Participation PIF- Let's Hammer out some shaves

[TheBigL]

Hammered Out Shaves #1 And #2

TL;DR: a step into yesteryear, decent vintage shaves, feels a little different then modern blades

Equipment: Vintage is as vintage does; in the spirit of these NOS Hammer Brand blades, I've been using my Birth Year/Quarter Gillette Slim on 4. I can just imagine someone 50+ years ago, loading one of these up in a similar razor.

Hammer Shaves: so far, the shaves have been good, SAS+, but I can feel a slight difference in the edge of the blade. To me, it seems that the edge on the modern blades are a bit finer than these. That said, my first Hammer Brand Blade is doing a good job on my whiskers.

Truing The Edge: I acquired a Fedtro Blade Sharpener from Etsy that I'm going to pass this blade thru and see how tomorrow's shave is effected.

Sorry, what does the TL;DR mean?

 

[Grundi]

Sorry, what does the TL;DR mean?

It posting notation that means "Too Long; Didn't Read". I use it as a way to summarize.

 

[Grundi]

I had also tried two shaves with a Hammer. I had also decided to try it in my Slim as well (prior to seeing that this was your choice). I started on 3 which was quite mild. Second shave was on four, but I expect that I'll be gradually be cranking that number up.

That's awesome and cool coincidence!! I was thinking that in the spirit of trying vintage blades, that I would go with a vintage set up (and one that I had confidence in and could provide a good baseline). In my nostalgic thinking, I imagined someone might have used a similar setup when all of these were brand new.

PS great review

 

[Cleanface]

I’m in if still available. Thanks

 

[Weean]

Blade 1, Edge 1, Shave 1:

Hammer Blade, Wilkinson Sword Classic (plastic), Stirling Frankincense & Myrrh, Yaqi Sagrada Familia tuxedo

I wasn't sure what to expect of these blades - were they some kind of mythical blade of the past like a Spoiler or P74, or was there a reason I'd never heard of them before? Taking them out of the wrapper (double wrapped, no glue dots) it was immediately obvious that these were a slightly yellower shade of steel than modern blades. I believe that this points to more chromium and less nickel, but I don't know what the implications of that would be.

I wanted to give them every chance, so I used my best performing soap and even introduced a shower as part of my pre-shave routine. Despite all this my blade was pretty tuggy, and whilst two passes gave me a reasonable finish I'm pretty sure I'm going to have five o'clock shadow today.

I had one tiny weeper on my jawline where I'd had to indulge in a bit of buffing to get a decent finish, but despite this there was zero alum sting when I passed it over.

I realise that my experience doesn't tally with that of @Grundi or @tbhoff so I wonder if I got a bum blade. Or maybe I need to try it in one of my vintage razors... I'll keep you updated.

 

[Billski]

It probably is about as good as a Gillette blue blade. This is an older blade. Years ago the blades weren’t as good as today’s blades.

 

[tbhoff]

I had one tiny weeper on my jawline where I'd had to indulge in a bit of buffing to get a decent finish, but despite this there was zero alum sting when I passed it over.

I realise that my experience doesn't tally with that of @Grundi or @tbhoff so I wonder if I got a bum blade. Or maybe I need to try it in o

Other than the weeper, I definitely noticed some similarities to my experience. They are more tuggy than blades I'm usually comfortable using, but I haven't cut myself at all with them yet.

Usually when I have a blade that seems to tug, I end up cutting myself or at least irritating the skin.

These for me have been totally irritation free, but I definitely haven't been able to get a close shave in my problem spots with them yet.

No idea how this compares to vintage blades generally, as I haven't used any other than the few shaves I have on this one.

 

[SharpieB]

It’s Hammertime! Received safe and sound in Toronto, Canada today.

I am due for a shave so will try one of these today and post my initial impressions.

Thanks again @tbhoff !

 

[SharpieB]

So I just tried the Hammer with my Rockwell 6S on plate 3. Soap was Proraso green and brush was a Yaqi Sagrada Familia. Post was Thayer Rose tonic and Storybook Soapworks Hook AS.

