B
BrightFutur
When I got into wetshaving, it was all about DE. DE this, DE that. Heard a little mention of SE on here. Not for me, pfft, DE for life!
Then I saw an SE blade. Same type of blade I use to cut boxes and scrape glue off of things. (We also had some other, interesting names for those blades during my misspent youth.) No way am I shaving my face with that.
Eventually I broke, and I picked up 6 SE razors in one week. (See July 20-26 acquisition thread for pics.) Got myself a pack of GEM/Personna branded SE blades, and gave it a whirl.
First shave, I decided that it would be control with everything - Most used cream, brush, AS, etc. I popped a fresh blade in my GEM Micromantic Open Comb, and went to work. Just about PIF'd all my SE's after that shave, it was terrible. I stopped halfway through and used my Futur.
Second shave, I thought, gee, maybe I just need to learn how to shave with a SE razor, I'll give the micromantic another go. Shave wasn't as bad, but I found there was a very fine line between not enough cutting (With whole hairs left behind uncut) and face-scraping chin-nicking hell on wheels. I stopped after my first pass, but instead of picking up the Futur, I thought I'd pick up the GEM Featherweight.
Might just be my new go-to shaver. It has good feedback, I found getting a correct angle on it was much easier than with the Micro OC. Close, comfortable shaves, with no irritation. I feel like it cuts almost as close as my wide open Futur, but feels almost as gentle as my dialed down slim. Really just a triumph of shaving design. I'm sold on SE. My only qualms with it are that it is not TTO (I love TTO), and the plastic handle doesn't really do much for me (Admittedly, not nearly as ugly as my GEM Junior.)
I'm trying to get into straights right now, so I don't know how much further my SE exploration will continue, but I know for a fact that if I need a good shave in a hurry, I'm reaching for the Featherweight.
Then I saw an SE blade. Same type of blade I use to cut boxes and scrape glue off of things. (We also had some other, interesting names for those blades during my misspent youth.) No way am I shaving my face with that.
Eventually I broke, and I picked up 6 SE razors in one week. (See July 20-26 acquisition thread for pics.) Got myself a pack of GEM/Personna branded SE blades, and gave it a whirl.
First shave, I decided that it would be control with everything - Most used cream, brush, AS, etc. I popped a fresh blade in my GEM Micromantic Open Comb, and went to work. Just about PIF'd all my SE's after that shave, it was terrible. I stopped halfway through and used my Futur.
Second shave, I thought, gee, maybe I just need to learn how to shave with a SE razor, I'll give the micromantic another go. Shave wasn't as bad, but I found there was a very fine line between not enough cutting (With whole hairs left behind uncut) and face-scraping chin-nicking hell on wheels. I stopped after my first pass, but instead of picking up the Futur, I thought I'd pick up the GEM Featherweight.
Might just be my new go-to shaver. It has good feedback, I found getting a correct angle on it was much easier than with the Micro OC. Close, comfortable shaves, with no irritation. I feel like it cuts almost as close as my wide open Futur, but feels almost as gentle as my dialed down slim. Really just a triumph of shaving design. I'm sold on SE. My only qualms with it are that it is not TTO (I love TTO), and the plastic handle doesn't really do much for me (Admittedly, not nearly as ugly as my GEM Junior.)
I'm trying to get into straights right now, so I don't know how much further my SE exploration will continue, but I know for a fact that if I need a good shave in a hurry, I'm reaching for the Featherweight.
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even over my wonderful straight that i got honed by ambrose 
