 more shaves.

 

[JoWolf]

View attachment 1239029
Voskhod Teflon Coated Blade (3)
Brass Karve Razor, SB B Plate
Proraso White Soap
Semogue 2010 Pure Badger Brush
Aqua Velva After Shave

Yet again with this setup I get a trouble-free comfortable and close shave. 3 passes with extended touch up to achieve a solid DFS. Maybe a bit better than usual, and a few spots accidentally BBS. Somehow the shave often seems closer while the face is still wet. I'm finding the fixed 4 month to be long as I can't tell what I'm learning anymore from this combo. 8 more shaves.

Don’t think of it as learning. You’ve done that. Think of it as refinement. Improve the DFS situation to the BBS status. That’s refinement. Nice nails.

 

[hangblague]

Voskhod Teflon Coated Blade (4)
Brass Karve Razor, SB B Plate
Proraso White Soap
Semogue 2010 Pure Badger Brush
Fine Platinum After Shave

A 3 pass (WTG,SG, ATG) shave with no subsequent touch-up. The innovation was to remove the blade after my previous shave and give one palm strop to each side of each edge. I don't know if this helped or hurt (it was definitely a violation of wrapper instructions) but this morning's glide was at least as good as before. Close to a DFS, which isn't bad considering no extra ATG touch-up. Much of the upper lip is BBS as I DID spend some extra effort there. I turned up one weeper in that area which I attribute to haste.

 

[hangblague]

Voskhod Teflon Coated Blade (5)
Brass Karve Razor, SB B Plate
Proraso White Soap
Semogue 2010 Pure Badger Brush
Aqua Velva After Shave

3 pass+ shave, EXCEPT, during my pre-shave shower, my neck spoke to me and said "Watch it." That was all. I didn't hear from him earlier in the day or yesterday, but still I thought I had better listen. So no ATG there. Everywhere else was very good. Smooth & easy. I went faster and with longer strokes today. I think my finish is slightly better than usual. EXCEPT I got a big crop of mustache weepers even though I was cap-running. They closed of their own accord quickly. Maybe this was retribution for me being a scoff-law against the wrapper warning - palm stropping the blade. I may switch to another Voskhod already.

I convinced my dad today to take my Nivea aftershave products off my hand. That's a relief to my mind. I like the glass bottles but I don't like the filmy result. I'm looking forward to finishing off the ancient Aqua Velva bottle. That's another one I'm not likely to replace.

 

[hangblague]

Voskhod Teflon Coated Blade (6)
Brass Karve Razor, SB B Plate
Proraso White Soap
Semogue 2010 Pure Badger Brush
Fine Platinum After Shave

A little less than a DFS today. I did only a very little touch up after the 3rd (ATG) pass, so that is likely why. I don't want to regularly do more touch-up than that. Which means my search for the right set-up will need to resume in April. The blade still glides very smoothly, comfortably and effectively. Because of my surprise upper lip bleeding last time, I left most of that spot alone for the final ATG pass, thinking it might need a bit more healing time. Where I DID do some ATG work there, I got one tiny red dot. The XG pass there went just fine.

 

[hangblague]

Voskhod Teflon Coated Blade (1)
Brass Karve Razor, SB B Plate
Proraso White Soap
Semogue 2010 Pure Badger Brush
Fine Platinum After Shave

Cold water shave. No discernable advantage. Am I disappointed or quietly relieved? I was resistant to this idea before because I enjoyed the warmth and I doubted the extra performance. I decided the time to try it is now, during fixed four. A way to take advantage of possible experiments instead of having a bad, impatient attitude about the month. I wasn't quite willing to shiver in misery though. I turned the thermostat up. Heated up for a few minutes in a hot shower and then at the end let it pour cold on my face and neck for another minute. Cold face, warm body. Is that cheating?

I didn't pre-soak the brush, but wet it in cold water and had no difficulty loading. Lathering felt different but was just as easy as normal. I took my time and got it good. Cold water, cold brush, cold lather was not a huge jolt. But cold brass was a real switch. The glide wasn't there. The whiskers put up some resistance. This didn't surprise me and I was really just waiting to see about final closeness result. The good news is no damage after 3+ passes. Also, it was one of the better shaves of the fixed four shaves - but I'm certain that's due to a fresh new blade and over-extensive touch-up. Still, not discernably closer than the better March shaves. That being the case, I think cold water is likely not for me.

