500 Shave
Two days growth
Pre-Shave: Proraso Crema Pre Barba
Rinfrescante (I)
Bowl: Antiga Barbearia do Bairro (P)
Brush: Fantasia Reine Dachs
Silberspitze 24 mm Knot (GER)
Soap: Cella Green (I)
SR: Eversharp Shick Hydro-Magic
Golden 500 Injector Safety Razor
- 1958,1959 (US)
I always looked sideways to the Single Edges, but with respect. That because I didn't want to open a second war front and start buying them...
And now, life's ironic, I got five of them in a row. All Eversharp Shick. One 500, two I2 and two G1. All gifted to me from this bearded friend of mine, who's father left this legacy.
So I started reading about them and studied them. Even saw some videos to learn the basic technique.
Today's time to perform the first shave.
I choosed the 500 for overture of this opera. As I retained this rule about Shick Injectors: the most recent are less agressive, supposedly. But that's not so simple. For instance my 500, in some variants ( Variant 2, for example) is considered one of the most agressive Injectors and there were many models preceding it.
The classification with letters and subvariants is confusing, so I can't date it precisely. One thing I know, it must be previous to 1960, as in 1959 the word Eversharp was gone from the stamping if I understood it correctly.
As I only had a set of SE original rusted blades coming in with one of the razors I ordered last week from an european site a Parker Injector, which was the only specimen available. With time I'll get some virgin Shick Injectors that abound in the internet.
I got acquainted with Schick's Hydro-Magic cleaning system and used it to clean the razor thoroughly. Specially the ceiling of the upper plate which was oxided. The cleaning turned out to be a success.
This razor is a kitsch beauty. The long handle contributes to that look. The combination of the glittering gold head with the huge black appendix gives it a feminine touch. Something more for legs' shaving than for reducing beards, I thought.
Yet it's a great classic face razor.
I've found it smooth, precise and possibly very efficient once applied the right technique. Nonetheless I was aware that it would silently bit me if I didn't keep the plate parallel to my face.
And it did give me a weeper on the face while I was trying to perform a bit of XTG on it.
It is easy to go WTG or ATG, but when one goes XTG that's another song. I didn't feel comfortable with that and soon quit. Also I found a bit of skin stretching is essential in any direction.
I discovered that the technique that goes along with it is much sober and restrictive than with a regular DE. One cannot do so much aerobatics it seemed to me. The focus must aim always to keep the blade parallel to the whiskers' roots similarly as with a straight razor.
So this whole shave was one of concentration as I don't have the automatisms to be in cruise control mode. It took me three times more than a shaving with a DE razor.
Afterwards I'm curious to try the other short-handle razors who'll give a different balance. This longer handle version gave to me the sensation of rendering the steadiness and permanent contact of the head against the face reachable. So I think I made the right choice for the debut.
Blade: Parker Injector (INDIA) - the blade was also a premiere for me. I found it...regular. No tugging and overall doing its work but not dazzling. While I don't have any other references yet.
One thing disturbed me. All the blades, that's a dispenser of 20, were mounted on reverse. So I begun with a false start. The cutting edge was to the inside! I stopped for 20 minutes and corrected the position of every single blade. Also the plastic bottom of the Injector disconnected itself from the chassis. I also fixed that. So I'm very suspicious of the quality control of this particular Injector by Parker's.
Aftershave:
- Cutoline Alum-block (P) - medium feedback.
- Nivea Sensitive Cool After Shave Balm
(GER)
Scent: Eau de Cologne 4711 (GER)
The Shave:
7/10
Alongside with the weeper I also got some visible irritation, nothing special, nothing that the balm couldn't sooth, but that demonstrated my lousy technique with a SE razor.
I got BBS on face, but some irregularities on neck.
1st Pass: All WTG.
2nd Pass: WTG on mustache and chin area, XTG from East to West in some portions of the face and ATG on the rest.
3rd Pass: XTG from West to East on mustache and chin areas, the rest ATG.
Some pickups on neck.
