MAYhem!!! 2019
May 3
Razor - The Cheap Pain Stick
Blade - The Cheap Pain Stick Blades (1)
Soap - Soap Commander Courage
Brush - Jayaruh #46
Post - Alum
Ok, time to give these el-cheapo blades that came with the el-cheapo pain stick a go. I saw
@Hembree 's opinion and it wasn't good. So either he's a wimp, or it's not good. He doesn't seem wimpy to me. I debated for a bit on which soap to use. There was one particular quality I was looking for. SLICK! I don't want any chance of a problem with the soap creating any drag at all. I've been down this road with unknown and expected bad blades. One soap has never produced anything other than a slick lather for me. Soap Commander it is. And, with the JR46 I got exactly the lather I wanted, and in mass quantities.
Before progressing to the shave I got a pretty good close up of the blade compared to a Feather Pro. The cheapster is on top, the Feather Pro (used twice) on the bottom.
Would you look at that "bevel" on the el-cheapo. By the way, there is an optical illusion from the towel and angle. The edge of the blade doesn't turn wavy and go away across the blade. The edge just blends in with the towel. However, that wavy pattern above the edge - that should scare anyone thinking of using this thing. Notice the difference in the Feather underneath. That's what's called a smooth bevel. My hopes aren't too high.
I have to say that when I did the first half pass and felt how much the blade tugged, grabbed, skipped, and jumped, I wasn't surprised. What DID surprise me was that it was actually doing some beard reduction. Oftentimes the really bad blades won't do anything except hurt. This one actually does some cutting. But it's rough. Even on the Soap Commander ultra-slick lather this thing wouldn't run a smooth pass. I kept at it just waiting for it to grab or skip and dig in for some blood, but it never did. I did three full passes with no blood, which is on the level of amazing (though maybe it's dull enough to not be a threat) but did end up with a very nice CCS out of the bargain. I also ended up with plenty of burn from the alum so, yeah, it's not a smooth ride at all. Hey
@RyX - if you're smart - you'll toss those 10 blades when your razor shows up and forget you ever saw them. Unless you feel daring enough to try.
Not my most horrible MAYhem shave but a fun one. Oh, one more point - the door on the razor seems to slide off a bit easier than any of my other pain sticks. I was drying the razor after the shave and it popped off so fast I nearly dropped it. So the specs aren't exactly flawless. Still, the razor itself handles itself well. I'd still go with the CJB for the bargain pain stick, but this is a good one to learn on if you don't want to risk any more $$$ than necessary.
Have a good weekend gentlemen!!
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