I shaved 24 hours previously, so I didn’t have a ton of stubble. This is also my first “vintage“ blade so I didn’t know what to expect.

It wasn’t a bad shave, but definitely a weird one. The blade was definitely tuggy while still fairly smooth but not what I would consider sharp. I did a 3 pass shave and was more aggressive with the razor than normal. I would have irritation and/or a couple of weepers with most other blades with how much pressure I put on the blade but I didn’t with the Hammer. In fact, it would be VERY difficult to cut yourself with this blade under normal circumstances IMO.

Close shave? Not really. I don’t think I could get a BBS with this blade no matter what I did but my face feels great. Not a bad blade but not nearly my favorite. If I had a bunch of them I would use them though.

Over the weekend I will try the Hammer in my 1956 Red Tip Super Speed and report back.

Lots of fun to be able to try these though!

 

[tbhoff]

We have a few more participants. Unfortunately, work has been beastly this week, so I haven't shipped anything else out. Hopefully I'll be able to get done with work early enough I can pack everything up tomorrow evening and get them to the post office on Saturday. Thanks for your patience.

I have been steadily cranking up the settings on the slim and am currently at 6- this blade definitely works better on more agressive settings for me. I would guess it would do pretty well in a red tip.

Tonights shave was the best so far, but I did use just a bit of pressure on the difficult spots. 3 pass DFS. I did have some slight burn from the AS in a few spots.

So far, I'm thinking this would be a good "in a rush to get to work after waking up late" blade for me. Not particulalry sharp, but very easy to use.

 

[SharpieB]

2nd Hammer shave today...

- Pre: shower
- Soap: DG Massacre of the Innocents
- Razor: 1956 Gillette Red Tip SS
- Blade: Vintage Hammer Stainless
- Brush: Simpson’s Special Pure Badger
- Aftershave: DG Massacre of the Innocents
- Post: Thayers Witch Hazel, Hyaluronic Acid

Not a bad shave, but I don’t think these blades are improving. Maybe it’s the switch from the 6S to the Red Tip, but I had a bit of redness today. Again, I was super aggressive with this blade and still no cuts/nicks. I still believe it would be very hard to cut yourself with this blade but we shall see tomorrow when I use the Hammer with my Merkur Progress on setting 4 or 5.

Still a fairly good shave. Not super close, but still acceptable.
Pics below from yesterday and today.

I’m looking forward to trying it again. These might be a 3-4 shave max blade for me but we shall see.

 

[tbhoff]

Hallelujah! After a late day of work and some assistance from my lovely wife- I have packaged everything and am wlaking to the post office to drop them off now.

This means EVERYONE should have their blades by the end of the week.

 

[tbhoff]

A few FYI's-

1. I hate wasting things, so some of your envelopes will be recycled (IE- reused junk mail envelopes with glue still good enough to use. Paper in the envelope to protect the blades will also be junk mail, or paper too damged to use in my printer.

2. I think I forgot to mention, but I ended up labeling which tuck each blade came from- you can find a very light pencil written number in the lower right corner of the flap on the back side. I wrote it lightly and in pencil so anyone who collects wrappers can erase the light marking without damaging the paper. If you think you have a bad (or particularly good blade, feel free to post which tuck # it is. There should be at least 3-4 other people with one blade from each tuck.

3. I also threw in one Astra SP into each envelope for everyone to have an easy modern comparison (and of a blade of generally pretty good usability). Should also be usefully to tell if the whole envelope of blades was damaged in shipping.

4. I am fairly sure that there is an incident of a typo/improper word usage on the blade wrapper in one place. It may or may not be a historical thing as well. My VERY brief look into it seems to indicate this is likely the case. I'm curious if any others noticed it.


All Mailed:

International:

• SharpieB
• Weean
• Chard52142

CONUS:

• jaro 101969
• OpusX
• Maradon
• BigJ
• Grundi
• Emwolf
• NicksDad
• Balthier
• Hotelmode
• Ed Gcom
• Cheff455
• Billski
• TheBigL
• FarmerTan
• Tpach
• Cleanface

This gives us 19 participants from 4 different countries, including 15 different states from the USA.

