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SOTD Thursday, April 23, 2020
My favorite DE razor, hands down, is my Colonial Silversmith. The only complaint I’ve ever seen has been about the original handle design that came with the razor, never anything about it’s shaving capability. It’s been variously described as “ugly”, “too short”, “unbalanced and dumpy-looking” and “slippery”.
Well, Colonial is nothing if not responsive to their customers. The new handle design is heavier, contains knurling, and is beautifully balanced in hand. I just received it yesterday, and love it! It gives an entirely new look to the Silversmith. The shave hasn’t changed, of course, but the razor feels better in the hand, and the increased weight is noticeable to me.
The shave itself was spectacular, as usual. A FB Shave Forum friend from down under who is also appreciative of levels of BBS shaves, is correct in classifying the closest BBS shave as “glass-like”. I agree. The BBS I receive from my best shaving DE, this razor, is great, but still does not quite measure up to the BBS delivered with a Feather Super by any of my three AC safety razors.
For this shave I loaded a DE Feather blade into the Silversmith with it’s new handle, and soaked my Jayaruh Rosewood Handled #378 Silvertip Badger brush in warm water while showering. My shave prep consisted in adding 6 drops of M-Bomb to my Lucky Tiger Liquid Shave Cream and my usual cold water rinse. The Lucky Tiger is great stuff, and always delivers a thick, protective lather.
The Silversmith sheared through my whiskers on that first WTG pass. The whisker reduction continued through the second XTG, and third ATG delivering the desired BBS. Maybe the difference between this DE shave and the BBS provided by a Feather Super blade is in that first pass. The whisker feel isn’t quite as smooth afterwards with the Silversmith and it’s Feather blade as opposed to the General, the Vector or the Hawk loaded with a Feather Super AC blade.
Maybe it’s just placebo effect, but a day after an AC shave I still retain an acceptable DFS, whereas with the DE it seems to be more in the CCS category. In any case, I prefer the new handle to the old, and feel clean, cool, smooth, and refreshed.
RAZOR: Colonial Silversmith 316L SS
BLADE: Feather (1)
PREP: Cold water rinse
BRUSH: Jayaruh Rosewood Silvertip Badger #378
CREAM: Lucky Tiger Liquid Shave Cream
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with Glyce Glycerin soap followed by Thayers Lavender WH and Fine Accoutrements Snake Bite AS Splash. Finished with A&E Post-Shave Serum
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