Participation PIF - The Unobtainium Polsilver Super Stainless

[Demolition]

A lot of different conspiracy theories inevitably appear in my mind when I think of how the work of postal systems around the world has changed since the outbreak of Corona epidemic. The change is very significant and you can't fail to notice it. Just for example, I remember how during all those long years I've been a member of this community, I've sent innumerable items to the members who reside in US, and in most cases it took something like a week and a half, two weeks, or two and a half weeks for those shipments to be delivered. And the same in the opposite direction - from the US to me in Israel - about the same time. But since this cursed Corona outbreak, the delivery times have changed drastically - from around two weeks to a month, a month and a half, and sometimes even two months or more. The outbreak is over (by and large), yet the delivery times have stayed the same and haven't gone back to what they were previously. But I don't see any kind of outcry and demand for some kind of explanation from the clients of all those mail authorities, nor anything that might resemble even the most basic explanation from those authorities as to what the hell is going on with them. I am surprised how quickly people have got used to this change and apparently started seeing it as something usual, normal, expectable, and unavoidable. As if in some weird and inexplicable way this very recent change has turned into something permanent, invariable, eternal. Which is obviously crazy! I don't know what on earth happened to all those stupid and irresponsible slackers that pretend to work delivering mail, but I have a very strong urge to schedule a personal meeting with some high-level mail executive in Israel or USA, or any other country, and express my deep discontent by beating the hell out of him. I'm sure it will make me feel at least a little bit better. Seriously, I'm not kidding, I just might snap the next time I will go to the post office, force my way to the top floor, find the director, mumble a few words just so he understands why I am so angry, and then take my sweet time drastically redesigning his facial features and bone structure. And after I'm done, I will tell him that I'll send him some iodine and adhesive bandages by mail.

This reminds me of the Viking's Sword blades that you sent to me at Christmas 2019. (Great blades, by the way. Thanks again! )

As you recall, those blades took almost two months to go from Israel to Canada and we were both puzzled by the delay. COVID-19 was a factor, but I later learned that Israel Post was overwhelmed by a massive influx of packages starting in November 2019.

Guess what happened in November 2019? Amazon began to offer free shipping to Israel.

Apparently, Israelis jumped on that offer with gusto! And they still must be shopping like crazy at Amazon because Canada Post's service disruption list still shows Israel under the "Yellow Alert" heading (i.e. shipping delays due to volume and/or lack of transportation).

I think the only way that this will be solved is for Israel Post to somehow increase their efficiency. I'm not sure if a punch in the nose will help!

 

[JAHE]

First shave with the Polsilver Stainless (Vintage) blade #1

Razor: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Omega 10005 Boar
Soap: RazoRock Gold Label

A fine shave, today!

My three usual passes were all quick and comfortable with no post-shave irritation. The vintage Polsilver Stainless was very smooth, particularly at the transition points (i.e. jawline to cheek) of the ATG pass. I expect that it will feel even better on its second and subsequent uses.

Side note: When I opened the inner wrapper, I noticed that three of the four wax dots affixing the blade had encroached on the blade edges. I didn't want to rub the edges with a towel or tissue, so I carefully scraped the wax away with my thumbnail. The quality control of that aspect of this blade's manufacture seems a bit sloppy. However, that's the only negative experience that I've had with this blade, so far. Everything else points towards a blade of exceptional quality!

The wax will fully wear off within the next 50 shaves you' ll likely have with this blade...

 

[Weean]

Polsilver Super Stainless. Blade 1, edge1, shave 1; Wilkinson Sword Classic (plastic) razor; Cold River Select Citrus; Frank Shaving 20mm best badger.

As any fule kno, prep is key, and I gave this shave every opportunity, starting with a five mile run in 20+C conditions, followed by a nice steamy shower.

I'm not going to say I had to check there was a blade in the razor, but it was noticeably smooth on the cheeks and the tricky curves of my chin. There was no discomfort on my neck, either, but there was one weeper right on my neckline, and a bunch of alum feedback over much of my neck. The rest of my face gave none even after two passes (the neck only gets one), but I did notice the scritch of the badger whilst painting on for the second pass, something I don't recall happening to such an extent before. Maybe that run opened the pores up a little more than necessary.

Finish appears to be excellent, I'm just a little confused by the 'upstairs, downstairs' nature of today's shave. I'll keep an eye out, and make sure I'm not putting too much pressure on the neck next time.

