Round 1 over. This was almost too close to call. Had I been comparing the Tech to a Silver or Black tip, it would have been a draw, I am sure. The Tech is just a bit more aggressive than the Blue Tip - though not an aggressive razor at all by definition. Hence, the niche that the Blue Tip fills - by design. It is a very forgiving razor. Don't you love choices? The Tech is like my old Miata. Sporty. Stiff suspension. Corners great and easily gets under my nose. Smooth and silky transmission. When I first started the shave, I was sure this was the clear winner. What a great razor! The Blue Tip Super Speed is like a Corolla. Reliable. Comfortable. Your best friend. The Labrador Retriever of the razor world. Still a bit sporty, but more comfortable than the Miata for a longer trip. Cut my stubble with as much ease as the sportier Tech. I will admit to getting just a slightly closer shave with the Tech, but only very slightly. That was at the cost of just slightly more irritation on my neck - which is pretty sensitive. I could smooth this out with time, but this evaluation is based solely on this shave alone (that was redundant). So which is more important to you? Neither is the wrong answer. It literally took me 2 hours post shave to decide which was more important to me. My face felt no difference. It all came down to my neck. In the end, I went with comfort. My sensitive neck appreciated the Blue Tip by the smallest of margins. The Tech is still smooth and comfortable, but just can't compete in the smoothness arena when the Blue Tip was manufactured for the purpose of being light and forgiving. Winner- Round 1 - Blue Tip Super Speed... By a hair.
That's what I have heard. I got it yesterday but haven't shaved with it yet. Figured I would wait until I had a few days growth before using it for the first time. Just to be safe. Some people love it others hate it.
Round 2 in the books. Thankfully I had a good growth of stubble tonight. I have been trying hard to grow it fast for this tournament. Feather Popular vs Shick Krona This is a tale of 2 twins separated at birth. The shave was nearly indistinguishable between the two. Do you prefer the Glock 19 or the Smith and Wesson M&P? Both are polymer, like these razors, and both will do the job quite nicely. I WILL say this. The handle is too long on both of these razors, and the Feather Popular's handle is ridiculously long. There is just no sense in it. Given that, when I used both of these for a week or so at a time over the last year, I adjusted quickly. So how do I choose a winner when both shave so similarly? I went with the intagibles. The Krona has the cool 60s/70s factor. The Popular is widely available brand new for $10-$20. Both will do the job, and do the job nicely for years to come. In the end, it came down to this. I own one Krona (sold my other two). I own 2 Populars - one still new in the package. I have been championing the lowly Feather Popular ever since I first shaved with it. You won't find a better, more high quality razor at even twice the price. Although I still wish it had a shorter handle... Winner - Feather Popular
I am ahead on the tourney. Decided to shave tonight, which I normally wouldn't do with one day's growth. Black Handle 70s Super Speed vs Slim Adjustable No surprise. This might as well have been a bye for the Slim. But to be fair, I like a mild razor. The 70s Super Speed treats my face like a Red Tip. With my eye balling it, looks like the blade gap would be about a 5 or a 6 on the Slim. I ramped it up to 4 to make it a bit more of a comparable shave, but from here on out I will leave my adjustables on 2 or 3 since that is what the true representation of my normal shave would be. I will be selling my 2 70s Super Speeds, just as I did my Red Tip. No sense keeping something around that I will never shave with (that is not "trophy" status). Winner - Slim Adjustable - by a long shot!
I wonder if this is gonna come down to Slim vs. Fatboy. The Slim is such a great razor and I've been really enjoying mine since I got it fairly recently.
What a GREAT shave this morning! This was an interesting round, so keep reading until the end. Blue Tip vs Fatboy (dialed to 4 instead of 3 - see the gap) Pros on the Blue Tip - Light weight. Very controllable. Smooth. Efficient. As I said before - like a Corolla. Does nothing wrong, simply delivers as expected. Pros on the Fatboy - Heavy. This is not a razor, this is a piece of machinery. A work of art. An Autobot sent to serve mankind. Truly a king among razors... However: Seeing as this is my most expensive razor, my trophy; I kept thinking I could drop it. I only have one. They are not as easily replaced as my other razors, even my slims. I don't think I can live with that kind of pressure on a daily basis. So for that reason - as I am looking for a DAILY driver - The Fatboy goes back in its case. I will shave with him on special occasions. Birthday, Christmas, things like that. He is just TOO good and valuable to use as a daily driver. I wish I had 3 or 4 of these guys - but not at the price they are going for. So the winner of this - not because it is a better razor, but because of fear and risk: Blue Tip Great Razor. Great Daily Driver.
