The meissner creams smell nice but that is it more or less. The hard pucks have an excellent reputation though. The only reason to try one of them in the future
OneBlade Razor
- Thread starter guzziknight
- Start date
I can but agree Ivo4u2, the Meißner un-scented hard soap I used is pretty much perfect with the oneBlade razor & Feather blades. Well at least for me... here where we have very soft water. I also use Proraso Pre-Shave (White) and Proraso Post-Shave Cream (also White) which may affect things too?
Nah it simply looks like the thin cream (not even a croap) and the hard soap have different properties and are most likely designed to be used a bit different. A tube of proraso, speick all give me better results than meissner cream. But in the future will try hard soap. Usually hard soaps give me more easily a dry skin so I prefer croaps
I think you will need to modify the blades to work with the one blade
I got the $20 deal for the Core, too. I like the shave a lot, but struggling with the idea of, at best, 4 shaves per blade (and to be honest, I should have stopped at 3). Today I made a small strop to fit the Valet Auto Strop. This morning, I used a new Feather in the OneBlade, then took the blade out and put it in the Auto Strop and used it to strop the blade. I'm crossing my fingers that tomorrow morning will feel a little closer to a day 1 shave. I'm hoping to extend blade life to 7 shaves by stropping every day.
Chandu
I Waxed The Badger.
That mirrors if for me as far as the best shaves being 1-3. I have gone to 10 and honestly did not find number 10 much worse than number 4. You could tell the blade had dulled and was a bit tuggy, but it didn't really get any worse for me after number 4.
I really wish I owned one of the originals that took the despined Gem blades.
In case anyone is wondering, stropping the Feather blade in an Auto Strop didn't work. My blade, which only had 1 shave on it before stropping it, was horrible this morning. Not sure how it happened, but the blade tugged worse than the 4 day old blade I tossed a couple of days ago. I will not do that again...
I agree with @Chandu, I wish I owned one of the V1 Genesis razors about now. I know I can buy a nibbler and notch the GEMs, but I'm not that handy. Was there ever a Hybrid that took the despined GEMs?
I agree with @Chandu, I wish I owned one of the V1 Genesis razors about now. I know I can buy a nibbler and notch the GEMs, but I'm not that handy. Was there ever a Hybrid that took the despined GEMs?
To be VERY clear on the OB v1:
There is this myth going around that it could take a despined but unnotched Gem blade. The truth is that you could, however, you can also do it on all current OB models. A despinded Gem blade will stay in place by friction. The blade angle will be slightly off and the shave not quite efficient as a notched Gem, but that was the case with the v1 also.
The v1 and v2 (and all OB razors still have the tabs on both ends inside the head to seat the FHS blade, which is what you are trying to accomplish by notching the Gem blade. The v1 was build to a closer tolerance and so the blade would not float like the later models did. Inserting an unnotched Gem blade in any model almost ensured that the blade would not float. If you use a notched blade, then putting a shim on top of the blade (like @Ron R showed in the Core thread) also prevents the notched Gem blade from moving around as much.
I owned a v1 and after a day of looking it over and experimenting with a Gem blade I found all the myths about this "magical" v1 to be bogus and it stayed in my possession for the least amount of time of any razor I owned before selling it (like less than one day).
There is this myth going around that it could take a despined but unnotched Gem blade. The truth is that you could, however, you can also do it on all current OB models. A despinded Gem blade will stay in place by friction. The blade angle will be slightly off and the shave not quite efficient as a notched Gem, but that was the case with the v1 also.
The v1 and v2 (and all OB razors still have the tabs on both ends inside the head to seat the FHS blade, which is what you are trying to accomplish by notching the Gem blade. The v1 was build to a closer tolerance and so the blade would not float like the later models did. Inserting an unnotched Gem blade in any model almost ensured that the blade would not float. If you use a notched blade, then putting a shim on top of the blade (like @Ron R showed in the Core thread) also prevents the notched Gem blade from moving around as much.
