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Phoenixkh: An Old Man's Continuum....

Three new razors: two more than the original plan of the Blutt BR-1, but neither were that expensive. Sort of a check-out aisle impulse buy. Both you and @LRod had good things to say about the Pearl Flexi and I don't have an adjustable so I thought "why not?". I think the RR Lupo 95OC might be a bit too much for me, initially... so I got the 72SB as well. They are coming out with a 72OC in a few months. That might be the perfect fit for me at this point. Who knows?

I sure have a lot to learn about DE shaving. I'm a fish out of water at this point, but I plan to mainly use DEs for the rest of the year so perhaps by the end of the first quarter next year, I'll have a better feel for what works for me. I do have enough variety of DE blades to accomplish that, I think. I already had Astra Greens and Personna Labs Blues. I added Wizamet based on your usage and when I got the British Flat Bottom Tech, Cal suggested I try the KCG blades. David / @never-stop-learning uses Kai blades in his Techs, so I ordered some of those (what a disaster for me, as you probably recall... maybe later). While I was away, I had some 7 o'clock blacks delivered along with some Gillette Platinum Blue Lights.
You'll like the Flexi. I think it's the best modern adjustable for the money IMHO. Some people point at the Yaqi but it's Chinese which I try to avoid. The Pearl is Indian and all brass. Built like a tank and the mechanism works great. Plus the head is a decent normal size. Most adjustables suffer from huge heads which I dislike. And it includes a nice matching stand!
I'd say the only excellent comparable adjustables would be the vintage Gillette Slim & Fatboy. I'd never look at the Rex as a comparison because it's to expensive. And I didn't like the comparison video that they did with the Flexi where they put the Flexi down. And they said that the Flexi was a copy of the Rex. What they didn't mention is that the Rex is a copy of the French Gibbs!
Everything new is a copy of a copy of a copy to some extent. But that's a different conversation entirely.
Looking forward to your review!
 
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We got home last night (well, this morning, actually) just after 2AM.... LOL... Flight delay out of JFK to Orlando.... then, get this... it took us 1.5 hours to get our car. I made the mistake of believing reviews of a "Best prices" remote/off site shuttle service.
I don't know which one you used but I exclusively use "The Parking Spot" at MCO. It's a tad more expensive than the other remote parking places but it's worth it for long term parking. And it's still a heck of a lot cheaper than the on site airport parking. They have a bunch of constant shuttles running 24 hours and they're located very close to the airport. I've arrived in the middle of the night and have never waited for the shuttle. Plus they have a rewards program that builds for free parking and they're always running specials. My pickup truck is to tight in a normal space so they always let me park in the oversized parking spots and I've never had to pay extra. They're really good!
Hopefully they aren't the ones that you used 🤣
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
You'll like the Flexi. I think it's the best modern adjustable for the money IMHO. Some people point at the Yaqi but it's Chinese which I try to avoid. The Pearl is Indian and all brass. Built like a tank and the mechanism works great. Plus the head is a decent normal size. Most adjustables suffer from huge heads which I dislike. And it includes a nice matching stand!


Indeed.

I have the Yaqi Final Cut and it's no Flexi. At least it's not for me.



I'd never look at the Rex as a comparison because it's too expensive. And I didn't like the comparison video that they did with the Flexi where they put the Flexi down. And they said that the Flexi was a copy of the Rex. What they didn't mention is that the Rex is a copy of the French Gibbs!


Denali.New.Strip.640.png



The Denali is in the same vein, but said to be milder than the Rex Ambassador.

I've not used the Ambassador myself nor do I plan to buy one. I like the Rex Konsul slant and the Denali and the Pearl Flexi; all three are very good adjustables. The price difference between the first two and the Flexi is significant though.

And then there are the Muramasa, the Taiga, and the Sailor.



Everything new is a copy of a copy of a copy to some extent. But that's a different conversation entirely.
Looking forward to your review!


Me, too. The review I mean.

Happy shaves,

Jim
 

Phoenixkh

I shaved a fortune
I don't know which one you used but I exclusively use "The Parking Spot" at MCO. It's a tad more expensive than the other remote parking places but it's worth it for long term parking. And it's still a heck of a lot cheaper than the on site airport parking. They have a bunch of constant shuttles running 24 hours and they're located very close to the airport. I've arrived in the middle of the night and have never waited for the shuttle. Plus they have a rewards program that builds for free parking and they're always running specials. My pickup truck is to tight in a normal space so they always let me park in the oversized parking spots and I've never had to pay extra. They're really good!
Hopefully they aren't the ones that you used 🤣
The one I used was "BMI MCO" and you had to pay up front... that should have told me something. The best price can often be a warning and I didn't heed it. I did see lots and lots of "The Parking Spot" trucks coming and going during our wait. <eg>
 

Phoenixkh

I shaved a fortune
Kim, I'm sorry the Kai blades didn't work for you.

Please, tell me more.
David, I don't blame you or the Kai blades. I wasn't ready for the change even though I knew the blades would make the BFBT more "efficient/aggressive". I only had that one shave right before we left so I haven't had a chance to make another effort.

i blamed poor technique and I still think that is a large part of it but @Mr. Shavington said there is a dimensional difference to the tabs that make the Kai a less that stellar performance in Tech razors because they hold the blade in place via the 4 corners in the top cap.