 

[hangblague]

Voskhod Teflon Coated Blade (2)
Brass Karve Razor, SB B Plate
Proraso White Soap
Semogue 2010 Pure Badger Brush
Fine Platinum After Shave

I went overboard this morning. WTG, XG, AGT (hot water this time) and then for touch up I ended up doing a full 2nd AGT pass and then extensive touch-up after that. Over and over - trying to "get there". I got a couple weepers for my pains, as well as a shave as good as any others this month, but not the next level.

 

[JoWolf]

View attachment 1242553
Voskhod Teflon Coated Blade (2)
Brass Karve Razor, SB B Plate
Proraso White Soap
Semogue 2010 Pure Badger Brush
Fine Platinum After Shave

I went overboard this morning. WTG, XG, AGT (hot water this time) and then for touch up I ended up doing a full 2nd AGT pass and then extensive touch-up after that. Over and over - trying to "get there". I got a couple weepers for my pains, as well as a shave as good as any others this month, but not the next level.

I ended up doing a full 2nd AGT pass and then extensive touch-up after that. Over and over - trying to "get there"

I’ve used the Voskhod blade more than any other. It is a fine blade. It is not in the top tier of sharper blades. Feather, Bic Chrome Platinum, and Nacets are all sharper blades. A sharper blade would reduce the strokes you used in this shave. You Must use lighter pressure with a sharper blade. IMHO a sharper blade would reduce strokes and take you to the next level in close and smooth. A lighter touch is required with a sharper blade.

 

[hangblague]

(See what I did there? ... Never mind.)

Voskhod Teflon Coated Blade (3)
Brass Karve Razor, SB B Plate
Proraso White Soap
Semogue 2010 Pure Badger Brush
Aqua Velva After Shave

Another 3 pass+ shave. Tonight's innovation was buffing strokes for the ATG work, keeping the razor down for the backstrokes. It was all very comfortable, and seemed somewhat effective, but the final result was not markedly different. A near-to-fair DFS. No damage at all to report. All the blood stayed under the skin.

 

[sarir97]

View attachment 1243375 (See what I did there? ... Never mind.)

I’m a LOTR fan, ashamed to say I don’t see. How does this relate to 54?

 

[hangblague]

Actress's first name is a Roman Numeral. Corny, I know.

 

[sarir97]

Had to look up who played Arwen. Liv... brilliant.

 

[hangblague]

Voskhod Teflon Coated Blade (4)
Brass Karve Razor, SB B Plate
Proraso White Soap
Semogue 2010 Pure Badger Brush
Fine Platinum After Shave

This morning I had a 3 pass shave without subsequent touch-up, paying careful attention to do it right ATG. The result was nearly as good as a typical shave this month, but not quite as good. Conclusion, touch-up helps when ATG is less than perfect, and it pretty much is always less than perfect. One tiny upper-lip weeper.

One more FFFMM shave and then it is back to exploration. I am thinking that I should discipline myself to changing only one element maximum per shave like a good scientist in order to best assess what is helping and what is not. I may start with the brush. What I notice about this one is that when it is saturated with heavy dense lather, it loses its ability to keep its own shape. So, if I'm painting with it, it will not spring back from flattened oblong into its splayed fan shape.

 

[hangblague]

Voskhod Teflon Coated Blade (5)
Brass Karve Razor, SB B Plate
Proraso White Soap
Semogue 2010 Pure Badger Brush
Aqua Velva After Shave

I seem to have saved the best shave for last. This one is a very solid DFS, maybe a superior DFS, and every bit as comfortable as the rest of the March shaves. 3 passes with additional touch-up and trying to pay close attention to grain direction on ATG touch-up. No damage at all, no surfacing red. "Best" is a very marginal assessment though. All 21 of the FFFMM shaves have been very similar.

My FFFMM conclusions:

Consistency was the goal that some of you preached, and I at least achieved that.

