Interchangable Baseplate Razor August (IBRA 2024)

[JAHE]

Day 5 - Karve CB SB-C

Today's set up:
A fresh Wizamet Super Iridium w/ Karve CB SB-A baseplate. Two passes [wtg/atg], one day worth of growth were to be tackled.

Here's my "in a nutshell" shave evaluation:

Blade feel
● 3.0/10

Efficiency - whilst shaving
● 6.0/10

Efficiency - longevity of results
● 5.0/10

Ease of use whilst shaving
● 7.5/10

Ease of use to achieve the desired shave result (DFS+/almost BBS)

● 6.0/10

JAHE's enjoyment score:
● 6.0/10

Final thought: uneventful.

Here's why:
I had an easy and absolutely uneventful shave (almost boring ) with the SB-C on Monday.

The shaver feels easy on the skin and provides a good balance of rather moderate blade feel with a sufficient level of efficiency (it's more of a three pass shaver than a two pass shaver for me, though). The Wizamet performed well, again.

So, overall, nothing to report but a solid shave.

 

[JAHE]

Day 6 - Karve CB SB-D

Today's set up:

A fresh Wizamet Super Iridium w/ Karve CB SB-D baseplate. Two passes [wtg/atg], one day worth of growth were to be tackled.

Here's my "in a nutshell" shave evaluation:

Blade feel
● 7/10

Efficiency - whilst shaving
● 6.0/10

Efficiency - longevity of results
● 7.0/10

Ease of use whilst shaving
● 4.0/10

Ease of use to achieve the desired shave result (DFS+/almost BBS)
● 6.5/10

JAHE's enjoyment score:
● 3.5/10

Final thought: A watershed sort of shaver

Here's why:
Well, this was one of the rare cases when I didn't entirely enjoy the shave. The noticeable blade feel felt a bit harsh, so the shave lacked comfort. No weepers occured but I caught some skin irritation on my sensitive neck which disappeared a couple of hours later.

Efficiency wise it appears the SB-D baseplate marks the watershed of a daily driver vs a non daily driver for me and my face. Either this baseplate or the SB-E baseplate.
I'll have to look more closely into this by having more shaves with both baseplates but according to today's shave the SB-D baseplate does not fall into the daily driver department anymore. We shall see.

I completed the two pass shave with a DFS+ result, but the shave lacked comfort - so I called it a day.

I'll have to reassess the SB-D baseplate at a later stage. Stay tuned.

 

[Iridian]

Yaqi Bohemia / BIC Platinum

This razor can flip the baseplate. But the side you shave with isn't the one seen/marked from below the baseplate as for the Rockwell, the one you are shaving with is seen from above, the marking then below the loaded blade.

This made me shave with the mild side first, and there is quite a difference to the aggressive side!

 

[Tanuki]

Many have shaved but few have posted.

Efficiency wise it appears the SB-D baseplate marks the watershed of a daily driver vs a non daily driver for me and my face. Either this baseplate or the SB-E baseplate.

Karve CB OC-D is the most I'll ever want/need. OC-C could be a daily, if I ever stuck with one razor for consecutive days.

I am planning to get into an SR groove for the rest of summer, but will be using IBRs for the sideways and 'box the compass' finishing on my neck maelstroms this month. I will be posting here and hoping to see more posts.

I would definitely like to read more Rockwell posts. Blackland ERA posts would be appreciated as well, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

Today is a 'me' day. If I can carry that off, my ERA should get an IBRA debut late this afternoon.

 

[m949]

Friday, August 9, 2024

Pre-shave: cold water splash / YBN Glycerine
Razor: DSC ZOC - Yaqi Mellon SLOC Hybrid
Blade: Persona Platinum
Brush: Arno 26mm Manchurian 2-band badger, Jade Palace
Bowl: DSC scuttle
Cream: Speick Shaving Cream
Aftershave: none
Aftercare: La Roche-Posay - Cicaplast Baume B5 Repairing Balm
EdT: Zino Davidoff

Interchangeable Baseplate shave with a DSC ZOC (cap) and Yaqi Mellon (baseplate) hybrid. A shave with a SLOC razor is always a mild experience and is characterized with that extra lubrication with each stroke. Surprisingly it's also quite efficient with a solid DFS result in one pass with just a few touchups.

I did have a little trouble in the last weeks with post-shave irritation and on the advice of @Iridian I've not used any alcohol based aftershave splash or my usual Witch Hazel. Instead I used Cicaplast Baume B5 Repairing Balm. I've also cut down from my usual 2 pass shave to only one pass (WTG), made sure that there's no pressure applied, paid attention to angle, and used cold water only throughout the shave. Today, there's significant less irritation than the shaves before and I will probably take it a bit easier with shaves spaced out a bit more to give my skin adequate time for healing.