I plan to use the Kai's in some other razors I now own and if I still have issues, I'll put them aside for a while. As "we" know, I'm still a complete novice when it comes to DE shaving. I know my technique will be improving over time.
 

Phoenixkh

I shaved a fortune
How many new razors, Kim (including replated as new of course)?

You're going to love having a light box! Put it somewhere convenient to the shaving den and put it somewhere it can be permanently set up so you can do daily photos of stuff for me to ogle.

Glad you're safe at home with teeth.

Maybe write a bad review of the parking service to warn others, if you think of it.

Happy shaves,

Jim
Jim,

We both plan to find a way to leave a review somewhere.

It was almost comical. As I said, there were over 30 of us standing there when the driver first showed up. I didn't notice if she opened the sliding van door herself or if a frustrated customer did.... but it got stuck. I watched as she struggled to get it to close... then 3 different men worked to try to get the catch to release. I never did see who got it free because I walked around to the driver door so I could ask if she was the only driver working. And of course, that answer was "Yes, this is the only van running tonight." LOL

Add to that, humans come in many different sizes and we had quite a few in queue on the top tier of the weight class. Not quite a scene from "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" but close.
 

Phoenixkh

I shaved a fortune
It's Sunday evening and I got a shave in after a 3000k row, down from my 5000K rows I was doing before our trip.

It had been 8 days since my last shave. I really should have used my clippers first but I decided to plow ahead. It took a while but I got there. Pretty decent shave.

I need to get the light box I purchased set up so I can get some photos on this journal.

Pre-shave routine: shower, using the Phoenix Cube 2.0 on my face; Phoenix Tube 2.0
Stef Baxter shaving bowl.
Canada Shaving Soap
SV 2.0 brush. What a pleasure to get back home and use the SV brushes. I really do like them
Claymore Evolution with a Kai Captain Protouch MG blade (no idea how many uses. The long whiskers were a challenge.)
Post Shave routine: Metro Gel, Hyaluronic Acid, Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel-Cream.

It feels nice to have most of the jet lag gone and be clean shaven again.

I might deviate from SEptember and use my Blutt BR-1 for the next shave. I hope David won't mind too much. <eg>
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
Concept2 here as well.... We both love it.


My wife gave my Concept 2 away.

Getting rid of my exercise equipment is her hobby sometimes. She lends it to someone (which means it's gone forever). If I still had what I used to have I'd have an incredible gym. Oh, well.

She has many better qualities to balance this one out, but still...

[Here I sit. Thinking about giving away her sewing machine. Evil thoughts.]

Happy shaves,

Jim
 

Phoenixkh

I shaved a fortune
I usually shave in the evenings, but we might lose power so I just finished at 11:30AM.

To establish a baseline, I didn't change anything but the razor, i.e., the Blutt BR-1 with the .86 bottom plate.

Cube 2.0 / Tube 2.0
Stef Baxter Lipped shaving bowl
Canada Shaving Soap
SV 2.0 Manchurian badger. This Cocobolo handle is the first new SV I purchased and it's feeling amazing.
Blutt BR-1/.86 bottom plate. I'll follow up with the 1.20 bottom plate after a few shaves, unless I can't wait.
King C Gillette blade
Alum
Metro Gel; Hyaluronic Acid; Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel-Cream.

I don't know about you, but the first time I shave with a new razor, I'm nervous.... Did I make a mistake? Will this razor be a good fit for my face, since YMMV and all that.

I have to say, I was very pleased with my first effort with the Blutt. I have been trying to learn what I think I understand is @Cal 's shaving technique.... short, back and forth strokes with the razor always in contact with the skin. It's been working well and is a definite improvement from what I've been using this past 7 months now: lift the razor in between every stroke and using longer strokes as well.

I used this technique for the first time the other day with my Claymore Evolution but with 7 days growth. Even with my unkempt whiskers, it worked pretty well. Not as well as if I only had a couple days growth, I'm sure, but well enough that I want to develop my technique in that direction, with the caveat that I'm actually understanding Cal correctly.

The Blutt is very sure footed. It felt solid... no blade fluctuation or chatter. I tend to be a steep angle shaver and starting at my usual handle-parallel-with-my-face point, lifting the razor until it engaged was a synch. I don't think this razor has an extremely narrow shave angle, though. I doubt I'm perfect at maintaining that angle through the whole shave though I make that attempt. I never felt like I needed to make an adjustment. The thing just shaves. The head is thin enough so I had an extremely easy time shaving around my nose and even into my nostrils. Even against the grain there was a snap. Upper lip? easy. My main problem area is the sides of my chin and the chin itself. Clean as a whistle.

The Blutt BR-1 is the most expensive razor I've purchased. I like it very much. How does it compare to the Vintage Gillette razors I've recently purchased? I don't know yet. I've only used the British Flat Bottom Tech for 5 shaves. I liked the BFBT right off the bat and I feel the same way about the Blutt. I think it will months before I sort this DE razor thing out, but I'm having fun.
 
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