SEptember 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Isn't tt is amazing how close of shave you can get with a 1912. When I get the angle dialed in the shaves are amazing. Like you I found the blade smooths out with use.

 

Great picture Jim. The Gem Junior looks to be in fantastic shape. What are the differences between it and the regular 1912?

 

There's been a bit of a buzz on the forums for a while about these blades as they seem to be the closest that Gillette has come, so far, to acknowledging the existence of DE shavers in the US. There's even a page for them on the Gillette website, though it is not easy to find:

http://gillette.com/en-us/products/...es/all-razors/platinum-plus-double-edge-blade

The feature list on the website is particularly interesting:

• Blade fits all double-edge razors
• Made of stainless steel to wear well in a wet environment and resist rust
• Does not need to be honed or sharpened; dispose of blade when it becomes dull​

Apparently, you can get them wet.

They seem to be a decent blade whose main drawback seems to be price. I find I need to take a little extra care using them in that they seem a bit more "aggressive" than, say, the GSB.

One thing I find odd, though, is the packaging. The actual blade packs are clearly not meant for individual sale as they have no UPC code. Moreover, though, is the predominance of Spanish text. I point this out mostly in comparison to the GSB, for instance, which seems already packaged for an English-language market. I can only assume that through the magic of NAFTA, it is cheaper for Gillette to repack blades which were (I assume) originally made for the Mexican/Latin American market for sale in the US.

I'm looking forward to your opinion of the blade and hope that you will add it to the rotation after the GSB as I would be interested in your comparison of Russian vs. Brazilian steel.

 

September 5, 2016
Cobra Classic
Feather Pro (3)
Romera Olive Wood Synthetic
Mystic Water Eucalyptus & Spearmint
Witch Hazel
Floid Blue

​

A great shave this morning. Not quite as close as yesterday's with the Gem put really close just the same. Mystic Water in shave stick form paired with a good synthetic is the perfect match for whipping up rich slick lather. I love the scent of this soap as it reminds me of my Grandfather giving me Wrigley's Spearmint Gum. I went with a 2 pass shave, ATG followed by XTG. I will only attempt this in artist club razors with new blades that are still super sharp. With minor touch ups, the shave ended in a near BBS. The spot on my neck just eluded my efforts. Finished off the shave with a splash of Floid Blue. I hope everyone has a great Labor Day.

 

That is a great looking picture, Clint. I love the coloring, it makes it look nice and vintage.

 

Thank you Jim. It helps hide some of my reflection off the razor as well.

 

I found a nice write up on the differences between the Damaskeene, 1912, and Junior somewhere. I'll have to see if I can find that link again and post it, as he did a much better job of describing the differences.

There are some slight geometry differences in the head of all three razors. The Damaskeene is often described as the most mild, and the 1912 as the most aggressive. The Junior is a bit of a blend of the two.

Personally, I am getting to where I don't know that I like the terms mild and aggressive too much anymore, at least not in the sense that I used to. I used to relate aggressive to a razor that really provided a clean, very close shave, but sometimes a little too close. A mild razor was one that was very comfortable to use, but maybe didn't provide quite as close of a shave as an aggressive razor. I find that comfortable shaves are easily achievable with most razors as are close shaves. So, I think more in terms of efficiency now. For instance, I find my Barbasol Floating Head to be my most efficient DE. It gives me extremely close shaves, but I find it very comfortable to use.

All of this to say that I would rate the efficiency of the Junior a bit above that of the 1912. I can get equally close shaves with either, but I find the Junior a bit more comfortable. I enjoy both razors, no doubt, but I would give just a slight edge to the Junior based on the comfort factor.

 

Thank you, BTW!

 

Thank you for the explanation. I have the Damaskeene as well as the 1912 and found it to be a little smoother. I will pay closer attention to its efficiency next weekend.

 

Razor: Ever-Ready SE 1914
Blade: Gem Blue Star (2)
Brush: El Druida Mopane 2 Band Badger
Soap: Route 66 Lavender Woods
Aftershave: Afta Skin Conditioner

Golf tournament today with a tee time of 1 PM. This is my projected shave today.

