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What did you learn from your safety razor shave today?

I learned today that I can get just as close shave after 3 day growth using my Timeless Ti .95mm scalloped bar with a new Nacet as I can with my Muhle R41 with a new feather!
 

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Gillette did blink. They have two DE razors available. The King C Gillette safety razor and the Gillette Heritage safety razor. They didn't go all in they are using a Muhle 89 type head. What if they made a modern adjustable. For now carts are still king.

Things change, markets change, consumers change.

It's kind of like the watch market. Quartz movements came out, and most of the market moved in that direction. Manufacturers mostly embraced the new technology and abandoned the old. Some couldn't, or wouldn't change and went out of business altogether.

Today, only aficionados seek and appreciate mechanical watches, and it is a smaller, niche market. You can still get modern versions of old-school watches and movements, but it comes at a greater cost.

Sound familiar? 🙂
Markets do change. Heck, I fell "prey" to the mid-1970s advertising onslaught by Gillette that cartridges worked better. It took me until this spring to realize that I could enjoy shaving if I used a DE razor and blade.

On changing markets, all three of my sons (ages 27, 25, 21) are now interested in DE shaving. Two have already had their first experiences with a birth-year, 1961 Tech of mine. I gave my eldest son the first DE razor I ever purchased (a King C Gillette) and a mid-1950s Super Speed flare tip that I restored. He immediately bought 100 German Wilkinson Sword blades too. Besides the comfortable shaving experience, he values the recyclability of the DE blades and the dramatically reduced waste when compared to cartridges.

My youngest son now wants me to give him one of my Lady Gillettes. He thinks it looks cool, likes the longer handle, and probably will really like the mild shave that it gives on his "young" whiskers. He doesn't care that the razor was marketed to women (nor do I). The Lady Gillette is a great shaving razor.

My middle son is up next. I'll probably have him use the same Tech for his first go. Then he can have (almost) any one of the dozens of vintage Super Speeds, Techs, and Slims that I have.
 
This week I set my Progress to 2 for all 3 passes, each shave and I enjoyed the shaves. The results were almost the same, less irritation (?) maybe. I just assumed (wrongly) aggressive meant closer shave. I don't know why I assumed this. This is my first month owning the progress so I'm just trying different things out. I love that I have an adjustable to quickly test things out.

I ran this experiment with a Voskhod, so my next blade may be Astra, GSB, or Feather.
 
Today I learned I will be ordering 100 Perma Sharps for my next blade acquisition. First time to use one this morning and I am very pleased. Just as sharp as Feathers, with a bit more smoothness……YMMV of course!
 

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Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker

Likes a fat handle in his hand
Butch, have you bought your 100 or 250 pack of Wizamet blades from Wizashave yet? I wouldn't do anything until you've bought those. You talk about a smooth cutting blade, well, I am here to tell you, Wizamets sets the bar for a smooth shaving razor blade. IMHO, they have earned the hype that they have got from several other B&B members here. But I am glad that you continue on learning things, that is excellent!
 
I went to my Tech today. I re-learned that these are great mild shavers, and that the "old" Gillette truly was at the top of its game and a world leader in DE shaving. Made me wonder what we could see from them today, had they not shifted their focus to the research, development, and mass-marketing of multi-blade cartridges.

I'm glad that many examples of these old razors have survived for us to enjoy, but can't help wondering what could have been.
You can still buy a Tech from Gillette for next to nothing. Imho the best is currently the Gillette Super Blue from China. A Zamak cap, aluminium baseplate and a plastic handle. I swapped the handle on all three of mine, but the head shaves as well as any vintage Tech (well, better than the hybrid, which is too mild).

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You can still buy a Tech from Gillette for next to nothing. Imho the best is currently the Gillette Super Blue from China. A Zamak cap, aluminium baseplate and a plastic handle. I swapped the handle on all three of mine, but the head shaves as well as any vintage Tech (well, better than the hybrid, which is too mild).

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I've seen that one and been tempted but already have six vintage Techs in my stable, after giving one away on a PIF.

Please don't encourage me to buy more. 🙂
 
I have 9 Techs, vintage and new, which is probably the correct number to have. 😀

Well, I found a 1953 nickel ball-end, in a beat up box at an antique store yesterday, and won an auction on the bay for another in a "travel kit". The boxed razor is used and in pretty good shape, but the razor in the kit still has the paper "blade", so I'm hoping it's NOS, or close.

First pic is mine, second two are seller's picks from the auction.

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I learned that the Ikon Tek has no efficiency if you try to ride the cap. And also that if you shave with it at a neutral or steep angle, it's got zero smoothness. I discovered that it's got a safety bar that exists solely for looks but has no function at all.
Of course YMMV!
 
