OCtober 2015 - Discuss OC Safety razors

I'll be using this quartet this month. L-R, Gillette New Long Comb, Maggard OC, iKon Short Comb, iKon OC DLC

 

Beautiful razors.

 

Great topic for October and I'll be sure to include some OC razors in the rotation this month!

 

Being OCtober I broke out the OCMM

T&H PSO
AOS Lavender Cream
Savile Row 3824
OCMM
GEM SS (5) (1)
Osma Alum Block
AOS Lavender After Shave Balm

The OCMM wasn't being very kind to me and I suspected it was the blade. I'd spent a week in earlier September working with the OCMM to "tame" it and it kept tugging a bit. I finally replaced the blade part way into the third pass. Much better but more work to tame this one may be needed. I may have to use it again to tomorrow to see the difference with a new blade.

 

I started OCtober 2 days early with the Schick type B open comb. I felt like my face had been peeled. It was terrible. Between the huge blade exposure and what I think was a bad blade from personna I got the absolute worst shave of my life and that includes when I was in the Army shaving with cheap 3 blades with MRSA on my face before I was able to get to medical. I took a break with the type C last night and it was nearly as bad which is my reason behind thinking it was the blades. today I'm using a rolls razor then back to the B type with a Schick blade to see if that is where the problem was.

 

Ouch! Take it easy, good buddy. Don't need any more MRSA.

 

That was 6 years ago in basic. hygiene in basic training barracks isn't amazing. It cleared up very quickly with medical care and
I only have some mild scarring. Makes it hard to grow a chinstrap because I have small patches at the edge of my goatee area on my jaw that stays hairless now.

 

I will be joining Open Comb October using my Cadet Open Comb. I am using it as part of my 30 Day Focus over on the October board.



October 1

Razor – Cadet Open Comb
Blade – Gillette Silver Blue
Brush – VDH Board
Soap – Stirling MITA
Post - Cold Water Splash, Witch Hazel with EO added, and Old Spice AS

First ever shave with an OC razor. This razor definitely reminds you to ride the cap! After a small bite by the razor, I ended with a great DFS++ shave. Not declaring BBS, but a great shave. Looking forward to the remainder of the month with this razor and watching all the other OCs getting used!

 

That is a good looking razor. I believe it has the same head as the Cadet TP-30. You gotta respect it for sure. Light touch and riding the head.

 

Can you imagine wet shaving in Basic? lol...it would help in the long run...and I'm sure that's how they did it back in the day.

 

We only had 5 min for hygine in the mornings. I wouldn't have even had a decent lather before we were getting kicked out of the barracks. I didn't even use a foaming goop I used some brushless slick stuff I got at walmart. I haven't seen it since locally.

 

Wowee! I had MRSA several years ago like you, but in my nose! I looked like Bozo the Clown. I can laugh about it now, but that stuff is downright painful!

 

October Focus

This month I'll introduce myself to my OCs. I've never used any of them except the New LC once.

Gillette New LC
Gillette Goodwill
Gem Micromatic OC
Standard Safety Razor OC

I'll also try to make some time to get more experience using my Schick C1 Magazine Repeater OC.

Having just come off a month of SEs, I'll begin the month with the MMOC for comparison purposes with the other SEs while those are still somewhat fresh in my mind.

Great shaves to all, cheers!
RT

 

Thanks Jim. Bostonian sounds so much better than NEW Improved......
These were all recent "found in the wild" razors.

 

Used my Float-O-Flex for the first time today and even though I didn't quite see the benefit in the 'flexing' of the head it did provide a great, rather aggressive, shave.
Two passes later and I was as clean shaven as I could possibly have asked for. A great razor - a tad 'gimmicky' maybe, but still able to provide a stellar shave if you like razors on the aggressive side.

