Jay21's Journey Journal

[Guido75]

I'm thinking there is indeed an upgrade in experience available around the $100 mark.

While I think you cannot go wrong with either a Game Changer or a Lupo I also think there are very viable options for you under the $100 mark Alex.

Vintage Gillettes pack a ton of punch if you get an Old Type (OC), English Postwar Tech (SB) or Flat Bottom Tech as well as the New Improved. But any Super Speed should accomplish the same goal. Compared to your DE89ish razors both Razorock razors have more blade gap as well as positive blade exposure. Absolutely nothing wrong with that - just something to bear in mind. The great thing about Razorock is that they are “adjustable” with all these different baseplates. And being in the US they certainly are competitively priced. Here in EU both are over the $100 mark.

Enjoy picking one out! And do give vintage a try - or not because it opens a rabbit hole the size of Jupiter!

Guido

 

[cajunrph]

rabbit hole the size of Jupiter!

Great, another rabbit hole to jump down. Haha.

 

[Phoenixkh]

For an under $60 razor (Amazon) the Goodfellas Smile Bayonetta is quite nice. I didn't care for the finish of the unpolished brass, but a couple hand polishes with Simichrome fixed that up for me.

I haven't used any of the EJ DE89, R89 razors or their clones, etc., so I can't compare the Bayonetta to them. My guess would be it falls into the upper end of the mild razor category. I know I can easily get 12 hour shaves with mine.

I'm about to dip my toe back in the Gillette Vintage razor rabbit hole.... I'm hoping it is shallow, but I felt I owed it to myself to try a Tech again... so the Canada 1932 Pre-War Tech is on the experiment list. I'll get a shave in with mine in a few days. @Balin was nice enough to send me one of his so I can compare it to the one I bought on Etsy that turns out to have zero nickel plating.

When it arrives, I'll compare the details between the two to see how much of the actual brass has been worn down through the plating removal process. Then I'll be able to decide what to do with the Etsy seller. I hate giving negative reviews to someone and will likely avoid that. I will have a little chat with him about the way he represented the razor's condition and see where that goes.

 

[Jay21]

The Colonel is now in the shower, and this is tomorrow’s soap. Really looking forward to it. It smells amazing.

 

[Eric_75]

The Colonel is now in the shower

 

[blethenstrom]

So I am a weirdo that likes to do things off the beaten path. I actually read here that someone had a good experience with hand soap, so I have tried that and hair conditioner as well. I don't like the hand soap, at least the Dial brand I tried. It makes this bubbly, slick lather but there is no cushioning at all. I get better results with just plain Ivory bar soap other than the vanishing lather issue.

Shaving with hair conditioner gives you a lot of slickness and even cushion, but it's a sticky cut that I think detracts from the closeness of the shaves I get. Also the cut whiskers really clump together and are hard to rinse off while you are shaving, so it detracts from your efficiency. I also find that I have to scrub my razor with my fingers to clean it instead of an easy rinse.

All three (hand soap, bath soap, conditioner) work in an emergency but I do not think they are optimal solutions to face shaving.

That said I do enjoy mixing bath soap like Ivory or Dove + Men with my Arko.

Now I do try bath soap bars one in a while. I have had good shaves with dive men+Care and Irish spring. One has to keep abreast incase an emergency ensues like getting stuck on a business trip without my normal stuff. Been there and did not know. Now I do.

 

[Jay21]

I have to say, this Fendihan soap is quite wonderful. Magnificent, even. It lathers super easily into a luxurious cream with great body and slickness. It is very protective and smells great.

10/10 on the soap. Really happy with this purchase.

The ingredients are very different from Arko, but I think it has similar performance. So, if you like how Arko shaves but don’t care for the scent, the Fendrihan soap might work for you.

 

[APBinNCA]

I have to say, this Fendihan soap is quite wonderful. Magnificent, even. It lathers super easily into a luxurious cream with great body and slickness. It is very protective and smells great.

10/10 on the soap. Really happy with this purchase.

The ingredients are very different from Arko, but I think it has similar performance. So, if you like how Arko shaves but don’t care for the scent, the Fendrihan soap might work for you.

