The Journal of a Backwards Professor

[Rosseforp]

I got this today.
Our community mailbox hasn't been repaired yet, so I had to make a trip to the US Post Office to pick it up.

It is supposed to be a Schick Type E. As this is my first Schick Injector, I know very little about them. Evidently they varied in aggressiveness quite a bit, some of them have the open to clean option, but mine doesn't appear to be one of them.

It looks as good in person as it does in the pictures. It also looks "Dainty" compared to my SE1, or even my newly acquired MMOC.
After a thorough cleaning I carefully installed a blade, and checked the gap. An impressive .036" with blade exposure measured in inches, this 'Dainty" looking razor might just pack a punch in a small package.

 

[Rosseforp]

Tuesday, April 28
Razor: Piccolo SE
Blade: Super-Max BD(16)
Brush: Simpson PJ2
Soap: MdC Agrumes
Aftershave: Aqua Velva

This is the first time that I have face lathered with the PJ2, so I dipped the tips in the water to make sure I didn't shake too much out.
I also bloomed the MdC before I showered. I gave the brush 5 swirls and started applying a thin layer. The brush was pretty wet, and it looked at first like I would need to go back to the puck.
But, this is MdC.
3 swirls would have been enough.
As small as this brush is, it fans out a lot and covers a lot of area. It is soft, but I can feel more prickyness with this brush than the Omega. It also takes a bit longer to build the lather. I have probably only used the PJ2 a dozen times, I hear that Simpsons take a loooooong time to break-in.

My Omega had around 50 shaves when the magic happened.
I do love my Omega, but I paid a lot of cash for this PJ2, it needs to get some use.

My first pass with the Piccolo told me all I need to know about the difference in rigidity between a Fatip and my GC84-P. The most notable area was the spot behind my left jaw.
Where the GC84 kept riding over my wiry stubble, and the Piccolo just mowed it down like always. No muss, no fuss. I did spend some time there on my last ATG pass, nothing like with the GC84.
Even though I kept the ATG strokes short , I didn't do a lot of buffing.
The WTG and XTG passes I felt almost nothing of the blade. Two passes would have been fine.

Just one more pass on my neck I thought as I proceeded to lather up my face and neck.
The ATG pass, I definitely felt the blade struggle and tug. Slowing down the strokes and keeping the angle steep eased things a bit.

My face feels good. There is no irritation. And the best neck shave for a month........ I have had enough of the BD's for now, fresh out of the box might be a joy in my Piccolo.
Might.

I have a Polsilver lined up for tomorrow.

 

[thombrogan]

My first pass with the Piccolo told me all I need to know about the difference in rigidity between a Fatip and my GC84-P. The most notable area was the spot behind my left jaw.
Where the GC84 kept riding over my wiry stubble, and the Piccolo just mowed it down like always. No muss, no fuss. I did spend some time there on my last ATG pass, nothing like with the GC84.

My checking account thanks you for this knowledge. With an ever-so-slightly bowed cap, my Fatip Grande isn’t dummy rigid, but still capable and versatile. So I’ll stare numbly at GC razors and get my IRL tech clone fix some other way.

 

[Rosseforp]

My checking account thanks you for this knowledge. With an ever-so-slightly bowed cap, my Fatip Grande isn’t dummy rigid, but still capable and versatile. So I’ll stare numbly at GC razors and get my IRL tech clone fix some other way.

This isn't to say anything negative about GC's, I absolutely love my GC68-P. That and my Fatip's. The jury is not out on my GC84 either, I'm loading up a Polsilver in it tonight.
I also have a GC OC84 that needs some loving.

Then, I have an English Tech, that I only used a few times when I first started wet shaving. I didn't find it to my liking at the time, and have never revisited it.
I had been using a 53 tech with an .021" gap, and didn't realize the English Tech had a .026" gap at the time. With a shim it should be pretty efficient........

 

[thombrogan]

Agreed, it’s something I’m saying, but it’s easier to be bold when all the blade candy is out of stock.