I owned a v1 and after a day of looking it over and experimenting with a Gem blade I found all the myths about this "magical" v1 to be bogus and it stayed in my possession for the least amount of time of any razor I owned before selling it (like less than one day).
Thanks. Very helpful information.
I bought the $20 Core as my first SE about 2 months ago, with the possibility that if I really liked it maybe I'd move up to the middle level razor at some point.
In my experience, what I find remarkable about the Core is that it's so smooth & gentle it's almost impossible to nick yourself or create a weeper. I even applied pressure, like some others have said. The Core truly puts the "safety" in Safety Razor.
For me the following cons mean it won't be an every day driver or close to it:
In my experience, what I find remarkable about the Core is that it's so smooth & gentle it's almost impossible to nick yourself or create a weeper. I even applied pressure, like some others have said. The Core truly puts the "safety" in Safety Razor.
For me the following cons mean it won't be an every day driver or close to it:
- I only get a DFS with it; never got BBS even at a 3 pass
- Head is too bulky to get nooks & crannies under my nose; I need to use it with a Trac 2 at hand for clean-up
- I only get 2 comfy shaves with a higher-priced proprietary blade (haven't done the gem mod yet)
I feel the same way. Very smooth, leaves me with no irritation, but I was hoping for more.
For those with the Core, who wish for a bit more, the Hybrid and Genesis are each a step up in efficiency over the Core. The most recent Core actually give a pretty good shave, it takes a bit more work than the others, but BBS is possible, and a Feather yields around 6 good/acceptable shaves. The first shave or two, I can get way with two passes, if I go ATG first, followed by WTG for the 2nd pass.
The Hybrid is still more efficient than the latest Core, and removes more on the first pass. The Genesis is a step over the Hybrid, and getting sloppy or pressing too much, particularly the first 1-2 shaves with a Feather, leaves you with weepers. - Yep, the only one that can give me weepers, especially in the mustache area and the scar under my chin, and I learned to apply normal shaving pressure the first couple of shaves. Still around 6 good shaves, and she's tapering off pretty good by shave 6, beyond that and you need a lot of buffing and/or additional passes to get to what I consider an acceptable shave.
Modifying a GEM, which isn't hard, I can grind down half a dozen blades in 5-6 minutes, using my dremel, yields shaves comparable to around shave 2 with a Feather, and that shave quality remains throughout most of the blades life, which for me is 9-10 shaves. (I have two 100 packs of 100 PTFE blades purchased over a year ago from overseas, making the blade cost comparable to DE blades).
What hasn't been said is just how smooth the GEM blade is, even on the first shave, it's as smooth and non-weeper inducing as a Feather on it's 3rd or so shave, and seems to get even smoother the first couple of shaves. They work really, really well in my Genesis. - And YES the shave is actually pretty good, even if you don't get the notch quite right, having it sit atop of the retaining posts. (My only concern would be with the Core, where if the blade was pushed too far forward, you may cut off the front tabs, which cover the corners, as they are plastic....not a concern with the Hybrid or Genesis).
My OneBlade has become my daily driver, and I may even sell my Fat-Boy, Slim, Super, NEW SC/LC razors, and Injector. I'm still contemplating selling the Timeless (95 OC) and Rockwell razors as well, it's just automatic for me to use. - Realistically, I'll keep the Adjustable Injector, and probably the Rockwell or Timeless, just to use my blade supply. (Figure the Q-Shave/MingShi aren't worth selling, or wouldn't fetch anything, so why bother, so they'll probably stay as well).
The Hybrid is still more efficient than the latest Core, and removes more on the first pass. The Genesis is a step over the Hybrid, and getting sloppy or pressing too much, particularly the first 1-2 shaves with a Feather, leaves you with weepers. - Yep, the only one that can give me weepers, especially in the mustache area and the scar under my chin, and I learned to apply normal shaving pressure the first couple of shaves. Still around 6 good shaves, and she's tapering off pretty good by shave 6, beyond that and you need a lot of buffing and/or additional passes to get to what I consider an acceptable shave.
