Injector & SE Party !!!

Tomorrow's planned shave. @Billyfergie , You have any suggestions on a setting for the Twin blades?

 

Just arrived today. I am ready for an injector party now, 100 blades.

 

Sure Sir....I think you will find them to be different to shaving with a single blade.....I have found that they perform really well in the Adjustable up to the number 6 setting...Above that I think that its past its maximum performance with Twin Blades....To be honest I find the Adjustable to be a fairly mild injector anyway and never used it past the number 6 setting for any period of time with any blade....That just might be me of course....These are becoming the favoured blade with some of the folks that have bought them recently and some of them are used to using the best of NOS blades....

A "feather like touch" is the "order of the day" with these Twin blades...They don't shave like a cartridge system because one blade is sitting on top of the other and they are cutting the whiskers at the same time rather than one cutting behind the other...Don't be tempted to use any pressure cause they are sharp...The number 6 setting is the optimal setting in my experience sir...
Enjoy Sir...

Billy

 

Had a very, very nice shave this morning with my new-old Personna Floating head II injector.
Two passes and I was as smooth as I possibly could be.

Now, the 'funny' thing is that I found the 'moving'/floating head design to require so much pressure that I never think I really 'activated' it. It was very much like shaving with a fixed head injector. Regardless, it was a great - and fun - shave that I truly enjoyed.

I did end up using a standard Schick injector blade as it was the first time using this razor..I might work up to a twin-blade in a few more shaves with it

The razor is in the medium-mild side for me - no real fear of cutting myself but it ended up delivering one smooooth, clean shave.
I really enjoyed it.

​

 

Well... I gave the I1 another go.. Sadly not as good as the first time. But still better than the last. Two passes, a bit of irritation on the throat and a couple nicks on the chin. I finished up with the Goodfella DE for a final pass/clean up. No alcohol in the AS for me today. The Every Man Jack isn't my favorite but I use it on days like this to use it up.

 

Glad to hear that you enjoyed the Floating Head Sir...I hear what you are saying regarding the floating head movement....I think that it works really well but in very subtle ways as you say...Its hard to pin down some razors in terms of mild or aggressive I think because we have different ideas to what that means...That said...I would describe the Floating head to be aggressive towards the whiskers whilst being smooth and gentle towards the face...The PAL Adjustable feels very smooth but is deceptively aggressive towards the whiskers...

This seems to be the hallmark of PAL/Personna Injectors that were made by the American Safety Razor Company and it is indeed a controversial subject area... When a razor doesn't offer a great deal of audible feed back I think that they can be perceived as being mild when they are not necessary so...Here gain I think its down to individual perceptions and expectation's...The Floating head will feel bit more dangerous with NOS Twin blades that's for sure...The angle with Twin blades is not as intuitive and its easy to go too steep and take your face off with it in my experience...
Billy....

 

September 23, 2015

Business trip 250 miles across the state, overnight in the Spokane, WA.

I do this business travel often enough to need to put together a travel shave kit to just leave loaded in the car.

Just starting to test one out:

Soap: Arko (homemade travel stick)
Brush: Vintage Rubberset travel brush
Razor: Gillette Magazine Repeater Type C1
Blade: Schick Injector (China) (1)
After Shave: Proraso Green
Aftershave cream: Proraso



Early start with a hot morning shower, two-pass shave.

1st pass: Low-profile razor compared to the Gems I've been using lately. Quiet by comparison. Ok reduction XTG.

2nd pass: More feedback this way of course. Mostly clean on ATG. Avoided all the scar tissue around my mouth/goatee after yesterday's debacle so left a bit of stubble.

I will need to spend more time with this and my travel kit choices in order to get as comfortable with them as I have other razors. A month rule would probably be best. Two shaves just ain't enough.

Back to finishing with other SEs in the last days of SEptember.Looking forward to comparing my 1912 (favorite SE so far on the non-injector side) and the 1924 Shovelhead that I have not tried yet.

Cheers!
RT

 

I've been a traveling musician most of my life....I hear ya! A traveling shave kit can be the most important part of a rest stop after much driving....It can make a 20 minute stop into paradise after many hours of traveling....

Looks to me like your kit is Smokin'! I could live with that as my daily go to kit for the rest of my days and be happy...

Ohh, Ohh...here comes the Shovelheaded Lovely....I've made no secret of my love for the ER 1924...design by JB deMesquita in 1909... He loved and tweaked this design for 10 years...He was a man of vision. Later became Pres. Of ASR, and he's the one who acquired Personna for ASR, talk about vision, what a guy I tell ya...And his 1924 will be a cult razor, probably for-evah! Hope you enjoy every stroke!

 

Putting together my kit, there was a lot to be attracted to with the compactness of both the razor and the brush - hardly take up any room in my kit. I may just expand the size of the liquid goods a wee bit to accommodate for longer trips. Plus another liquid container for the witch hazel I usually use. I was a bit nervous about being pulled out of the security line at the airport when the razor showed up like a "clip" according to the security detail. They let me go on my way though. I even had a blade loaded!

Yes I'm looking forward to my next shave and, as you've described, I can't wait to hear the "ping" of blade meeting whisker with the 1924!

 

Well I wouldn't think it's you and not the razor....That G is definitely on the aggessive side...now this I-1 is on the mild side...But because of 'The Nature of The Beast"....I'm refering to the way Injectors do things....Like when you have a mild DE, you need to do 4 or 5 passes and you feel like you couldn't cut yourself if you tried. But with a mild injector you can still get a great shave and...

