Arko April in Russia!
April 12
View attachment 99699
Razor - Edwin Jagger DE89l
Blade -
View attachment 99700
(1)
Brush - Wolf Whiskers Custom Silvertip
Soap - Arko
Post - Cold water rinse, Alum, The Veg
I had a request/suggestion to try and review the Dorco ST301 from @
Douglas Carey who uses and likes the blade. Well, who am I to say no, especially since I have never used the blade. I've had it in my stash for a long time, alongside the 300 and the Prime but only used the Prime. I was underwhelmed with that one.
Recently, of course, I was challenged by @
Keithmax to load up a Dorco AC blade in my Feather SS and see how much blood ran. To everyone's shock and surprise, the answer was not only no blood but a pretty nice shave. Given that the Dorco name (aside from sounding, well, dorky) is usually looked down upon as inferior blades I obviously have mixed emotions. I'll use the AC blades. I probably won't load another Prime unless it's for a special moment of insanity month (MAYhem, for instance).
So, given that the 301 has an admirer and I have a mixed view of the brand, it's three days on the 301 to find out what it's all about and give my opinion. I changed the Russian setup a bit for the trial, changing to the EJ DE89l (my usual razor for official trials) and I skipped over the Vie-Long 12705 in my brush rotation to make sure I had a brush I can consistently get the best lather from. I used the Wolf Whiskers instead.
Lather whipped and awesome and the first pass was, for lack of a better description.......meh. Now, the reason I say that is because it was a bit rougher than I tend to prefer, but not so rough that it was a real turn off. Audible feedback was awesome, but I like to hear the blade working. Just the feel was not my first choice. The result of the pass, though, was pretty darn good. Hmmmmm. Second pass, XTG and still a bit rough but better, still great audible and again, the result was pretty good. Neck is the area needing the most work but it's a trial so a full three passes is called for. Now, I did notice a bit of what I call "platinum pink" showing on my neck. Most platinum blades tend to create a bit of irritation for me, some worse than others. The Rapira PL is the best, along with the Sharp Star, and the St. Petersburg platinums tend to be the worst. Interesting to see where this goes. Went full ATG on the third pass with a very aggressive and steep slide on the neck. Felt smoother overall and the redness on my neck seemed to stay the same. The finish was, well, DFS but a bit worse on my neck. The blade just didn't finish quite as well there. My face is, honestly, at BBS. Neck not quite there.
Now, given that my neck shows irritation here comes the acid test. Or should we say alum test. Cold rinse, grabbed the alum and gave it a good coating. And, you know the rest. Oh wait, hold on. Hang on........waiting, waiting.......still waiting..........just the slightest of sting in a few isolated places. Overall not a sound out of the alum. I'm a bit more impressed. Three full passes, a Gillette slide that would scare most away and red showing on the neck and there is no apparent irritation to speak of. Outstanding.
Now, the result could be a bit better but I have a nice DFS shave and smell like the Veg. Not much better than that is possible, and the 301 has impressed on its first day. Two more days to see if it holds up.
I'm beginning to worry about my posse. Looks like they've had a rough trip across the plains over there. Got a message with a pic from last night....gibberish for the message, something about needing a shower, shave......maybe less vodka?!
Click to expand...