 

[Tanuki]

The Blackland ERA Level 5 OC made fast work of the remnants of my neck maelstroms. RazoRock thin common bar tribute handle. Fresh Gillette Platinum did its part comfortably.

Both my Level 4 and Level 5 plates deliver very comfortable shaves. I think the Level 5 would work for me every day, given that the Level 4 seems slightly inefficient by my standards.

 

[JAHE]

Day 8 - Karve CB SB-E

Today's set up:
A fresh Wizamet Super Iridium w/ Karve CB SB-E baseplate. Two passes [wtg/atg], two days worth of growth were to be tackled.

Here's my "in a nutshell" shave evaluation:

Blade feel
● 3.0/10

Efficiency - whilst shaving
● 8.0/10

Efficiency - longevity of results
● 8.0/10

Ease of use whilst shaving
● 8.0/10

Ease of use to achieve the desired shave result (DFS+/almost BBS)

● 8.0/10

JAHE's enjoyment score:
● 9.5/10

Final thought: sweatspot!

Here's why:
I didn't manage to sneak in a shave on Wednesday, so today two days worth of stubble had to be shaved. Thus I opted for the SB-E (instead of the final and remaining SB-B) and went to work.

I had a marvelous shave in every single aspect.

The blade feel didn't feel more intimidating than the bladefeel I got with the SB-C shaving one day worth of growth. Don't ask me why.

Smooth sailing wtg and atg, quite a day and night experience with my Tuesday shave/SB-D. I definitely have to do a side by side shave with these three baseplates in order to find out of if I perhaps had caught a bad blade for my Tuesday shave with SB-D.

Anyway, full satisfaction today. The Karve loaded with the SB-E cleared all stubble with ease, but left me without any faint hint of skin irritation. A sweatspot experience. Low stinging feedback from the AS splash.

Really, a super nice and close shave.

 

[Iridian]

You guys take amazing photos, I really have a hard time keeping up with the quality of your photography!

@m949 the amount of SLOC/Grand Shave King clone baseplates really qualifies them as interchangeable baseplates in a way indeed...^^

My slight issues with a likely allergy/atopic eczema induced slight bump on the right jawline thankfully seem to recede, without me not changing anything. I hope I just didn't jinx it.

I will pick a proper IBRA razor for my next shave, but let me already warn @JAHE that the Blackbird also qualifies as IB razor, due to light and OC baseplates.

I have been occupied with annoying stuff lately and hope to get back to nice things this weekend. Let's see which razor I will pick, I will decide on the spot when looking at them in the cabinet.

 

[JAHE]

My slight issues with a likely allergy/atopic eczema induced slight bump on the right jawline thankfully seem to recede

That's good news!

I will pick a proper IBRA razor for my next shave, but let me already warn @JAHE that the Blackbird also qualifies as IB razor, due to light and OC baseplates.

See post #5, I'm totally fine with it!

 

[kingfisher]

First time participating. The only razor set I have that fits the thread is a Karve CB aluminum see I bought off the BST. It includes SB 3 SB plates and one OC.

Today I opted for the SB E plate for the first pass, and the OC D plate for the second pass. Lather was an unctuous, rich lather from a local artisan company called Perfectly Natural Soaps, in a rather potent bay rum scent that I would never have chosen, but it was a Christmas gift, so what are you going to do? Blade was a four-shave old Gillette yellow.

Fantastic shave, DFS. No problems. The OC D is my favorite plate for this aluminum set, but the E was also fine for the first pass. I didn't use the SB C plate that is also pictured.

 

[Tanuki]

First time participating. The only razor set I have that fits the thread is a Karve CB aluminum see I bought off the BST. It includes SB 3 SB plates and one OC.

Today I opted for the SB E plate for the first pass, and the OC D plate for the second pass.

For whatever personal quirk, I can barely convince myself to change settings in an adjustable during a shave, let alone swap baseplates.

And yet, when I have both the time and the curiosity I do these side-by-side shaves, lately comparing baseplates in my RazoRock Superslant. I have two RRSS caps for just that reason.

Kingfisher, were you trying to upshift (or downshift) the efficiency during the shave, or were you just comparing?

Everybody, do you change gears with your IBR during a shave? What direction? Formerly, when I experimented with adjustables, I was upshifting (higher numbers) from pass to pass. When I bumped into an inexpensive Mergress, I got some advice about trying downshifting. So maybe I was doing both Gillette and Schick injector adjustable shifting wrong.

Bottom line from a RAD standpoint, now I'm lusting for second (widebody?) Karve cap. So off to the web. Wow, Karve has gone wild with handles! Anyone suffering from Pokemon/Gotta-catch-'em-all syndrome is advised to stay away! Fortunately for me they are all solid and 12mm diameter. Too heavy for tanuki paws.