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OCtober 1
Today I used one of my favourite razors the Gillette NEW LC. Scruffy got the nod today. Of my 3 NEW LC's he is in the worst shape. Bent corner teeth, and major plating loss, but he still delivers that same great shave.
NEW LC (Scruffy) / Astra SP (1)
Panna Crema San Francesco
Rubberset Vintage Pure Badger
Kenneth Cole Mankind ASB
L'Occitane Cade AS

 

October 1, 2015
OC October - This month I'll introduce myself to my OCs.

Gillette New LC
Gillette Goodwill
Gem Micromatic OC
Standard Safety Razor OC

Hot Shower, Morning Shave
Soap: Razorock P160
Brush: Omega Pro 48
Razor: Gem Micromatic OC
Blade: GEM PTFE (1)
TSD Witch Hazel

Two-day growth, three-pass shave (WTG,XTG,ATG).

Initial thoughts:

1st pass - Sharp blade, this razor is aggressive. Not satisfied with the reduction.

2nd pass - Sharp blade, this razor is aggressive, I’m really riding high on the cap, with blade almost parallel to my face! Much better reduction on this pass.

3rd pass - Have I mentioned how aggressive this razor seems?

I don’t use BBS terms much, but my face is really smooth as far as I can tell right after the shave. But I had the dickens of a time around my trouble spots - mouth/chin around the mustache/goatee. I was flummoxed finding the right approach.

I’m left thinking this razor may not be right for me. The shave is close, but it was hard work. I’ve gotten shaves even better than this with a LOT less work.

5 hours later…upon further review...

My face is very smooth, very pleased. But a tad spotty here and there (a section of 2-4 whiskers in spots) and my chin / corners of mouth are barely passable.

I just can’t get over how aggressive this razor felt. I think it was the closest I’ll ever get to a straight. I felt I needed to be on guard on each stroke (short, deliberate). With that kind of work, I’m tempted to just move on to another razor and forget about this one. But I thought my basic technique was good enough to approach any razor. Not master it right away, but be able to see its virtues.

So I looked a bit closer.

This photo is for comparison of blade exposure. (MMOC on left, Gillette New LC on right.) Looking at blade exposure, it was clear (to me) that the MMOC has the blade much further over the comb than the New LC.



Then I took this picture below. It confirmed that this razor was certainly tricky to get a feel of because the blade itself was angled! Note the left corner of the razor vs. the right. Apparently the blade stop on the left side has worn down to where it allows the blade to move over it and more forward than the other side. Not by a lot, but the angle must have been enough to throw me off especially around my chin.

I like the SE razors, but will be content to work more with the 1912 and ’24. I’ll pass on the MMOC for this focus…if I want to shave on an angle, I’ll go buy a Slant!

Cheers!
RT

 

Razor: 20s Ball-end Old Type
Blade: Astra SS

This was a pair of firsts for me- first time with this kind of blade and first time I started a new blade on this razor. I did my usual one-pass shave with some touchups. On the whole, a nice, comfortable shave though not as close as I recall this razor being capable of.

Definitely need to watch my technique tomorrow...

 

OCtober Kickoff Shave!


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Planning an OC shave a couple of hours from now. Kudos to @Dzia Dzia and @Jayaruh for setting up a month of discussion and learning around OC razors! I did three months of OC earlier in the year, and had great shaves and a lot of fun. This Maggard razor delivers smooth mild shaves every time, and has a full stainless handle. And if you're a newbie, please register on this month's newbie giveaway, run by @RaZorBurn123. You can find the drawing as a sticky thread in the newbie section. There's this Maggard MR8 and a WD brush (brush courtesy @Boojum1) as well as soap and TSD goodies up for grabs for the October new guys. I hope everybody has a great time with their month of OC. I will be doing a FB this month with the new converts on the 30 Day, but plan on reading this thread because I love a good OC razor, and look forward to the discussion.

Have a great OCtober!

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Looks like that stop is actually broken off. I believe I would pass on shaving with that MMOC, too.