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Participation PIF - The Unobtainium Polsilver Super Stainless

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Forty-eighth shave with the Polsilver Stainless (Vintage) blade #2

Razor
: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Simpson Special S1 Best Badger
Soap: Pré de Provence Bergamot and Thyme

Basically the same performance as yesterday's.

Other than a few extra buffing strokes along my left jawline and beside my Apple's apple, I enjoyed a nice, close shave with no irritation or sensitivity afterwards.

The ATG pass is still quick and comfortable. By this time, I normally would have felt the beginnings of tugging or perhaps some roughness, but this blade has not exhibited any bad traits, yet. That speaks to the quality of the vintage Polsilver Stainless, but I'll also give credit to the forgiving nature of the FOCS... and maybe take some credit for making a decent lather. 😁
 
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View attachment 1350247
OCtober 22nd


Shower face wash with PAA Mentholated Cube
Rudy Vey 2019 B&B LE Manchurian
CC Copper Bowl
SV Desert Vetiver soap, splash, frag
Gillette New De Luxe Criterion
Wizamet Polsilver Stainless (23)
Alum
Witch Hazel
Brickell Instant Relief balm

DFS+ 9.8 No blood and no irritation



The blade performed the same as it did the previous 23 shaves. Sharp and smooth. I'm getting great shaves. Today's was particularly good. My neck is as close to BBS as I think is possible with my skill level.
 
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Forty-ninth shave with the Polsilver Stainless (Vintage) blade #2

Razor
: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Yaqi Moka Express 26mm Two-Band Badger
Soap: RazoRock Santa Maria del Fiore

Another excellent performance from the FOCS/Polsilver Stainless duo.

As has become custom, this blade/razor combination is still providing close, smooth shaves. Today's outing was pretty much effortless, which is a slight improvement compared to the previous two. Overall, my three usual passes were comfortable and trouble-free.

So, we're now one shave away from 50. I suspect that this blade could go much further than that, but I'm leaning towards stopping at that point. It's an arbitrary number, but I think that we've already shown that these vintage Polsilver Stainless blades provide a great combination of consistency, efficiency, and longevity. What more needs to be proven?
 


Preshave
October 23rd

PAA Mentholated Cube in the shower
BrushShavemac 26/54mm Fan Two Band Silvertip
BowlCC Copper
SoapSV Desert Vetiver
Razor 1Gillette New De Luxe Criterion WTG
Razor 2Wolfman WR2 1.15 SB XTG, XTG, ATG
BladeWizamet Polsilver Stainless (24)
Post ShaveAlum followed by Witch Hazel
After ShaveSV Desert Vetiver AS
BalmBrickell Instant Relief AS
FragSV Desert Vetiver EdP
RatingDFS+ 9.8/10 No irritation or blood


So, 24 shaves for the Unobtainium blade two. It is still sharp and smooth, no tugging. I doubt I will take part in another blade PIF for a while. I have three more of these, not to mention the other vintage and contemporary blades I have I want to try. I don't care about stretching a blades life. I just see no reason to throw a blade out when it hasn't degraded. I can still shave comfortably, so why not keep going. The quality of my shaves has been great. Very little alum feedback and no blood. All with the efficiency of the WR2 and the Polsilver Stainless.
 
So, we're now one shave away from 50. I suspect that this blade could go much further than that, but I'm leaning towards stopping at that point. It's an arbitrary number, but I think that we've already shown that these vintage Polsilver Stainless blades provide a great combination of consistency, efficiency, and longevity. What more needs to be proven?
No need to prove anything, but I'm still curious to know how far you can go with that wunderful blade! I'm far from 50, maybe just 18 or 19 (I need to update my last few shaves in the thread). I never got anything close to 18 or 19 shaves with any orevious blade ive tried. But at ~18 shaves, its still a lot smoother then anything else I've tried at ~ 10 shaves
 
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Fiftieth shave with the Polsilver Stainless (Vintage) blade #2

Razor
: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Omega 10005 Boar
Soap: Vitos Classic Eucalyptus and Lanolin

Well, here it is... The Big Five-O! :thumbup:

After 50 uses, the vintage Polsilver Stainless is still delivering excellent results. My customary three-pass shave was completely routine.

