Thanks to The Great Blade Exchange (and Jason), I had my first shave this morning with an Israeli (red) Personna. First, let me say that I was expecting great things from this blade. Ive had the good fortune to sample a number of different blade flavors over the past three months, and I have my opinions about a number of brands the most noteworthy being: Feathers are outstanding performers, but only if stropped and treated with extreme delicacy; Shark SBs are good solid all-rounders; St. Petersburg blades are super sharp and silky smooth, my current favorites. I have a solid prep and shave routine that works well and is pretty much set, especially when introducing new blades. My expectation going in was that Israeli blades would be similar to the Russians in terms of overall experience and smoothness. This turned out to be not the case at all.
On my first WTG pass, I immediately noticed, not without alarm, that I seemed to feel each and every whisker that the blade touched. This is in marked contrast to, say, an Astra SP, which cuts so effortlessly and smoothly that it gives the sensation of shaving without a blade loaded in the razor. Despite the very bumpy ride I seemed to be getting, I found the first pass to be absolutely comfortable. No weepers or irritation of any kind, and I was surprised to discover that the first pass ended up to be the closest I had ever achieved. What I had perceived to be a lack of smoothness was not due to dullness; this is just a blade that gives an incredible amount of feedback, which turns out to be a useful thing. The 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] pass and the cleanup proved to be just as comfortable, and I really felt that I could spend as much time as I needed to go after each and every last whisker, especially those along the angle of the jaw line and on the far left and right sides of my neck that are usually quite difficult to get completely. I felt complete confidence to do a little blade buffing and J-hooking at the end to get at every last bit.
The result? Complete and total BBS, my best shave ever. No soreness or irritation of any sort and no hint of blood. With St. Petersburg blades, I get smooth and just as incredibly close shaves on my face, but I can only do two light passes on my neck, which gets most of the stubble but not all of it. Any more finishing work on my neck risks redness and irritation. With the IP, I got a disconcerting level of noise while shaving, but this allows for close fine tuning during cleanup, without even the fear of irritation. I love my first IP shave, even if it was not what I initially expected. I look forward to my next shave with the same blade.
On my first WTG pass, I immediately noticed, not without alarm, that I seemed to feel each and every whisker that the blade touched. This is in marked contrast to, say, an Astra SP, which cuts so effortlessly and smoothly that it gives the sensation of shaving without a blade loaded in the razor. Despite the very bumpy ride I seemed to be getting, I found the first pass to be absolutely comfortable. No weepers or irritation of any kind, and I was surprised to discover that the first pass ended up to be the closest I had ever achieved. What I had perceived to be a lack of smoothness was not due to dullness; this is just a blade that gives an incredible amount of feedback, which turns out to be a useful thing. The 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] pass and the cleanup proved to be just as comfortable, and I really felt that I could spend as much time as I needed to go after each and every last whisker, especially those along the angle of the jaw line and on the far left and right sides of my neck that are usually quite difficult to get completely. I felt complete confidence to do a little blade buffing and J-hooking at the end to get at every last bit.
The result? Complete and total BBS, my best shave ever. No soreness or irritation of any sort and no hint of blood. With St. Petersburg blades, I get smooth and just as incredibly close shaves on my face, but I can only do two light passes on my neck, which gets most of the stubble but not all of it. Any more finishing work on my neck risks redness and irritation. With the IP, I got a disconcerting level of noise while shaving, but this allows for close fine tuning during cleanup, without even the fear of irritation. I love my first IP shave, even if it was not what I initially expected. I look forward to my next shave with the same blade.