Soap: The Proraso White is an excellent lather and it is easy to get it good, wet, dense and slippery. I just continue to dislike the cooling/numbing effect during the shave, especially on later passes. I didn't make much of a dent in the tub after 21 shaves, and I'm only one shave into the Proraso Green tub. I think it's time they stop taking up space on my vanity surface for a while.

Voskhod: Great blade. One of the best of my trials. Unlike other great blade experiences I've had in my short DE shaving career, I know this not to be a false impression after so many shaves. For now it will be my comparator blade.

Karve, Plate B: I credit this setup (with a superior blade) for consistently smooth shaves. Total comfort. I blame this setup (I suspect moreso the plate rather than the blade) for the inability to take the shave to the next level of closeness. Karve + B Plate seems very like the Tech: harmless, comfortable, and reasonably close, but never quite perfect.

Brush: I don't honestly believe the brush has much to do with the quality of the shave (unless there are difficult lathering challenges from eccentric soaps or unless the bristles are damaging the skin). Am I wrong?

 

[hangblague]

Onward.

To best take advantage of knowledge gained by fixed four, I'm going to try not changing more than one element at a time. First up is the brush.

Back in February I decided I HAD to have a badger brush with the right words. Words like 'silver', 'mountain' & 'bands'. I don't think I have have to explain why I HAD to have one. Believe it or not my wife was not convinced that I should pay $400 for those words.

Then I found on AliExpress a brush with ALL the words for under $40 US. "High Mountain Two Band Badger Knot Silvertip Badger..."

The "store" is ABCRE in China, which has good ratings. The photo says "Ace Shaving".

I'll use it for the first time next shave. I am too inexperienced to give it a critical eye. I do not expect it to be as good a brush as one 10 times its price, but maybe the words aren't lies?

Here are some photos, the last ones contrasting with the floppy Semogue.

 

[sarir97]

Brush: I don't honestly believe the brush has much to do with the quality of the shave (unless there are difficult lathering challenges from eccentric soaps or unless the bristles are damaging the skin). Am I wrong?

Define quality? If it includes how the brush feels and the overall face painting experience (soft, smooth vs scratchy, itchy), I would say it does matter.

 

[hangblague]

Define quality

Fair question. Seems to me that the brush is important to the enjoyment of lathering, maybe the efficiency of lathering, but not to the quality of the shave itself - at least not to the quality of final result.

 

[hangblague]

Ace Shaving Badger (Silvertip, High Mountain, Two band, blah, blah, blah)

Voskhod Teflon Coated Blade (6)
Brass Karve Razor, SB B Plate
Proraso White Soap
Fine Platinum After Shave

Today's report is about the brush. The shave itself was slightly subpar the recent DFS standard, as I did less touch-up and sensed that this blade is a little past its prime.

I'm pleasantly impressed by the brush. I could smell no animal when it was dry and wondered if this label-less mysterious made-in-China brush was just a hoax. But once wet, I could smell the badger strongly. I won't have to singe any hairs to prove it's made of fur. I was amazed at how quickly and easily it loaded. I spent fewer twirls in the tub and wound up with enough soap for 5 passes easily. I was also amazed at how quickly it lathered. My method is to load the brush damp, apply to the face and dip and add water prior to thorough face lathering. I was surprised also at how much water was added with one little dip in the sink water. Lathering went also significantly quicker, even though I had added too much water while misunderstanding the brush. Proraso is easy to deal with though.

The brush had a radically different look after rinsed and shaken dry. Where before it was like a dense tight bulb, now it is splayed out in a wider diameter than the Semogue badger. It is denser and softer and stiffer than the flippity-flop Semogue. It definitely is a step up from that one. Another thing that surprised me was the softness of the tips. While rinsing, I kept thinking there was soap on them that wasn't coming off. Then I realized that it was the soft slipperiness of the fur tips themselves. Today it shed two hairs.

Someday, I'll have to see one of these mega-pricey brushes up close to determine if it is anything like what I got for dirt cheap. For now, I am surprised and delighted to assume I have something in that league. Only the price and anonymity makes me suspicious. Could it be that I've simply found something that does not suffer from unreasonable markup because it is made in and sold from China?