(I just put this up at SMF, thought you guys might be interested too.) Hi guys. As you know, I helped Pauldog out in getting some Feather SE blades. He very generously sent me a GEM Contour II and a spine to try out the blades (Thanks for that Paul!). After some dangerous fiddling with the spine, I was able to get the blade loaded into the razor. It fit perfectly, with no wiggle, so I assume that other razors that take a spined SE blade should have no problems. I tried the combo out this morning for the first time. I did my normal shave routine--hot shower, MWF preshave (i use a bit of the MWF on my fingers to soap up and let it sit before I lather up) and then a three pass, WTG, XTG XTG. Please keep in mind, I have only been wetshaving for less than a month, and I have NEVER used an SE before. This is my first experience, and of course YMMV. I will update with further results. My very first reaction was surprise. I'll admit, I was a bit nervous about trying this blade. I just finished four shaves using a Feather DE and it wasn't pleasant, with lots of nicks and mild razor burn. From the very beginning, though, this shave felt different. I could feel the sharpness but somehow, the thickness and stiffness of the blade toned it down. It could be that the razor is very mild, much milder than my Tech. The first pass was not as close as a Feather DE pass, but very, very comfortable. There was a lot of audio feedback but very little tactile--I could hear the cutting (maybe because of the plastic Contour II?) but not feel any tugging, skipping, or anything. It took a bit to arrange the angle right, but once I did everything went ok. After my third pass, my face was BBS except for the jawline. There had been no irritation, so I went for a rare, and usually deadly, ATG pass on my jawline. No problem whatsoever. On my first SE shave, using a feather blade, I got an almost perfect BBS shave; even my neck is DFS, and I've never had that before. Best thing of all, there was no burn or nicking (though my neck did sting a bit on the alum block/AS--this has become normal for me). Over all, if this keeps up, I might be ordering my own box of SE blades. I'm glad you got this rolling, Paul!
Your experience is spot-on with mine when using an SE -- ATG passes that seem inadequate, but XTG and ATG passes that are amazing in their closeness and comfort. I always thought it strange at how well SE razors performed ATG passes. Nice review!
Gosh, thanks guys! I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow. I hope it keeps up, I had a great shave today...
the second day-as seen on SMF Hey guys, Shave #2 is done. Thought I'd give you another heads up. This shave went pretty much like yesterday. I did not notice any marked change in the blade's shaving--it was smooth yesterday, it was smooth today (Well, it seemed a bit smoother, but I honestly think it was because I had a better grasp of the angle, not the blade's fault). I did end up with a small nick and some redness on my neck, but this is because I did the unthinkable. I went ATG on my neck, the most troublesome of troubled areas. After yesterday's great shave, I thought I'd push my luck a bit and take it to the limit...I don't really regret it. Like I said, when it comes to cutting the hairs, the blade seems like a feather--but without the danger level. If I had tried an ATG pass on my neck with a Feather DE (Hell, ANY DE), I would probably be in the emergency room now. As it is, I just have some red spots and a bit of irritation. And a BBS shave. This is easily the smoothest shave I've had since I started wetshaving. There are a couple of small spots on my neck and on the back of my jawline that are still rough when felt ATG, but the rest of my face is silky smooth in all directions. Awesome.
