The Shaving Cadre
Welcome to The Shaving Cadre, a forum dedicated to gentlemanly discourse about wet shaving and other topics of common interests. Membership is always free so register today and join in the fun
New Horizons in Shaving
- Thread starter HMan
- Start date
HMan
Doften Savant
It's the same time honored formula as 90's grunge rock, mild, aggressive, mild, aggressive....
HMan
Doften Savant
Today I just used the aggressive plate with a Nacet blade, and I think I must now have reached the point of being comfortable with the razor, it just felt like a normal shave, except of course for the joy of using such an amazing feeling razor.
Stubble feels normal everywhere as well, not the frustrating stubble I was having on my neck the first week of shaving with it. so I think we are there, and I'm very happy with the purchase.
Stubble feels normal everywhere as well, not the frustrating stubble I was having on my neck the first week of shaving with it. so I think we are there, and I'm very happy with the purchase.
Cool. Makes it all worthwhile when we get quality shaves from new gear.
HMan
Doften Savant
Went all mild today, and....
another great shave, with a Nacet blade, I think this razor is mine now!
I had a opportunity to borrow one, but I'm glad I decided not to, the first seek of shaves were sub par, and if I'd only tested it for a couple of shaves, I might have passed.
There is so much about the razor that I like, and haven't seen in other razors I've been looking at, that I'm really glad I stuck it out.
It might sound strange putting this much into a razor, but a 275€ spend isn't something most people can do every day. I know some out there can, and do. If a razor doesn't work out in the states, it's easy to punt forward for a good price. Here, chances of selling it forward at a reasonable price are slim to none.
At least in my case, a high end razor needs to tick a lot of boxes, functional and the intangible emotional response. I suppose that's why there are a lot of options out there, which is only a good thing, with patience and due diligence, everyone can find a their grail.
Tomorrow, I'll take a break from this guy, and go back to the almighty Gibbs.
another great shave, with a Nacet blade, I think this razor is mine now!
I had a opportunity to borrow one, but I'm glad I decided not to, the first seek of shaves were sub par, and if I'd only tested it for a couple of shaves, I might have passed.
There is so much about the razor that I like, and haven't seen in other razors I've been looking at, that I'm really glad I stuck it out.
It might sound strange putting this much into a razor, but a 275€ spend isn't something most people can do every day. I know some out there can, and do. If a razor doesn't work out in the states, it's easy to punt forward for a good price. Here, chances of selling it forward at a reasonable price are slim to none.
At least in my case, a high end razor needs to tick a lot of boxes, functional and the intangible emotional response. I suppose that's why there are a lot of options out there, which is only a good thing, with patience and due diligence, everyone can find a their grail.
Tomorrow, I'll take a break from this guy, and go back to the almighty Gibbs.
Last edited:
woodpusher
TSC’s International Man of Meh
That's a good bit of coin in my book, but I'm glad that it is working well for you. I'm trying to go the cheapskate route myself and surprised myself (pleasantly so) when I picked up the ASD2. Sometimes we just luck into good choices.
HMan
Doften Savant
It is! That’s why I took so long to decide, even an ASD2 is about 250€ here. Knowing resell values etc. really wanted to find something that resonated with me personally.
By all accounts the Feather is a terrific razor, that also might need it’s own learning curve to get the most out of.
HMan
Doften Savant
Saturday, lately I've been making it my variety soap day, this time B&M Le Grand Chypre
Gibss adjustable razor gave it's usual smooth and super efficient shave. I opened it all the way up for pass one, just to see, it was still as smooth as ever, but the blade gap just felt stupidly big.
This is the razor that gives me my closest shaves, Fatip Grande probably 2nd in my collection.
Using the Smart Helix seems to have upped my technique game. It's funny how that happens, and one good reason to try different razors from time to time. I still didn't get a close around the mouth, but the neck was another story, absolutely effortless, and virtually no clean up needed.
Though, I guess that all comes at a cost, my neck is noticeably more red today as well, even though I spent much less time on it, so maybe the Smart Helix is trying to teach me to be smart about my shaves, and not always push the shave so close. I think the combo is going to work out really well.
I don't think I'd ever be without the Gibbs set up as I have it, it's an absolutely marvelous razor.
I learned this a while back. I have a couple spots on my neck that I can get really close if I want to, but the cost is usually some wicked razor burn. It just isn't worth it sometimes. But that razor looks awesome!
HMan
Doften Savant
Back to the Apollo Light after a day off.
Apollo Light - Aggressive/PermaSharp Mild/Polsilver(Brown Box)
Soap + AS - T+S Kyoto
Brush - Paladin Cheif
Bowl lather
Time is doing the trick, after yesterday's super efficient shave, I thought I'd try to duplicate it, used the aggressive plate for the full have other than against the grain.
Something clicked as I did that ATG pass, I could just really feel the blade and blade angle in a zen like way. That carried over to the clean up, which for me includes ATG on the lower neck. The shave remained zoned in and I carefully mowed that pass down, and found there really wasn't much clean up to do. So basically the shave was even more efficient that yesterday's WIN!
Apollo Light - Aggressive/PermaSharp Mild/Polsilver(Brown Box)
Soap + AS - T+S Kyoto
Brush - Paladin Cheif
Bowl lather
Time is doing the trick, after yesterday's super efficient shave, I thought I'd try to duplicate it, used the aggressive plate for the full have other than against the grain.
