GIVEAWAY! Participation PIF - A Tale Of Two Bridges

[lancre]

Blade: London Bridge (UK)
Razor: Flexi on 4.5
Mug: Captain's Choice Heavyweight Copper
Soap: B&M 42
Brush: Muhle STF XL
Post-shave: Thayer's Toner WH, Nivea Men Sensitive PSB

Today's result was a solid DFS shave. Pleasant all the way through, with a bit of stubble left at the back corner of the jaw.
It took some buffing to get there.

 

[TheBigL]

Used the Wilkinson blade again, albeit with a substandard lather. My shaving bowl took a swan dive yesterday and I had a new and cheap soap in a tin I wanted to try. The soap was basically garbage but slick enough to use. That blade does not disappoint. Even with crap lather, I had a clean and close shave. Pretty sure this was shave #6 on the blade. The blade has had many hard uses with long stubble to handle most shaves. The Wilkinson has been the best for me.

 

[lancre]

Blade: London Bridge (UK)
Razor: Flexi on 4.5
Mug: Captain's Choice Heavyweight Copper
Soap: B&M 42
Brush: Muhle STF XL
Post-shave: Thayer's Toner WH, Stirling Barbershop PSB

Today's result was another solid DFS shave. Just a bit of stubble left at the back corner of the jaw.
It took some buffing to get there. This blade is starting to show its age.

 

[Balthier]

Razor: DS Cosmetic AX-SE Plate 1
Blade: Wilkinson Sword England 2 shave #1
Brush: AP Shave Co Independent fiber UHD
Soap: M&M Nantahala Frost Kodiak
AS: A&E Yuzu
Excellent smooth shave took off almost a weeks growth no problem smooth as butter 9/10

 

[BradWorld]

Yesterday's Travel Shave was with the Chinese London Bridge in the SLOC'ed R41. The shave was smooth and pleasant like the last time. However, once again, it was less refined and a bit unhinged at times. There was some more noticeable tugging under the nose and by the soul patch area, but not too bad. It is a bit sharper at times than the british version, but at the expense of some smoothness. This Chinese version is a great blade nonetheless. It was an overall good shave. But I like the British version much better.

These tests have run their course for me. I find the Light Brigade blade the best of the bunch. It is smooth and sharp. And it seems to last much longer than the other two. I have six or more shaves on one, and its still going. The vintage British London Bridge is the next in line. It is smooth and sharp too. A bit more refined and more well behaved. The Chinese blade is very close to the British one, but with a bit less smoothness in play. All three blades are quite comparable. This was a very good match for test blades.

However, my final verdict is the British London Bridge is the winner. No matter how good the Light Brigade is, it is unobtanium. I sometimes see these going as high as $10 a blade or more on the auction sites. So that disqualified it immediately. The Chinese blade can be a bit unruly. But its still very good. And the Brit version is just better in every way. And these British London Bridges are somewhat challenging to find, but they are out there. I have a bunch. So it is the winner. But really all three blades are winners.

ve was with the

 

[lancre]

Blade: Light Brigade (UK)
Razor: Variant on 4.5
Mug: Captain's Choice Heavyweight Copper
Soap: B&M 42
Brush: RV Mistura
Post-shave: Thayer's Toner WH, Nivea Men Sensitive PSB

Today's result was another solid BBS- shave. Just a bit of stubble left at the back corner of the jaw.
It took some buffing to get there, but that's natural for a blade with several shaves on it

 

[lancre]

Blade: Light Brigade (UK)
Razor: Variant on 4.5
Mug: Captain's Choice Heavyweight Copper
Soap: B&M 42
Brush: Simpson Trafalgar T2
Post-shave: Supply Healing WH, Captain's Choice Land Ho! PSB

Wrapping up Week 12 of this challenge (started on Leap Day):

Today's result was another solid BBS- shave. Just a bit of stubble left at the back corner of the jaw.
It took some buffing to get there, which resulted in a bloodless nick just above the right clavicle, no big deal.

My initial impressions have been amplified as the weeks progressed. The Light Brigade narrowly edged out the UK London Bridge. The Chinese London Bridge was a good blade but not in the same league with the UK blades. As the weeks progressed, it became increasingly clear that it was a 2-horse race and the Chinese blades were running 3rd. I wouldn't throw them out, but I have enough blades in my stash that I wouldn't go out and buy 100 of them either. OTOH, if I found either of the UK blades for under $1.00/blade, I'd grab 20-30.

 

[FarmerTan]

Shave number 3 was the best shave yet with the 2 blades I've used. A 9.999/10 on the @BigJ scale!

I have ten shaves on the second blade I've used. Still going strong (just used it this AM) but I've decided to swap it out for the third blade. Now to find it, lol! I put 10 shaves on the orange wrapped one, 10 on this one:
And I'll get the next one set up for the next shave right now.

 

[FarmerTan]

I have ten shaves on the second blade I've used. Still going strong (just used it this AM) but I've decided to swap it out for the third blade. Now to find it, lol! I put 10 shaves on the orange wrapped one, 10 on this one:View attachment 1851116View attachment 1851117
And I'll get the next one set up for the next shave right now.

I should add that here I am 36ish hours later I still have the equivalent of a decent fast shave on my incredibly handsome face!

 

[BradWorld]

I have a bonus shave for this thread. I know I said I was done. But when I got home from my long road trip, I threw that Wilkinson Light Brigade into my WR2 and gave it another go. This was shave 7 on this blade. And I am compelled to post about it. The last four shaves on the road were with the two London Bridge blades. The first two were with about fours days growth each. The second two were only two days growth each. But all four shaves exhibited some tugging under the nose and in the soul patch area. This shave with the Light Brigade blade (7) after four days growth exhibited zero tugging in those areas. It was smooth as silk. Was it the blade? Or was it the amazing WR2? More testing is in order. I will have to shave with the same WR2 setup on each London Bridge blade with four days growth and report back.

B&M 42 Soap and Balm
Rudy 2022 STF Brush
Wolfman WR2 1.15
Light Brigade (7)
And of course… my trust Lancaster grey wool Shave Towel!