Have a nice weekend!

 

[Weean]

Blade 1, Edge 2, shave 1:

Hammer blade, Gillette NEW LC (on modern stainless handle), Cold River Soap Works Select Citrus, Yaqi Giotto synthetic

Now I get it. Still not as smooth as a decent modern blade, but the Hammer was much more agreeable in my NEW than in my Wilkie of Thursday. This isn't the blade I'd reach for if I had a job interview or a hot date, but one I can take some pleasure in using just because.

 

[emwolf]

Can't wait!

 

[Grundi]

Hammered Out Shaves #3 Thru #6 On Blade #1

TL;DR: This blade has proven consistent for 6 SAS+ shaves, seems to prefer more aggressive settings (YMMV)

Equipment: Stuck with my Birth Year/Quarter Gillette Slim on 4 (except last shave was on 5). Various soaps/cream (Vinolia stick, Tabac stick, Palmolive stick, Williams soap, PdP 63 soap, MEM regular cream - in that order)

Side Note: The Hammer Brand blade is from tuck 10? or 19? it's lightly written and I might have lightened it even more by handling it with wet fingers. And I was not able to find the "inappropriate word" on the back of the wrapper (or else my mind doesn't work in a way that would recognize it as inappropriate).

Hammer Shaves: I've been getting consistent SAS+ shaves with the Hammer Brand Blade, some tugging, some smooth, not quite as sharp as some modern blades, but not as torturous as other (I'm looking at you, Flying Eagle and Graham-Field blades). I'm still have trouble getting close in my traditional problem areas.

Might Favor Aggressive Razors: For grins while Hammering Out my 6th Shave, I clicked my Slim up from 4 to 5, and this seemed to introduce a shaver more smoothness. My face did experience some post shave burn. So smoother at a higher setting, but paying the price afterwards. My face favors milder razors but on occasion I fall to the temptation to use more aggressive razors.

Subjective Hammer Comparison: @tbhoff (Thank you!!) included an Astra SP blade in the Hammer Brand Blade PIF Package for a modern blade comparison, so tomorrow I'll Hammer Out a Comparison Shave!!

 

[jaro 101969]

I'm still waiting on my blades to arrive .

 

[SharpieB]

3rd shave with my first Hammer blade today and I think that is about as far as I will take this one.

Started pulling a lot today but no nicks/cuts. I used my Merkur Progress at setting 4 (which has a bigger gap than my 6s on plate 6). For reference, I wouldn’t dare use a Feather on Progress setting 4 (or 6S plate 6) as I would be a bloody mess.

Pretty good shave but I don’t think I could get a BBS with the Hammer. I binned the blade as I did get quite a bit of irritation after pass 3.

still a very interesting blade!

- Pre: Shower
- Razor: Merkur Progress
- Blade: Vintage Hammer (3)
- Soap: Highland Springs - Kootenay Blue
- Brush: Yaqi 30mm Barbershop (AKA The Beast)
- AS: Highland Springs - Kootenay Blue
- Post: Alum Block (ouch!) and Hyaluronic Acid

 

[Grundi]

I'm still waiting on my blades to arrive .

It's worth the wait just to step back into the days of yesteryear, before all the fancy-schmacy coatings and such.

 

[TheBigL]

Looks like there was a lawsuit between the USA against American Safety Razor and Ardell. I'm not a lawyer so I don't really know what the lawsuit was about, but there's some interesting info in the filing. Both companies make more than just DE blades, of course, but according to the filing "Based on 1988 United States sales data, ASR and Ardell market shares were, respectively, about 36 percent and 11 percent."

Here's a link to the document https://www.justice.gov/atr/case-document/file/940621/download
This document talks about the result of that lawsuit (at least I think it's the same suit) https://www.justice.gov/atr/case-document/file/947386/download

It seems Ardell is still around making fake eyelashes and stuff like that.

Sorry, I am not going to try any, ‘..fake eyelashes and stuff like that!’

From what I have found American International Industries aiibeauty I guess owns Pinaud Clubman and Woody's (not familiar with them). Their website mentions over 60 brands but they do not list them all.