I‘ve been eyeballing Techs and their clones lately. And E and G style injectors (that butterscotch Bakelite is easy on the eyes) and most everything made by Eveready and GEM and past and current SEs of ATT, Blackland, and Mongoose…

 

[Rosseforp]

Are there any particular techs you are eyeballing?

 

[Rosseforp]

Wednesday, April 29
Razor: GC84-P
Blade: Polsilver(1)
Brush: Simpson PJ2
Soap: MdC Agrumes
Aftershave: the "Veg"

3 swirls of MdC was just barely enough lather for 2 1/2 3 passes.

The brush felt a little softer than yesterday, but it has a lot of room for improvement. I still got a nice lather.

With a fresh Polsilver in my GC84, I started with a STEEP ATG pass on my neck. After the first few strokes I checked to make sure I had the blade installed.
Night and day from the BD. Smooth and sharp.

I did get a weeper on my neck, where I always get one with a sharp blade on its first pass. I wiped it off with my finger and it stopped.
I finished the first pass with mostly XTG on my face and chin. WTG over my lip. I could barely feel the blade as I shaved over my lip.
After wiping my face with a cold towel I had enough for a light lather, then I shaved my face nose to ear and WTG neck.
There was just enough lather left in the brush for a 3rd pass on my neck, mostly WTG.

The Witch hazel tingled a bit, and the "Veg" did give me a bit of an ASL bite, but felt immediately refreshing and dry. Nivea balm gave me an added level of smoothness.

It was a good shave. A comfortable shave. A close shave. My face is happy, I like this blade.

 

[Esox]

After the first few strokes I checked to make sure I had the blade installed.

They get smoother...

 

[Rosseforp]

My English Tech was part of a PIF from a very nice gentleman here that wishes to remain anonymous, when I first joined B&B. I know that I haven't used it much, according to my records only twice. I remember that it was efficient, but not much else. I had been using a DE1 and a 53 Tech at the time, and it might have been too efficient aggressive for me at the time.
I recently compared not only the gap, but the difference in blade exposure. The 53 tech has a gap of .021" while the ET has a gap of .026". But that is not where the difference ends. The 53 tech has neutral blade exposure, the ET is positive.

The English Tech is on the left, you can easily see the positive exposure compared to the neutral exposure of the 53 Tech on the right.

I might not have been ready for that, and misinterpreted the results. I knew nothing about blade exposure at the time.
My technique has I believe improved, and I have been wanting to try this razor again. I had been thinking of using a shim, but I am gonna try it without one tonight. If I am happy with tonight's shave, I might try a shim tomorrow.

 

[Rosseforp]

Thursday, April 30
Razor: English Tech
Blade: Polsilver(2)
Brush: Acca Kappa
Soap: MdC Agrumes
Aftershave: the "Veg"

Upon placing the razor over my lips and shaving that area WTG, I had expected to feel the blade.
I felt nothing.
Hair was reduced.
I shaved around my lips.
I can see the lather is being removed, and hair with it, I felt nothing.

I decided to try my neck, ATG .
At first I felt nothing until I lowered the angle from a steep approach to the design angle.Then I started to feel the blade and hear it cut.
It felt more like I was shaving WTG than ATG. I finished my face with an ear to nose pass.

I lathered again for a second pass, this time a straight WTG all the way, the razor just sort of wiping the lather away, leaving plenty of residual lather behind.
No blade feel at all.
I wiped my face off with a cold towel and checked to see if I had actually shaved or if I needed to get the GC84 out.

Indeed there was some stubble, but for a 2 pass shave with a tech, I was at an easy SAS.
But, the Acca Kappa with 5 swirls of MdC still had enough lather for a full 3rd pass.

I haven't mentioned the Acca Kappa badger much. It was my first badger, a gift from my brother on a trip he took to Italy last year with his wife. It was a driving trip as they live in Germany.
I like it. It feels good in my hand, and does a pretty decent job of face lathering.
It isn't near as soft as my Omega, but it is less prickly than my Simpson.

After feeling my Omega suddenly break-in after 50+ shaves, when it was already my favorite brush, I think the other two badgers need to go on a Fixed until they make me happy.

Well, maybe just two weeks at a time, I am already missing my Omega......