I was particularly pleased with the ATG pass. It was remarkably smooth and the required effort was very low. Not only am I extremely pleased by this performance, but also somewhat surprised because I had expected the ATG passes to dis[play some roughness or tugginess and require much more effort as the uses piled up.

At the same point in its life, the first Polsilver Stainless blade began to exhibit sporadic roughness as it approached 50 uses. Efficiency had gone down and my shaves were becoming less enjoyable as the uses added up. Having said that, it was still probably the most consistent, best-performing blade that I'd ever used in my life... until this second blade came along!

The interesting thing is that there's probably a lot more life left in this second blade. I'm fairly sure that I could push it into true Excalibur territory (100+ uses) but, as mentioned in an earlier post, using the same blade over and over gets a bit monotonous. So, we're going to end the experiment here... unless I start my third Polsilver Stainless blade? Hmm... 🤔

😁

No need to prove anything, but I'm still curious to know how far you can go with that wunderful blade! I'm far from 50, maybe just 18 or 19 (I need to update my last few shaves in the thread). I never got anything close to 18 or 19 shaves with any orevious blade ive tried. But at ~18 shaves, its still a lot smoother then anything else I've tried at ~ 10 shaves

I'll probably revisit this blade in the future. But, right now, I'm set on testing some other blades that have been sitting in my medicine cabinet for years. (I would have gotten to them much earlier, but these darn Participation PIFs keep popping up! 😆 )

So, until then, we should watch @hairless wonder's progress. He's shooting for 60+ uses! Personally, I'm very excited to see him reach this milestone. :thumbup1:

-----

Finally, in closing, my thanks go out again to @Grundi and @Space_Cadet.

You truly embody the gentlemanly spirit that B&B is supposed to represent. Time and again, we've benefited from your kind and giving natures, yet you ask for nothing in return except for our impressions of the blades that you freely send all across the globe. You stand for everything good about our hobby and it's an honour and a pleasure to call you my friends.
 
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Fiftieth shave with the Polsilver Stainless (Vintage) blade #2

Razor
: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Omega 10005 Boar
Soap: Vitos Classic Eucalyptus and Lanolin

Well, here it is... The Big Five-O! :thumbup:

After 50 uses, the vintage Polsilver Stainless is still delivering excellent results. My customary three-pass shave was completely routine.

I was particularly pleased with the ATG pass. It was remarkably smooth and the required effort was very low. Not only am I extremely pleased by this performance, but also somewhat surprised because I had expected the ATG passes to dis[play some roughness or tugginess and require much more effort as the uses piled up.

At the same point in its life, the first Polsilver Stainless blade began to exhibit sporadic roughness as it approached 50 uses. Efficiency had gone down and my shaves were becoming less enjoyable as the uses added up. Having said that, it was still probably the most consistent, best-performing blade that I'd ever used in my life... until this second blade came along!

The interesting thing is that there's probably a lot more life left in this second blade. I'm fairly sure that I could push it into true Excalibur territory (100+ uses) but, as mentioned in an earlier post, using the same blade over and over gets a bit monotonous. So, we're going to end the experiment here... unless I start my third Polsilver Stainless blade? Hmm... 🤔

😁



I'll probably revisit this blade in the future. But, right now, I'm set on testing some other blades that have been sitting in my medicine cabinet for years. (I would have gotten to them much earlier, but these darn Participation PIFs keep popping up! 😆 )

So, until then, we should watch @hairless You truly embody the gentlemanly spirit that B&B is supposed to represent. Time and again, we've benefited from your kind and giving natures, yet you ask for nothing in return except for our impressions of the blades that you freely send all across the globe. You stand for everything good about our hobby and it's an honour and a pleasure to call you my friends.
[/QUOTE]
Finally, in closing, my thanks go out again to @Grundi and @Space_Cadet.

You truly embody the gentlemanly spirit that B&B is supposed to represent. Time and again, we've benefited from your kind and giving natures, yet you ask for nothing in return except for our impressions of the blades that you freely send all across the globe. You stand for everything good about our hobby and it's an honour and a pleasure to call you my friends.
Very well said! I cannot agree more with that statement!
 