 

Great picture, Doug! Makes me wish I was fishing rather than working.

 

Thanks very much @Norcalnewb I appreciate your kind words. There is fish in this river for sure.

 

SEptember Focus; Adjustable SE & Drug Store AS

Cella & Vulfix 660S
Schick M & Chick blade
Alum & Green Juice AS


First time to enjoy Cella. I understand why folks purchase this in 2.2 pound chunks. Moistened the Medium Super Badger and loaded for 20 seconds for very nice lather. First pass with the Schick on loan from @twhite set at MAX through slightly under hydrated lather cleared a couple days growth with ease. More water in the suribachi bowl brought up shiny slick and enough for four passes, though I only did two more. I'm impressed by the Schick type M's handling; light weight, maneuverable, & precise. One nick on the corner of my chin cautioned my hand. Next shave I'll try it with a Twin blade. Alum was only slightly stingy - my sign I got a close shave. The Drug Store AS smells just like it looks. I like the scent of aluminum zirconium, tetraclorohydrate, DMDM hydantoin, but it's the blue-1 & yellow-5 that makes that indescribable "Greenness" pop!
Happy don't go to work Day for those enjoying. I'm off to labor while the weather, or lack there of holds.

 

Bring home the trophy!

 

I'm just finding that out...and loving it!
Haven't really worked with the GEM types much, except a few shaves here and there. Last year I predominantly did injectors during SEptember - I'm just now climbing out of that rabbit hole.

If these first few shaves with the Junior are any indication, I may be headed down another one!

Thanks Clint!

 

Glad to hear the Cella worked out for you. Next stop, the G1!

 

September 5, 2016- TSD 1 Year Anniversary

Razor: F1 Gillette FatBoy (2)
Blade: Shop-Rite Israeli Blade (1)
Brush: VdH Boar
Soap: Marvy/Dove Hydrating Cream

According to my profile, I joined TSD one year ago today. My first DE shave was actually a couple of days later, but we'll just call this the Anniversary shave. The hardware on that shave was my J2 SuperSpeed, a blade from the same pack as today, and bar soap (Ivory, probably) with no brush. The Dove was purchased a few days later and ultimately superseded by a VdH Deluxe kit (where today's brush came from).

The blade choice, besides being appropriate to the day, was also made in support of @NCoxSTL's blade trials for the week. Keeping with Neil's methodology, the FatBoy was set at '2' for today's shave.

First impression- This is the smoothest shave I've ever gotten from these blades. At the end of the WTG pass, though, a realization- there is a lot less reduction than usual. Second pass (mostly ATG) resolved many of the reduction issues. Overall, I'd call it more of a CCS as I know both the razor and the blade are capable of better performance. By comparison, my last time with one of these blades (in a Slim set on '5'), I compared the 1st day shave to that from an Injector.

I'm really curious to hear Neil's experiences today with the same blade (Walgreens-branded, in his case) in a Slim set on '2', especially how it compared to the Personna Red at that setting. My personal feeling is that something about the way a Gillette Adjustable works at low settings is not compatible with this blade. If I had to guess, I'd say that the blade curvature and gap creates a situation where the contact between the blade and whiskers is suboptimal or only works for a very narrow range of angles.

An interesting offshoot of Neil's trials might be to identify a few blades like the Personna Red which performed well at higher settings, but not at the lowest setting and retest them in a face off (no pun intended) between the Slim @ 2 and a known mild razor like a Blue SS. My concern here is whether the Slim @2 is not correctly emulating a truly mild razor.

Meanwhile... I continue to be surprised by how little cream is needed to bring out the lather in Marvy. I wish I could find a supply of straight glycerine to see if that, alone, is enough to do it.

 

I've got about 5 minutes to catch up in the middle of a very busy day so no report until tonight but.....I'll confirm the CCS this morning and like the idea of further trials with blades with that performance trait. Oh, and HAPPY ANNIVERSARY on TSD!

 

Congrats on your first year with TSD.

 

Lots of stuff to chase down. Thanks! I'll put it after the GSB like you suggested. I'm curious too.