The 3rd pass was another ATG pass on my neck and nose to ear on my face. I used just enough pressure to keep the blade planted, not much, and listened to it smoothly sweep away the remaining stubble.

A BBS face, and Really Nice Neck.

I could have spent more time under my jawline and gotten a total BBS, but it wasn't worth it.
The Witch hazel did tingle, as did the "Veg", the Nivea balm finished off nicely.

It was a great shave.

Tomorrow I add a shim.....

 

[Rosseforp]

Friday, May 1
Razor: English Tech/Shim
Blade: Polsilver(3)
Brush: Omega Silver Tip
Soap: Amici
Aftershave:Amici

Incredible. Lather, N-S. Lather, S-N. Lather, XTG. BBS. Done.

This razor has been sitting over a year since I got it. Before yesterday I had only used it two times. My record keeping wasn't very detailed then, but there was mention of a BBS shave with a Nacet, and not much else.

I had started wet-shaving with a Vikings Blade Chieftain, a Feather Popular, and a RR DE1. That was my first month. By then I had joined B&B and the English Tech, a 53 Tech, a Slim, and a New SC all of a sudden appeared in the mailbox. Then a few more Techs snuck in with couple of Super Speed Flare Tips tagging along. Some even came with blades!!!

Of course, my love for my small Fatip collection makes it hard for another DE to really stand out and say "Use Me instead".

During my Fixed Four with my GC84-P, I was routinely able to get very close shaves. long lasting shaves. Some comfortable, some, not so. With a SuperMax BD. There was also a lot of blade feel. With that much blade feel, I would expect to get a close shave.
When I put this Polsilver in my GC84-P the shave was great. There was still a lot of blade feel. It was comfortable.

When I had checked out all of my tech's and found this English Tech had positive blade exposure, I had expected it to have some blade feel. There was none. As in Zip, Nadda, Nothing. ATG on my neck was almost nothing.

The shave was on par with the best shave I got from my GC84-P, although not as long lasting.
With a shim tonight, it beat the GC84-P by spades. Oh, I could finally feel the blade, but it was smooth as silk.

You can clearly see in this picture above how much positive blade exposure there is, yet there is such a light feeling it is hard to believe it is cutting at all.

The Amici shaving soap performed very well, and I am sure it contributed to the shave, but the English Tech was clearly the STAR.

Does it get the Golden Ticket?

 

[Rosseforp]

Monday, May 4
GC OC84 Polsilver(4)
Simpson PJ2
Amici shaving soap
Layrite No. 9

I haven't shaved since Friday, when SWMBO decided to remove ALL of the towels from the bathroom as I was reaching for one at the end of my shave, much to my dismay. I had told her to leave me ONE TOWEL as I needed one at the very moment, yet she vanished with all of the towels in handle leaving me running through the house with sopping wet hands to fetch another.

As I am retired, I need not shave everyday to be presentable at work. Having worked in a Machine Shop for 45+ years, daily shaving for work wasn't a priority. Lots of guys I worked with, either had beards, or shaved only 1-2 times a week.
Using an electric razor for the last 30+ years, I was one of those guys that only shaved when SWMBO said it was needed.
None of the girls I worked with, however, sported hair on their faces. We did have one gal that did have a mustache.........

I HATED shaving.

My Father was a Lt. Colonel in the Air Force and was always clean shaven. I only remember him using a TTO style DE razor. My first razor, in fact, was a TTO that my father gave me, along with a couple of DE blades in a metal tin.

I never figured out how to get through a wet shave without blood loss in my youth and suffered through lousy shaves with electrics for decades.

Then one day I came across my Grandfather's old SR, but only remembered him using a 3 piece razor. Then I came across some articles talking about how DE shaving done correctly could eliminate irritation. I read more articles and decided to give it another try, now that there were videos to watch, and my electric razor was kaput and needed replacing.

I do remember the SWMBO being quite skeptical when I first started eyeballing a VDH at Wal~Mart.

Well, I didn't get the VDH, instead went with the Amazon top pic, which proved to be a really crappy overpriced Vikings Blade Chieftain.
Oh, it is pretty. Pretty crappy.

