Advice on '73 "Black Beauty" adjustable, aggressiveness in general?

After starting out with Maggard v3 and Maggard Slant heads, I've been having a good time trying out my small-but-growing collection of vintage razors. So far, my best experience (the best shave of my life, in fact) was with my grandpa's birth year razor, a 1918 Old Type OC, and my most consistently-forgiving blade, a Polsilver Super Iridium. Turns out this was my first BBS shave... I literally could not feel any stubble afterwards, no matter which direction I rubbed, and I had no irritation or nicks.

Next on my list was my first BYR, a '73 Aluminum Tech -- I'd seen several recommendations to use a more aggressive blade in it as it's very mild, so I tried a 7 o'clock Super Platinum (a.k.a. "India Black") -- unfortunately, even though I was "riding the cap," it was as uncomfortable as my first round with that blade in my Maggard Slant... I had to pull out all the stops to tame my face, and it still wasn't that great a shave. I tried a PSI in it yesterday, which was comfortable, but just not that close.

Today's razor was another BYR, a '73 Black Beauty, again with a PSI. I set it to 4 because I was told that most closely matched my Maggard heads. That was good advice... it was a very similar experience, i.e. comfortable but I'd classify it as a DFS, not BBS.

So (finally) on to my question. I switched the razor to 5 for tomorrow's shave, but I'm wondering... as I'm "riding the cap" as much as is practical, does the aggressiveness of the razor really make that much of a difference? The adjustment increases the blade-to-baseplate gap, but I'm having trouble seeing how that would come into play with my current technique. Do I need to experiment with different blade angles to get closer to BBS with this razor? I really like the weight, look, and blade-loading convenience... only think I don't quite like is that the black resin handle coating gets slippery when lather drips down onto my hand.

Would love some advice from those in the know.

Oh... pics:

 

I just finished testing actual blade gap on my short and long handle Black beauties and it went from .010 at "1" to ".018 at "9". But of more significance may be the effective exposure as the bottom plate moves away from the blade and I haven't really found an accurate way to measure that.

 

I am a believer in riding the cap myself. I have thought about this with adjustables. I am using my Super 84 this week too. I set it on 5 and forget it. For me it is a good all round setting. I have shaved wide open, but it is not as enjoyable to me. Maybe I will bump it up to a 6 tomorrow just for the fun of it.

 

The Super 109 with the Polsilver SI is my 'go to' setup; the combo against which I compare other pairings.
I started out on setting 6 but now am on 8 for all three passes. I find it to be a mild shaver.

 

'71 SA-109 paired with a Voskhod blade.
I shave everyday(work). Saturday is the only no shave day. Sunday is the start of the shaving week. New razor/blade. Two day growth, set on "9" for the first pass WTG. Second pass "7" XTG cheeks & chin, ATG neck. The third pass is most times just my neck, as the hairs grow every which way. That pass is XTG on "7".
This will most times yield a BBS shave.

 

Riding the cap and proper technique should take the bite out of most any razor. With solid technique it is just as easy and comfortable to shave with a aggressive razor as mild. My advise is find a setting you like and shave on! No need to be twisting the dial all around. Just my .02.

 

Yup the shave is all the same. Just matters if you want a mild or more aggressive razor.

 

Yeah, see, this is what I was thinking, exactly... that riding the cap on this razor would nullify the adjustability. Ok... I'll try an angle with the handle closer to my face (30° or thereabouts) and see how that goes... in my experience PSI blades are among only a few of those I've tried that are very forgiving over a wide range of angles, after all.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

Voskhod, the pride of the Rodina!

 

The Black Beauty is mild, even at 9. I'm not sure you'll be able to approach the same level of closeness that you get from the Old Type. I can't. If you like the old type, you might look into picking up a New Deluxe or a Raised Flat Bottom. I find the Deluxe gives me a similar shave to the Old.

