New shaver, first post.
Picked up a king C gilette for about 7€. Couldn’t resist at that price to atleast give wet shaving a try.
My experience so far:
Practice certainly makes perfect. Especially the lather improves, which seems to have quite the impact on the shave.
I have a cheap 5€ boar brush that’s my favorite regarding lathering, but keeps losing hair.
I also have a cheap-ish synthetic wilkinson sword brush. Feels like the synthetic needs much less water. Much softer to the face though. I think I need more practice with this one. Lather is either drying out too quickly, or too liquid.
Preshave is just washing my face with hot water and soap.
I face lather. I use a tabac (non-tallow) puck which I could pick up for 6€ each. I use distilled water. I used to use the tabac aftershave that goes with the soap, but now I just use nivea cream, and the tabac edc if I feel like I need the smell.
Passes are: first two with the grain, 3rd cross the grain.
Good blades:
Rapira Lux - Pretty smooth result but needs 3 passes to shine. First pass is subpar. Very minor burn, most comfortable blade to shave with so far.
Astra SP - Pretty efficient. Mild burn after I’m done. Best result when one pass is all I have time for.
Voskhod - Very efficient. I think this is the sharpest blade I have. After 3 passes best result I can get. Skin feels more sore after this than compared to the Rapira’s and Astra’s.
Okay blades:
Astra SS - Verry efficient, simular to the voskhod. Skin is more sore after this compared to the voskhod.
Persona Bleu - Simular to the voskhod. Slightly less smooth result, skin is more sore after this compared to the voskhod.
Gilette Platinum - Feels verry simular to the Astra SS, but even more soreness.
King C Gillette - Feels very similar to the platinum’s. The price I can get these at (50c/each) makes this a non-contender. I dont understand why these are priced this high.
Meh blades:
Lord Platinum - Verry comfortable blade to shave with. Only blade I could shave with that didn’t feel like tugging and didn’t give me any sore skin. However even after three passes, only three hours later received complaints by the misses I was stinging.
Utter crap:
Derby Extra - These things dont shave, they pull the hairs out. Feels like grinding sandpaper against your skin. Absolutely no soreness of the skin after I’m done though. The hair roots do hurt a bit though.
Ladas - These things dont cut at all. Leave even more beard behind than the Derby’s, yet my skin feels as if I’ve used as voskhod. One of the worst results for one of the least comfortable shaves.
Shark SS. - These wont touch my face a second time. While the derby’s pull so much it feels like shaving with sandpaper during the shave, these feel like I shaved with sandpaper for the remainder of the day. And it hardly took any hairs with it. Really unhappy about these.
Not tried yet:
Mall brand, made in israel, chrome and platinum. - I suspect they’re the same as the persona’s. Will give them a try later on.
Wilkinson Sword - Read they’re made in the same factory as the persona’s. Will give them a try later on.
Anyway thats it so far. Hope I’ll keep enjoying this journey as much as I’ve have been so far. And hope to read some more tips from y’all that might improve my experience.
Picked up a king C gilette for about 7€. Couldn’t resist at that price to atleast give wet shaving a try.
My experience so far:
Practice certainly makes perfect. Especially the lather improves, which seems to have quite the impact on the shave.
I have a cheap 5€ boar brush that’s my favorite regarding lathering, but keeps losing hair.
I also have a cheap-ish synthetic wilkinson sword brush. Feels like the synthetic needs much less water. Much softer to the face though. I think I need more practice with this one. Lather is either drying out too quickly, or too liquid.
Preshave is just washing my face with hot water and soap.
I face lather. I use a tabac (non-tallow) puck which I could pick up for 6€ each. I use distilled water. I used to use the tabac aftershave that goes with the soap, but now I just use nivea cream, and the tabac edc if I feel like I need the smell.
Passes are: first two with the grain, 3rd cross the grain.
Good blades:
Rapira Lux - Pretty smooth result but needs 3 passes to shine. First pass is subpar. Very minor burn, most comfortable blade to shave with so far.
Astra SP - Pretty efficient. Mild burn after I’m done. Best result when one pass is all I have time for.
Voskhod - Very efficient. I think this is the sharpest blade I have. After 3 passes best result I can get. Skin feels more sore after this than compared to the Rapira’s and Astra’s.
Okay blades:
Astra SS - Verry efficient, simular to the voskhod. Skin is more sore after this compared to the voskhod.
Persona Bleu - Simular to the voskhod. Slightly less smooth result, skin is more sore after this compared to the voskhod.
Gilette Platinum - Feels verry simular to the Astra SS, but even more soreness.
King C Gillette - Feels very similar to the platinum’s. The price I can get these at (50c/each) makes this a non-contender. I dont understand why these are priced this high.
Meh blades:
Lord Platinum - Verry comfortable blade to shave with. Only blade I could shave with that didn’t feel like tugging and didn’t give me any sore skin. However even after three passes, only three hours later received complaints by the misses I was stinging.
Utter crap:
Derby Extra - These things dont shave, they pull the hairs out. Feels like grinding sandpaper against your skin. Absolutely no soreness of the skin after I’m done though. The hair roots do hurt a bit though.
Ladas - These things dont cut at all. Leave even more beard behind than the Derby’s, yet my skin feels as if I’ve used as voskhod. One of the worst results for one of the least comfortable shaves.
Shark SS. - These wont touch my face a second time. While the derby’s pull so much it feels like shaving with sandpaper during the shave, these feel like I shaved with sandpaper for the remainder of the day. And it hardly took any hairs with it. Really unhappy about these.
Not tried yet:
Mall brand, made in israel, chrome and platinum. - I suspect they’re the same as the persona’s. Will give them a try later on.
Wilkinson Sword - Read they’re made in the same factory as the persona’s. Will give them a try later on.
Anyway thats it so far. Hope I’ll keep enjoying this journey as much as I’ve have been so far. And hope to read some more tips from y’all that might improve my experience.
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