While searching the internet for reviews I came across a few articles in a forum called B&B that discussed the very few virtues of that particular razor, and the ensuing lawsuits from supposed patent infringement and mold ownership.
Now I am sure there are at least 1 or 2 Vikings Blade fans, but they keep their Chieftain in it's coffin where it belongs.

Of course after discovering B&B, I also discovered something called RAD. I have never quite figured out what RAD means, but I do have about 20 30 35 razors in my collection now. I only have about 15 20 different soaps and a dozen brushes. I'm pretty sure that I need more brushes. I only have one Semogue

Now I love shaving, I would shave twice a day if I could.
And SWMBO does love my clean shaven face.

But she thinks I spend too much time shaving now, and thinks nothing of interrupting me during a shave.

Did.

For the time being, I will be just shaving my neck. And tonight's neck shave was nice.

 

[Rosseforp]

Tuesday, May 5
GC OC84 Polsilver(5)
Simpson PJ2
Amici shaving soap
the "Veg"

Knowing that I was only lathering my neck, I gave the Amici shaving soap 10 swirls and built a lather almost immediately. I only added a little water to hydrate the lather for an ATG first pass on my neck.

The GC OC84 didn't exactly mow down 3 days of stubble yesterday, today was a bit smoother.
I really felt the blade a few times touching down on my neck, thought I might get a weeper, but no blood. It did remind me to give it some respect.
This is not a razor to toss around with reckless abandon.

I only have a few shaves with this razor, and I'm not sure if I have found the "design" angle just yet.
I am shaving mostly steep, using very little pressure.

The combs do leave plenty of lather behind, but I haven't really buffed much yet.
On the WTG pass, I could feel a lot of stubble left behind from the ATG pass. I also started to feel some irritation, and ruled out a 3rd pass.

The Amici seems like it is providing plenty of cushion and slickness during the shave, and the post shave felt ok.

I'm glad I skipped a 3rd pass, as the "Veg" lit my neck up after a Witch hazel application. Nivea balm cooled things down a bit, but my neck is not happy.

The shave itself was not uncomfortable at all, but I was aware of the blade the entire shave, and it was not that close of a shave at all.

Different angles need to be explored.

I was cleaning out my toolbox and found this old C216 drill from when I worked in the Orthopedic Division of 3M.
It breaks down into three separate pieces for cleaning, but there are actually some 24 machined parts that make up the assembly. The C stands for Cranial.
If you need a hole in your head, this will get the job done!

 

[Rosseforp]

My Type E open to clean showed up today

 

[Rosseforp]

The open to clean Type E Schick injector I just picked up off of fleabay looked just as good as the pictures, but cleaned up even nicer.

 

[Rosseforp]

Friday, May 8
GC OC84 Polsilver(6)
Simpson PJ2
Wickham 1912 Club Cola
Layrite No. 9

Besides having SWMBO swipe the towels while I was shaving last weekend, my back is still very sore from moving my workbenches around the garage, and I just haven't felt like shaving.
When she complained about me needing a shave this morning, I calmly mentioned the razor blades I use are very sharp and I don't care to put one next to my face when she is making a commotion all about me. I let her know that her interrupting me during my shaves greatly increased the odds of me having blood loss, and thus not shaving for a few days or weeks.

After all, I can still shave my neck, it is my facial hair that irritates her. It's not like I don't want to shave, I just picked up 4 vintage razors and I have a Gold Grande on order from Connaught, so I have no idea when that is gonna show up, and a Lo Sorto on back-order. And some soap and blades.

Of course, she didn't hesitate to let me know that is was time for me to order her more of the Wrinkle Serum that costs $100 for 50ml. The 200ml jar of MdC that I paid $50 for at the same time looks barely used......... or was that Anti-Wrinkle Serum?
It is a good thing I have amazon points to spend..............


This is the first time face lathering with Wickham, so I started out with just 10 swirls. Even though I was only planning on shaving my neck I lathered my face because I can't help myself.

The lather was ok, but I went back to the puck for another 10 swirls.

