The 2023: 1-Blade, 1-Week, Daily Shaving Adventure

[ShavingPrimate]

On the subject of the IIP.

Just finished with day #2. I have to say that yesterday's shave was great!

It was just like I remembered, using the original Trac II system.

It is so refreshing to use a cartridge that has a fixed head and doesn't flop around. You can actually shave by holding the angle you want to. But the design is so nice because the head is angled so you place it against your face at the correct shaving angle automatically.

Extra nice for me is not having to deal with the unwanted but obligatory goo / slime strip that all cartridges seem to be blessed with.

I think the IIP / Trac II is still the best cartridge. It feels like shaving without a blade. Not even a thought of a cut, I can shave as fast as I want, in any direction I want, including against the grain. With ZERO irritation.

Yesterday evening, my face was still clean shaven. Today it was still minimal growth. This is half as much as much growth as I get using the 34c.

I made a little extra effort along my jaw line and under my chin today. My face feels ever so smooth!

 

[ShavingPrimate]

For reference...

You can buy the PII handle online through Walmart for only $6.99

These handles are a solid heavy plastic with a metal accent. They are heavy in the hand and do not feel like or shave like the cheap disposable 2-blade razors. They are great for trimming nose hairs too. Try that with your 5-blade cartridge (or DE razor)!

And different packages of Gillette PII blades. The blades are packaged five to a pack. Three packs are $15.21. That's only a dollar for each cartridge.

While a dollar is about ten times what a DE blade might cost me for the week, I really can't complain about it?

I might set it aside and try for a second week in another month or so?

 

[ShavingPrimate]

I just noticed that I was calling this razor a IIP.

Week 13 Begins: Blade is a Gillette IIP cartridge from India.

I am correcting this to be a PII.

So sorry, my bad!

 

[Lane101]

For reference...

You can buy the PII handle online through Walmart for only $6.99

These handles are a solid heavy plastic with a metal accent. They are heavy in the hand and do not feel like or shave like the cheap disposable 2-blade razors. They are great for trimming nose hairs too. Try that with your 5-blade cartridge (or DE razor)!

And different packages of Gillette PII blades. The blades are packaged five to a pack. Three packs are $15.21. That's only a dollar for each cartridge.

While a dollar is about ten times what a DE blade might cost me for the week, I really can't complain about it?

I might set it aside and try for a second week in another month or so?

Good travel option given the challenges of flying with DE blades.

 

[ShavingPrimate]

Good travel option given the challenges of flying with DE blades.

Good option for any situation where you want a quick shave or a touch-uo.

I skipped yesterday and shaved just a bit ago. Still cut through like there wasn't even a blade there.

Buffing and touch-ups are a breeze. Can go over the area multiple passes and not have any irritation. Can press harder and everything is still good.

I might do another random DE blade next week. Then, for a recent comparison, put a fresh cartridge in the Mach III the next week.

It's been a while since I used the Mach III, but, so far, I am liking my Trac II clone more than the Mach III shaves that I remember!

 

[Frag_Out]

This week I used a Big Ben Super Stainless blade. They’re quite cheap, only $7/100 on Amazon right now.

View attachment 1620260

To give an idea of my blade usage: I shave daily, 2 ATG passes + touch ups. My goal each day is for a BBS shave with as little irritation as possible.

For this week’s shaves I used my Gillette New Short Comb and Mitchell’s Wool Fat. For prep I wet my face, lather up my face and leave it on for 5 minutes. Then I rinse it off, lather up again and I’m ready to shave. This week I have been making changes to my lathering process as well as my technique, so there is a good chance those factors may have contributed to my results.


Overall, this was a great blade for me. The blade is quite sharp and smooth enough that I never got any irritation from it. The blade reminds me of a Gillette Platinum. The first 4 shaves started were about equal in performance, with some noticeable dulling by the 5th shave. Shave 6 I failed to get a BBS on my neck/jaw, but thought it could just be my change in prep/technique. Shave 7 I couldn’t get a BBS on my neck either (though I got a surprisingly pristine BBS on the easier parts of my face), which confirmed that the blade had gotten too dull for me.

All of this being said, I believe that with more consistent lather, combined with the quicker shaves that a consistent lather give, this blade very well may be able to deliver more BBS shaves. I have several other blades I want to try out for now, but I may revisit this exact same blade and see if shaves 8-14 are possible with it. Thanks for reading!

The Big Ben, Lord Platinum and Silver Star are among my favorite blades from Lord. Glad you enjoyed

 

[ShavingPrimate]

Week 13 Ends: Blade is a Gillette IIP cartridge from India.

I have to say, the PII preformed admirally this week. So good that it makes me think about abandoning DE shaving (GASP).

Well, not quite yet! But... the PII is a seriously good razor. During the week, I could find nothing negative to say about this week's shaving adventure. EXCEPT, that it was $1. Which is 10-20 times as much as I pay for DE blades.

This might be an unfair comparison because the blade may very well last longer than only a single week. It is still sharp and not tugging.

With that in mind, I will revisit the PII in another few weeks and give this same blade another go. That would only be fair.

During the week I shaved in all different directions, with equal success. Touch-up's were easy because the shaving gel left a good amount of sickness on my face (as usual) after the initial pass.

Another thought I had, was to suggest this razor for times when you might have inflammation from a previous shave or other skin irritation?

