The further misadventures of SINGLE EDGE MAN!

[wwoof]

I'm the guy who put new in noob.

Okay, I started out with a real "L" and found it agreeable to me mug but mild. Despite reading that the "O" type is even milder, I tried it expecting something that was not possible. (If it is true that O's were only sold in Asia, I can understand. My Neanderthal whiskers overpower the physics of a single-blade shave.) In the meantime, I got a Gem Featherweight and Micromatic. One shave with the Featherweight sent me packing to the Micro which I used for three consecutive shaves. (Yeah, I know it takes patience to learn a new razor.) I got very close to BBS. Then, despite the 50/50 split, I snatched a Supply V.2 for half price off the 'Bay. At that price, I got all three plates. Plate OO was just about Type L mild. Hmm, that's not what I'm looking for. So, I loaded up with the OOO Plate for the next three shaves. The OOO has quite a bite but when the shave is done there is still a bit of stubble on the playing field. What to do?

Any suggestions about the Supply? How much time does it take to hone one's expertise? I'm using Proraso right now and Proraso preshave. I'm going crazy on the passes. Up, down, across, figure-eights, you name it. Give me you-all's august advice.

But, in the meantime, I'm awaiting a fairly good-looking Hydro-Magic. I will give it a shot and see what happens If that does the trick, I will out a few bucks but, fortunately, this stuff is fairly inexpensive.

So, Supply advice? Will the magic of a Hydro-Magic produce the shaving Unicorn or will I banish myself back to my Tech and Futur?

 

[Johnnynroy]

I'm the guy who put new in noob.

Okay, I started out with a real "L" and found it agreeable to me mug but mild. Despite reading that the "O" type is even milder, I tried it expecting something that was not possible. (If it is true that O's were only sold in Asia, I can understand. My Neanderthal whiskers overpower the physics of a single-blade shave.) In the meantime, I got a Gem Featherweight and Micromatic. One shave with the Featherweight sent me packing to the Micro which I used for three consecutive shaves. (Yeah, I know it takes patience to learn a new razor.) I got very close to BBS. Then, despite the 50/50 split, I snatched a Supply V.2 for half price off the 'Bay. At that price, I got all three plates. Plate OO was just about Type L mild. Hmm, that's not what I'm looking for. So, I loaded up with the OOO Plate for the next three shaves. The OOO has quite a bite but when the shave is done there is still a bit of stubble on the playing field. What to do?

Any suggestions about the Supply? How much time does it take to hone one's expertise? I'm using Proraso right now and Proraso preshave. I'm going crazy on the passes. Up, down, across, figure-eights, you name it. Give me you-all's august advice.

But, in the meantime, I'm awaiting a fairly good-looking Hydro-Magic. I will give it a shot and see what happens If that does the trick, I will out a few bucks but, fortunately, this stuff is fairly inexpensive.

So, Supply advice? Will the magic of a Hydro-Magic produce the shaving Unicorn or will I banish myself back to my Tech and Futur?

How are you finding your angle with the supply? That may be the single most efficient razor I've used on a first pass. It falls off on the XTG and atg passes due to these passes being sideways and vertical for me plus all sorts of crazy angles. It's too heavy to keep the angle for me the entire time. Start with the blade perpendicular to your skin without any pressure. Slowly lower the angle on the handle until you start hearing it cutting. If you lower it more, maybe another 5-10 degrees, it essentially disengages from the whiskers. So you really only have 10-20 degrees of workable shave there. Starting with the blade perpendicular to the whiskers and dropping the angle was the only way I could consistently get it to work. Once you get the angle, you might need to back down on the aggression. I found the 3 dot plate too much for my face daily.

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[Twelvefret]

GEM razors require a different angle. No intention to insult, but you might benefit from sticking with one razor and learning how to make it give you a good result.

 

[santamariasteve]

How is your preshave prep? I'm talking about hydrating the whiskers with warm water. And maybe rubbing in a small amount of pre-shave something until it disappears into the skin. I too have tough whiskers, so I feel your pain. And at age 81 I have the added complication of thin fragile skin.

I like the following SE razors for tough whiskers (random order): Schick injector Type E. Any Schick injector Type I, non hydro-magic, through Type O with a NOS twin blade. (The hydro-magic feature is not compatible with twin blades.) Pal Adjustable injector (important to lower the handle more than normal because the plan of the blade is different than the plane of the head that touches the face). Ever-Ready 1912. Ever-Ready 1924.

If none of those work for you, I respectfully suggest you grow a beard. But I think most of them will be fine.

 

[rockviper]

I have been using my I2 Hydro-Magic daily all through this year. It's a great razor and I appreciate the extra rinse-ability that the Hydro-Magic lever provides, but that feature does not impact the shave at all. It's milder than the E that I used to have (and now have an E2 on the way), but still provides a great morning few minutes at the sink.

 

[wwoof]

How are you finding your angle with the supply? That may be the single most efficient razor I've used on a first pass. It falls off on the XTG and atg passes due to these passes being sideways and vertical for me plus all sorts of crazy angles. It's too heavy to keep the angle for me the entire time. Start with the blade perpendicular to your skin without any pressure. Slowly lower the angle on the handle until you start hearing it cutting. If you lower it more, maybe another 5-10 degrees, it essentially disengages from the whiskers. So you really only have 10-20 degrees of workable shave there. Starting with the blade perpendicular to the whiskers and dropping the angle was the only way I could consistently get it to work. Once you get the angle, you might need to back down on the aggression. I found the 3 dot plate too much for my face daily.

