I got in on @twhite 's Wedge Pass Around over at TOST. I received the package yesterday containing two razors, two blades, and the Allegro blade sharpener (amazing stuff). I took one of the blades, a Henckels wedge, and tried it in my Gem Jr. lather catcher. It fit like a glove. So, I decided my first shave with a wedge would be with my lather catcher. I created this thread to document my week with the wedge(s). Here is my first shave. Proraso Pre Shave Colgate Mug Jayaruh #144 Gem Jr. 1911 Lather Catcher Henckels wedge CWR Thayer's Lemon WH Barbasol AS I started off with Proraso Pre Shave. The Colgate Mug Shaving Soap face-lathered well with the Jayaruh #144 badger brush. I am using the ER wooden handle on my Gem. I did two passes with the Gem 1911 Lather Catcher Razor with a Henckels wedge blade and ended up with a close, comfortable shave. First of all, this was the first shave with the ER handle. It is quite small, but it seems to be just the right size for the lather catcher. It is about 25% smaller than the handles I made earlier. This blade is very smooth. It is basically a straight on a stick. I got the angle the first time, and the shave was perfect with no nicks, cuts, or irritation. After a cold water rinse, I finished off with Thayer's Lemon WH and then Barbasol AS. I am clean, smooth, and refreshed... After my clean up, I loaded the blade in the Allegro blade sharpener and about 12 back and forths on the sharpening side and 25 on the leather side. Then, I loaded the blade in the Heljestrand razor for tomorrow's shave.
Nice write up! A wedge blade is a totally different animal from a modern SE blade. It has its own feel.
Menthol Monday's Shave Proraso Pre Shave Williams B-400 by Tom Heljestrand Henckels Wedge CWR Thayer's Lemon WH Pinaud Vanilla I started off with Proraso Pre Shave. The Proraso Shaving Soap face-lathered well with the B-400 badger brush. I did two passes with the Heljestrand Razor with a Henckels wedge blade. This razor has a long handle and is on the heavy side. It requires a light touch. I ended up with a close, comfortable shave with no blood. That is always a plus. After a cold water rinse, I finished off with Thayer's Lemon WH and then Pinaud Vanilla AS. I am clean, smooth, and refreshed... I cleaned everything up with hot water and dried it off. Then I stropped the blade with the Allegro sharpening system and reassembled the razor. I may have said this before, but it is more like shaving with a straight on a stick. I thought while shaving, "I wonder what it would be like to shave only with this system for a year or so?" I'm still wondering. HA!
Thanks, guys. I had never seen one of these things. It is a pretty neat device. Tom, @twhite , sent it out with his Wedge Pass Around. I am enjoying the opportunity to shave with these wedges. It's different, but not difficult.
It is definitely different. Using a wedge blade razor system, you can see the logical progression from straight razors, to wedge safety razors, to SEs and DEs. The work to maintain one of these wedge blades is really the same as a straight. It’s just a mini straight razor with a safety guard on a stick. Very cool!
Tabac Tuesday's Shave Proraso Pre-Shave Tabac Shaving Soap Henckels Rapide Henckels Wedge CWR Thayer's Lemon WH Pinaud Vanilla I started off with Proraso Pre Shave. The Tabac Shaving Soap face-lathered well with the B-400 badger brush. I did two passes with the Henckels Rapide Razor with a Henckels wedge blade and ended up with a close, comfortable shave. After a cold water rinse, I finished off with Thayer's Lemon WH and then Pinaud Vanilla AS. I am clean, smooth, and refreshed... This was the third shave with a wedge and my first with the Henckels Rapide. It was by far the best yet, also. I got a very close, easy shave. After the shave I cleaned up and then refreshed the blade with the Allegro. I did 15 cycles on the sharpening side and 25 cycles on the strop.
Williams Wednesday's Shave Proraso Pre Shave Williams B-400 by Tom Heljestrand Henckels Wedge CWR Thayer's Lemon WH Pinaud Vanilla I started off with Proraso Pre Shave. The Williams Mug Shaving Soap face-lathered well with the B-400 badger brush. I did two passes with the Heljestrand Razor with a Henckels wedge blade and ended up with a close, comfortable shave. After a cold water rinse, I finished off with Thayer's Lemon WH and then Pinaud Vanilla AS. I am clean, smooth, and refreshed... I have forgotten to mention that these blades are also noisy. It sounds like buttering toast. After cleaning, I did ten cycles on each of the sharpening sides and twenty-five on the strop side of the Allegro. It doesn't take long to maintain the blade.
Jim, thanks for the video. That's really cool. I'm on this passaround later on and I'll be watching that a few more times I'm sure!
