Michiganlover's Blade Sampling

[michiganlover]

I have decided that I will start working through my vast stock of different blades this week. I have spent the last two months, using only Derby blades.

I have the following blades at the moment:

25 Derby
20 Feather
5 Lord Super Stainless
5 Astra Superior Stainless
5 Shark
5 Zorrik
10 Crystal
9 Red IP
3 Gillette Seven O'Clock Greens
9 Personna (Wal-Mart)
10 Kroger
5 Family Dollar

I am thinking that the Wal-Mart Personna's, Kroger's, and Family Dollar blades might be close to the same, so I will save those for last.

I am starting out my testing with the Gillette Seven O'Clock Greens.

I plan on shaving with each blade 4 times, and will work each blade through the following razors:

1940's style Superspeed
Red Tip Superspeed
"Lord Merkur Tech" (a Lord Tech with the new Merkur like head.)

Thus I will spend 12 days sampling each blade type.

I have many other razors, but am limiting my testing to just these three for now.

In regards to my other setup, I am going to do the following:

-Pre-Shave: Dove Daily Moisturizing Conditioner
-Brush: Penworks 22mm Finest Badger in a cream handle.
-Soap/Cream: Tabac, VDH Deluxe, P160, Real Shaving, C.O. Bigelow/Proraso.
-Aftershave: Gillette Fusion ASB/ C.O. Bigelow ASB.

I know the general idea is to limit the number of variables, but I have too many wonderful Soaps/Creams to limit myself to just one for the next 96 days.

Note: I have a whole bunch of SE Gems, and some other DE razors I have not even tried, so I might shake things up on occasion.

 

[michiganlover]

Saturday, August 1st:

1st day with Gillette Seven O'Clock Green.

-40's Style Superspeed
-Penworks 22mm in Finest Badger with Cream handle.
-Proraso SC.
-Gillette Fusion ASB

The Seven O'Clock Green provided a very smooth shave, and on the first time out too. Nice close comfortable shave, with no nicks, or weepers. Definitely a keeper.

Previous shave was with a Wal-Mart Personna. I was not impressed as I got the most amount of weepers/ nicks from it, of any shave except for my first DE shave. I binned the blade, and will come back to those later.

Tomorrow I will run the Seven O'Clock through my "Lord Merkur Tech". I want to generally use the same razor for multiple days in a row, but I just got the Lord, and am anxious to try it out.

 

[DunEdinRanger]

Not sure, if you've realized it there Rip Van Winkle, but today is Monday 3 August.

We want the other days posted!

 

[michiganlover]

Not sure, if you've realized it there Rip Van Winkle, but today is Monday 3 August.

We want the other days posted!

Ok, here you go!

Sunday August 2nd:

1st shave with Gem Micromatic Clogpruf

-Pal SE Blade on it's second shave.

-Penworks Brush
-The Real Shaving Company Moisturizing Shaving Cream
-Gillette Fusion ASB

Notice the sad lack of pre-shave prep??

This shave was a major screw up!! I was just about done whipping up lather, when I discovered I had forgot to apply the conditioner. I applied it, but it didn't get the 2-3 minutes it usually has to soak in. ACK!!

The Clogpruf seemed especially rough to my face, and was pulling quite badly. While some think the Pal blades are awful, I have successfully gotten two shaves out of them in the past (I am not ever going to try three shaves on those blades).

I have gotten wonderful shaves with my Micromatic Open Comb, so I wouldn't have thought there would be that much difference between the two. Must be the lack of prep.

 

[michiganlover]

Monday August 3rd

Thinking that yesterday must have been a fluke, I decided to shave again with the Micromatic Clogpruf. This time with a new Pal blade, as the other one already had two shaves on it.

The setup:

-Dove Conditioner
-Penworks Brush
-TOBS St. James
-Gillette Fusion ASB

This shave went quite a bit better than yesterday, but still nowhere near as comfortable as a shave with a Gem Featherweight, or Gem 1912. The shaves from those is amazing the shave with the Clogpruf, just kind of MEH.

I still don't understand why the Clogpruf would not shave as well as the Open Comb Micromatic?

A couple minor nicks on my upper lip, where a childhood scar exists that results in a bump. I nick that open frequently if I am not super careful.

Sometimes if I am supper sloppy, it's more than a nick, more like a wound that bleeds profusely for about 10 minutes!! OUCH!!

 

[michiganlover]

Tuesday August 4th

Second shave on Gillette Seven O'Clock Green. 1st shave with "Lord Merkur Tech".

The Tech, and the P160 both showed up from Shoebox yesterday, so I will shave with both of them today.

-Dove Conditioner
-Penworks 22mm finest badger brush w/ Cream handle
-P160 Shaving Soap
-Gillette Fusion ASB

This was a very smooth, almost nick free shave. These Gillette blades do a great job. Not sure if they are better than my standby though: Derby.

Got some nicks from experimenting with shaving XTG in the opposite direction from what I usually do. My usual shave is WTG, XTG (mouth to ears direction), and then touch ups. Today I tried XTG (ears to mouth) but it felt awful, and gave me a few nicks.