This is also a good chance to see how the GC OC84 compares to my Piccolo mowing down multiple days growth in one pass.
I started just under my chin keeping the razor at the "design" angle with light pressure, using steady strokes, no buffing. It felt very smooth, I could barely feel the blade cutting. After carefully maneuvering around the scar I gently sort of pivoted the razor to get the trouble spot under the back of my left jaw.

Just as I started under my chin on the right side I used just a bit too much pressure and got a weeper. After tending to the persistent weeper with the application of an alum block held in place for a minute or so, I decided to rinse off and clean up.

Just about that time my daughter comes in and shows me a fresh cut on her leg from her Gillette Venus. She found out about the "sideways slide", and needed some first-aide just like dad.....

If not for the weeper, it would have been a pretty good one pass shave.

 

[Esox]

She found out about the "sideways slide", and needed some first-aide just like dad.....

Thats especially dangerous with the MMOC and a fresh PTFE.

 

[Rosseforp]

Saturday, May 9
GC OC84 Polsilver(7)
Simpson PJ2
Wickham 1912 Club Cola
Layrite No. 9

Tonight's shave was nice.
I'm still trying to get the Wickham dialed in for face lathering. I started with a very damp brush and loaded probably 30 swirls. The lather and brush were very hydrated but not quite runny.

Having a weeks worth of growth on my face and three days on my neck I pressed the GC OC84 to my left sideburn at a steep angle and tilted the handle till the angle was neutral as I slowly guided the razor down my face WTG around my jaw and down my neck.
Maybe three or four strokes, not really any buffing, just very light pressure. I noticed if I started to ride the cap it pulled the blade away and stopped cutting.
By keeping both the cap and guard in contact I don't feel the blade.

I feel the blade slicing through the weeks growth like butter, yet I am not feeling the blade touch my skin. At this angle, I also don't feel the teeth, it is very, very smooth.

I didn't shave the upper vermilion, as I have a skin tag on the left side that disagrees with aggressive razors that needs to be addressed. Or I could grow a mustache.
After one pass, I patted my face off with a damp towel and cleaned up my gear.

The Witch hazel and Layrite finished up the shave with zero sting, zero irritation, and Nivea balm left me feeling like the Polsilver SI never touched my face.

I'm typing this about 4 hours after my shave, and my face doesn't feel like I shaved, except all the stubble is gone. No, it wasn't a 1 pass BBS, but it was a Damn Nice Shave.

 

[Rosseforp]

Thats especially dangerous with the MMOC and a fresh PTFE.

Ahh, my weeper was the result of the blade planing off the top layer of skin, as the GC OC84-P has positive exposure and needs a delicate touch.

After some close inspection of my MMOC, it looks like one of the blade stops is worn out and lets the blade ride up slightly. I might be able to peen it with a drift, or look for another one in better shape.

This side looks to be in good shape.

The Bullet Tip looks like it has survived the years in better shape, and is ready whenever my PTFE blades show up from Connaught. They were out of stock of the FOCS, but I got the next best thing on order also.
Ordered April 27.

400922 Proraso SANDALWOOD Shaving Cream Soap BOWL 150 ml 1 £4.00 £4.00 42115 Fatip Original Grande GOLD Safety Razor 1 £15.75 £15.75 648556 VITOS Extra Super COCO Soft Shaving Soap (100 1 £3.25 £3.25 ml JAR) GEMCS10 GEM Stainless Coated Single Edge Blades (dispensers) 10 £0.25 £2.50 Subtotal £25.50 Shipping £4.10 Tax £0.00 Total £29.60

Other Information Notes

[Esox]

After some close inspection of my MMOC, it looks like one of the blade stops is worn out and lets the blade ride up slightly. I might be able to peen it with a drift, or look for another one in better shape.

I wonder how that happened. Thats the first I've seen like that but I doubt many would think to check the blade stops. I check mine every time I tighten the handle. The blade can be pushed into the stop slightly when closing the razor but I'd doubt its wear.

The handle can be tightened pretty well so not sure I'd worry about it much but I'd be aware of it.

If you like Sandalwood, try CRS.

Cyril R Salter Shaving Cream Bowls - https://connaughtshaving.com/cyrilsc.html

Its a fairly strong but accurate scent. I can still smell it hours after I shave.