I'm never too sure if I've learned something, because user error is always a possibility. I'm never fully sure that I did as good a job as I could shaving, so I usually have to try something over and over and over again before I'm sure that I've "learned" it. However, I got a pretty crappy shave today with a Voskhod on setting 5 of my 1960 Fatboy. I've also almost never got a really good shave using Voskhod blades, so I'm not really sure what to make of it. It was a small sample size though, I've only used one pack of 5 of the Voskhods, so I should probably order some more before I really make an assessment. Might give it a shot on other settings as well.

I also had a really amazing shave two days ago using a Dorco ST-300, which I know are kind of scoffed at around here to some extent but it was my very first back of blades I bought two years ago so I still have some left. I wasn't even trying for a BBS, and I got one and I can't even remember the last time I've ended up with one. I'm not sure if my technique was just spot on, or if it's just a really good combo. Blade was brand new, and I was also using my 1960 FB on setting 5. I gave it a try with the same blade (2nd use), and the shave was just okay.
 
I recently got a fine BBS shave with my Edwin Jagger DE89 and a brand new PolSilver blade but it took a lot and I mean a lot of buffing. But no discomfort. It's just the nature of a mild razor.
I love Edwin Jagger razors. They are mild but very gentle on the skin.
 

Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker

Likes a fat handle in his hand
I'm never too sure if I've learned something, because user error is always a possibility. I'm never fully sure that I did as good a job as I could shaving, so I usually have to try something over and over and over again before I'm sure that I've "learned" it. However, I got a pretty crappy shave today with a Voskhod on setting 5 of my 1960 Fatboy. I've also almost never got a really good shave using Voskhod blades, so I'm not really sure what to make of it. It was a small sample size though, I've only used one pack of 5 of the Voskhods, so I should probably order some more before I really make an assessment. Might give it a shot on other settings as well.

I also had a really amazing shave two days ago using a Dorco ST-300, which I know are kind of scoffed at around here to some extent but it was my very first back of blades I bought two years ago so I still have some left. I wasn't even trying for a BBS, and I got one and I can't even remember the last time I've ended up with one. I'm not sure if my technique was just spot on, or if it's just a really good combo. Blade was brand new, and I was also using my 1960 FB on setting 5. I gave it a try with the same blade (2nd use), and the shave was just okay.

No, do not order more Voskhod blades. Here's the thing, you went through a 5-pack right? And you used each blade several times right? And you are telling us, that you never got a good shave with those blades, even after going through the entire pack? The answer is, Voskhod blades are not for you man! If it were me, I wouldn't waste my money buying more of those if I were you.

My suggestion is to try the blades, that for me, and many other's on B&B, are the smoothest shaving blades I have ever used in any DE razor. I 100% recommend Wizamet Super Irridum blades. They are sharp blades, but they are also extremely smooth blades, because they don't have a rough edge coating on them. So far I have used them in my Timeless TI95, Gillette 1959 Fatboy, and my Henson AL13 razors, and they have excelled in performance in all three of those razors.

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No, do not order more Voskhod blades. Here's the thing, you went through a 5-pack right? And you used each blade several times right? And you are telling us, that you never got a good shave with those blades, even after going through the entire pack? The answer is, Voskhod blades are not for you man! If it were me, I wouldn't waste my money buying more of those if I were you.

My suggestion is to try the blades, that for me, and many other's on B&B, are the smoothest shaving blades I have ever used in any DE razor. I 100% recommend Wizamet Super Irridum blades. They are sharp blades, but they are also extremely smooth blades, because they don't have a rough edge coating on them. So far I have used them in my Timeless TI95, Gillette 1959 Fatboy, and my Henson AL13 razors, and they have excelled in performance in all three of those razors.

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SWCT!!!! Hope all is well and you enjoyed your 4th of July holiday weekend. You have talked me in to it! I will order these blades you have been raving about and will give you a report, (by the way, where did you order yours)?? Take care
 
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thombrogan

Lounging On The Isle Of Tugsley.
@marcjohn86 , I’m sorry the Voskhod blades don’t seem to be working for you. And happy the Dorco ST-300s are doing their bit. I’d expect both of them to work even better for you in the future.
 
I learned that I am really liking the Perma Sharp blade so far after the second shave. I obviously need to use at least 5 blades at 2-4 shaves on each for me to reach a fair assessment.
As for my Treet Carbon black beauty…. The first shave on the new blade went very well. Very smooth and efficient. The second shave yesterday did not go as well. While I completed the shave with an acceptable outcome. The blade felt like it was tugging a bit and did not finish up as efficient as I was hoping. Will continue on to give a fair chance.
 
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