Just made an offer on the Bay for another Fatboy in case in great shape. That could change things up should he accept my offer. Things are getting interesting...
Feather Popular vs Gillette Slim Adjustable (dialed to 3 - I know, I said I would use it on 2) I think I will name my Popular "David", because he is so normal and average yet he can slay giants. People, the Popular is more than just a $12 cheap razor. This thing gives AS GOOD a shave as any of my other razors. The ONE downfall is that long handle, dang it. I view using this razor as somewhat like a multi millionaire driving an old VW Beetle. You CAN afford a more expensive razor, but there is some panache in using the humble Popular. The Slim - well, what can be said that hasn't already been said. It just plain works, and works great. It has the vintage factor as well, which scores high in my book. When all the razors work, how do you pick a a winner? Well, thankfully you don't have to. That's why we rotate, right? However, for this thread I am forced to. The shave itself was dead even. And I mean even. I COULD choose the panache of the Popular - if the handle was shorter. But I will let my love of vintage Gillettes take this one. The Slim is simply an outstanding razor that has more intangibles than the Popular. And hey, it's adjustable! Winner - Slim: ... The battle between the Blue Tip and the Slim is not one I am looking forward to. Not sure how I can choose between the two. Stay tuned. ...........
The funny thing is that how you or I feel about a given razor today can be completely different in 6 months. I have razors that I didn't like become favorites and razors that I liked become not so much. Very subjective.
Yeah your absolutely right. I can safely say that about blades. Pretty much everything in the wetshaving world is subjective. One mans trash is another mans treasure.
And so it ends. What a great week! I have learned some things while focusing on the different aspects of each razor. What I like, what I don't like, what I prefer, and things about the razors that don't make one better than the other, just different. Just finished my shave with the Blue Tip an the Slim: What stuck out to me first is this: Once you find YOUR setting on the Slim, it doesn't matter that it's an adjustable anymore - it's just a razor. So how does the razor shave against the others? Again, the shave was the same with both razors, and that is to say GREAT! So what do you prefer, a heavy razor with a longer handle, or a lighter razor with a shorter handle? The Slim FEELS like a higher quality razor. And it is. The Blue Tip is light and small. No loser here, it all comes down to preference in the hand and against the face. Overall Winner: Blue Tip HOWEVER ! What I also learned is that I LOVE the different aspects of each razor. This experiment showed me that if I were forced to have JUST one razor, it would be the Blue Tip. But I don't think I can actually see myself using it exclusively as I first considered. That's the joy of turning a mundane chore like shaving into an enjoyable HOBBY. Thanks for taking this ride with me. I hope I provided at least a bit of entertainment and escape from the busy work week. My next rotation? I can't wait to shave with the Tech again! Also, my Birthday is Sunday. The Fatboy and I have another date...
I believe you can learn a lot within a family of razors. My first was a Merkur HD, gifted a 1904 open and a Slant and finally Mergress came my way. There was a Parker, Edwin Jaggers and a SEYGUS and ATT. Merkur has a 'heft and angle' regardless of model and picking each one up quickly familiar. I eventually became a one razor owner; the Mergress. A adjustable may become a regular razor with one setting. It can become a platform for different blades and the variables in gap available for differnt brand blades or a multi day beard grown in illness.
I have a favorite setting on my Slim but I still take advantage of the fact that it's an adjustable razor quite often. I normally never shave against the grain but if it's a really important occasion, I dial it down and get to work. The lower setting allows me attempt more aggressive directions and it also generally makes for a comfortable second pass.
I enjoy reading the comments - I certainly have learned a lot from all of you, so thanks for chiming in with your wisdom.