 

[ewk]

Razor: Stirling ST
Blade: Polsilver
Brush: Simpson Trafalgar T3 synthetic
Soap: Wholly Kaw 1776
AS: Royall Spyce

Saturday morning luxury shave . The Stirling ST is a remarkable razor; for me it performs like the Muhle R41 but with greater smoothness and a little more efficiency. The Polsilver provided a smooth shave. Three passes on face, two on head. Felt a bit of burn at the end. Aloe vera has cooled things down nicely.

I purchased Wholly Kaw 1776 for Independence Day, and boy do I really like it. I lack the sophistication to describe any of the scent elements. All I can say is it pairs very well with Royall Spyce for a nice finish.

 

[Hms123]

Day 5
Polsilver blade (new blade)
Razor: ATT SSR1
Soap: Seville, Barrister & Mann
Oil: Truefit & Hill

Comments: This razor is a bit more aggressive than the others I have tried with this blade. The shave was still relatively smooth, but I could tell there was a blade in the razor. The two-Pass shave was very efficient and got me up to BBS-. I switched soaps again (from TOBS to Asian Pear to Seville), so that might have made some difference. Tomorrow, I will be using this combination for a second day. After that, I plan to cycle through the various combinations again on days 7, 8, and 9, but perhaps using the same soap for all three.

P7150325.jpg

• Hms123
• Jul 15, 2021

 

[Adjustingtolife]

First shave ever with a vintage polsilver and it was an Awesome shave
-Rex ambassador (setting 6 for all 3 passes)
-Vintage Polsilver blade (first use)
-Grizzly bay brush
-Capt choice copper bowl

-PAA Ice cube
-Catie's Bubbles Blugere soap and splash

This blade and razor combo was the first time for me. It was amazingly smooth. Ive tried the newer polsilvers without any good shaves. This was very comfortable and very smooth. Very minimal alum feedback, which is impressive considering i used the Rex opened up on all 3 passes.

If these blades continue to be this smooth I'll be on the hunt for more of them[emoji28]

Fayiz D.

 

[Demolition]

The wax will fully wear off within the next 50 shaves you' ll likely have with this blade...

I accept this challenge!

(I hope my face can accept it, as well! )

 

[Demolition]

Second shave with the Polsilver Stainless (Vintage) blade #1

Razor: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Yaqi Aqua 26mm Tuxedo
Soap: Pré de Provence Bergamot and Thyme

Excellent performances from all aspects of today's shave.

As usual, the Yaqi Aqua Tuxedo/PdP Bergamot & Thyme pairing generated an amazingly rich, slick lather. No complaints here.

Meanwhile, as predicted, the FOCS/Polsilver Stainless duo was better on the second use. Whether it's wearing in, the edge is being stropped by my skin, or the coating (Teflon?) is wearing down, it's obvious that the blade has improved. It's still smooth and comfortable, but the sharpness has also increased. This is a phenomenon that many blades exhibit, so maybe this isn't a surprise, but it definitely enhances the overall shave.

There was no sign of roughness or tugging, and there was no post-shave irritation. As a result, I was able to forgo the ASB.

Now, the only question is longevity. I don't know if I can get 50 shaves out of it as @JAHE envisions, but I'll push it as far as I can!



Edit: While I was typing the above, I noticed some sensitivity on my neck beside my Adam's apple. Looking in the mirror, there's a red spot about 1 cm square. There's no blood and the skin is intact. Not sure if it's actually anything to do with the blade/razor. Maybe it's a bit of brush burn like @Weean experienced. Who knows?

Regardless, still a great shave.

 

[CJB3]

Reporting back on shaves #5 and #6. I binned the blade after the 6 use today. The last few shaves were still close but feel a little rough compared to modern Polsilver/Wizamets. Not exactly a fair comparison since I’m comparing blades with different coatings.

I think these are good blades, and I’m grateful for the chance to try. Based on this experience, however, I wouldn’t seek these out or pay a premium.

I am curious what vintage Polsilver Super Iridiums are like, though.

 

[c__port]

I can’t stand it! I’m just ONE more sharko shave away from getting to load up a vintage blade. All these pics are driving me nuts! The only consolation is that @Grundi is in the same boat (the leaky one in shark infested waters).

 

[Rrose Sélavy]

I was going through a bag of various vintage blades this morning, and look what I found. Say, are these any good?

 

[gvw755]

Back to shave four with the Polsilver. Tonight I loaded it into my ATT S2 slant razor.

WTG pass started out almost magical. I used no pressure and just glided the razor head along my face. Because it was an OC slant, my angle was slightly lower than my usual, but not too different from when I shave with the S2. I ended up with a DFS+ after that pass.

