I will be happy beyond bliss to satisfy your DEMAND, gorgo. Some general statements about these blades must first be made. 1. While I do own and use all of the blade brands represented by the photos in my post, these are not photos of my actual blades. I borrowed the pics from other internet sources. 2. Only well stored vintage carbon blades in good condition touch my face. They must first pass a visual inspection and be mostly free of rust. I say mostly free because I have successfully shaved with carbs that have one or more small rust spots...as long as the shaving edges are rust free. 3. Once the blade passes the visual test there is only one way to find out if it is usable. That is to shave with it. It will not take long to ascertain a blade's shaveworthiness. 4. As I stated in my post, you can really feel the shave when you use the old carbons. They pull, OK? If this idea makes you cringe then you should stop reading immediately and go to some other thread. All others may read on. 5. A slick and rather wet lather is essential. Don't skimp on H2O. 6. Strokes must be short and quick using a scything motion sometimes referred to as the Gillette Slide. Don't try to mow down whiskers head-on. Just...don't try it. 7. The chin requires extra careful attention and all I can say is your chin and its hair growth pattern is different than mine so you have to work it out through trial and error. 8. In spite of the fact that these blades pull they almost never result in nicks or irritation. My face has never been more comfortable after a shave. 9. You can get a close shave with vintage carbons but BBS lovers should stick with their current setup. 10. I get the best results using these blades in an adjustable razor set low but I have also used them in a variety of other razors. I will attempt to do a thumbnail review of each of the vintage carbon blades I use in future posts.
Thumbnail review of Fan: This is a blued carbon swedish steel blade made in the USA. I purchased them in a loose-packed box of 100 blades. They are in excellent condition with no visible signs of rust or deterioration. Here are some pictures: My setup was: Gillette Slim Adjustable Wee Scot brush Vintage Old Spice soap in an OS mug I soaked the Scot and shook it twice, then swirled the tips on dry OS for about 10 seconds. The lather was built on my face, adding small amounts of water as needed. I set the Slim on 1 and did a WTG pass using short scything strokes. I hadn't used one of these blades for quite awhile and was surprised and pleased at the level of comfort they afford. Yes, I could feel the blade pull, but not to the point of any perceptible pain or discomfort. After finishing the pass I touched up along the jawline and then got the close spots around my nostrils. My face was in DFS shape. That is about all I normally do on a daily basis. With this shave, though, I decided to do an additional WTG pass with the Slim set on 3. I could detect a small bit of leftover stubble being removed during this pass but not much. What I ended up with was a very close and extremely comfortable shave. No nicks---zero irritation. The Fan is a worthy blade and highly recommended.
Excellent review; looking forward to the rest but especially your take on the Silver Star. You might find a glass hone useful for the pulling. I know I do. Some doubt their reason for even existing but they existed and sold well for a reason. They won't make a pulling carbon into a smooth-as-stainless stainless, but they'll usually improve it noticeably.
True dat. I just broke one out, gave it 10 laps each side in the AlOx hone and glass (just to be safe), and loaded it up in a Tech I found today. Smooth all the way to BBS (3 passes), no nicks, irritation or pulling, for that matter. Admittedly I was using a Tech, which helped mild it up a bit, but I don't doubt I'd have gotten much the same result from any of my other axes.
With carbon blades there is bad pulling and there is good pulling. Bad pulling blades hurt a lot and don't remove whiskers very well. Good pulling blades don't hurt a lot. They either hurt a little (for me that is a good hurt, kind of like scratching an itch) or they don't hurt at all...just pull with no hurt. I like good pulling blades and wouldn't attempt to eliminate the pull with a hone. I have a small DE hone (not a glass one) that I have used sometimes to bring a bad pulling blade into submission. The thing is, I have so many good pulling blades on hand that I usually just toss the bad ones. You're right though...those hones really do work.
Depends on the blade. Most of my carbons give me two or three good shaves. Some only one. The Fan blade that I reviewed above will be good for three.
You think we should post pics of our hones, just so anyone else who's curious can see first hand (more or less) what we're talking about? I've talked about them ad nauseum but can't recall if I ever showed pics.
I know some classic shavers that use the carbons have a one shave and dispose rule. That is why I asked because that blade looks too good to only be used one time.
Hi there, See, that's where you and I differ. My ideal shave feels like there's no blade in the razor at all. I prefer to not even feel the blade on my face and shave mostly by sound. I don't even like feedback through the handle if I can avoid it. To me, any pulling at all means I've done something wrong. I've certainly run across people who think the same as you......they like that extra 'zing' those old carbon blades can provide. Heh, we all have our own druthers I guess. Don't feel bad because you think in a crazy manner....... Martin
I think I agree with you insofar as I want smoothness above all. However, I've yet to meet a carbon that can't be smoothed out at least a little if not a lot...most of them, a lot. Worth the effort? That depends on the individual - primarily, how big a stock of potentially usable carbons he comes by for cheap, and how much of an obsessive-compulsive packrat he is. Put those two factors in a Venn diagram and I'm slap in the middle of both circles.
O.K., let me see if I have what you are describing accurately. What I am thinking of as good pull is the very slight pull that can be felt when the hair is being cut cleanly and the bad pull is when the blade catches on the hair and pulls the hair instead of cutting (tugging). Is this what you mean?
Almost. Good pull can be the "very slight pull" as you describe. But pull can still be good as its intensity increases. At some point the threshold is reached where good pull becomes bad pull. This point is reached when the degree of pain becomes uncomfortable and the degree of effective whisker cutting becomes unacceptable. Pain runs on a continuum from extremely mild to extremely intense. Pain is not always a bad thing. Let me provide an example. The mild pain that I feel in my legs after a long hike through the woods is not the kind of pain I shrink away from. In a certain way it is somewhat satisfying. Another example is the mild pain of fingernails scratching an itch. The scratching produces a very mild yet acceptable degree of pain. Likewise, the mild pain of a blade pulling at my beard as it cleanly cuts each whisker is not the kind of pain that I avoid.
And bingo! Yep, there we have it in a nutshell. To be fair, you did warn the readers about these blades not being for certain people, myself included. I'm always trying new to me blades, most of em being old ones not made any longer. By now it's easy to tell if a blade's a good fit or not, and I can always toss it quick if it's not performing right. To me, a blade that cuts without resistance means it's working efficiently, just as one that pulls makes me think it's just not quite sharp enough. In my mind there's no earthly reason to use a blade that isn't the right fit, but that's just me. I sure understand everyone is looking for different things and it's always interesting to read a crazy point of view.... Martin
Good one.......I'm glad you didn't take my little teasing seriously. No doubt there's variations of crazy.....some good and some bad. Heh, the thing is, the guy who's nuts has about the least chance of determining which type he's got. Yeah, being too close to the action can make the voice of reason go totally silent...... Yeah, lots of people like menthol shaving creams, and many people also like an aftershave with some burn. I don't understand those things either........yep, we all have our druthers for sure. Enjoying a blade that pulls though....I just can't wrap my brain around that. I guess we're just crazy in different ways. Martin
"A user shouldn't follow a quest to find the mildest or most aggressive razor. What a user should do is find the right level of aggressiveness for themselves." (wish I said that 1st).
I gotta agree with what someone said in the beginning about pre 1960s blades. The first time I switched from 50's blades (blue blades + thins) to some stainless steel Wilkinsons in my Gillette Tech I thought I had done something wrong because it felt like there was no blade in. Turns out the shave was just that smooth. (this morning is an exception, I forgot to tighten my Super Adjustable all the way and ended up slicing off some skin.) What is this magical non-burning aftershave you speak of?