SOCtober 24th


PreshavePAA Mentholated Cube /PAA The Tube
BrushSOC Cherry Wood Boar
BowlCC Copper
SoapCyril R. Salter hard soap
RazorWolfman WR2 1.15 SB with Timeless TI Crown
BladeWizamet Polsilver Stainless (25)
Post ShaveAlu, Witch Hazel
After ShaveVintage Yardley
BalmAOS Lavender Balm + Hyaluronic Acid
FragVintage Caron Pour Un Homme EdT
RatingDFS 9.7/10 No blood and no irritation
Nothing to see here. Blade two's 25th shave. More of the same, sharp and smooth.
 
Last night, I had shave #35 with blade #2 of the vintage Polisilver Stainless Steel blades. Again, the blade was held in place with a Fatip Open Comb Piccolo in nickel.

I used Tabac (tallow) shaving soap and made pretty good lather. It was slick and cushiony.

Prior to the shave, I showered with warm water and also used warm water to soak my Semogue Owners Club cherry wood handle finest badger brush. After I shook my brush to remove some water and picked up the soap puck in my left hand, I began swirling my brush across the top of the soap for a minute before scooping up all the protolather left on the puck and transferring it to the shaving bowl. Next, I rinsed the remaining protolather off my fingers with some tap water and collected the soapy water in an empty cup. I then picked up my brush and began to stir it in the shaving bowl while gradually adding some of the soapy water to make my lather. When my lather looked shave-ready, I applied a little of the soapy water to my face by hand before each lather pass.

I did my usual two pass (WTG and ATG) shave and buffed my trouble areas. I did not feel my blade; this is how I like it. I wound up with a very smooth BBS shave.

I cleaned up my shave with my usual alum block pass before washing it off and applying aftershave splash (Pinaud Clubman) and aftershave balm (Van der Hagen Post Shave Soothing Balm). I felt no sting from the alum block. I did feel a bit of sting from the alcohol in the splash, though.

This was my third time using the VDH balm. Again, I thought the balm was "heavier"/greasier than the skin than other aftershave balms I've used in the past and it seemed to cause me to perspire a bit more on areas of my face to which I applied the balm than areas without balm.

All in all, I would give this shave a 99/100.

F3603196-8A0C-4267-B9AA-B934398C5C56.jpeg
 
Oct 26th
PreshavePAA Mentholated Cube
BrushSOC Ash Wood Finest Badger
BowlCC Copper
SoapB&M Hallows Soft Heart base
RazorWolfman WR2 1.15 SB
BladeWizamet Polsilver Stainless (26) blade 2
Post ShaveAlum followed by Witch Hazel
After ShaveB&M Hallows Splash
BalmB&M Hallows Balm
FragB&M Hallows Frag
RatingDFS+ 9.7/10 No irritation and One nick


Hallows shave with Soft Heart base this time. No itchiness that I had with Hallows Excelsior base. Maybe it was something else. I will try again with the Excelsior. I took two days growth down with the WR2 1.15. My neck is pretty smooth for the most part. My chin, soul patch, and, upper lip could be better. Next week I will add the shim to try 1.25. It was a good shave. I didn't chase BBS which I wouldn't achieve anyway. Alum gave very little feedback. There was no irritation, though I did get a small nick going ATG on the underside of my chin. The Unobtainium blade performed stellar once again. I got my Wizamet Iridium Supers made in Poland yesterday. I really want to shave with one of those and see how long they last. If the Stainless is any indication I see good things for my favored blade in it's vintage incarnation. Then again, I also want to try my other vintage blades. Patience was never one of my virtues.
 
Last night, I had shave #36 with blade #2 of the vintage Polisilver Stainless Steel blades. Again, the blade was held in place with a Fatip Open Comb Piccolo in nickel.

I used Tabac (tallow) shaving soap and made my best lather with it, yet.

Prior to the shave, I showered with warm water and also used warm water to soak my Semogue Owners Club cherry wood handle finest badger brush. After I shook my brush to remove some water and picked up the soap puck in my left hand, I began swirling my brush across the top of the soap for 45 seconds before scooping up all the protolather left on the puck and transferring it to my Captain's Choice Seaworthy lather bowl. What I couldn't remove from my hands, I rubbed on my face.

