May 1, 2017- Tech Mini-Focus
Razor: Pre-War Gillette Tech
Blade: Dorco ST-301 (1)
Brush: Razorock Plissoft 22
Cream: KMF fragrance-free
Post: Alum, Listerine, WH
Today starts a week-long Tech mini-focus, two days each with three versions of this iconic razor: Pre-War, Post-War, and Modern (a.ka. Sterling).
Since it is MAYhem, I would be remiss not to throw some random factor into this initial shave of the month. As you may recall, last week I revisited the Dorco STD-301 blade (a.k.a. the Dollar General/Family Dollar blade). While some people list this as a go-to blade, I found the experience to be tuggy and unpleasant. Curiosity got the better of me, however, and so I stopped by the local beauty supply store and picked up a tuck of the better-known ST-301 blades.
Frankly, Dorco makes this all too confusing with similar part numbers and minimal description of the actual blades. Trying to read between the lines, I think it goes like this:
- STD-301 (Dollar Store Blade) is a basic SS blade (made from "high quality" stainless steel)
- ST-301 ("Prime Double Edge Blade") is a Platinum blade (according to the card in the tuck)
- STP-301 ("Prime Platinum Double Edge Blade") is the newcomer and has a "double Teflon coating" for "extra smoothness and to ensure a long-lasting shave"
This list omits the ST-300 in the cardboard pack which is supposed to be the same as the ST-301 except for packaging. I'll let a blade expert explain what double Teflon coating is (is that two layers or two different kinds of Teflon) and how that affects how the shave lasts. A huge open question is whether the three blades share similar grinds and just differ in coating/treatment.
So... we have a somewhat symbolic pairing: the epitome of pre-WWII manufacturing combined with a poster child for post-Cold War consumerism (unfortunately, Samsung does not make DE blades that I'm aware of).
As for the shave... it was surprisingly nice. The ST-301 is definitely several cuts above its dollar store cousin. I did my usual two passes to a DFS that I am happy with and that generated no heat from the Alum. I think I can see, though, why this blade is not for everyone. I suspect that it is not the sharpest and that might give some pause or flat-out problems to those with heavier whiskers. Now I'm curious to try the "Prime Platinum" blade.
Off-topic... in another thread, we were talking a bit about North Korea. Anybody have a clue as to what they shave with there?
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