August 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic & Discussion Thread

I have gotten 7 from a Voskhod, mostly to see if I could do it. Normally I'll go 5 without a problem. Tomorrow will be 4 on the current blade.

 

Wait, there are cookies? How come no one told me about these!

 

Interesting, I've found the Voskhod and GSB to be fairly similar, but evidently not for longevity for you.
Thanks

 

Exactly. That's the one major difference I have between them. Again, YMMV. For whatever reason the Gillette made Russians don't perform as well for me as the Mostochlegmash. I'd love to tour both plants and see if I could figure out the difference. So far nobody has invited me though.

 

keep looking...

I think blade cost is almost irrelevant. In cartridge world, $32 buys eight carts in a drugstore. $32 buys a lot of fine Russian DE blades. Or a short ton of Astra SP or Derby. Blades are the business end of shaving, and they are all about performance. They are like tires in the sense that a skilled driver can tell the differences in the top brands, but pretty much everyone knows a rough ride when they experience one. If you watch the SOTD, you get a feel for "fads" in blades too. Just a few years ago, Derby was talked up as a premium blade. Opinions wax and wane, and some blades change over time too. But no matter how you cut it, it's pretty hard to use up one hundred blades in a year if you have solid technique.

 

We have to keep them hidden in case @Darkbulb drops by. We're trying to help him on a recovery program from cookie addiction.

 

Cool, I'd like to see a plant like those myself.

 

Nice insight / perspective Chris, thanks!

But did you purposely plant that pun?!!

 

Interesting. I didn't know Derby was that highly revered in the near past, although I've seen videos from a couple of years ago that seemed to indicate that. My how times change. Maybe there is a bit of truth to the idea that some in the hobby do get a bit "hipsterish", always looking for something better, or more unique, or maybe even just a tad more expensive as "proof" of being somehow superior. Not accusing anyone because everyone I have talked to so far seems not to have that issue. But...on other forums.......yeah I can see that.

 

Or you could do a poll on Poles.
Copernicus
Curie
Chopin
Slip me the Oreos

 

Derby is my favorite blade. Not because they were popular once I suppose, but because they work the best on my face and the price is right!

 

It's possible that razor design influences this too. It's important to compare apples to apples. Different razor heads force different angles of attack, changing the "wear" equation. Soap is another matter to consider. See how easy it is to pick a blade?

Ymmv...when I state a blade is "the best", it means that "I think it is the best for me and I like it, based upon my limited variety of experience, with many things remaining that I have never tried".... it does not mean it's the best. I don't think I will ever stop trying blades, but it is nice to settle on a standby that is a top performance blade. For me, that's GSB. I could have just as easily picked Voskhod, and I remember being nervous about choosing one.

 

I've found Derby to be a good blade. Works well with more aggressive razors for me. No complaints at all! And yes, at the price it's a winner!

 

I still have many untried blades and, like you, I will just keep working through them. And, once I've tried them all I'm sure I'll go back and try them all with a different razor, or two, or three. I should get through all of my current razor and blade combinations before I turn 200. No problem. And that doesn't even include future planned purchases, AC razors with their blade options and various kamisoris. When I stop to consider that most men used to have one razor, one soap, one brush and see shaving as just another chore to accomplish, it makes me realize how much I like living now instead of then. I guess it took the horror of cartridge systems to show us what we had taken for granted before!

 

That's a thought that occurs to me from time to time - having one or two brand types that work well for me at some point, that I can count on when I'm just in a routine shave groove.

But I'm understanding that much of the hobby you guys talk about, has more to do with routine exploration of different combinations (razors/blades) than just having the same shave as a routine.

( looks like Neal just affirmed my statement as I was writing it!)

 

You've figured us out! We are all here as newbies, just in case some newly minted newbies need to ask all the technique stuff that doesn't fit on SOTD. Plus- Shenanigans!

Your question is in the running.

ETA: Relax, that wasn't a poll on polls. It was more like a survey.

 

Interesting that the separate convos on blades and the poll question took us to the same place - exploration vs. routine.

 

I still hear disco in my head every time you say Shenanigans.....those college years must have done more brain damage than the doctors will admit.

 

Traditional shaving has so many options. I explore slowly here every month. These are mostly razors I bought during RAD.

 

It was for Neal.