 

[kingfisher]

For whatever personal quirk, I can barely convince myself to change settings in an adjustable during a shave, let alone swap baseplates.

And yet, when I have both the time and the curiosity I do these side-by-side shaves, lately comparing baseplates in my RazoRock Superslant. I have two RRSS caps for just that reason.

Kingfisher, were you trying to upshift (or downshift) the efficiency during the shave, or were you just comparing?

Everybody, do you change gears with your IBR during a shave? What direction? Formerly, when I experimented with adjustables, I was upshifting (higher numbers) from pass to pass. When I bumped into an inexpensive Mergress, I got some advice about trying downshifting. So maybe I was doing both Gillette and Schick injector adjustable shifting wrong.

Bottom line from a RAD standpoint, now I'm lusting for second (widebody?) Karve cap. So off to the web. Wow, Karve has gone wild with handles! Anyone suffering from Pokemon/Gotta-catch-'em-all syndrome is advised to stay away! Fortunately for me they are all solid and 12mm diameter. Too heavy for tanuki paws.

I mostly did it for fun this morning, but when I do true adjustables I often shift down for subsequent passes. In other words, for example, set the Fatboy on 8 for the first pass and then dial it down to 6 for the second. I have never tried doing it the opposite way.

 

[JAHE]

Day 10 - Karve CB SB-B

Today's set up:
A fresh Wizamet Super Iridium w/ Karve CB SB-B baseplate. Two passes [wtg/atg], 2.5 days worth of growth were to be tackled.


Here's my "in a nutshell" shave evaluation:

Blade feel
● 2.0/10

Efficiency - whilst shaving
● 4.0/10

Efficiency - longevity of results
● 5.0/10

Ease of use whilst shaving
● 10/10

Ease of use to achieve the desired shave result (DFS+/almost BBS)
● 5.0/10

JAHE's enjoyment score:
● 7.0/10

Final thought: Mild, but nice!

Here's why:
I had intended to shave on Friday evening, but the thing called life crossed my plans. So two and half days worth of growth were to be removed this evening.

The razor had no problems, although I prefer a very sharp blade for everyday shaving with this milder "B" baseplate.

The first pass felt a little rough, but the razor eventually didn't let me down. As soon as the first pass was finished and most of the beard hairs were cut off, the smoothness of this razor returned. Very nice.

I ended up with a DFS shave.
This is what is to be expected when you combine a mild blade with a medium sharp blade, I guess.

As indicated, a fresh Feather blade would have been my preferred blade for this setup.But the current one did the job too.

 

[Beto Salatini]

SOTD "ARTISAN SOAP/CREAM WEEK" August 5th to 11th, 2024
Interchangable Baseplate Razor August (IBRA 2024)
High Efficiency Razors Summer 2024
SV Saturday
Semogue Saturdays!


Hello friends

A cold Saturday night, but a very pleasant one. Due to the IBRA 2024, I decided to go back to the Greencult 2.0, but with the plate II, the razor I use the most. I think its configuration is perfect for my way of shaving, every other day. Its 0.65 mm gap and 0.10 mm exp go very well with this. However, instead of my beloved and idolized Gillette Silver Blue, for the first time I used a BIC CP, a blade I have wanted to try for a long time. I was very impressed. Sharp, as I expected, but surprisingly smooth. It left a great after-shave sensation. With the splendid SV Desert Vetiver, I used my Pegasus Boar for the second time, probably the brush that will take the longest to become familiar with me. To finish, Malizia Uomo and a masterpiece, Chanel Sycomore.

With us…Frank!

Rating: 10


Have a nice weekend and great shaves!

 

[JAHE]

Everybody, do you change gears with your IBR during a shave?

No. I have never done this. Too much effort imo to change baseplates between passes.

Formerly, when I experimented with adjustables, I was upshifting (higher numbers) from pass to pass.

I use my adjustable razors often like this:
First pass wtg: medium setting
Second pass atg: higher setting.
Third pass or touchups: very mild setting. Works perfectly fine for me.

Bottom line from a RAD standpoint, now I'm lusting for second (widebody?) Karve cap. So off to the web. Wow, Karve has gone wild with handles! Anyone suffering from Pokemon/Gotta-catch-'em-all syndrome is advised to stay away!

Lol. Okay. I'll better follow your advice.

Now that I've used all Karve CB SB baseplates (A to G, that is - the AA baseplate has too much negative blade exposure for my liking, so I didn't buy said one) I might characterise the SB plates as follows:

"Daily driver" (with a medium sharp blade loaded):
SB-A, SB-B, SB-C

"Every other day razor - and plus" with a medium sharp blade loaded):
SB-D, SB-E, SB-F, SB-G

You might umph up the daily driver baseplates with a sharper blade or tone down the higher gapped blades with a milder blade.