Next, I rinsed the remaining protolather off my fingers with some tap water and collected the soapy water in an empty cup. I then picked up my brush and began to stir it in the lather bowl while gradually adding some of the soapy water to make my lather. When my lather looked shave-ready, I applied a little of the soapy water to my face by hand before each lather pass.

I did my usual two pass (WTG and ATG) shave and buffed my trouble areas. Except when I held my razor really steeply against my face (to set the angle only), I did not feel my blade; this is how I like it. I wound up with a very smooth BBS shave.

I cleaned up my shave with my usual alum block pass before washing it off and applying aftershave splash (Aqua Velva Classic Ice Blue) and aftershave balm (Van der Hagen Post Shave Soothing Balm). I felt no sting from the alum block. I did feel a bit of sting from the alcohol in the splash, though.

This was my fourth time using the VDH balm. I think I used just a little bit less this time as it wasn't quite as "heavy"/greasy on my skin this time. Maybe I need to use less than a pea-sized amount. Still, I did perspire a bit more on areas of my face to which I applied the balm than areas without the balm. Also, I'm not sure if this is related to the balm, but I felt some small acne bumps on my chin earlier tonight.

All in all, I would give this shave a 99/100.

646F8F29-5A4C-4919-899F-DA38B35BCD4E.jpeg
 
OCtober 27th
PreshavePAA The Tube
BrushRudy Vey 26mm Jade Samurai Fan two band silvertip
BowlCC Copper
SoapFine Lavender Pour Homme
RazorKarve CB OC F plate
BladeWizamet Polsilver Stainless (27)
Post ShaveAlum followed by Witch Hazel
After ShaveFine Lavender Pour Homme
BalmAOS Lavender Balm + Hyaluronic Acid
FragVintage Caron Pour Un Homme EdT
RatingDFS+ 9.8 No blood, no irritation

I forgot it was Wednesday. Oh well, My Karve F plate OC arrived today so I gave it it's inaugural shave. Very nice. The Karve with the Unobtainium blade performed admirably. Very close DFS+. My neck has been getting smoother than ever before lately. Blade 2 is still trucking. I think I will get bored of it before it deteriorates. I haven't noticed any drop off in sharpness. I can see why these were popular blades. Fine Classic soap base is excellent. I was talking about them being the same soap base as tallow Tabac, and, a guy in the thread asked if they were really the same, saying he had heard there were doubts. First I have heard, but, I don't care enough to research it. It is a wonderful soap base. If it is not the same as Tabac it is just as epic, and, with better scents. I really like Lavender Pour Homme. It is a shame they did away with that scent. I stocked up. I wish I had tried it sooner. I am really liking the vintage frag. Caron Pour Un Homme pairs well with my lavender soaps and after shaves. I ordered the afters shave spray yesterday. I will use that with Cyril R. Salter and maybe Fine as well. I like the fine scent in the soap more than in the splash. Originally I wanted to get the C&S Oxford and Cambridge frag, but, I prefer the Caron scent.
 
Last night, I had shave #37 with blade #2 of the vintage Polisilver Stainless Steel blades. Again, the blade was held in place with a Fatip Open Comb Piccolo in nickel.

I used Tabac (tallow) shaving soap and made my best lather with it, yet.

Prior to the shave, I showered with warm water and also used warm water to soak my Semogue Owners Club cherry wood handle finest badger brush. After shaking my brush to remove some water, I picked up the soap puck in my left hand and swirled my brush across it for 40 seconds before scooping up the protolather and transferring it to my Captain's Choice Seaworthy lather bowl. What I couldn't remove from my hands, I rubbed on my face.

Next, I rinsed the remaining protolather off my fingers with some tap water and collected the soapy water in an empty cup. I then picked up my brush and began to stir it in the lather bowl while gradually adding some of the soapy water to make my lather. When my lather looked shave-ready, I applied a little of the soapy water to my face by hand before each lather pass.

I did my usual two pass (WTG and ATG) shave and buffed my trouble areas. This shave was smoother than my previous shave. I wound up with a very smooth BBS shave.

I cleaned up my shave with my usual alum block pass before washing it off and applying aftershave splash (Aqua Velva Classic Ice Blue) and aftershave balm (Van der Hagen Post Shave Soothing Balm). I felt no sting from the alum block. I did feel a bit of sting from the alcohol in the splash, though.