It must be made by De Vergulde Hand, but I did look and can't find a product with matching ingredients. It's also a bit more expensive and reading the ingredients, I can somewhat understand. I will leave it to Boris if he wants to break down the ingredients and their order. I saw that they have a Orange Lemon scent for the Arko! devotees.

 

[Jay21]

The Mrs. is napping right now. Overall, her recovery from surgery is going well, but we still don’t have all the answers we’re looking for regarding future treatment options. Thanks for your prayers.

While she’s napping, I thought I’d give a state of my shaves update. I can do this from the chair while not making any noise that might wake her up. Insomnia is a known side effect from the procedure, so I’m grateful she’s catching some zzzzzs right now.

I’ve been using soaps pretty much exclusively now for over a month. I used canned goo once when I was really rushed. Edit: my journal indicates I switched back to soap on February 17.

I’ve gone down four rabbit holes during my DE journey this last year. First, it was razors, then blades, then brushes, and now soaps. I’m really getting the hang of soaps and can tell they give really nice shaves, better than canned goo. I still like canned goo, but I have seen the light with soaps.

I think I found the method that works for me. I like hard pucks in a mug. I load up the brush and build lather in the mug until the brush is full of mostly developed lather, and then I finish lathering on my face. It’s sort of a hybrid because I don’t use a separate lathering bowl, but it’s not a full face lather, either.

I was chatting in another thread earlier today. One of the first soaps I used when switching to DE was Catie’s Bubbles. That soap always left me with tons of aftershave burn. I’ve long thought it was user error and my own inexperience. It’s why I switched back to canned goo in the first place. However, most other soaps I’ve tried since, including the dreadful Colonel, shaved nicely and left my skin feeling great.

Now, based on other user reports I’ve read, I’m starting to wonder if my early struggles were compounded because Catie’s Bubbles simply wasn’t right for me.

 

[Guido75]

It must be made by De Vergulde Hand, but I did look and can't find a product with matching ingredients.

Fendrian sources some of their soaps from the Netherlands indeed (although they need to check their descriptions - saying they partnered with German soap artisans ). De Vergulde Hand only makes soaps for themselves (if they do that is maybe they production) in two varieties: regular and eucalyptus.

The other soap maker is Siderius which made Fine soaps, Vanderlovett and makes Kox Bergamot. At least based on research by @Raven Koenes and a little bit by me. Most likely Fendrian will have sourced (price point is also in the expected range) from them in which case I can say it will be an excellent soap. I finished my Kox puck but it was a perfect soap for sure.

Guido

 

[APBinNCA]

The other soap maker is Siderius which made Fine soaps, Vanderlovett and makes Kox Bergamot. At least based on research by @Raven Koenes and a little bit by me. Most likely Fendrian will have sourced (price point is also in the expected range) from them in which case I can say it will be an excellent soap. I finished my Kox puck but it was a perfect soap for sure.

Dang it, Kox was the one I was trying to look up not DVH!

 

[Guido75]

Dang it, Kox was the one I was trying to look up not DVH!

Well there is a major difference. Fendrian is glycerin based whereas Kox is tallow. VanderLovett is tallow too.

 

[huck1680]

It’s sort of a hybrid because I don’t use a separate lathering bowl, but it’s not a full face lather, either.

That's how I do mug lathering as well. To use a bowl would be redundant. My boars do really well with mug lathering. With bowl lathering I use cream/soft soaps which the synths do a great job of.
So when shaving my "mug", I get "bowled" over when using tube soaps. BADABOOM! Had to work for that one.

 

[cranewarrior]

While I think you cannot go wrong with either a Game Changer or a Lupo I also think there are very viable options for you under the $100 mark Alex.

Vintage Gillettes pack a ton of punch if you get an Old Type (OC), English Postwar Tech (SB) or Flat Bottom Tech as well as the New Improved. But any Super Speed should accomplish the same goal. Compared to your DE89ish razors both Razorock razors have more blade gap as well as positive blade exposure. Absolutely nothing wrong with that - just something to bear in mind. The great thing about Razorock is that they are “adjustable” with all these different baseplates. And being in the US they certainly are competitively priced. Here in EU both are over the $100 mark.

Enjoy picking one out! And do give vintage a try - or not because it opens a rabbit hole the size of Jupiter!

