I couldn't shave yesterday. I couldn't shave earlier today. Schedule went out of control (the Freelancer's Curse™
But I had to shave tonight. Reasons: Classified.
I've already established my go-to Main Axe: a Dorco St-300 in my late-1940s gold Gillette Aristocrat (while I still search for my elusive silver/rhodium closed-comb Aristocrat with exactly the same shaving characteristics). This, as Dana Carvey exclaims, is Excalibur. But I also got a Gillette Super Adjustable (1972) along with the 'crat, and got some yellow-label Gillette 7 O'Clock SharpEdge samples alongside the two Dorco 300s. I figured this was as good a time as any to try the Super/7 O'Clock combo, and see how this setup worked under semi-rushed conditions.
Turned out the conditions were rougher than rushed: halfway through my pre-shave shower, the hot water started to temper downward, which reminded me that the boiler had been playing up the last week. I cut the shower a bit short to save a bit of agua caliente, and started prepping for the shave with fingers crossed tightly. I had the blade in the Super already, so there was no hasty razor setup. Razor set at "3." A normal two-and-a-half-pass (two on the face, plus an XTG along the neck) was the drill.
Then the water went seriously cold on my first-pass rinse. Bad. I soldiered onward. The next pass brought the slightest bit of burn, but I attribute that to my rushing a bit more than I'd like. Final rinse in cool water, then a final final rinse in Absolute Cold water spray, dab dry, then AS.
No weepers (surprisingly), and just a hint of burn, but a just-short-of-BBS shave (re-evaluating as I tap this out).
Verdict. The yellow Gillettes stay in the picture. I'll want to compare them with the IPs before designating them as Go-To #2. But I like what I feel so far.
- Barrett
But I had to shave tonight. Reasons: Classified.
I've already established my go-to Main Axe: a Dorco St-300 in my late-1940s gold Gillette Aristocrat (while I still search for my elusive silver/rhodium closed-comb Aristocrat with exactly the same shaving characteristics). This, as Dana Carvey exclaims, is Excalibur. But I also got a Gillette Super Adjustable (1972) along with the 'crat, and got some yellow-label Gillette 7 O'Clock SharpEdge samples alongside the two Dorco 300s. I figured this was as good a time as any to try the Super/7 O'Clock combo, and see how this setup worked under semi-rushed conditions.
Turned out the conditions were rougher than rushed: halfway through my pre-shave shower, the hot water started to temper downward, which reminded me that the boiler had been playing up the last week. I cut the shower a bit short to save a bit of agua caliente, and started prepping for the shave with fingers crossed tightly. I had the blade in the Super already, so there was no hasty razor setup. Razor set at "3." A normal two-and-a-half-pass (two on the face, plus an XTG along the neck) was the drill.
Then the water went seriously cold on my first-pass rinse. Bad. I soldiered onward. The next pass brought the slightest bit of burn, but I attribute that to my rushing a bit more than I'd like. Final rinse in cool water, then a final final rinse in Absolute Cold water spray, dab dry, then AS.
No weepers (surprisingly), and just a hint of burn, but a just-short-of-BBS shave (re-evaluating as I tap this out).
Verdict. The yellow Gillettes stay in the picture. I'll want to compare them with the IPs before designating them as Go-To #2. But I like what I feel so far.
- Barrett
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