Anyway had to get the story straight and so on with the shave. So Talking with Brian he told me that one of the inspirations for the Charcoal head was the NEW Deluxe and you can see a similarity in the head design in the photos.
From my time spent shaving with both razors I thought they shaved similar but at the time I only had the Level 3 OC baseplate on the Charcoal and it's the most efficient razor in my den and I nicknamed it " The Beast " and for good reason. I've tamed it over time so the name is not meant to scare anyone thinking of getting one but I will say it defiantly demands your attention and a good technique. I wouldn't recommend it to a Newbie to wet shaving and I'll leave it there.
I since obtained a level 2 OC baseplate and I told Mark I think it would be a good shave comparison between the two razors.
So the Big Boy is lighter and has a thinner handle than my Charcoal as I opted for the Magnum handle on it which I really like a lot. The thinner handle does give the edge to the Big Boy in maneuverability but not by much.
I used 2 new Astra SP blades in both razors as I wanted to use more of a mid level sharp blade for this shave off. Used a Feather in the CG last week and it was a bit harsh but I'm not a fan of Feathers in my more efficient razors. I usually go with a Posliver or Kai in these two and get great smooth shaves.
So loaded the blades and lather up some Blades Grimm Smolder soap which I love the smell of. Nice smoky tobacco scent.
Decided to do a 3 pass traditional shave using long strokes on this shave.
1st Pass - WTG - Decided to give the task of shaving my difficult right side of my face to the Big Boy just to up the stakes a bit. So started with the CG on the left side and it was singing louder than it did last week with the Posliver blade in it. Also it had more blade feel than normal which I didn't get last week when I used the Posliver. So I'll have to revisit that next time I shave with it and use both blades to compare. So no clue why. Anyway as usual it was mowing down my 2 day growth nicely and I finished the pass with no weepers, blade chattering or any other issues other than the unusual increased blade feel and louder feedback. Next over to the Big Boy and wow was it smooth and at first I was like this may not be as efficient as the CG as it was singing but very softly and gliding along like it was on ice. When I got done with the pass I wet my face and I was like they both feel the same! It was like I was shaving with one razor instead of two it was that close.
2nd Pass XTG - This time I stared with the Big Boy and no disappointments as once again it spook softly but carried a big stick as it took down a lot of the remaining stubble effortlessly. Finished the pass very quickly as I felt no threat of cutting myself. On to the CG and again lots of blade feedback and at this point I realized it must be the balde and I was tempted to switch blades but I thought nope I'm finishing this shave using the same blade. finished up the pass and once again both sides were deep into a DFS on two passes and same results on both sides.
3rd Pass ATG - Started with the CG neck to sideburns and no issues but it kept on singing to me loud and clear like it was saying I don't like this blade! Didn't go ATG under my nose and just went XTG in the opposite direction from the last pass and speaking of under the nose. Both these razors have no issues getting under the nose. I didn't stop to feel my face after the pass and went right to the Big Boy and this is where I felt a difference in the WTG pass. The Big Boy was easier to shave ATG with and smoother. I guess I wasn't surprised at all as it was smooth from the very first stroke to the last and I'll mention again it had the more difficult side of my face and neck to shave as I have some nasty cowlicks on the right side. It made no difference and once again we had a tie ballgame.. these two were neck and neck as far as the end result. Only thing I can say is I'm pretty sure it took a few more strokes with the Big Boy but it may be because it was so smooth that I was very confident that there would be no irritation so I probably did take a few more strokes with it than the CG.
So I finished up. Rinsed with cold water and put some alum on just to get some feedback and there was about 10% more on the CG side which kind of makes sense based on the way it was shaving with the Astra. Cleaned up and then rinsed the alum and put the Smolder aftershave on let is dry. It's kind of weird as it's a liquid and not a balm but it's also not clear. But it felt great and smelled really good.
Let it dry and went over my face and I had a rock solid BBS shave on both sides with no weepers or irritation. So as I'm writing this my face feels great and I'll see if one side starts to grow in faster than the other to make a final judgement but the way it feels now I'd call it a draw. One final thought. To me it proves that a vintage razor can shave as well as a new Artisan razor and now I get why Brian was inspired by the NEW Deluxe when creating his Charcoal Goods razors.
So a Great New Years shave with both these amazing razors.
An Happy New Years to all the members and moderators etc.
Can't wait to see what 2018 brings to the shaving community.
