Sunday MAYhem shave. To ensure a true MAYhem shave I loaded the Feather DX with a new Feather Pro. I had plenty of weepers and a nick last shave with this razor. Well in keeping with the theme there was blood, several weepers again and a nick. I was surprised when I applied the alum other than the nick it was just tickle. I did just 3 passes and fell just short of BBS. This razor is truly unforgiving of even the slightest error. While I can feel the quality difference between the Feather DX and CJB they shave very similarly. I expect the Feather will go longer before the spring gives out, it has a better finish, tighter tolerances and feels just a bit heavier. For the money the CJB is a good buy, especially here in Korea. On the other hand I really do not like the Feather SS at all, the lip at the edge makes it hard for me to find the right angle and does not shave like a traditional straight nor like the CJB nor the DX. Irritation A- Closeness A- Smoothness A Sharpness A+
MAYhem 2016 May 7 Razor - '46-'47 Gillette Aristocrat Blade - (1) Brush - VDH Boar Soap - Arko Post - Cold Rinse, Alum, Nivea Finally I can sit down and take care of some real business. You know, the 30 Day kind. Good day at work, though. Traffic is definitely up as it should be so the summer selling season is upon us. That's great news for my bank account, or will be in the next month or so anyway. Today is the @Norcalnewb shave and it features a repeat of the brush and soap that seems to be the most common in spite of the randomization. I'm sure a statistician could explain that to me, as if I'd understand them. The blade is a total unknown to me. It's the Laser Ultra from Malhotra shaving products in India. This is the smaller of the two companies, or so it seems, with the other being Vidyut Metallics. However, Vidyut was bought by SuperMax and I did find that the CEO of Vidyut is someone with the last name Malhotra, so I'm not sure who's really who there at the moment. Nonetheless, I have a shave to do. Lather was no problem, being Arko and the VDH Boar again performed above its perceived value. The shave was, well, not bad but not good. Kind of..........meh. The blade did a good job but reminds me a bit of a Derby. Not too sharp, but not dull either. It was comfortable and fairly smooth and got me to a DFS in three passes. Not much more you can ask of a blade. The coating on the blade....well it is triple coated. Not sure with what. Triple coated polymers is all I can find so far. Again, reminds me of the Derby so may be a similar coating. One thing that was in my favor no matter what was the razor. The Aristocrat may be the finest razor Gillette ever made. Hard to get a bad shave with any blade with this razor. Tomorrow it's time for the @Mr. Freeze93 shave featuring a blade I have much less confidence in. What a way to start a Sunday! Hope your weekend is going great!
I won't hold your wish for my demise against you. I haven't used the 7 a.m. blade chosen yet, but I have used its cousin. I remember it being quite nasty. So you can feel better about that. The Rimei is soooooo mild it may actually add to the problems. You can always hope, right?
I'm waiting for the tiger to be drawn up. My Tiger is a used one that I honed and stropped but have thus far been too chicken to try.
We have a WILDCARD shave. So, you get to pick one more number. Here are the 7 possibilities: 1. Tiger/1918 Old Style 2. Rabbit Straight 3. Feather SS/Kamisori 4. Tiger w/Soyuz 1 5. Gem 1912 w/Gem Carbon 6. Gold Dollar 800 7. Durham Duplex Now, just so you know, you pretty much hit the jackpot on your picks. The soap selected.......Marvy. The razor selected......the Mladost II, which is a bad Russian. However, since the blade came up wildcard one of the above 7 will take place. I will, however, use Marvy since you chose that and the brush you chose as well, which was the Vie-Long 12705. So, at your convenience, pick a number between 1 and 7 and I'll randomize the wildcards and we'll have our Monday setup.
Is it bad that I'm hoping for the 1 and 4 choices just to give myself an excuse to shave with my Tiger?
You will probably make out better tomorrow then I will. Super glued the spring back into the CJB and will give it a go tomorrow to see if she holds up. I'm not ready to give up on it yet.
well I've been keeping up with this thread for 2 days now, I see why you call it Mayhem. I don't have the luxury of trying what most of you are doing. I only have one DE razor my Grandfather's Super Speed, A Van Der Hagen shave set, some Nivea after shave Balm, and a few different blades. I have learned a bit here especially about "riding the Cap" which I tried yesterday and today with great success. I had someone in this group contact me a few days ago and said they were going to send me some soaps to tray and a few different blades so I may be able to expand my trials in a few days. Anyway I will try and at least keep up with this thread to the end. Good luck to everyone from what I've read a few of you need it. P.S: Mr. Freeze my condolences about your job and prayers for you finding a better job quickly.
I like your persistence. As long as it keeps the blade in place with no wobble or slipping you should be fine. I'm cheering you on!
Hi Joe and welcome! Don't feel like you need to keep up with anything here. While a few of us are having some extra fun this month (no names will be named, as if we needed to name them) it's all about learning technique and having fun along the way. There is lots to learn from a lot of great guys here, and your learning to ride the cap is a great start! I definitely recommend using a 30 Day Rule to start. One blade, one razor, one soap, one brush, to get technique down pat. That leads to bigger and better things. Technique is key and it sound like you're well on your way to mastering it! Again, welcome!
Nope, not at all. Any man willing to share the pain that is the Tiger is a good man in my book. Either that or he just needs therapy.
Thanks Neal, that's what I'm working on this month. Your very own Clint64, the "Blind Squirrel" turned me on to this thread,
I appreciate the comment on the SS vs. the CJB and DX. I wondered how much the lip made a difference in my learning curve on the Feather vs. CJB. It hasn't bothered me all that much, but I do feel like my early bloody episodes with the Feather may have been helped along by that change. On the other hand, if the DX is really that unforgiving, maybe the lip on the SS isn't ALL bad.
Persistence is a nice word for stupidity.. Trying to mickey mouse rig a broken pain stick? I belong in the rubber room. But until I have the money for a feather this will have to do.
Until you start using duct tape or rubber bands your sanity is intact. The fact that we use the pain sticks at all is enough to have us committed by some. Have you ever tried explaining to one of your cart using buddies the whole process and idea behind them? They look at you like your brains just ran down the side of your head. Of course, none of them have the, um, courage (you know, that the cosmonauts had a wheelbarrow for) to try one. Who needs sanity when we have the fearlessness in its place?
ok I've been reading allot of, ummm I don't know things on here I'm not used to like Pain stick, and a reference to your wife Neal I'm guessing, a series of letters? I'll have to go back and see what the were.
Duct tape and rubber bands are plan B. I had my brother spend the night a few weeks ago and he forgot a razor at his place (Cart guy and wont even give DEs or SEs a thought) and asked if I had a spare one. He meant any disposables I may have left over and I said nope here this is all I got and I handed him my DOVO shavette and he looked like he had just seen a ghost. He had to sit down as he looked like he was going to pass out when I told him I shave my neck, face, and head with "Suicidal Devices" like that. He declined shaving that day...oh well.