Very YMMV, sure.

Overall, the Karve CB is an excellent tool which will stay in my den in the foreseable future.

I'll leave the Karve themed shaves now... there are a couple of more IBRs to use... stay tuned.

Thanks to everyone who's making IBRA24 a thing withyour contributions...

Cheers!
Guido

 

[JAHE]

SOTD "ARTISAN SOAP/CREAM WEEK" August 5th to 11th, 2024
Interchangable Baseplate Razor August (IBRA 2024)
High Efficiency Razors Summer 2024
SV Saturday
Semogue Saturdays!


Hello friends

A cold Saturday night, but a very pleasant one. Due to the IBRA 2024, I decided to go back to the Greencult 2.0, but with the plate II, the razor I use the most. I think its configuration is perfect for my way of shaving, every other day. Its 0.65 mm gap and 0.10 mm exp go very well with this. However, instead of my beloved and idolized Gillette Silver Blue, for the first time I used a BIC CP, a blade I have wanted to try for a long time. I was very impressed. Sharp, as I expected, but surprisingly smooth. It left a great after-shave sensation. With the splendid SV Desert Vetiver, I used my Pegasus Boar for the second time, probably the brush that will take the longest to become familiar with me. To finish, Malizia Uomo and a masterpiece, Chanel Sycomore.

With us…Frank!

Rating: 10


Have a nice weekend and great shaves!


View attachment 1891946View attachment 1891947

Imho, you can't beat the combination of a milder razor and a sharp blade! Enjoy!

 

[Iridian]

RazoRock Lupo .95 OC on Timeless Ti Crown x BIC Platinum & Cella, applied with RazoRock F400 (not pictured)

I was forced to shave early today to make a birthday congratulations video for my cousin in Vienna.

Doing this was the idea of my aunt, I was forced by peer pressure to agree. Many tragedies of three last century can be blamed to Germans giving in to peer pressure and group dynamics.

I will add at the end of the video that I want a video of my aunt paragliding for my next round birthday... creative ideas must backfire till she stops including me as part of them.

This said, the Lupo .95 OC ID still rather mild in my book and one day I really have to try that new 1.27 gap Lupo.

The Timeless Ti handle is a great fit for almost every razor and a particular good one for the slim Lupo/WR1 Style heads.

As people are interested in the differences, I always seem to prefer that head with OC. The Lupo DC with its .72 OC and .95 SB side funnily shaved quite similarly on both sides, the OC basically made to the gap difference!

If one finds the Lupo line too harsh I'm terms of blade feel I would recommend the Game Changers as alternative. For a supremely sharp and mild cutting sensation with some risk of injury, but otherwise free of irritation, the SuperSlant line is an even better option.

 

[JAHE]

I will add at the end of the video that I want a video of my aunt paragliding for my next round birthday... creative ideas must backfire till she stops including me as part of them.

Lol

This said, the Lupo .95 OC ID still rather mild in my book and one day I really have to try that new 1.27 gap Lupo.

Give it a try, I guess you might like it.

I traded in said Lupo baseplate for the Game Changer 1.05-P baseplate. A way better match for me and my face. Less bladefeel.

 

[JAHE]

Day 11 - Above The Tie CR1

Today's set up:
A second use Wizamet Super Iridium w/ ATT amd CR1 baseplate.
Two passes [wtg/atg], one day worth of growth were to be tackled.

Here's my "in a nutshell" shave evaluation:

Blade feel
● 4.0/10

Efficiency - whilst shaving
● 5.0/10

Efficiency - longevity of results
● 5.0/10

Ease of use whilst shaving
● 7.0/10

Ease of use to achieve the desired shave result (DFS+/almost BBS)
● 6.5/10

JAHE's enjoyment score:
● 7.5/10

Final thought: bring it back, Shane!

Here's why:

I haven't used the ATT CR1 razor in a while. It qualifies for IBRA, since I own the more aggressive H2 open comb baseplate, too, which shares the topcap of this razor.

I had a very pleasant shave. But I was surprised by the level of audio feedback, since all Karve baseplates shave absolutely quiet. This baseplate, however, has some blade chatter, thus the audio feedback (you can notice a high pitched creaking) . The CR1 baseplate can be judged as a medium aggressive one, which offers a non-intimidating level of blade feel. My preferred blade with this baseplate is a Nacet.

Did I mention the copper colour? Isn't the coated copper finish a striking looker?
I really would love to see Shane @Blackland Razors bringing back this beautyful classic copper baseplates.

Enjoy your Sunday shaves, y'all!

 

[Cafebarian]

Brass Karve OC D, 10 or 11 days growth.
This and the OC E work well for me shaving steep and efficient enough to enjoy. Will revisit the OC C next.