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Stirling 3 piece DEs
- Thread starter uacowboy
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gvw755
0
Hey @Dave in KY, you don't have to call 911, as I am alive and posting this report.
Second shave with the Stirling (Widow Maker) HA. Maybe not an appropriate nickname as I am no longer married. Learning from my first shave last night, I went back and studied what was going on. I even took a picture of the head (the one I posted last night) and realized two things:
1. The blade was sticking outward instead of downward and,
2. there was a gap between the blade and base plate that could fit the rabbits that made residence in my back yard.
Keeping this in mind, tonight's strategy was to use this razor as a devette, riding the cap and not even bothering to use the base plate. Also, using short, deliberate strokes and stretching loose skin helped me through this shave. I ended up with a two pass near BBS shave tonight, however, like last night, I could not quite achieve a complete BBS because the very short stubble that was left over could not be cleared away by buffing or applying some pressure.
The HA does deliver a close enough shave, however the effort needed to achieve one is not worth it, especially when a CG Lvl3 achieves better results with less effort.
Well, I survived the HA (maybe Stirling should sell T-shirts with that printed on the front), and tomorrow I move on to the ST.
Second shave with the Stirling (Widow Maker) HA. Maybe not an appropriate nickname as I am no longer married. Learning from my first shave last night, I went back and studied what was going on. I even took a picture of the head (the one I posted last night) and realized two things:
1. The blade was sticking outward instead of downward and,
2. there was a gap between the blade and base plate that could fit the rabbits that made residence in my back yard.
Keeping this in mind, tonight's strategy was to use this razor as a devette, riding the cap and not even bothering to use the base plate. Also, using short, deliberate strokes and stretching loose skin helped me through this shave. I ended up with a two pass near BBS shave tonight, however, like last night, I could not quite achieve a complete BBS because the very short stubble that was left over could not be cleared away by buffing or applying some pressure.
The HA does deliver a close enough shave, however the effort needed to achieve one is not worth it, especially when a CG Lvl3 achieves better results with less effort.
Well, I survived the HA (maybe Stirling should sell T-shirts with that printed on the front), and tomorrow I move on to the ST.
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
Good news glad you survived and didn't need a 911 call. Looking forward to what your thoughts are on the standard.
gvw755
0
First shave tonight with the ST version of the Stirling. As soon as I started my WTG pass, I immediately noticed that there was still significant blade feel. Not as much as the HA, but still significant. After the WTG pass, I felt around my face before lathering for my ATG pass and found a lot of stubble left. For my ATG pass, I immediately went back to the riding the cap mode of last night. Maybe not as severe as treating it like a devette (only because the guard was closer), but definitely with as little guard as possible. Once again after two passes, I had a near BBS. This time, I tried buffing and skin stretching and dry touch up and the ST was better at doing that. This was definitely a better shave, however it just seems to me that significant blade feel was part of the design, but shave efficiency was not. I will attempt one more shave with the ST tomorrow and then drop it in the mail for the next victim participant.
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
Similar finding's for me Les. Nice review
gvw755
0
Second and final shave with the Stirling ST tonight. After my experience the previous night, I tried using a shave angle that still rode the cap mostly, but lowered it enough for the safety bar to gently rest on my face for the WTG pass. Blade feel was still significant, but not as much as the night before. I still used slow and deliberate strokes, and I did end up with a slightly more efficient pass than last night. For the ATG pass, I was able to actually rest the bar against my face . I still had to stretch my skin and buff a little, which produced slightly better results. I ended up doing an XTG pass along my jaw line and under my chin area and ended up with a BBS. Definitely the ST is capable of giving a smooth and efficient shave.
My overall assessment of both the Stirling HA and ST razors is as follows:
First of all, the quality of the build, fit, and finish are top notch. Even the travel kit it came in was outstanding.
The handles were not the friendliest handles. They were very unique in design, and the angled areas where there wasn't knurling was a great idea, mostly because it allowed a firm grip in areas the knurling didn't cover and where my fingers went. The bad part was that many areas of the handle where my fingers usually rested lacked knurling. Of the two, I prefer the handle with the knurling on the bottom because it allowed a natural low grip, which helped guide a heavy head. the handle with the knurling on top did not appeal to me because it was in an area where I did not naturally grip.
As for the heads, the blade seating being a bar along the base plate took some time to adjust to. I prefer the regular way of having the blade seat in the cap only because it is easier to position the base plate and screw on the handle. Still, the RR GC and Mamba, and the Gillette Goodwills align the blade on the base plate, but they use pins and not a bar. This is not a deal breaker, just something to get used to. The cap with the grooves was a nice touch, but did not lend much to the shave.
What I really did not like about the design of the heads were that the guard was just squared off without any type of taper. This did not allow for the bar to assist much in the shave. Also the curve of the base plate clamping the blade allowed the bade edge to stick outward instead of downward. For the HA, that and the huge space between the blade and the guard made for a situation that was prone to cuts and weepers for those not careful (and even for those that were).
Personally, I saw the HA as one of those razors that fall into the Paqui Chip category (which we all know about) where it was made just to say it it the most aggressive razor ever. The ST also had significant blade feel, but was in the higher end of the mid range. I believe that both razors missed the point. Both had significant blade feel and were aggressive, however I believe that razors should be efficient and not necessarily aggressive, and YES I believe there is a real difference between the two. Excellent example is the RR Mamba and GC series where you don't even feel the blade when you shave with them, however after two passes, you have a BBS without even enough stubble to touch up with. The Stirling razors missed that, although the ST came close. To be honest, a lot of the new razors coming out recently also missed that (which is why I have them on BST right now).
