Journey to 100 blades (journal)

[Abz88]

Shave 2 with the Winner Stainless and it felt similar to shave 1. Not as sharp as a true Gillette Stainless blade and it felt a bit rough (scratchy). Todays end result wasn't as good as the previous shave, a bit more irritation, some Alum feedback and a couple of ingrowns made an appearance.

 

[Abz88]

Shave 3 withe the Winner Stainless and another average shave. It didn't feel as sharp as the previous two shaves but did feel a touch smoother. The end result was a shave that wasn't quite as close and result in some flare up of the irritation around my neck (although no more signd of ingrowns and minimal Alum feedback)

 

[thombrogan]

Hi, Abz88!

How does the Truefitt and Hill Highgrove Pre-shave oil compare to your Castle Forbes pre-shave?

 

[Abz88]

Hi, Abz88!

How does the Truefitt and Hill Highgrove Pre-shave oil compare to your Castle Forbes pre-shave?

It makes a pleasant change and the Highgrove scent is pretty nice.
"The fragrance of the collection instantly evokes the charm of Highgrove Gardens with notes of the essence of cedar at its very heart. The delicate top notes of cypress and lemon gently combine with a hint of lavender, a twist of papyrus and a delicate trace of vetiver to complete the palette of this enduring fragrance." (from their website)

Performance wise I would say it's a step below Castle Forbes. The Castle Forbes formula is water based so there is no oily feeling on your skin that you get from most pre-shave oils but your face still feels hydrated and stubble feels softer. Highgrove leaves a slight oily feel behind so it doesn't quite match up to Castle Forbes but beats other oils I've tried.

 

[thombrogan]

Thank you very much for the comparison.

 

[Abz88]

Shave 4 with the Winner Stainless last night, just a quick single pass to look presentable for dinner and drinks in town. Another slight drop in sharpness and smoothness, although no signs of irritation or ingrowns after a single pass. I had to go over a couple of spots across the grain as well to get them close enough for my liking.

Overall it's been a bit of a disappointing blade, not a terrible blade but not as sharp or as smooth as made by Gillette Stainless blades.

 

[Abz88]

Blade 62: Gillette Winner Platinum

The next blade on deck was the Winner Platinum. Unlike the Winner Stainless this one is actually made by Gillette and the first shave was an improvement on the Winner Stainless. It felt sharper (mid-sharp range) and nice and smooth with minimal blade feel. The end result was a fairly close shave with no irritation or Alum feedback and no sign of any ingrowns.

 

[Abz88]

Shave 2 with the Winner Platinum and another pleasant shave. It felt a bit sharper today although not quite as smooth (still very smooth though) and it has the Winner Stainless easily beaten again. A close shave with no irritation, Alum feedback or signs of ingrowns.

 

[Abz88]

Shave 3 with the Winner Platinum. I've been using a BIC on my last couple of shaves and the difference in sharpness compared to the super sharp BIC is definitely noticeable, however, the Winner Platinum still produced a pretty smooth and close shave with no irritation or Alum feedback.

 

[Abz88]

Shave 4 with the Winner Platinum. I used a BIC on my last shave and the difference in sharpness compared to the super sharp BIC is now very noticeable. The Winner Platinum still produced a pretty smooth shave but it wasn't as close as previous shaves and there were a couple of ingrown/curl backs. I also noticed a couple of ingrown/curl backs after shave 3 as well that appeared the following day.

Overall the Winner Platinum was sharper and smoother than the Winner Stainless, to me it's a mid-sharp blade and very smooth but not quite sharp enough for me after the first two shaves in this razor.

 

[thombrogan]

Abz88,

May I please ask you how a Fatip Picolo (either baseplate) compares with a Feather AS-D2 if they’re both loaded with a Bic Chrome Platinum?

 

[Abz88]

Abz88,

May I please ask you how a Fatip Picolo (either baseplate) compares with a Feather AS-D2 if they’re both loaded with a Bic Chrome Platinum?

For me the AS-D2 is a bit smoother whereas the FaTip shaves a bit closer with the Gentile plate and becomes more aggressive with the OC (I rarely do three passes with the OC).
The FaTip also needs a bit more concentration to load and get the blade alignment correct whereas the Feather doesn't have any alignment issues.

 

[thombrogan]

Thank you for your comparison.

 

[Abz88]

Blade 63: Gillette Super Blue

Up next is another one of the Chinese Gillette blades, the Super Blue. Shave 1 was a very good shave. It seems like its in the sharp category (Astr SS, Minora Stainless level but not Nacet or Perma-sharp level of sharpness) and it was very smooth in the Piccolo. Compared to the other Gillette China blades I've tried it was a better first shave than the Super Thin and Super Thin Platinum blades but not as good as the London Bridge (a verg sharp blade!). Overall no irritation or Alum feedback and no sign of ingrowns or curl backs.

On a side note, it looks like Gillette are moving more PPI blades to India and China so I might have to start revisiting a bunch of blades!

 

[Abz88]

Shave 2 with the Super Blue today and another excellent shave. It its still very smooth, felt a touch sharper today and also had a touch more blade feel to it. Another close shave with no irritation, Alum feedback or signs of ingrowns.

 

[Abz88]

Shave 3 with the Super Blue was another very good shave. It felt a touch sharper and still very smooth. Another close shave with no irritation, Alum feedback or sign of ingrowns.

 

[Abz88]

Shave 4 with the Super Blue and another very pleasant shave. It still felt sharp and smooth and provided another final close shave with no irritation or Alum feedback.

Overall it's been a very good set of shaves and out if the Gillette China blades I've tried so far this one is a clear second behind the London Bridge (at least in this razor)

 

[Abz88]

Blade 64: Gillette Wilkinson Sword India

A bit of a break from Gillette China today with a move make to Gillette India. The oddly named Gillette Wilkinson Sword is up next (this is the made in India version, I'll compare it to the made in China version next). The history behind this brand comes from when Gillette bought Wilkinson Sword but was only able to secure the rights to it in certain jurisdictions. I believe it was Anti-monopoly rules that prevented it taking it over in all regions (there are threads on here that go into more detail!).

In terms of the shave, it was quite nice but not as good as last weeks Silver Blue. It's sharp enough, but felt a bit rough on the first pass. It did, however, improve it's smoothness on the second and third passes and provided a close and irritation free shave with some minimal Alum feedback.

 

[Abz88]

Shave 2 with the Gillette Wilkinson Sword India was slightly better than the first shave. There was no initial roughness (smooth throughout) and the blade still felt sharp. It was another close shave with no irritation and no Alum feedback. A couple of curl backs but nothing major and no other signs of ingrowns.

 

[Luc]

On a side note, it looks like Gillette are moving more PPI blades to India and China so I might have to start revisiting a bunch of blades!

I must say that you got me at that very quote! I'm in the same boat. While I haven't kicked the new set of blades yet, I am finishing the line-up (which razor) that I will use. You have a lot of blades that I plan to use so I'm very interested in comparing notes! Thank you for posting your findings! It's helpful!