January 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

So what you are saying is that I should be firm and heroic in sticking to my NB'17 and resist all efforts by The Veg to choose me this year? And this may have the added benefit of saving me a drycleaner's bill if any of The Veg ever splashed on my clothes?

 

Well, after a nice relaxing day off spent cleaning brushes and doing some organizing I broke out the Junjie to get it ready for tonight's festivities. I normally don't give a pre-shave evaluation of my setup but I think this one merits it. To say that I'm expecting nothing less than horrible is an understatement.

This razor is the cheapest thing I have ever seen that calls itself a razor. The closest thing to it would be the Rimei, another Chinese cheapie - but one that delivers a decent shave. I'm pretty sure the Junjie will not. The base plate is so thin you feel like you could bend it with only minimal effort. The finish on the edge of the top cap is uneven. That may sound like just a cosmetic thing but, trust me, it's not. That finish irregularity on such a thin metal even in the top cap means that when you put the blade in there is a ripple in the blade as it conforms to that unevenness in the finish. The blade gap is scary big on such a thin razor as well.

As for the Tian Fu blade? I'm wishing I had a Flying Eagle as a backup. The Tian Fu is carbon and the edge is already crapped up in a brand new package. I've hand stropped it and also taken the extra step of using my real strop as well, just trying to even it out and knock some of the crap off of it. I'm sure it didn't help much. Add in the ripples and the gap and this is a horror story waiting to play out.

My plan for later is to use the Tian Fu in the first pass to confirm that it may, indeed, be the worst blade ever, then switch to a Sharp Star just to see if the razor can be considered usable. I really only have one thought on my mind when I look at what's ahead for me tonight.........

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The Black Beauty looks great. I bet that big boar made a huge mountain of lather.

 

It is a lather monster Clint.

 

Yes

 

And we(meaning you), signed up for this why?

 

Dude, you're scaring me! I'm surprised that you are going for the whole combo on the first go as, scientifically, it makes it harder to separate the issues coming from the razor and those coming from the blade.

Since you insist on going through with this, let me offer one piece of advice. Make sure the cap is completely screwed into the handle. On mine, I couldn't seem to get it completely tight until I used a different handle first. (I suspect that the last couple of threads weren't completely clean.) In theory, that may push the blade a bit more into the cap, giving a curvature that reduces the gap.

FWIW, a comparison with your Rapira is probably in order at some point. The two should have interchangeable parts as both appear to be based off the basic design of the Zamac Tech.

 

Show him the popsicle sticks, guys.

Compared to that, a Junjie is small shenanigans.

 

Oh, so it's shenanigans we're after. Now it makes sense....I think. Have a corpsman standing by with the trauma kit.

 

Neal is our biggest proponent of the idea that Technique Trumps Tools (TTT). To demonstrate this, he has, at various times, shaved with razors of dubious design and/or quality. A read of the May 2016 version of this thread will be very informative.

To summarize a few points:
- Russia makes great DE blades
- The former Soviet Union made solidly built razors, but with little regard for tolerances
- China, for the most part, makes the worst DE blades
- China makes some decent DE razors, but the Junjie isn't one of them

This particular razor and blade were purchased by me a couple of days before Christmas from a local dollar store. At the time, I picked up an extra for Neal as I figured it would be right up his alley though I had no idea he was planning on using it so soon.

 

Remember Mickey who ate the Life cereal? Or the boy with his tongue stuck to the flag pole in that Christmas story movie? Neil is daring test pilot pushing the envelope while the rest of us view his shenanigans through binoculars from the lead lined bunker.

 

However, I'm pretty sure the popsicle razor will still outperform the Junjie.

 

I'm not so sure. With the popsicle stick, you could just get cut with the blade (unless you stuck yourself with the staples). When I shaved with a Junjie, it felt like I was about to cut myself with the Safety Bars.

 

Well I had put it away to ignore it for awhile but it was calling to me.

 

And lots of popcorn. Don't forget the popcorn.

 

Ahh, the clouds part. Neal my brother, I wish you Godspeed in this most dangerous endeavor.

 

Well I am fairly certain, like 99.9999%, that the blade is a piece of crap. So, by using them together, as they are packaged, I can first - get the feeling of them together as advertised and second - toss the blade and go to a top end blade to see if the razor can handle it.

Looks like mine is tightening all the way so I don't think that will be an issue. It's the ripple effect on the blade that has me most perplexed. Without a refinish on the top cap (if the "metal" would actually take one) I don't think there's anything that can be done.

 

I need to buy a crash helmet to do these shaves in I think. Just for the look. And to give SWMBO another reason to roll her eyes and mumble under her breath.

 

Google Translate did say that it was a "disobedient" blade.