Well once when I was a young 20 something and running late for a date. Long story short....Mad dash shave, plus a notoriously mild L type, and I still took a plug out of my chin that left a scar I still have to this day...The sink looked like a prop from the movie Helter Skelter....and I bled long enough that I started to wonder if I needed stitches...lol! Needless to say, never made that date...lol!

I think it's because, they are so light, we need to use a little pressure...The problem only arises when we use too much pressure...My guess is that.....well do you think it's possible that maybe you are using a little too much pressure. I know the I type is a little mild so the inclination is to use more pressure...But what works the best with those is not to use pressure but to lift that handle a tad and let the head get a little flatter on the face....

I could be totally off base...Let me know what you think....It could be lots of other variables ....I'm just guessing because...I've been guilty of doing the too much pressure thing with really light razors...I finally got a Gillette Slim and kept it on #1 til I learned how to get a BBS with that...Then I Could get a great shave with just about any mild razor..ha, ha...True Story..

 

Like Christmas Morning....

 

The original Type E user instructions used to advice the user to use a bit of pressure...In fact it was their selling point in that they were claiming that you could get away with more pressure then a DE without any irritation....The later Schick injectors were getting produced during the hey day of really sharp injector blades....On the subject of blades I don't find that you can away with much pressure with Pella/Personna blades...I always use NOS blades in my later injectors as they are crazy sharp and require a very light touch and they are efficient at that.. As the blade loses is sharpness I can get away with a tad of pressure on my final ATG pass...

On the subject of pressure...I use forward pressure to push the skin in front of the comb/blade...I am not using any downward pressure...How much pressure one can get away with is just down to trial & error....I only use a tad of forward pressure on my final clean up pass and never before...The only injector that I sometimes use Pella/persona blades is my G Types....I never use them in any other injector...I normally use NOS blades in my G type as well although I do like the Pell/Persoanna blades in this particular injector....With more aggressive Type E s I will also use a tad of pressure with NOS or Chinese blades....I find that the Type E injectors can be pretty cruel at times with Pella/persona blades and I reckon a lot folks stop using them because of weepers and cuts because they get hung up on using a one blade fits all injectors kinda thinking...

Billy.....

 

Thanks for that! I guess I'm going to try 5 first as I like a mild shave and see who that goes. But....that will not be today as I shaved with a G yesterday and I still don't have enough stubble to shave.

 

I am continuing my week of SE shaves with my Schick M2 set on 6. Another great shave.

On another note, I decided to make a new handle for my Schick E that I had previously made a handle for. I had some bird's eye maple on hand and used it. At this time, I have made the handle, but I have not taken pictures of it in progress. I will just have to post pictures after I get it on the razor. It is presently drying after two coats of satin polyurethane. I will post those later today. Fast drying you know.

The handle was originally long, but I decided to shorten it.

 

As promised, here it is with the new handle of bird's eye maple.

 

Nice job Sir...I like that...
Billy..

 

September 24, 2015

Single-Edge SEptember
So far this month I've shaved with a variety of Schick injectors for the first time (Type C1, C3, E, G, I and J), a PAL Adjustable injector and a few Gems (1912, Featherweight, Clog-Pruf and Pushbutton).

Today it’s my first shave with the 1924 Ever Ready “Shovelhead."




Two-pass shave.
After the debacle with the Clog-Pruf I stayed with the razor's flat cap against my beard for the entire shave and just did minor work around the goatee as the wounds are still healing.

1st pass - Definitely an aggressive razor. I got significant blade feedback and very good reduction on the XTG pass.

2nd pass - ATG gave even more feedback. Very nice shave, mostly clean and smooth result with no irritation.

I'll shave with it again on Friday and either take the weekend off from shaving or just let the goatee area alone for awhile. But the rest of the month will be alternating between the 1912 and the 1924.

Cheers!
RT

 

I'm wondering how you are liking the Arko shave stick.

I took one with me on a trip I just ended. I was paddling and portaging in Quetico in Canada and was determined to shave a few times. However, the night before I used the Arko in the hotel room and I took a few layers of skin out of my cheek with a razor I used before and liked. The overall shave felt much rougher. During the camping trip I gave up after a couple of shaves as the lather would dry from the wind and would cake up - resulting in a very difficult shave. Finally, back at the hotel after getting off the water I had the same experience of a rougher shave (but fortunately no serious skin loss or cuts.) It could just be me so I'm curious how you are finding it.

 

Sometimes, for me anyway, Arko can lather to easy and looks great but is way to dry. Give it water until it feels right.

 

In a word...


Having gone 2 straight months with the Arko when I first started traditional wetshaving I really like it for the easy lathering - but the water / soap combination is not fool-proof.

I have used this soap two ways:
- Brush load - the soap is soft enough to break off a chunk and hand press it into a mug or such (i use a wide Pyrex bowl that fits my hand nicely and comes with a rubber top to seal the bowl.) I use a mostly dry brush and coat it in the bowl with soap, wet my face and start brushing. Weeper Warrior is right - it can dry up - but I fight that by dripping water onto the brush (not dunking the brush into the sink) and brushing on the face. I almost do that until its a tad watery and then I just go to town brushing away until its like heavy whipped cream!

- Face load - Lately and due to traveling, I resorted to molding the soap into a used-up deodorant stick by taking the soap and stuffing it into the empty deodorant cylinder.



Then I just put a good coating on my face by rubbing the soap directly on it. Then take a watered brush and do the same as above. Great for travel.

Anyway, you won't be alone if you don't take to it. I've heard that happens in our hobby/passion! - YMMV!

Lately I've also heard good things about the reliability of a Spanish cream - La Toja Shave Stick. Its said to be a very reliable lather-maker.

Good luck Karl!

Cheers!
RT