I thought I hated my new slim

[wazza]

Well, I got a slim the other week to see for myself why they seem to be so popular. The first shave didnt go well. I used mwf and a feather blade that had been used for a couple of days already.
I started on one but found this was far to low then moved to three. I had a terrible shave, it was patchy and sore on my neck. That was a three pass shave by the way.
The second time I used a wilkinsons blade, never used one before. I set the razor abit higher, five I think. Terrible again. With each pass I lowered the number but this seemed to make it worse as I had to keep going over it. My neck was so sore that I didnt shave for a couple of days.
So today I broke the slim out, I thought it was going to end badly. I loaded up a new feather and turned it up to 11..... Bad joke...... I really turned it to seven.
It was the best shave that I have had in ages. I have a full on BBS going on today. Normaly I would have stubbly bits on my neck but nope. It was a 3 pass shave, with, acoss and against the grain all on number 7.
So now Im loving the razor, might go for 9 tomorow but I might be back complaing that my face has fallen off.
From this experience I wonder If I am right for assuming mild razors would not be the best thing for my beard and skin type if I have to go over the area more times.

 

[sychodelix]

Very often, a good aggressive razor or setting and good blade angle is much less irritating than a milder razor with more passes. Glad you found what works well for you!

I generally prefer between 7-5 settings on my Slim as well.

 

[BigFoot]

The Slim set below 7 is very mild, IMO. Your face needed more blade.

 

[Mad Man]

Tough beards call for tough measures...adjustables cranked wide, open combs or a shim.

 

[MegaBullfrog09]

I agree. 7 is my lucky number on the Slim as well. I kept trying it on 3,4, and 5. It wasn't enough. I just recently got a Black Beauty, I'll try it on the same setting. I'm anxious to see how they are different.

 

[i8ntskeered]

Interesting observations, guys. I recently got a Black Beauty, which is essentially just like the slim right? My first shave with it was dialed in at 7 and it, too, was the best shave I've had in recent memory. I shaved with the same razor last night,with the same blade on its second shave, and dialed it down to 5 on the first pass and it was awful. I thought I was going too aggressive and dialed it down to 3...even worse. My face and neck are in horrible shape today because of it. Severly disappointing shave. Maybe cranking those razors up is the way to go.

Let us know if you shave your face off, Chris.

 

[Okla1911]

Very often, a good aggressive razor or setting and good blade angle is much less irritating than a milder razor with more passes. Glad you found what works well for you!

I generally prefer between 7-5 settings on my Slim as well.

+1

 

[Howl1nWolf]

Great advice for me since this coming item of the week is adjustable razors and I'll be busting out my slim.

 

[brucered]

Dialinig it up instead of down for subsequent passes works for me.

3 WTG
4 XTG
5 ATG

perfect every time. no need to take off all the stubble on the first pass, it's beard reduction after all. I get less irritation, better shaves and my blades seem to last a bit longer.

 

[wazza]

Well I turned it up to 9 for this mornings shave and I am glad to say my face didnt fall off!!
what I did get is a BBS shave, well apart from on side of my neck but hey, my face is intact so I cant moan.

 

[Fidem Scit]

I had mine set on 4 or 5 and I didn't enjoy my Slim shave. I will have to try a bit more aggressive shave. My Goto razor is my first one, the EJ89. does anyone know how that compares to the Slim at 7?

 

[Omp]

I have found that 4 is the perfect setting for me on my Slim and my Black Beauty. I settled on this number fairly quickly and it does the job. I may experiment again with some higher settings but I don't feel I have much to gain.

 

[wazza]

I had mine set on 4 or 5 and I didn't enjoy my Slim shave. I will have to try a bit more aggressive shave. My Goto razor is my first one, the EJ89. does anyone know how that compares to the Slim at 7?

From my experience I would say try on a higher setting, I just couldnt get a close enough shave been on 5. Maybe you have simular stubble to me and need that extra bit of blade.

 

[Wingnut]

I had mine set on 4 or 5 and I didn't enjoy my Slim shave. I will have to try a bit more aggressive shave. My Goto razor is my first one, the EJ89. does anyone know how that compares to the Slim at 7?

IMO, the EJ DE8x series is roughly equivalent to a Slim on 3 or 4, so a 7 setting will be distinctly more aggressive than your EJ.

 

[Mad Man]

Why is this thread missing the obligatory "I turn my slim to 11.." post...???

 

[wazza]

Why is this thread missing the obligatory "I turn my slim to 11.." post...???

Its in the first post, I tried to resist but I didn't have enough will power!

 

[Shaky]

Thanks for the insight to Slim settings - I too have been unimpressed with my slim at a low setting (3). Perhaps a higher setting will let me make fewer passes and actually be kinder to my face. I'll certainly give it a try.

 

[wagstaff]

I started with my Slim at 3. Liked it a lot, and agree with Wingnut that it's about the equivalent of my EJ DE89. I liked it more the more I opened it up, it turned out. It took me a while to experiment with that, since 3 was nice. But yeah, 8 was better.

 

[bharvey60]

Had a similar experience with my 61 Fatboy. At first, I tried my typical 5 as the starting point, but found I needed 3 passes including a final ATG for a BBS. Decided on a whim to try 7 and was really surprised by the quality of the shave. At 8, I get a better quality shave with just 2 passes - WTG, XTG than with 3 passes at with a 5 setting. Minimal irritation. In addition, my upper lip and chin now look as cleanly shaven as the rest of my face. I was never able to accomplish this at lower settings without a lot of buffing.

Seems like these razors really shine for me in the 7-8 range. Few words of caution - ZERO pressure and correct blade angle are required and I have to be very careful when shaving around the sides of my mouth and lower part of my neck.

 

[Ron Scott]

Couldnt agree more with the 7+.

Razors that expose more blade deliver easy BBS with little or no irritation for me.

This is called aggressive in these parts...