I have to say that the Merkur like head on this Lord Razor performs very excellent. I am not sure I would place it on the same plane as my 40's style Superspeed, but the overall shave quality is greatly to be praised.

The P160 smells wonderful, the almond scent is very very pleasant. It also whipped up into a excellent quality lather. It's called "soap", but it's more like a heavy paste, that you can mold into whatever container you like.

Tomorrow, the 2 shave old Gillette Green is going back into my 40's style Superspeed for it's final two shaves.

 

[RBE17]

You're much more dedicated than I am. If I get a bad, uncomfortable shave from a blade I give it one more shave. After that, it gets one more shave. If the second shave is bad it goes in the blade bank and the remainder of the pack gets shelved.

 

[michiganlover]

You're much more dedicated than I am. If I get a bad, uncomfortable shave from a blade I give it one more shave. After that, it gets one more shave. If the second shave is bad it goes in the blade bank and the remainder of the pack gets shelved.

In all honestly, I have about three dollars invested between the Wal-Mart Personnas, Kroger, and Family Dollar blades.

Part of me was hoping at least one of the three would be serviceable, as it would be good to have a "passable" blade available locally. On the other hand, since Derby's can be had for $15.00 per 100 ($.15 each), I can just buy in bulk, and never worry about running out.

Still the spirit of being frugal begs me to not simply bin them without giving them a fair shake.

On the other hand it might be worth sacrificing three dollars, in order to avoid the pain, and suffering of extra nicks, and weepers.

 

[michiganlover]

Wednesday August 5th

3rd shave on the Gillette 7 O'Clock Green blade, Today, back to the 40's style Superspeed.

The setup:

-Dove conditioner
-Penworks Finest Badger
-VDH Deluxe
-Gillette Fusion ASB

Overall, this was a great quality shave, and the 7 O'Clock is still performing greatly, with no pulling, and is still very smooth.

Now for the bad: try as I might I couldn't get a proper lather out of my VDH.

I haven't truthfully used it in about a month, as I have boatloads of other products. This was the first time I used it with my Penworks brush, which could have been a factor. Mostly I got a very airy lather, with little cushion. Not the rich creamy lather I have gotten in the past. As such the lather disintegrated quite quickly on my face.

VDH has never disappointed before, so I am going to do a few practice lathers later after work.

So today I prove, that despite what I may think, I am quite clearly still a newbie.

 

[michiganlover]

Thursday August 6th

4th, and final shave on this Gillette Seven O'Clock Green in the 40's style Superspeed.

The setup:

-Dove conditioner
-Penworks Finest Badger
-VDH Deluxe
-Gillette Fusion ASB

I got much better quality lather out of the VDH today. Apparently having not used it in a few weeks, I had given it too much water yesterday, resulting in an airy lather.

It was quite clear to me, that this was shave 4 on the blade. Not an awful shave by any means, but not nearly as smooth as yesterday.

Tomorrow starts a fresh Gillette Seven O'Clock blade in the "Lord Merkur Tech".

 

[michiganlover]

Friday August 7th 2009

The setup:
-"Lord Merkur Tech" with Gillette Seven O'Clock Green.
-Dove conditioner
-Penworks Finest Badger
-TOBS Shave Shop
-Gillette Fusion ASB

Put a fresh new Gillette Seven O'Clock Green in the "Lord Merkur Tech". I will shave with this combo for the next four days. Super smooth shave, and I am finding the Lord does a great job as well. One small weeper on my upper lip (re-nicked the nick from yesterday. lol.)

The TOBS Shave Shop is a small sample I received from Shoebox (along with TOBS Mr. Taylor). The smell is not unpleasant, but not as "amazing" as some of their other scents I have tried. It's a quite unique scent, that I can't really describe.

P.S. I think I am close to running out of the Gillette Fusion ASB, so I can move onto higher end products once it runs out.

 

[michiganlover]

Saturday August 8th:

Taking a momentary break from DE shaving!!


So my Bullet Tip Micromatic showed up in the mail yesterday, and i just had to try it!

The Setup:

Gem Bullet Tip Micromatic with Pal blade (one shave on it).

-Dove Conditioner for Pre-Prep
-Penworks Finest 22mm Badger
-TOBS Mr. Taylor
-Gillette Fusion ASB

First of all, the Mr. Taylor is a small sample I received in an order from Shoebox.

They describe the scent as "Green Galbanum and Citrus for an elegant manly scent and a warm, woody drydown with traces of Cedar, Sandal, Patchouli and Musk"

Maybe my scent pallet isn't quite up to snuff, because the scent I primarily smell is Sandalwood. Still this is a very pleasant smelling cream, and the sandalwood scent is a bit more subdued than that of Cyril L. Salter Indian Sandalwood.

On to the shave. This was a close comfortable shave, about on par with what I am accustomed too with my other Micromatics, but not quite as smooth, and comfortable as my Gem Featherweight, or Gem 1912.

I went WTG x2, and then XTG, followed by some blade buffering in my toublesome spot: my right lower check. I think this is troublesome, because I am left handed.

