The bullet tip cleaned up beautifully: There is a tiny bit of brassing at the widest part of the handle and on the hinge at the back of the head. Otherwise the plating is in pretty nice shape. Shaved with it yesterday and it was by far my best SE shave to date, on par with what I expect from my straight bar DEs and close to what I get with my slant. I suspect this is less this particular razor and more me just getting better at using SEs in general.
Cogratulations...That bullet-tip also known as the Flying Wing is looking very nice, she did clean up real good...quite fetching.... You know I had the same deal with the 1914, but I used it every day for a week and now not a jump or a tug.She's now the smoothest shaver I have. I can't tell you what changed, but this one get better with familiarity. She also likes a sharp blade. A blade being ready to change out really shows up with this one. But that being said I am getting some pretty incredible shaves with mine...Love it! And you are in time for her Centenial B-day on March 24th. Bring her on by the Injector & SE Party Thread for the festivities!
Lost nubbins! That explains it! As a fellow SE newbie, this morning I learned the hard way just exactly what the nubbins do! I began my venture in to SE shaving this weekend, gingerly plying my ER "shovel head." This morning, I broke out my (nubbinless! )Bullet Tip. I didn't feel the damage, only noticing when the blood ran freely down my jaw line. That's when I looked and compared to the ER. <sigh> No nubbins. I applied styptic to the bloodline and felt the other scratches when the AS hit them. I looked in the mirror after I drove to work. It looked like I had climbed out of a briar patch! The scratches kinda hurt, but the good news is I had zero razor burn. After eyeballing the Bullet Tip, I can see where the nubbins used to be. Sure enough, it just looks like the detents have been worn down. The blade starts to lock into place, but the final tightening of the TTO (TTC?) jogs the blade forward. I think I will take a needle file and gingerly re-nubbin-ify my razor. I don't think there is a whole lot of down side risk. Suggestions, anyone? Thx Sean
Ouch! You probably saw upthread, but I got an OCMM with the same problem. I did not try to shave with it, though. I'm not sure how you'd re-nubbin with a file, since you need to build up, not wear down. But would love to hear from someone with more expertise, my assumption was that my OCMM was basically scrap.
Well, I can see vestigial remains of nubbins. I'm thinking that if I file behind them, it "raises" the nubbins by dropping the rearward surface. It is how you create features when whittling. I haven't tried this yet, but wonder how much material I would have to remove. it might have to go all the way back on the head (until it hits the cap?!?). Ever had to grind a nick out of a knife edge? Kinda similar, I think. I may try it tonight. The only other thing I could think of was to add tiny drops of epoxy and then file them to shape. This method, if possible, wouldn't remove any more brass from the razor. ... but it will likely have a "duck tape and baling wire" look. <sigh> I'm less concerned with appearance than performance though. Hmm... must ponder.
Malted, I don't think epoxy will be durable enough. And even if it is, save yourself a lot of heartache and blood loss... just consign that razor to display and get yourself another one; they are easy enough to find and inexpensive.
There are two little bumps or hooks on most (all?) SE razors, one at each end of the comb or guard bar, that the blade rests against. They are fairly easily worn or broken off. Look at The first picture of my bullet top above, and compare it to the one of my OCMM upthread. They are missing on the OCMM.
The 1914 is a tough nut to crack, but seems worth continued effort. Used it yesterday and my technique has definitely improved, but still had a tough time ATG on my chin and upper and lower lips, enough that I switched to a DE for that area. BUT: on my neck it worked great, giving me as close a shave or perhaps even closer than my slant with no irritation or issues of any kind. Here I am about 20 hours later and my neck is still about 90% BBS. I'm finding "sneaking up" on ATG with short, arcing strokes (sort of mini J-hooks) is working especially well.
I'm not sure if I mentioned it to you (and I'm too lazy to check ), but the original GEM literature advises doing XTG under the nose. The geometry for ATG seldom works in that area without blood loss and nasal injury.
You did, and I take that advice directly under my nose, but still go ATG on the rest of my moustache area. Multiple XTG passes just don't quite get the job done for me.