Modifying a GEM, which isn't hard, I can grind down half a dozen blades in 5-6 minutes, using my dremel, yields shaves comparable to around shave 2 with a Feather, and that shave quality remains throughout most of the blades life, which for me is 9-10 shaves. (I have two 100 packs of 100 PTFE blades purchased over a year ago from overseas, making the blade cost comparable to DE blades).
What hasn't been said is just how smooth the GEM blade is, even on the first shave, it's as smooth and non-weeper inducing as a Feather on it's 3rd or so shave, and seems to get even smoother the first couple of shaves. They work really, really well in my Genesis. - And YES the shave is actually pretty good, even if you don't get the notch quite right, having it sit atop of the retaining posts. (My only concern would be with the Core, where if the blade was pushed too far forward, you may cut off the front tabs, which cover the corners, as they are plastic....not a concern with the Hybrid or Genesis).
My OneBlade has become my daily driver, and I may even sell my Fat-Boy, Slim, Super, NEW SC/LC razors, and Injector. I'm still contemplating selling the Timeless (95 OC) and Rockwell razors as well, it's just automatic for me to use. - Realistically, I'll keep the Adjustable Injector, and probably the Rockwell or Timeless, just to use my blade supply. (Figure the Q-Shave/MingShi aren't worth selling, or wouldn't fetch anything, so why bother, so they'll probably stay as well).
I've been using the latest Core and get BBS shaves every time. No issues under my nose (but I've also used the GEM 1912 in the past, so I'm used to the size of the head). I'll have to look at videos on how to notch GEM blades with a Dremel. But like @cyberdog I'm considering selling some of my other razors to step up to a Genesis. I hear they can drop to $200 for Father's Day and Black Friday.
Ron R
I survived a lathey foreman
Oneblade Core is a great razor and you can cheat to make it a little more aggressive if that is what you want by taping a shim to the blade. It is easy and I have lots of time on my hands to have a little fun making a razor more aggressive.
People who do not get close shave are not applying enough pressure more than likely(IMO). I use the Core for shaving the back of my neck when cutting my hair and very rarely have issues. The razor is in my top 3 for now and i'm glad I purchased it for $19.99 with no blade purchases.
The shave range I usually get after shaving is CCS,DFS,BBS and that is my sweet spot objective for results.
SOTD, Friday Feb 14th,2020- Still enjoying my Oneblade Core and still having some fun with it, today I experimented with a shim(.005 thousands of a inch thickness taped to the modified gem blade) it's a bit crude but effective. You can not get a closer shave with out potato peeling the skin. (excellent shave). The closer the shave the greater the chances of possible irritation as a rule of thumb IMO. I did notice a increase in blade feel because of larger blade gap with slight aggression & efficiency increase but nothing serious to worry about. But I enjoy just the regular shave with no adjustment to blade just as much. All my razors go through a gauntlet of testing & if I like the results it stays in rotation-(2 pass,3 pass,shim if possible,buffing,J-hooking & Gillette slide or Oneblade slide
.)
Razor : One blade Core 2nd version- MFG 2018>
Blade : Gem SS PTFE modified (8) with a .005 tapped shim piggy backed on lower half.
Soap : Razorock "What the Puck" orange citrus bergamot scent.
Brush: Razorock Plissoft.
Pre-shave: Brush wash the face with CeraVe hand bar soap + A dollop of clear Aloe Vera gel on beard area.
Prep: cold water rinse after each pass of 3.
Post shave: Razorock blue barber with witch hazel + Nivea Men balm.
Results: CCS,DFS,BBS + no irritation + no weepers =
Have some great shaves!
I Still like to tinker with perfection, I have been testing some shims just for a little enjoyment and they will change the shave if that is what a person wants. As above in SOTD I describe some of the subtle changes with a .005 thousands shim. I like the Core the way it is but who knows if you find a even better sweet spot with a shim. The tape holds very well and is hard to remove from blade surface. Next trial is the .0025 thousands of a inch shim and it should be not very noticeable I'm thinking.
Shim goes to the bottom when loading so it raises the height of its seat , shim sits on the base plate raising height of blade gap.(someone asked about shim placement.)