Something clicked as I did that ATG pass, I could just really feel the blade and blade angle in a zen like way. That carried over to the clean up, which for me includes ATG on the lower neck. The shave remained zoned in and I carefully mowed that pass down, and found there really wasn't much clean up to do. So basically the shave was even more efficient that yesterday's WIN!
A great way to start a Sunday!
global_dev
Shave Enthusiast
I tend to be “excited” by a notification or a review of something interesting or new to me and to tell you the truth, i’m not sure how much value i find in them any more, especially when they qualify the experience and i see the volume.
For sure a data point is good and better than none (maybe) but it’s all still so personal and subjective. Its extremely hard to avoid the bias formed by experience.
HMan
Doften Savant
Thankfully I don't get full on razor burn, but lot's of redness. The Gibbs is awesome, especially with the handle upgrade.
HMan
Doften Savant
Thanks fellas!
HMan
Doften Savant
I suppose there's some value, at least to say is it total crap or not.
But yeah, it's turned into an entire industry, not speaking just shaving here, plus the paid reviews etc, you really have to put some serious error bars around the data points to factor in their reliability.
In shaving, I mean, it's all good, but I personally don't get some of the stuff I see on YouTube, I feel good about taking my time and getting to know my gear. Though there have organically been times when I wanted to up the game so to speak, it's far from a daily occurrence, and only happens when I know I've maxed out what I can get out of what I have. That was certainly the case with the razor I'm yammering on about now. It was a true upgrade in my estimation, on a lot of levels.
It's all good, I get the variety thing, but at the same time...
HMan
Doften Savant
Continuing with the Smart Helix Apollo Light, today was a real first for me, for any shave.
I went with the mild head, and a Permasharp blade. I actually felt like I could have stopped my shave after the 2nd pass today. I did finish it up, and got a great shave, but tbh the difference was minimal from pass two, to the finished result. The two pass shave always seemed a bit mythical, so this razor has now shown me two things.
A razor can make a shave last longer, and a two pass shave is possible.
Cool!
I went with the mild head, and a Permasharp blade. I actually felt like I could have stopped my shave after the 2nd pass today. I did finish it up, and got a great shave, but tbh the difference was minimal from pass two, to the finished result. The two pass shave always seemed a bit mythical, so this razor has now shown me two things.
A razor can make a shave last longer, and a two pass shave is possible.
Cool!
HMan
Doften Savant
The Apollo Light has really killed my desire to use other razors at the moment. Obviously this is very subjective, but it has the je ne sais quoi for me.
I suppose that need for something different has suddenly moved to soaps, and I'm suddenly reaching for others. Today B&M Spice.
Idk what it is with B&M, I should like this soap a lot, but truth be told, I've yet to feel I've gotten a great lather out of this formula. I forget the name, but it was the earlier 'elite' one. I enjoy the not elite formula more, easier to lather.
That might be because I value body in soap more that slickness. This stuff is really slick, but I've never been able to get great body out of it, it's always too watery for me. Today was no exception, and soap was all over the place post shave. I don't get where people say how thirsty it is, not my personal experience at all.
Part of using other soaps is all the desire to clear out the den, and get to a more minimal set up, and my preferred brand T+S is getting a bit low, need to reorder soon, but I hear there's another LE Japanese series coming out, so I'm holding off for that, sort of.
It looks like the razor minimalism is coming along, since I'm so much enjoying the Smart Helix. That, a Gibbs and a couple fo Fatips, and I'm a happy camper, for now, haha.
I suppose that need for something different has suddenly moved to soaps, and I'm suddenly reaching for others. Today B&M Spice.
Idk what it is with B&M, I should like this soap a lot, but truth be told, I've yet to feel I've gotten a great lather out of this formula. I forget the name, but it was the earlier 'elite' one. I enjoy the not elite formula more, easier to lather.
That might be because I value body in soap more that slickness. This stuff is really slick, but I've never been able to get great body out of it, it's always too watery for me. Today was no exception, and soap was all over the place post shave. I don't get where people say how thirsty it is, not my personal experience at all.
Part of using other soaps is all the desire to clear out the den, and get to a more minimal set up, and my preferred brand T+S is getting a bit low, need to reorder soon, but I hear there's another LE Japanese series coming out, so I'm holding off for that, sort of.
It looks like the razor minimalism is coming along, since I'm so much enjoying the Smart Helix. That, a Gibbs and a couple fo Fatips, and I'm a happy camper, for now, haha.
woodpusher
TSC’s International Man of Meh
Identifying clear-cut favorites should come naturally (like is happening here with the DE) rather than requiring a great deal of thought to figure out. Somehow, my ASD2 has actually jumped ahead of my Injector.
HMan
Doften Savant
Yeah, I feel like all these years of using other razors were just a build up to this.
It's so cool that the ASD2 is working out so well for you, I think the mild plate on this is similar. Get the angle right and it's superb, but it feels sort of 'technical' which I really enjoy, especially as I'm sitting here drinking my pre-wokout coffee, and admiring the smooth feel of today's shave.
It's so cool that the ASD2 is working out so well for you, I think the mild plate on this is similar. Get the angle right and it's superb, but it feels sort of 'technical' which I really enjoy, especially as I'm sitting here drinking my pre-wokout coffee, and admiring the smooth feel of today's shave.