Guido

I actually have a few vintage Gillettes: a ball-end in good condition, and a Super Speed and fat-handle Tech in working but ugly shape. They all shave well, but in my experience they take more care and work than simply breaking out a modern aggressive razor. I've discounted my vintage Gillettes for that reason, but after my brief thus far foray with the Yaqi Mellon, I might need to re-evaluate my shaving thought process. Instead of gunning through a single pass that lasts for 2 days, maybe I should enjoy a longer 2 pass shave with a mild razor and do it daily.

Happy Easter, Friends.

 

[Jay21]

I had another nice shave this morning with the Fendrihan soap. Although, I think the lather was too thick, so I’ll make it a bit thinner tomorrow and compare the performance and result. So far, I’m very impressed by this soap.

 

[cranewarrior]

While I think you cannot go wrong with either a Game Changer or a Lupo I also think there are very viable options for you under the $100 mark Alex.

Vintage Gillettes pack a ton of punch if you get an Old Type (OC), English Postwar Tech (SB) or Flat Bottom Tech as well as the New Improved. But any Super Speed should accomplish the same goal. Compared to your DE89ish razors both Razorock razors have more blade gap as well as positive blade exposure. Absolutely nothing wrong with that - just something to bear in mind. The great thing about Razorock is that they are “adjustable” with all these different baseplates. And being in the US they certainly are competitively priced. Here in EU both are over the $100 mark.

Enjoy picking one out! And do give vintage a try - or not because it opens a rabbit hole the size of Jupiter!

Guido

Thanks for sanctioning and enabling, Guido. I put in an order for the GC .76. I figure if it is too mild I can always get a different baseplate like you said.

Not sure when it will arrive, but I'm excited. It's always fun to get toys in the mail, and there are many reviews on this razor. By and large, people seem to like it.

 

[Jay21]

It was not a particularly good shave this morning. It was on only about 20 hours of growth, but I don't think that was the issue.

First, I made the lather too thin. I can always tell because I take aftershave sting and the shave isn't super close because there's not enough body in the lather to fully lift my hair off the skin.

Second, the blade wasn't particularly sharp, either. This was actually a bit of a shock, but it does answer a question I've had for some time. After shaving with the Dorco Prime for quite a while, then followed by the Dorco ST301 Stainless for over a month, then back to the Prime for a week, I went with the Dorco Titan this morning. It clearly is the least sharp of the bunch, which may explain why it's marketed as their economy blade. I'd rate the Prime's sharpness at 4.5, the ST301's at 4, and the Titan at 3 or maybe 3.5. I'd need to try it again tomorrow with a better lather.

 

[cajunrph]

It was not a particularly good shave this morning. It was on only about 20 hours of growth, but I don't think that was the issue.

First, I made the lather too thin. I can always tell because I take aftershave sting and the shave isn't super close because there's not enough body in the lather to fully lift my hair off the skin.

Second, the blade wasn't particularly sharp, either. This was actually a bit of a shock, but it does answer a question I've had for some time. After shaving with the Dorco Prime for quite a while, then followed by the Dorco ST301 Stainless for over a month, then back to the Prime for a week, I went with the Dorco Titan this morning. It clearly is the least sharp of the bunch, which may explain why it's marketed as their economy blade. I'd rate the Prime's sharpness at 4.5, the ST301's at 4, and the Titan at 3 or maybe 3.5. I'd need to try it again tomorrow with a better lather.

Interesting, maybe that is why the Titan was my least-liked blade next to the Tiger in my recent comeback to DE shaving. I have other Dorco blades, according to my order confirmations, I have some Primes and ST301.

 

[Jay21]

Interesting, maybe that is why the Titan was my least-liked blade next to the Tiger in my recent comeback to DE shaving. I have other Dorco blades, according to my order confirmations, I have some Primes and ST301.

I’m going to blame user error for now regarding the sting, but I used to really like the Titan, so that was a surprise. I binned the blade already and I’m going with a Nacet tomorrow morning.

 

[Jay21]

Now we’re back on track. Thicker lather with the Fendrihan soap + sharp Nacet = nice shave. No aftershave sting. Although, my whiskers put up a little fight against the Nacet this morning. I wonder what that was all about. I thought my prep was good.