I only place the shim on one half of the blade to experiment with so you can still install and remove as a normal blade.
I have experimented with different razors so this is not very hard a task to try for myself (or anyone for that matters). I also made a thinner wedge because of the blade being raised a little more by .005 thousands of inch in the seat or base plate.
So guys who find the Core to mild you can crank it up marginally if that is what you wish. Shimming is taboo to some but not to me. There are a lot of razors from the vintage era that used shims or buttons to raise the angle of the blade like GEM, Everready, Star , Treet.......!
Have some great shaves!
People who do not get close shave are not applying enough pressure more than likely(IMO). I use the Core for shaving the back of my neck when cutting my hair and very rarely have issues. The razor is in my top 3 for now and i'm glad I purchased it for $19.99 with no blade purchases.
The shave range I usually get after shaving is CCS,DFS,BBS and that is my sweet spot objective for results.
SOTD, Friday Feb 14th,2020- Still enjoying my Oneblade Core and still having some fun with it, today I experimented with a shim(.005 thousands of a inch thickness taped to the modified gem blade) it's a bit crude but effective. You can not get a closer shave with out potato peeling the skin. (excellent shave). The closer the shave the greater the chances of possible irritation as a rule of thumb IMO. I did notice a increase in blade feel because of larger blade gap with slight aggression & efficiency increase but nothing serious to worry about. But I enjoy just the regular shave with no adjustment to blade just as much. All my razors go through a gauntlet of testing & if I like the results it stays in rotation-(2 pass,3 pass,shim if possible,buffing,J-hooking & Gillette slide or Oneblade slide
.)Razor : One blade Core 2nd version- MFG 2018>
Blade : Gem SS PTFE modified (8) with a .005 tapped shim piggy backed on lower half.
Soap : Razorock "What the Puck" orange citrus bergamot scent.
Brush: Razorock Plissoft.
Pre-shave: Brush wash the face with CeraVe hand bar soap + A dollop of clear Aloe Vera gel on beard area.
Prep: cold water rinse after each pass of 3.
Post shave: Razorock blue barber with witch hazel + Nivea Men balm.
Results: CCS,DFS,BBS + no irritation + no weepers =
Have some great shaves!
I Still like to tinker with perfection, I have been testing some shims just for a little enjoyment and they will change the shave if that is what a person wants. As above in SOTD I describe some of the subtle changes with a .005 thousands shim. I like the Core the way it is but who knows if you find a even better sweet spot with a shim. The tape holds very well and is hard to remove from blade surface. Next trial is the .0025 thousands of a inch shim and it should be not very noticeable I'm thinking.
Shim goes to the bottom when loading so it raises the height of its seat , shim sits on the base plate raising height of blade gap.(someone asked about shim placement.)
I only place the shim on one half of the blade to experiment with so you can still install and remove as a normal blade.
I have experimented with different razors so this is not very hard a task to try for myself (or anyone for that matters). I also made a thinner wedge because of the blade being raised a little more by .005 thousands of inch in the seat or base plate.
So guys who find the Core to mild you can crank it up marginally if that is what you wish. Shimming is taboo to some but not to me. There are a lot of razors from the vintage era that used shims or buttons to raise the angle of the blade like GEM, Everready, Star , Treet.......!
Have some great shaves!
Chandu
I Waxed The Badger.
Cool info, all you experimenters. I won't spend time futzing for a shave and shims and notching and what not firmly fall into the futzing category for me.
For me with the OneBlade and it's blades, my conclusion is "pay the man". I'm not trying to only spend 17 cents per year shaving so a blade that only lasts two to four shaves is not a show stopper for me.
For me with the OneBlade and it's blades, my conclusion is "pay the man". I'm not trying to only spend 17 cents per year shaving so a blade that only lasts two to four shaves is not a show stopper for me.
Still on the fence if a modded gem shaves better as a standard feather in a oneblade core (in the genesis it does for me) otoh Is it worth the hassle modding the blade?
Especially since my broman works better for me as both and is not so picky with blades And 10-14 days on a de is all-most normal.