 

Yeah, Voskhod and I didn't get along. That's the only blade out of probably 15 I tried that I wound up dumping mid-shave... incredibly unpleasant experience for me.

 

Yeah, I had the same type of experience with Astra SP's and Bolzano.

 

Interesting assessment. Out of curiosity, do you tend to ride the cap, or use a more aggressive angle? Also, is there an advantage to a De Luxe over an Old Type? The Old Type OC may wind up being my daily driver: I have the (apparently) relatively-rare "vest pocket" handle, which is in good shape and is easy to hold... and you really can't beat that slim head for maneuvering around the upper lip & nose.

 

So back to the topic at hand: for today's shave I set the Black Beauty to 5 and approximated 30° as well as I could. After a light-touch WTG/XTG/ATG I had something between the day before's DFS and my Old Type BBS... so as I was already chucking the ride-the-cap angle "rule of thumb," I actually took a deep breath and tried a 2nd ATG and touch-ups, this time with reasonably-firm pressure on the razor. That got me to BBS or near-BBS in most areas. I was out of time by then, so I couldn't do as extensive a cleanup/buffing pass... imagine I could have achieved a complete BBS by using the firm pressure on my first ATG, then doing more cleanup/buffing.

I had some mild irritation afterwards, either from too many extra passes or from the pressure on that ATG pass, but had zero nicks/weepers and not much alum sting... my homemade Snake Bite has helped settle the irritation.

Opinions as to what I should try tomorrow? Firm pressure on all passes? More aggressive, but back to light touch?

 

I let the head do the work.

 

Yeah, I mean that's generally the conventional wisdom, so it's what I usually shoot for. I'm fine with returning to that mode, especially since applying pressure is likely the cause of my first mildly-irritating shave with a PSI.

I really want to get to a consistent BBS, though, and at 5, light pressure didn't get me there. So I guess I'll just dial up the aggressiveness again, and see if I can get to BBS while letting the head do the work.

 

Okay here's a strategy. Take the blade that is the sharpest for you. Give your beard 48 to grow out. Do a good prep. Dial up to "9" and have at it. Second pass drop down to "7". Anything left, do a third pass on seven also. During the week "8" and "6". No pressure.
What's the worse that could happen?

 

Hmm. 30°-ish angle, or riding the cap? What do you see as the advantage of stepping down between passes?

The blade that's the sharpest for me... well, I have trouble sorting out what's "sharp," vs. "aggressive" or "harsh." Despite multiple suggestions to the contrary on various forum posts, I definitely can't get a good shave with just any blade... the blade really seems to matter more to me than the razor (with the notable exception of the Old Type OC w/PSI combo).

Whenever I've returned to a blade that felt too aggressive/harsh/sharp on my first try -- returned to it because I had a new slant razor head, or wanted to see whether it would perform better while "riding the cap," or was trying a soap that's supposed to cushion better, or acquired a vintage razor described as "very mild" & best-used with an aggressive/sharp blade, etc. -- I've regretted it, as I've wound up with another too-harsh shave that I've had to baby with repeated aftershave applications.

Now, among the blades that were good on my first try, the Rapira Platinum Lux is the one that felt the most sharp/aggressive. That one irritated me on day two before I started riding the cap. Riding the cap gave me a week's worth of very good shaves w/ the Rapira... closer shaves than with the Polsilvers, actually. So maybe I'll try that one first... maybe with something between 30° and riding the cap. 9 makes me squeamish... maybe I'll start at 5 so I'm not changing three variables at once (pressure, blade AND razor setting), then bump up the aggressiveness if I don't seem to be getting closer.

I don't even want to answer that question... (shudder)

 

This has to be one of the most clichéd statements in the last century. You KNOW what can happen! (Cue the spooky music!)

Frankly, my suggestion is going to be different than many. Rather than play with the adjustable, I'd go back to a SuperSpeed, and figure out how that head shape will work best for your face. The various adjustables have the same head shape, and that removes any extra variables.