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SOTD FRIDAY MORNING, AUGUST 21, 2020
I enjoyed two excellent dome shaves from my new Blackland Tradere blade holder. Prior to it’s arrival, my favorite DE safety razor was my Colonial Silversmith, which I haven’t shaved with in the last two months, one of the drawbacks of having too large a collection of excellent blade holders. The question in my mind was how do they compare? Since I no longer shave my face with a safety razor, the comparison will have to be my dome shaves. Although both Tradere shaves were excellent, my most recent was with a Feather blade. So I loaded a fresh Feather blade into the Colonial Silversmith. In keeping with my new regimen, I began my shave after my shower and shaved the dome first. The JR Rosewood Silvertip Badger whipped up its usual thick, yogurty MWF lather carpet. The noggin shave was magnificent. One and a 1/2 passes was all it took for my usual VBBS dome result. Although 12 grams lighter than the Tradere, the Silversmith felt great in hand and every bit as efficient, if not a trifle more so. The difference in utility is trifling, but in my estimation, I’ll still go with the Silversmith. The Silversmith‘s bead blasted finish is beautiful, and it is made from 316L SS which is from a utility perspective superior to the Tradere’s 303 stainless. Again, the difference, if any, between the two blade holders is trifling in my experience.
My son, Ben, had sharpened my Double Duck Goldedge on his Naniwa progression finishing on his ridiculously expensive Shapton Glass 30k grit, and it is quite sharp, but didn’t feel as buttery smooth as my shave yesterday with the CKBA Damascus straight razor. So for tomorrow’s shave, I’m going to kill his edge, and then refinish it to the same level of shiny polish in water on my single jasper stone. I’m betting that a slightly more rounded edge will shave better for me, but more importantly, will feel better. After all, I still have my filial honemeister to fall back on, if necessary. Back to my face shave! The Goldedge with its current honing did not achieve the level of comfort I experienced yesterday, requiring me to again clean up my neck with my faithful Silversmith. Tomorrow will be the test. Is there such a thing as too sharp? I’m betting there is, and that my refinished edge on my jasper stone will feel just as good on the Double Duck as it did on the CKBA Damascus straight yesterday. In any case I feel clean and velveteen smooth with a fair bit of heat on my neck from the Double Duck. Looking forward to tomorrow’s shave with this same refinished Double Duck!
RAZOR: Double Duck Goldedge 6/8 (Mug), Colonial Silversmith (Dome)
BLADE: Feather (Dome)
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Rabid Banana Preshave Cube
BRUSH: JR Rosewood Silvertip Badger #378
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat w/ 6 drops of M-Bomb
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Humphreys Lilac WH and Osage Rub. Finished with Aqua Velva (Spanish Version) and Pre de Provence Balm.
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