Week 5, day 1 Prep: Hot shower, hand strop blade Coffee: Wegmans Traditional, BLACK Tunes: Pandora Shuffle Razor: D4 SS Blade: Derby, day 1, 3 passes Brush: Oscar11 Synthetic Soap/Cream: Woods of Windsor/squirt of KMF unscented* Post: Cold water rinse, Wild Country ASB, Wild Country cologne 'Stache Care: Dirigo Blue CO, Dirigo Blue wax Another Darn Fine Shave. *I really like the scent of Woods of Windsor, but it needs a bit of a boost with the KMF to get a good lather.
Week 5, day 2 Prep: Hot shower, hand strop blade Coffee: Wegmans Traditional, BLACK Tunes: Pandora Shuffle Razor: NEW Type Blade: Derby, day 2, 3 passes Brush: Mohawk 3-338 with original boar knot Soap: Cyral Salter Post: Cold water rinse, Dickenson's WH, Curve 'Stache Care: Dirigo Blue CO, Dirigo Blue wax Another fine shave. I've always like this little Mohawk brush. I've noticed my 'stache is a bit softer and less frizzy since I've been using the conditioning oil. I like it.
Week 5, day 3 Prep: Hot shower, hand strop blade Coffee: Wegmans Traditional, BLACK Tunes: Pandora Shuffle Razor: Fat Handle Tech Blade: Derby, day 3, 3 passes Brush: Redleaf Soap: TSD Interception Post: Cold water rinse, Brut ASB, Brut cologne 'Stache Care: Dirigo Blue CO, Dirigo Blue wax Another very good shave. Noticing these blades just aren't as smooth as the Astra SPs. The aftershave, be it WH or a balm, takes care of what little burn there may happen to be.
Week 5, day 4 Prep: Hot shower, hand strop blade Coffee: Wegmans Traditional, BLACK Tunes: Pandora Shuffle Razor: Mekur 11C, an HD OC Blade: Derby, day 4, 3 passes Brush: Eveready 250PB with original knot Soap: TSD Cedarwood Post: Cold water rinse, Dickenson's WH, B&BW Oak 'Stache Care: Dirigo Blue CO, Dirigo Blue wax Not bad. Not bad at all. Pretty darn good. Only 6 more days of this challenge; tomorrow, then next week. Think after that I'll take a week with my Astra SPs, then start in on my Voskhod challenge with the blades @Linuxguile was so gracious to PIF to me.
Week 5, day 5 Prep: Hot shower, hand strop blade Coffee: Wegmans Traditional, BLACK Tunes: Pandora Shuffle Razor: A4 Red Tip Blade: Derby, day 5, 3 passes Brush: Vulfix 404 badger/boar mix Soap: Muhle Sandalwood Post: Cold water rinse, Dickenson's WH, Jovan Musk 'Stache Care: Dirigo Blue CO, Dirigo Blue wax Nice. Not crazy about my new wax recipe. I substituted a teaspoon of my CO for the teaspoon of Vaseline in the original recipe. Once I get it worked in, the hold is still there, but the CO makes application a bit more difficult. Time for some more experimenting.
Week 6, day 1 - final week Prep: Hot shower, hand strop blade Coffee: Wegmans Traditional, BLACK Tunes: Pandora Shuffle Razor: L3 Travel Tech Blade: Derby, day 1, 3 passes Brush: 24mm silvertip fan set in Oscar11 handle Soap: Sara's Creation vetiver (yes, our own @Sara-s got soap skills!) Post: Cold water rinse, Avon Wild Country ASB, Wild Country cologne 'Stache Care: Dirigo Blue CO, Dirigo Blue wax Not bad. I'll take it.
Week 6, day 2 - final week Prep: Hot shower, hand strop blade Coffee: Wegmans Traditional, BLACK Tunes: Pandora Shuffle Razor: Parker 80R Blade: Derby, day 2, 3 passes Brush: H.I.S. Synthetic Soap: TOBS Sandalwood Post: Cold water rinse, Dickenson's WH, B&BW Oak 'Stache Care: Dirigo Blue CO, Dirigo Blue wax Rough shave today. I'll know tomorrow if it was the blade or the razor. The 80R has been known to get a bit finicky.
Tried the Derbys and they were bottom of my list of favourites. I realise everyone is different but rather than try to master a blade I say just stick what's right for you. Personally I'm not a swap and change kind of guy. I'm an "if it ain't broke don't fit it" and just find a blade/razor/soap combo that works and stay with it. So many people or collectors like the change from one to another and have loads of different blades and dozens of razors but I prefer to find the best combo for me and stick with it. I have one preferred razor and several types of blades and that's it. I've pretty much narrowed it down to a good preferred combo that works best for me and don't worry about trying to get along with other blades or razors.
Oh, I'm right there with you on the "if it ain't broke" approach. I've been using Astra SP almost exclusively in all my DEs for several years. I only took up this challenge because of @Bama Samurai . When these are gone...
...you'll buy more Astra SP! Blade one of my Derby challenge lasted ten shaves. Could've tossed it after nine, but needed to be sure. 12 days is my record on Derby. I will give it another go starting Friday in a Fatip Grande.
Week 6, day 3 Prep: Hot shower, hand strop blade Coffee: Wegmans Traditional, BLACK Tunes: Pandora Shuffle Razor: S2 Black Beauty at 6 Blade: Derby, day 3, 3 passes Brush: Omega Pro Soap: Bathhouse Soaps Milk Post: Cold water rinse, L'Oreal Comfort Max ASB, C&E West Indies Lime 'Stache Care: Dirigo Blue CO & wax Nope, not the razor. Another rough shave. Think I'm gonna try a cold water shave tomorrow.
While I understand the statement that you "have to learn to use the tools you got" certainly has an element of truth in that, there are exceptions to this rule. When it comes to shaving with a safety or a straight edge razor you certainly have to develop a technique and there is definitely more skill and practice involved compared to shaving with cartridge razors. BUT! Not everyone has the same hair or skin type. No matter how much you try, you wont cut wire with paper scissors. You need a tool that's right for the job. Because some people's hair is coarser than others it may require something sharper. Also, some people have skin which requires a different blade/cutting angle/finish etc and some blades just simply don't sit right in some razors. A few weeks ago I posted about Nick Shaves and his YouTube reviews. It seems that this guy has the kind of hair that even a shard of broken glass would cut through like butter and has skin which isn't sensitive so basically the guy seems to get along with pretty much everything he shaves with. That isn't the case for myself who has very dark, coarse fast growing hair that also grows at different angles. I also have quite sensitive skin so my shave is somewhat more of a challenge to get right. I can't just use any razor or blade. I have to find one that's right for me. It also varies from shave to shave or even from one blade in a pack to the next. For example, the first time I tried out a Polsilver Super Iridium I thought I'd found my perfect blade. I opened up a fresh blade last week and it was like shaving with a broken bottle. My tools and my prep and post shave routine are always the same yet I got two polar opposites in shaving from one time to the next. Same blade and manufacturer. Two different blades from different packs and ended up with a totally contrasting shave. It was either a bad blade or maybe the length of my stubble affected the shave. I noticed when doing my blade trials that some blades feel great on one day old growth but are tuggy and drag when it comes to cutting through 3 day stubble. Personally I couldn't get along with Derby blades no matter how much I tried. I tried them in different razors, cutting different lengths of stubble and even increased the temperature of the water. I wasn't able to even finish a shave before throwing it away and replacing it with a Feather or a Dorco. I simply can't get this blade to work for me.
