Hi, Thought I would share my SOTD yesterday which also turned out to be my bloodiest shave of the day ever. I recently received a Feather non folding style razor along with some Professional blades. Starting with my SMFIII 2007 Brush (my favourite) Proraso Red cream Feather Professional blade corked Alum bar Styptic pencil Anyway I left it till the weekend to give this latest edition a whirl. Unfortunately it ended up giving me a whirl instead. Talking about blood loss, I wished at the time I could have taken a photo. Right from the very first stroke and I dug it in straight away, and even though I tried to lessen the pressure and flatten the angle it just kept digging in. I kept on though starting from both sides of my face and making an equally bloody mess. In the end I had to finish up with my Slant because I just could not stretch my skin any more because of the blood flow. The Slant by the way felt so smooth compared to what I started the shave with. An hour after my shave and I was still bleeding, but eventually it stopped. By this time I had to go out with the wife to do some shopping, jeez what a sight I must have looked with cuts all over me. I think the wife was too embarrassed to be seen with me actually. 1 day on and my face looks a sore and sorry sight and I'm not really sure how I'm going to front up to work tomorrow, and be able to tell them how it truly happened. Cheers John
Man, sorry to hear that. Been there, its not comfortable.....casts a pall over your entire day for sure. Have you always corked your blades? Is it possible you applied to much pressure because you dulled them to the point where they weren't cutting properly?
I let someone else answer this who has used it for effect. I did some research on it and felt it wasn't somthing I needed to try.
No I don't think I over did it with the corking, just a couple of quick passes. And the blade still seemed hellishly sharp, even more so than my feather DE blades. Feather De blades have been my usual choice of blade for my everyday shave. I have only started corking since it has become such a popular discussion. And in particular those people that were using the Feather blades in their new Feather Razors. Me personally have not noticed much difference with the DE and corking, maybe taken a bit of harshness away from the initial first shave. But I only get three shaves out of the Feather anyway because of my tough old beard. I have been a straight user for 8 or 9 months now, but just have not got on with the full hollows. Despite Lynn honed razors, I just experience razor skip and jumping with lots of razor burn to go with it. Sure an awful amount of my problems no doubt would be my technique, but the one thing I have discovered during this shaving journey is how tough my beard is. I have a few quarters and wedges that I want to play with also, but at the moment just not enough hours in the day to dedicate to honing and stropping etc. Sorta why I was cheating with the Feather hoping I could achieve the straight shave without the extra time for sharpening and all of everything else associated with it. Cheers John
There has been a huge discussion over on the other forum about the pros and cons of what they call corking a blade. Essentially it is the running of the blade over a cork or piece of polystyrene foam the length of the blade 2 or 3 times. Supposedly it takes the harshness off from the new blade and helps to prolong the life of it. The guys over at B&B are quite happy with the results, and as I read it, there were lots of disbelievers there until they tried it for themselves, but as usual in this wonderful world of shaving YMMV. Cheers John
No didn't come with any guarded blades. What I really wanted was the Super Professional blades which suit the heavier beard but alas it was not to be. Cheers John
Ah, I see I'm now a Cream Pie. Believe me if you saw my face at the moment, that would be the last thing that sprung to mind. Cheers John
Hi all, Yes, Jo Anna's description is correct. It's used for both DE and feather injector style razor blades, and is supposed to smooth out the first shave or two. It turns out that lots of Feather users (among others) can suffer from a rough first ride or two, and this is a way to 'bypass' that unpleasant time. It DOES seem to work...I'd guess the positive response to trying it has been over 70%, maybe even a little higher. The thing that makes it work is: The blade's sometimes too sharp at first and this technique helps 'tame it' by gently running it through the cork. Sorta takes a tiny bit of the edge off. Oh, what I really meant was: There's little 'micro serrations' left on the blade after leaving the factory that need to be ground down a little. Those are what pull at your face. Or else, how about this one: There's a protective coating on some blades that needs to be removed. That's accomplished by you using the blade on your face for a time or two, which gets gets rid of whatever's on the blade. Smooth sailing after that. There's lots of posts and info about this technique on a couple other forums, and you can come to your own conclusion on the actual cause of why it works. There's some very convincing arguments for the first two reasons I gave........both make sense. The most amazing thing about corking is that it DOES seem to work for many members. Once again, this is definitely a YMMV thing...........not surprisingly...heh. Martin Oh..John? Sorry......I didn't mean to hijack your thread. Just sorta jumped impulsively I guess. I know it's difficult for most here to understand impulsive behavior. Also..thanks for not posting any pics of your ordeal..........heh. Congrats on your 'upgrade' to "Cream Pie" as well.
Hi, And thanks to everyone for there concerns about my very rough shave with the Feather. Well I'm back at work this morning looking a bit battered and battle scarred around the face, and because it is still only 6.00am no one has had a chance to see me yet. I can just imagine the comments............... Anyway I did have to shave this morning for work, and so after one day of not shaving after my horrendous shave with the Feather it was time to get back in the saddle so to speak. Now at this point you people can probably call me stupid, because I'm actually conducting an endurance trial on Astra Superior blades. I got given one only from my local hairdresser while having a haircut the other week. Believe it or not I'm on my 17th shave with this blade, it just keeps on keeping on, it truly is amazing. In my trusty slant which I usually use a Feather blade and only get three out of a blade, and on day 17 with three passes per shave. Given how sore my face is at the moment and yes the blade did feel decidedly scratchy this morning, but hey once I got going, there were no problems, and I reckon there is still a couple left in it. Cheers John
Yes David, I have to say that I'm very happy with the results. I have also been trying the Derby's but not for endurance but for the smoothness of the shave. Feathers have been my first choice but I'm starting to see things slightly differently these days. Cheers John