Two weepers on my upper lip, one over the bump that exists from a childhood scar, that I nick frequently, and another I got from trying to be a perfectionist, and shaving a spot that had some missed stubble at the end of the shave without adequate shaving cream. DOH!!

Tomorrow's shave will be the Bullet Tip Micromatic with a brand new Ted Pella blade; I have yet to use a Ted Pella.

Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!

 

[DunEdinRanger]

I'm really curious about how much of an improvement the Ted Pella blades will bring.

 

[michiganlover]

I'm really curious about how much of an improvement the Ted Pella blades will bring.

To sum it up in one word, today was a BLOODBATH!!

Sunday August 9th

Day two with the Bullet Tip Micromatic, this time with a Ted Pella Gem blade.

The Setup:

-Dove conditioner as pre-prep.
-Penworks 22mm badger in finest
-TOBS Mr. Taylor/ Shave Shop (didn't have enough of either sample left for the whole shave, so I made up two batches).
-Gillette Fusion ASB

So the Ted Pella blade felt quite a bit smoother than the Pal blades I had been using in my collection of SE razors. I thought, hey this is a marketed improvement over the Pal blades, which always felt rough, and rather aggressive.

I am not sure what went wrong today, but not only did I get the usual weeper on my lip, from the bump where there is the childhood scar, but I also got another two weepers on my upper lip. I got a couple more on the left side of my neck, and then about 4 sideways long cuts in various parts of my face; which I had always thought were only possible if you shaved at funky angles.

I don't know if the Ted Pella is far sharper than the Pal, and thus I got more cuts than I was expecting, or if my first batch of lather was perhaps way to dry, and thus not as lubricating as it should have been.

The one side of my face felt as if the razor was not gliding at all. The feel felt better with the second round of lather, which was quite a bit wetter.

I did my usual WTG, WTG, XTG three pass shave, and then some touch ups.

Clearly, I am still a newbie who is learning the many facets of good technique.

Tomorrow I will go back to the "Lord Merkur Tech" to continue my blade testing, with day 2 on a Gillette Seven O'Clock Green blade.

 

[michiganlover]

MOnday August 10th:

Day 2 with the Gillette Seven O' Clock Green, and the "Lord Merkur Tech".

The setup:

-Dove conditioner
-Penworks badger brush
-Tabac SS
-Gillette Fusion ASB

This was a refreshing smooth shave, which is a great relief after yesterday's bloodbath!!

The Gillette blade is still cutting close, and comfortable, and is super smooth. It might even be a little better than the Derby.

This was the second usage of the Tabac, and it was considerably better than the first usage. At first I thought the floral smell was very overpowering, but not so much today. I am looking forward to many more shaves with Tabac.

Tomorrow will continue with day 3 of the Seven O' Clock Green, and the "Lord Merkur Tech".

 

[michiganlover]

Tuesday August 11th

Day 3 with the Gillette Green/Lord Merkur Tech Combo.

The setup:

-Dove conditioner
-Penworks badger brush
-AOS Lemon SC
-Gillette Fusion ASB

This was an wonderful close, comfortable shave, and nick free, which is an extreme rarity for me.

This was also the first use for the AOS Lemon SC. Decided to add it into my rotation, as I sold off my Tabac, as the scent is just too strong for me.

The Gillette Green blade is certainly a keeper.

Tomorrow will be the 4th (and last) shave for this combo.

 

[michiganlover]

Wednesday August 12th

Day 4 with the "Lord Merkur Tech" Gillette Seven O'Clock Green combo.

It seems clear to me, that the shave on day 4 doesn't seem to be of the same quality as the previous 3. I think I am from this point forward only going to use any blade to the 3 shave mark.

The setup:

-Dove conditioner
-Penworks badger brush
-VDH Deluxe
-C.O Bigelow Elixir Red ASB

Overall this was a great quality shave, other than the fact that I could feel a difference with it being on shave 4. Tomorrow will start a new Gillette Green in my Red Tip Superspeed.

 

[pablo_h]

Whch green are you using, the indian or the russian?
I've only tried the russian and wasn't too impressed with that compared to the yellow 7 oclock, or any of the israeli or japanese blades

 

[kingfisher]

Whch green are you using, the indian or the russian?
I've only tried the russian and wasn't too impressed with that compared to the yellow 7 oclock, or any of the israeli or japanese blades

My experience was the exact opposite; I found the Russian greens to be better than the yellows. I do love the Kai blades, though. For me the Russian green never worked past 3 shaves.

 

[michiganlover]

My experience was the exact opposite; I found the Russian greens to be better than the yellows. I do love the Kai blades, though. For me the Russian green never worked past 3 shaves.

DE blades are so cheap, I think from this point forward I will just do 3 shaves, and then bin the blade.

I don't know the origin of my Gillette Greens, as I ditched the outer box. I also only had a total of 3 of them, and will more onto trying a different blade once I am done with my 3 shaves on the Red Tip, which should be Thur-Sat.

Any suggestions on what blade I should try next (of the above ones in stock of course)??