With only two blades, the head itself is thin and highly maneuverable. Triming above and below my mustache was simple and quick. Getting a precision cut was not a problem.

I will also throw the MACH III into the rink in upcoming weeks, just to get my feedback on that also.

 

[ShavingPrimate]

Week 14 Begins: Blade is a Astra Superior Platinum.

 

[ShavingPrimate]

Week 14 Ends: Blade is a Astra Superior Platinum.

Have to say, one full week of perfectly flawless daily shaves.

I started the week with three piece razors and then switched to the $14 Wilkinson Sword TTO razor for the remainder of the week.

I usually use the TTO for touch-up around my mustache area when I use the R41 head. Been kind of ignoring the TTO for regular shaving.

It was nice to shave with it once again. It provided smooth and really close shaves with the Astra Superior Platinum blade.

Shaving daily is so nice because, with a close shave the previous day, the current shave is easy going as there is minimal facial hair to cut through.

Blade is still good for a few more shaves.

 

[ShavingPrimate]

Week 15 Begins: Blade is a Wilkinson Sword from Germany. I think I will shave this entire week with the Wilkinson Sword TTO razor.

 

[ShavingPrimate]

Week 15 Ends: Blade is a Wilkinson Sword from Germany.

Basically, it went fine. No issues with this blade.

Still, there is something that I just don't seem to get. There are many people who rave about this blade. While I find nothing wrong with it, they always seem to be a very ordinary blade to me.

The Astra SP, which I shaved with the week before does an equally good job and costs half as much.

The German Wilkinson Sword blade is still good for another shave or three.

 

[ShavingPrimate]

Week 16 Begins: Blade is a Gillette Minora Stainless. It is a Russian PPI blade that is made for the South African market.

The order from Amazon arrived on Friday. This will be my first experience with this blade.

 

[ShavingPrimate]

Had my first encounter with the Minora earlier today. Wanted to give some feedback...

Decided to use it in an average razor for the initial shave. So I selected the EJ DE89.

Was a very smooth and pleasant shave. After I finished, my face had that feel of having an extra close shave but without any irritation.

It reminded me very much of the Gillette Rubie.

 

[ShavingPrimate]

Week 16 Ends: Blade is a Gillette Minora Stainless.

Another week of great shaves! The Minora was completely comfortable from the first shave to the last.

I skipped a day and the blade cut through a two day growth just as smoothly and easily as a single day.

Blade is definitely good for a few more shaves.

 

[ShavingPrimate]

Week 17 Begins: Blade is a Dorco ST301.

Commenting that I began week #1 of this year shaving with the Dorco ST300, which, according to the manufacturer, is the same exact blade as the ST301. The difference being, is that the 300's are in cardboard tucks, while the 301's come packaged in a plastic tuck.

Comments from the conclusion of week #1:

[Blade finished the week with flying colors. Did the final shave today with the R41 and was perfectly smooth with no irritation.

Could get another shave or two perhaps? Some pulling in the mustache area, showing the blade is dulling.]

I will now see if the 301's shave as good as the 300's, they should.

There is a reason I purchased a few bulk packs of the 301's. The 300' were $6 per-hundred. And I thought they gave a very decent shave for a 6-cent blade.

The 301's were $7 per-hundred or a penny more for each blade. Amazon had a sale on the ST301's for $5 per-hundred. This made the plastic tuck packaging a penny less expensive than the cardboard ST300 tucks. So I bought some of the 301's...

 

[ShavingPrimate]

Week 17 Ends: Blade is a Dorco ST301.

The Dorco ST301 preformed very well for the entire week. No complaints. It appears in fact to be the exact same blade as the ST300, only in a plastic tuck, rather than cardboard stock.

Blade is still sharp and good for yet another shave or two.

 

[Golden Green]

@ShavingPrimate in what directions do you shave? Always curious as to shaving directions affect perceptions of blades.

 

[ShavingPrimate]

Week 18 Begins: Blade is a Gillette PII cartridge from India. Being used in the PII razor handle. The PII is an authorized reproduction of the 1971 Trac II system.

I shaved with this blade on week #13. It served me well throughout the entire week and was still sharp.

In fairness to my less costly DE blades. I felt it only fair to give this $1 two-bladed cartridge a shot at another week. If I get another complete week's worth of shaves from it, that would figure to 50-cents per week. This is approximately equal to the Feather and King C. Gillette blades.

For reference...

You can buy the PII handle online through Walmart for only $6.99

These handles are a solid heavy plastic with a metal accent. They are heavy in the hand and do not feel like or shave like the cheap disposable 2-blade razors.

There are different options on quantity packages of Gillette PII blades. The blades are packaged five to a pack. Three packs are $15.21. That's only a dollar for each cartridge, also through Walmart.

We'll see how the 2nd week goes?

 

[blethenstrom]

I completely missed this thread! Is it too late to jump onto the bandwagon? This is the way I test my blades and I still have a good number of them to go.

 

[ShavingPrimate]

I completely missed this thread! Is it too late to jump onto the bandwagon? This is the way I test my blades and I still have a good number of them to go.

Absolutely! Please read through the thread to get the gist. It's really all about discovering blades that will last you a full week, then changing blades for the following week.

No commitments necessary, jump in and out anytime. Nothing really special about a week. It is just an arbitrary period of time. But, seeing that it coincides with our calendar, it is an optimum period to retain a blade.

Just my thoughts... See ya soon!