In the Good Old Shavertime! July 28 Grand Blade Trial Razor - 1962 (H1) Gillette Slim (2) Blade - (1) Soap - Arko Brush - BoS Omega 10066 Post - Alum, Nivea, The Veg Late post today. One of those days that seemed like it would never end even when I got home. Late. For being my Tuesday it was more like a Monday from hell. Hopefully that's out of my system for the week. The start this morning was better than what followed. The Rapira Swedish Supersteel starts its three day shot in the Grand Blade Trial and, since it's a Rapira, from Mostochlegmash, in Moscow...well you know it's gonna be good. Now, unfortunately, that's not how this works. It needs the same treatment as every other blade to discover its quirks, if any. The mild Slim has not produced great results so far, saving maybe the Sharp Star. That one was at least good. The Swede is a very sharp blade and as such, it seemed to like the mild setting. Three good passes, no blood obviously, and the results on all three were superior to the Shark and certainly the Zorrik and both Dorco's. I finished with a near BBS and that's on the mild setting. Also, zero irritation based on the alum. I'm almost afraid it can't get any better with gap but.....that's what we're here to find out. I'm hoping for a better shave tomorrow but it's a tough act to follow on the mild setting. The idea that sharp blades like mild razors and not so sharp blades like aggressive ones....well, we may be on to something between how the Shark SS performed and what the Swede does. Two more days to shed a little light. Hope your day was great!
July Leopard Blade Trials Rapira PL Automatic. Headed back to the prairie tomorrow! Hopefully... All is quiet in Colorado. Have a fantastic Friday!
July Focus Day 29: Stirling Synthetic Brush Arko Cool SC Gem Junior Stirling Unscented PSB Clubman VI Bay Rum A great start to my day as this razor is definitely proving to be a strong performer. The Arko Cool and Clubman VI Bay Rum were as good as ever. I hope everyone has a great day!
SOTD July 29th '59 Gillette SS Red Tip Rapira Swedish Supersteel(2) TSN Brutalt Bra / La Toja Satin Tip The Purest Good morning friends! Today's shave was very interesting with lots to report on. To start off with the TSN Brutalt Bra soap. First of all let me say that this soap loads very easily. In a few seconds I had a brush full of the woodsy, piney (the scent component is Norwegian Spruce) soap. I starting to face lather with it and it exploded into a creamy yogurty lather, I though man this is going to be good. A few moments later I started to feel a burning sensation on my face. By the end of the first pass it was pretty uncomfortable. So not wanting to cause any more irritation to my face I rinsed off all the soap and rinsed out my brush and proceeded to bowl lather some La Toja (lather porn pic below) the rest of the shave was nice and smooth and face was calming down. Flowing the shave I splashed on some unscented Witch Hazel, cleaned up my gear. On to the after shave, splashed some Barbasol Pacific Rush on my hands and applied to my face. HOLY CRAP, was met immediately with a very strong alcohol burn followed by an extreme (to me anyway) menthol freeze. A question for you menthol junkies out there, where does Pacific Rush fall on the menthol scale? Once the Pacific Rush flash dried, I applied some Nivea sensitive ASB to set things right. Finally on to the blade review.The Rapira Swedish Supersteel. Unfortunately for me it did not perform any better in the Red Tip, a low grade DFS that required some touch up in a few spots. I may even need to shave again tomorrow due to the lack of closeness. And finally as promised, the lather porn. Have a great day my friends! Sent from my Galaxy S6 using Tapatalk
Focus Free Focus I got all sentimental this morning and got out my first straight. I did ten laps with CrO2 on felt and 50 on leather. I was happy to discover that my previous stropping efforts had not ruined the edge. I got a very nice two pass DFS. The Body Shop Maca Root Cream Wolf Whiskers Brush Faultless Razor Alum Lucky Tiger Florida Water Happy Friday!
In the Good Old Shavertime! July 29 Grand Blade Trial Razor - 1962 (H1) Gillette Slim (6) Blade - (2) Soap - Arko Brush - Wolf Whiskers Custom Silvertip Post - Alum, Nivea, The Veg Day two with the Swede and high expectations. Need a great shave to start the day off right and hopefully turn things around The lather was even better than usual this morning. I added a bit too much water to the brush and managed to shake it a bit and get just the right amount and wow did the Arko ever spring to life. First pass on 6 on the Slim was very nice. More audible feedback than yesterday and I immediately noticed the freedom to play with angle just a bit. On the milder setting it's ride the cap or close to it or you lose the good cutting effect. At 6 you have freedom to adjust more. I did that through the first two passes and had a great near BBS. Went third pass ATG and Gillette Slide and caught the baby. Nice! Alum was quiet as well so that's a great result. Curious how the extra aggressiveness of the setting tomorrow will change it but for now, great shave and a great start to the day!
Rockwell 6S/ R6 Base Plate/ Voskhod (1) Stirling 24mm Finest Mike's Natural Soaps Barber Shop Thayers Fine American Blend Great shave today. Guessing my first go with Mikes was a fluke as today it was like a completely different soap. No issues getting a good load on the brush and absolutely no issues getting a great lather. Mikes offers great cushion and it's pretty darn slick. My face felt great after I completed my last pass so it gets extra points for having great face care. Finished off with Thayers and after cleanup and a cold water rinse I splashed on some Fine American Blend.
If you haven't already Rick, try a twin blade in that Schick - you may never again use that Chick! (wow - alliteration? rhyme? Burma Shave.)
Their response was that it was made out of a "special zinc alloy." As long as it is special that is all that matters.
July 2016 Bigfoot Focus Detour July 29 Razor: 58 Executive Blade: Rapira Sweedish Supersteel Brush: VDH Boar Soap: Stirling MITA Post: Cold water rinse, Alum block I did not shave yesterday and when going through my blades I realized I had the one that Neal @NCoxSTL is using for his blade trial. I thought he would be on day 2 with the blade which means a setting of 6 on the adjustable. I decided to give it a go as well. I remember this blade from my days with the Lord L6 and it performed very well. It was early on with the razor, so this will be like using it new for me. I set the Executive to 6, got a great lather today from the MITA, which always feels amazing in the summer months. Set out on the first pass WTG/XTG and the Rapira SS did me right. It definitely has some audible feedback and is most definitely a sharp blade. Even with the sharpness, it still feels very smooth. Second pass is ATG and again, it was nice and smooth. Had a minor bit of touch up to do on my jaw line and around the Adam's apple. Finished with a BBS shave. The alum was mostly quiet except one area on the jaw line which I am certain was my fault and not the blade's. A very nice shave from this blade. This blade may just jump into the top 5 for me on blades. Will set the Executive to 9 tomorrow and see what happens.
I have long been a Ladas fan. I like them more than the Voskhod for the reason you stated, longevity. I get 2 more shaves out of a Ladas blade than I do the Voskhod blades. I don't know if the teflon wears off making the Voskhod rougher or what. Today I used the Swedish Supersteel and I am a huge fan of it. Another very sharp blade which is still plenty smooth. Definitely worth a try.
That one is, I believe a type L, from around 1976, an Olympics tie in. Also have a type J and Chick blades I acquired in a trade. Is there an informative source that tells which injectors can use twin blades? Via Kyocera / Tapatalk