ATG pass was almost identical to the WTG pass, with no blade feel and just a gentle and smooth pass. I felt my face and found that the usual places where I needed to do an XTG pass were cleared so well, that I just did minimal touch up. For the first time using this blade, I ended up with a two pass BBS which was better than my last shave with the Polsilver.

I am thinking of finding one of those red Emergency boxes that says "Break glass only in case of emergencies" and locking the other four blades in there. I am very impressed so far.

Tomorrow I will be using my Homelike Start with the 1.18 plate to see how it does with an extremely aggressive plate.

 

[Grundi]

I can’t stand it! I’m just ONE more sharko shave away from getting to load up a vintage blade. All these pics are driving me nuts! The only consolation is that @Grundi is in the same boat (the leaky one in shark infested waters).

It's driving me nuts, too, @c__port!! Except for the leaky boat and circling sharks...not too crazy about them!!

One...Shark...Shave...To...Go...

 

[SgtCrppls]

Shave #7 same blade,
Blade: Polsilver Stainless (7), quality and efficiency has been constant, great blade
Brush: Rudy Vey “Beehive Butterscotch Swirl” 28mm, 2 Band Silvertip Shavemac knot
Soap: Ethos Lavender
Razor: Wolfman WR2 SB 1.35 w/ Timeless Ti Crown Handle
Post Shave: 4711

10/10

 

[Hms123]

Day 6
Polsilver blade (3rd use)
Razor: Timeless SS .68 SB
Soap: Maison Lambert
Oil: Truefit & Hill

Comments: I screwed up and forgot that this was supposed to be the 2nd use of the Polsilver blade with my ATT SSR1 razor and Seville soap (see post #185). Oh well, I will try to remember to use that combination tomorrow. Nonetheless, this combo worked very well for me. The blade was as smooth as ever. My two-pass shave was excellent. I may feel silly, but I am well-shaven.

 

[alban1107]

I am in. Really a great PIF, I hope there is still some place as I will be trying many types of blade in the months to come.

 

[Demolition]

Third shave with the Polsilver Stainless (Vintage) blade #1

Razor: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Fine Classic 24mm Angel Hair
Soap: RazoRock Santa Maria del Fiore

Another quick and trouble-free shave.

The FOCS/Polsilver Stainless duo performed superbly again. My usual three passes were smooth, comfortable, and extremely close. As a result, I didn't need to buff, at all.

Interestingly, the sensation of sharpness has increased again. My initial thought was that this blade was only mid-pack in terms of sharpness. However, it appears to be much keener than that. If it can maintain this level of sharpness over a long duration, then maybe a shave count in the high double-digits is a possibility!

Side note: The minor irritation that I experienced yesterday on my neck has disappeared. I'm now fairly certain that it was not shaving-related. It was most likely due to coming in contact with tree resin while pruning my cedar shrubs; I noticed the same reddish spots on my arms after showering.

 

[Messygoon]

Experienced cuts on Polsilver shaves 4 & 5. I suspect poor face washing led to pimples, resulting in nicks (pores can clog unless I use water to cleanse my face during the day).

Rested face for a couple of days, loaded my usual Astra stainless, and experienced the best shave in months. Will switch back to a new Polsilver once the Astra fades.

I love trying new blades. Polsilver shaves 1 & 2 were exceptional, and believe it will do it again.

 

[gvw755]

Shave five with the Polsilver, and this one is the best shave yet. Today I loaded it into my Homelike Start 1.18 razor, which is probably the largest blade gap I have. Of course, it is also one of the smoothest shaver I own.

WTG pass I started one side of my face riding the cap, which went extremely well. Almost all stubble was cleared. The other side of my face I rode the bar and the Polsilver did not care. It was just as comfortable and as efficient. I again ended up with a DFS+ and could have just done light touch up, however I wanted to see how the ATG pass would do. It was extremely quick work and I again finished with a two pass BBS.

When I did the vintage Astra challenge, I remember that blade needing a couple of shaves before settling in and start giving great shaves. This Polsilver started out giving great shaves and after a couple of shaves, it started giving excellent shaves.

At this point with five shaves in, after tomorrow's shave I will just load it in a random order of razors just to see how many shaves I can get before it starts to wear out.

Tomorrow I have it loaded in my Pearl Flexi to see how it does in an adjustable razor.

 

[SharpieB]

Shaving.ie has 5 x 100 packs of these blades in stock. Not cheap at about $37US/100 plus shipping but these aren’t easy to find.

Just thought ai would throw it out there as there seems to be a lot of love for these blades here…

https://www.shaving.ie/search.php?Search=&search_query=Polsilver