Especially since my broman works better for me as both and is not so picky with blades And 10-14 days on a de is all-most normal.
Ron R
I survived a lathey foreman
Ever since I started buying Vintage razors I have been altering blades to big name brands (Enders & Valet Auto Strop razors) and now One blade. I also was experimenting with B-20 Schick proline blades in Vintage Schicks. B-20 blades do not work well in a Schick injectors so that might help some folks who think they are good blades for old Schick injectors. Also Gem razors can have some issues with the new thinner spines in some models. So we all learn some thing and you have a valid point about modifying sharp objects.
Have some great shaves!
Ron R
I survived a lathey foreman
SE SOTD, Wed, Jan 26th, 2022, Another simpler method just learned recently from "Subie shaves" Youtube ,Jan1st video.
Subie is a bundle of energy and a avid shaver of different razors IMO.
Razor: Oneblade core- Mfg 2017> excellent mild razor, great design, Feather FHS-10 blades it uses have no longevity so I use 2 de-splined Gem blades. I just grind 1 spent one on the cutting edge and stack the new Gem blade on top and place together in the core and works well. There is enough resistance to hold the blade and makes the shave a touch better for efficentcy IMO. Good daily driver also.
Great razor to use shaving the back of my neck after each hair cut clipping.
Blade: excellent blade, very sharp, great longevity, smooths out nicely + predictable. Best cost per/shave for SE blades IMO.
Soap: Ogallala Bayrum with Sandal wood, great soap, great lather qualities. I Enjoy the scent of Bayrum with sandalwood.
Brush: Yaqi 24mm Mysterious galaxy silvertip badger, excellent lather generator, heavenly pillow like soft tips, great scrub + excellent lather painter.
Pre shave: Brush wash whole face with CeraVe hand bar cleanser + a dollop of Aloe Vera gel on the cleaned beard area.
Prep: Cold water rinse after each pass of 2 + pickups.
Post shave: Witch hazel cleanse + Ogallala Bayrum with sandalwood (some clove) + dollop of CeraVe moisturizing lotion.
Results: CCS, DFS,BBS + no irritation + no weepers =
![[IMG]](https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/various2/a17.gif "[IMG]")
excellent shave with my Oneblade Core with a de-splined Gem.
Have some great shaves!
Subie is a bundle of energy and a avid shaver of different razors IMO.
Razor: Oneblade core- Mfg 2017> excellent mild razor, great design, Feather FHS-10 blades it uses have no longevity so I use 2 de-splined Gem blades. I just grind 1 spent one on the cutting edge and stack the new Gem blade on top and place together in the core and works well. There is enough resistance to hold the blade and makes the shave a touch better for efficentcy IMO. Good daily driver also.
Great razor to use shaving the back of my neck after each hair cut clipping.
Blade: excellent blade, very sharp, great longevity, smooths out nicely + predictable. Best cost per/shave for SE blades IMO.
Soap: Ogallala Bayrum with Sandal wood, great soap, great lather qualities. I Enjoy the scent of Bayrum with sandalwood.
Brush: Yaqi 24mm Mysterious galaxy silvertip badger, excellent lather generator, heavenly pillow like soft tips, great scrub + excellent lather painter.
Pre shave: Brush wash whole face with CeraVe hand bar cleanser + a dollop of Aloe Vera gel on the cleaned beard area.
Prep: Cold water rinse after each pass of 2 + pickups.
Post shave: Witch hazel cleanse + Ogallala Bayrum with sandalwood (some clove) + dollop of CeraVe moisturizing lotion.
Results: CCS, DFS,BBS + no irritation + no weepers =
Have some great shaves!
Thanks Ron, hmmm I do get add just from watching this guy.. not sure what he smelled before but it worked for him ;-)
Is there any dicernable difference in the shave quality of the Hybrid vs Genesis in their most recent iterations? Really tempted to try this razor but I'm not willing to spend $300+ and I really don't like the idea of the propitiatory blades. Who's to say this comany even lasts that long and pretty soon blades will be really hard to come by.
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