This was my fifth time using the VDH balm. Again, I used a little less than pea sized amount of the balm and got a better skin feel (i.e., less "heavy"/greasy) but still perspired a bit more on areas of my face to which I applied the balm than areas without the balm.

All in all, I would also give this shave a 99/100.

D001FAD9-7CC4-4B27-BADF-713EF744996E.jpeg
 

BradWorld

Dances with Wolfs
I finally found a good use for these blades! Anyone that was in this participation PIF since the beginning probably will recall that I did not really care for these blades. Not sharp enough for me. Very smooth indeed. But unless it cuts my beard efficiently, I really cant groove with a blade. And then I discovered that I had a full sleeve of these blades that I had bought a few years earlier and tossed in the deepest corner of the blade stash because I didnt care for them back then either.

Well, I've had two somewhat recent razor acquisitions that have made me revisit these blades. I got an R41 kit off the BST that included a couple of baseplates and some different caps that change up the R41 shave. And I got my latest Wolfman, a WR2 in 1.55. Both of these razors were a bit outside my aggressiveness comfort zone. But both of these razors provide amazing shaves. I got to thinking about how smooth this blade was in my regular rotation razors. So I have been using them in the R41 and the 1.55 with brilliant results! Super Smooth. Very efficient. Excellent in every way. I shaved with my WR2 1.55 today, and twice I had to check and make sure I didnt grab my 1.15 by mistake. This blade is that good in this razor.

Good thing i have enough of these to last me a long while! If it wasnt for this PIF, I may have never discovered this!

One more thing to note is that I religiously cork these blades now. I think that my initial outing with these years ago may have been tarnished by the glue spots that hang down to the edge of the blade on one side. I never notice that until we discussed it early in this thread. So now I run the blade through a cork about two times on each edge. This cleans up the glue, pushing it back to an acceptable locale. And it also gives it a little stropping, which never hurts. Stay smooth!

2021-10-29 08.19.48.jpg
 
Last night, I had shave #38 with blade #2 of the vintage Polisilver Stainless Steel blades. The blade was held in place with a Fatip Open Comb Grande in gold that I bought off the BST. The Grande was definitely lighter than the Piccolo and there is a distinct difference in how each balances and feels in the hand. While I prefer the overall dimensions of the Grande's handle, as of now, I prefer the Piccolo's balance.

I used Tabac (tallow) shaving soap and made a good slick and cushiony lather with it.

Prior to the shave, I showered with warm water and also used warm water to soak my Semogue Owners Club cherry wood handle finest badger brush. After shaking my brush to remove some water, I picked up the soap puck in my left hand and swirled my brush across it for 40 seconds before scooping up the protolather and transferring it to my Captain's Choice Seaworthy lather bowl. What I couldn't remove from my hands, I rubbed on my face.

Next, I rinsed the remaining protolather off my fingers with some tap water and collected the soapy water in an empty cup. I then picked up my brush and began to stir it in the lather bowl while gradually adding some of the soapy water to make my lather. When my lather looked shave-ready, I applied a little of the soapy water to my face by hand before each lather pass.

I did my usual two pass (WTG and ATG) shave and buffed my trouble areas. My Grande had more blade feel and exposure than my Piccolo. Where with the Piccolo, the shaves had been smooth and I pretty much never felt the blade, with the Grande, I couldn't find an angle where I did not feel the blade. Still, I managed a BBS without cutting myself. That said, my previous shaves with the Piccolo felt better overall.

I cleaned up my shave with my usual alum block pass before washing it off and applying aftershave splash (Stirling Spice) and aftershave balm (Van der Hagen Post Shave Soothing Balm). As with my shaves with my Piccolo, I felt no sting from the alum block though I felt a bit of sting from the alcohol in the splash, though.

This was my sixth time using the VDH balm. Again, I used a little less than pea sized amount of the balm and got a better skin feel (i.e., less "heavy"/greasy) but still perspired a bit more on areas of my face to which I applied the balm than areas without the balm.

All in all, I would also give this shave a 98.5/100.

692E8521-E323-4A96-BCFA-6DD36FA881AF.jpeg
 
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