Fantastic shave, photo and report, Evan! I'd say it was a tie for me between Palmolive and Arko. I like Palmolive's scent better, but I like the consistency of Arko more. They both performed more or less the same. It's a bit of a stretch, but there's always talk like a Pirate day--everybody else will be doing Bay Rum, so you'll be distinctive
Mighty fine picture and report, Evan! No such luck today. Where some of you guys wear ties and cufflinks for work, I wear an H²S monitor clipped to the lapel of my nomex.
Palmolive and Astra...My Man! I find Palmolive to have 2 sizable advantages over Arko. The first is pretty obvious- it doesn’t smell like Arko. Secondly, I find the lather a little richer and less drying. To each their own, though. Palmolive used to be right about the same price if you got it from overseas. Looks like it is a bit more expensive now at about $5 CDN a stick.
Charlie, in theory, that could be true, but AC blades just work better for me. At my point in life, I’ll probably keep what I have. AC blades are what you blade forward types use in your shavettes. In my case I get all the benefits without having to worry about a tremor removing an ear. As you know, I’ve achieved BBS level shaves with my DEs. The difference is the Barber close quality of these Feather Super shaves. I don’t believe I’ll ever achieve that level of shave with my DEs or Gems. You’re talking to a guy who shaved his boring single pass shave with the same DE razor for more than 50 yrs. I’m grateful for what I’ve learned here about technique, but knowing myself, I’ll keep using my favorite razors. My best shave with my favorite DE was just a pale shadow of the shaves achieved with the Feather Super in an SE blade holder.