Let's make sure I understand perpendicular. Do you mean flush against the face at 0 degrees or 90 degrees from the cheek? Right now I am starting at close to 0 degrees like what's recommended for a GEM and slowly add angle in. I have not held the blade at 90 degrees and moved towards 0 degrees. It seems natural to hold the head about 20 to 25 degrees off the cheek. Maybe the problem is maintaining that angle. There is an awesome amount of audible feedback and I really think I've felled the forest until I'm finished.

Okay, I hear you peeps. I'm going to stick with the Supply until I collapse or get bored.

Stay tuned for more misadventures of SINGLE EDGE MAN.

 

[Johnnynroy]

This is my crude attempt at diagramming it. It sounds like you're already using that method to find your angle. I found about 15 degrees between head and face to be the best angle for my skin.

Give it a chance, I found it quite efficient once I found the angle. As I mentioned, I didn't find it for me as there are other injectors that work better for my beard and skin, but its ability to provide a good one pass shave is nearly unsurpassed. Minimum CCS to DFS in one pass for me. Difficult to maintain the correct angle unfortunately, so it usually caused a decent amount of irritation.

 

[wwoof]

You've read this before: This morning I decided to put a new blade in. I kept staring at it over the past two days and thought the reflected light wasn't uniform. When I loaded the first blade did I accidentally rub the blade guard? Well, I focused on manipulating the key to make sure the blade wouldn't touch the knobs before I let it snap in place. Bada Bing, the bite I had been feeling was gone. This morning went really well and I got a very close shave! I believe I'm on the way to becoming a Supply Guy. Apparently, I bungled the very first loading. We will see what Tuesday morning holds.

Not to be distracted, I received my Hydro-Magic this afternoon. How do these guys make these razors look so good? I have set it aside while I concentrate on Supplying. More important to follow through and get a technique down.

Probably a lot of opinions on this: Schick vs. Personna blades. I have started out this whole SE process using Schicks even though I have a cartridge of Personnas. Supply said the 20 enclosed Personnas should be good for 6 months. Roughly 9 shaves a blade. Before I got distracted, I had gotten 8 shaves on a Schick and it was beginning to go south. Will the Personnas be a bit of a letdown? They are considerably cheaper.

 

[santamariasteve]

The general forum consensus is Schick Chinese blades are superior to the American Personna's, and I agree. But you are the official judge.

 

[wwoof]

Nine days on a Schick blade using the OOO. Very good. It does feel aggressive on my pasty Irish/UK descendent skin but it does give a lot of cheap-thrills audible feedback. At the end of nine days (Supply's projection) it was about time for a blade change. With correct injection, there wasn't any of the biting I had experienced before. So, I have stepped back to an OO plate and it does feel slightly more comfortable but seems to require a few extra "licks" to get a OOO shave. Life is filled with compromises (at least for me) so I will give this one nine shaves and see how things go.

I wonder if Supply has ever given nano moment's thought to come out with an OO 1/2? That might be a ticket.

 

[Johnnynroy]

Nine days on a Schick blade using the OOO. Very good. It does feel aggressive on my pasty Irish/UK descendent skin but it does give a lot of cheap-thrills audible feedback. At the end of nine days (Supply's projection) it was about time for a blade change. With correct injection, there wasn't any of the biting I had experienced before. So, I have stepped back to an OO plate and it does feel slightly more comfortable but seems to require a few extra "licks" to get a OOO shave. Life is filled with compromises (at least for me) so I will give this one nine shaves and see how things go.

I wonder if Supply has ever given nano moment's thought to come out with an OO 1/2? That might be a ticket.

Their recommendation is based on the personna blades they include. The Chinese Schicks and Schick Prolines go much longer for me and my wiry Italian beard.

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[wwoof]

Okay, I'm getting closer to Goldilocks. I tried a Personna in the Supply and it was slightly less aggressive/efficient BUT it was far more comfortable. I'm almost guessing the Supply guy designed his razor around the "softer" and cheaper Personna. Now I have used my Hydromagic and found it to be near perfect. Just the right amount of everything. But, the Hydo I got is not as purdy as the rest of my collection so I got a pricey Type I in. (I think someone here mentioned this.) I found the Type I to be slightly less efficient than the Hydromagic. It's good, really good. NOW, I just got in a Type G and will try it to day. I was shocked at its Lilliputian stature. Did everyone in the '40s have a tiny hand?

 

[wwoof]

Okay, the G is a force to be reconned with. Much more aggressive than an I but more efficient. I can live with this and am using it daily now. With my skin, I feel I am flirting with razor burn, though. The plan now is to pack up the Hydromagic and send it off to Razor Emporium for a tightening, tune, and possible replate.

I have had an attack of wisdom on the SE thing: Sometimes you just can't improve on the original. Schick had it going on but market research and Madison Avenue killed it off.

 

[Twelvefret]

Okay, the G is a force to be reconned with. Much more aggressive than an I but more efficient. I can live with this and am using it daily now. With my skin, I feel I am flirting with razor burn, though. The plan now is to pack up the Hydromagic and send it off to Razor Emporium for a tightening, tune, and possible replate.

I have had an attack of wisdom on the SE thing: Sometimes you just can't improve on the original. Schick had it going on but market research and Madison Avenue killed it off.

These are beautiful and have the Hydro Magica mechanism.
schick safety razor golden 500 - Google Search

 

[wwoof]

Thanks, Fret, and I thought I was about satisfied. Grrr. I don't think I've seen a 500 on the Bay as yet. I will keep an eye out. The "G" handle is for Lilliputians.

 

[rockviper]

@wwoof You might wish to conduct some additional research before entrusting something you value to RE.

 

[wwoof]

Well, the cost of these SE's has been so reasonable that it's easy to build a Schick museum without thinking about it. I regret not looking at SE long before now. More comfortable and a lot less blood shed.