Two days growth
Pre-Shave: Proraso Crema Pre Barba
Rinfrescante (I)
Bowl: Antiga Barbearia do Bairro (P)
Brush: Fantasia Reine Dachs
Silberspitze 24 mm Knot (GER)
Soap: Cella Green (I)
SR: Eversharp Shick Hydro-Magic
Golden 500 Injector Safety Razor
- 1958,1959 (US)
I always looked sideways to the Single Edges, but with respect. That because I didn't want to open a second war front and start buying them...
And now, life's ironic, I got five of them in a row. All Eversharp Shick. One 500, two I2 and two G1. All gifted to me from this bearded friend of mine, who's father left this legacy.
So I started reading about them and studied them. Even saw some videos to learn the basic technique.
Today's time to perform the first shave.
I choosed the 500 for overture of this opera. As I retained this rule about Shick Injectors: the most recent are less agressive, supposedly. But that's not so simple. For instance my 500, in some variants ( Variant 2, for example) is considered one of the most agressive Injectors and there were many models preceding it.
The classification with letters and subvariants is confusing, so I can't date it precisely. One thing I know, it must be previous to 1960, as in 1959 the word Eversharp was gone from the stamping if I understood it correctly.
As I only had a set of SE original rusted blades coming in with one of the razors I ordered last week from an european site a Parker Injector, which was the only specimen available. With time I'll get some virgin Shick Injectors that abound in the internet.
I got acquainted with Schick's Hydro-Magic cleaning system and used it to clean the razor thoroughly. Specially the ceiling of the upper plate which was oxided. The cleaning turned out to be a success.
This razor is a kitsch beauty. The long handle contributes to that look. The combination of the glittering gold head with the huge black appendix gives it a feminine touch. Something more for legs' shaving than for reducing beards, I thought.
Yet it's a great classic face razor.
I've found it smooth, precise and possibly very efficient once applied the right technique. Nonetheless I was aware that it would silently bit me if I didn't keep the plate parallel to my face.
And it did give me a weeper on the face while I was trying to perform a bit of XTG on it.
It is easy to go WTG or ATG, but when one goes XTG that's another song. I didn't feel comfortable with that and soon quit. Also I found a bit of skin stretching is essential in any direction.
I discovered that the technique that goes along with it is much sober and restrictive than with a regular DE. One cannot do so much aerobatics it seemed to me. The focus must aim always to keep the blade parallel to the whiskers' roots similarly as with a straight razor.
So this whole shave was one of concentration as I don't have the automatisms to be in cruise control mode. It took me three times more than a shaving with a DE razor.
Afterwards I'm curious to try the other short-handle razors who'll give a different balance. This longer handle version gave to me the sensation of rendering the steadiness and permanent contact of the head against the face reachable. So I think I made the right choice for the debut.
Blade: Parker Injector (INDIA) - the blade was also a premiere for me. I found it...regular. No tugging and overall doing its work but not dazzling. While I don't have any other references yet.
One thing disturbed me. All the blades, that's a dispenser of 20, were mounted on reverse. So I begun with a false start. The cutting edge was to the inside! I stopped for 20 minutes and corrected the position of every single blade. Also the plastic bottom of the Injector disconnected itself from the chassis. I also fixed that. So I'm very suspicious of the quality control of this particular Injector by Parker's.
Aftershave:
- Cutoline Alum-block (P) - medium feedback.
- Nivea Sensitive Cool After Shave Balm
(GER)
Scent: Eau de Cologne 4711 (GER)
The Shave:
7/10
Alongside with the weeper I also got some visible irritation, nothing special, nothing that the balm couldn't sooth, but that demonstrated my lousy technique with a SE razor.
I got BBS on face, but some irregularities on neck.
1st Pass: All WTG.
2nd Pass: WTG on mustache and chin area, XTG from East to West in some portions of the face and ATG on the rest.
3rd Pass: XTG from West to East on mustache and chin areas, the rest ATG.
Some pickups on neck.
Handle
SOTD // Wolfman Ti WR2 SB 1.35 WRH 3/7 // Zingari Man Wanderer Soap and Splash // Paladin Ichabod 26mm Micarta “Interstellar” // Captains Choice Copper Bowl // Perma-Sharp
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