Monday, the razors will be moving on to the next person. I think the best part of this pass around is that it helped me decide that I wasn't interested in either razor when they came out, but have one in mind to give to a wetshaver that manages to piss me off enough.
My overall assessment of both the Stirling HA and ST razors is as follows:
First of all, the quality of the build, fit, and finish are top notch. Even the travel kit it came in was outstanding.
The handles were not the friendliest handles. They were very unique in design, and the angled areas where there wasn't knurling was a great idea, mostly because it allowed a firm grip in areas the knurling didn't cover and where my fingers went. The bad part was that many areas of the handle where my fingers usually rested lacked knurling. Of the two, I prefer the handle with the knurling on the bottom because it allowed a natural low grip, which helped guide a heavy head. the handle with the knurling on top did not appeal to me because it was in an area where I did not naturally grip.
As for the heads, the blade seating being a bar along the base plate took some time to adjust to. I prefer the regular way of having the blade seat in the cap only because it is easier to position the base plate and screw on the handle. Still, the RR GC and Mamba, and the Gillette Goodwills align the blade on the base plate, but they use pins and not a bar. This is not a deal breaker, just something to get used to. The cap with the grooves was a nice touch, but did not lend much to the shave.
What I really did not like about the design of the heads were that the guard was just squared off without any type of taper. This did not allow for the bar to assist much in the shave. Also the curve of the base plate clamping the blade allowed the bade edge to stick outward instead of downward. For the HA, that and the huge space between the blade and the guard made for a situation that was prone to cuts and weepers for those not careful (and even for those that were).
Personally, I saw the HA as one of those razors that fall into the Paqui Chip category (which we all know about) where it was made just to say it it the most aggressive razor ever. The ST also had significant blade feel, but was in the higher end of the mid range. I believe that both razors missed the point. Both had significant blade feel and were aggressive, however I believe that razors should be efficient and not necessarily aggressive, and YES I believe there is a real difference between the two. Excellent example is the RR Mamba and GC series where you don't even feel the blade when you shave with them, however after two passes, you have a BBS without even enough stubble to touch up with. The Stirling razors missed that, although the ST came close. To be honest, a lot of the new razors coming out recently also missed that (which is why I have them on BST right now).
Monday, the razors will be moving on to the next person. I think the best part of this pass around is that it helped me decide that I wasn't interested in either razor when they came out, but have one in mind to give to a wetshaver that manages to piss me off enough.
Wait a minute do I see victim crossed out.lol for some reason I almost see my name there, hmm
It's a good thing I found this thread
I decided to start with the ST razor because I only had one day of growth, and I've been battling this Zingari Man soap the last couple of shaves.
I usually do about a half of a bowl lather and finish it up on my face, so are used about three times the soap that I normally do because I've been getting a weak lather.
I loaded up the razor with a two or three use feather, I lost count in the package with my dots indicating the number of shaves. Sometimes I can tell a difference between the second and third shave on a feather, due to my tough whiskers.
I did at 3 pass shave with some touch up like always around the lower neck how much depends on the razor and the protection of the soap.
It went pretty good the first 2 passes fairly efficient it seem from just 1 shave.
When I went against the grain it was not as comfortable as some shaves. This confort level could be my soap or the slightly used blade not sure at this point. It was as smooth as the majority of razors,give or take so I wouldn't hold that against the Stirling ST razor.
I was using the handle with the knurling toward the razor head, whichever one that was, I'll try to show a picture. I got along with the handle it's a pretty nice handle in my opinion. A lot of times I will swap out of handle for a titanium that's a little bit different weight and balance, but the balance part doesn't really seem to bother me, for some reason, like a lot of fellows.
I ended up with a pretty good shave though with all things considered. I'll give it another go tonight on a one-day growth shave.
I usually do about a half of a bowl lather and finish it up on my face, so are used about three times the soap that I normally do because I've been getting a weak lather.
I loaded up the razor with a two or three use feather, I lost count in the package with my dots indicating the number of shaves. Sometimes I can tell a difference between the second and third shave on a feather, due to my tough whiskers.
I did at 3 pass shave with some touch up like always around the lower neck how much depends on the razor and the protection of the soap.
It went pretty good the first 2 passes fairly efficient it seem from just 1 shave.
When I went against the grain it was not as comfortable as some shaves. This confort level could be my soap or the slightly used blade not sure at this point. It was as smooth as the majority of razors,give or take so I wouldn't hold that against the Stirling ST razor.
I was using the handle with the knurling toward the razor head, whichever one that was, I'll try to show a picture. I got along with the handle it's a pretty nice handle in my opinion. A lot of times I will swap out of handle for a titanium that's a little bit different weight and balance, but the balance part doesn't really seem to bother me, for some reason, like a lot of fellows.
I ended up with a pretty good shave though with all things considered. I'll give it another go tonight on a one-day growth shave.
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
Nice and similar thoughts to mine with it. Nice first outing 
Dave I'm working my way up to the big boy, plus waiting for that two days of growth.Nice and similar thoughts to mine with it. Nice first outing
Second shave with the ST razor.
Perma sharp blade, in the gold pack first use.
DG milksteak soap.
Basic three pass shave with plenty of chasing especially below the jawline.
Well this with the smoother shave than the last one I'm going to say that's mostly the Declaration Grooming soap.
There was still plenty of blade feel involved, but I didn't do a lot of the gets the grain on the below jawline area that just wasn't happening on this shave just a little bit too painful, because those whiskers are tough and resistant.
That's about the extent of that shave next go-round will be with the big boy HA.
Perma sharp blade, in the gold pack first use.
DG milksteak soap.
Basic three pass shave with plenty of chasing especially below the jawline.
Well this with the smoother shave than the last one I'm going to say that's mostly the Declaration Grooming soap.
There was still plenty of blade feel involved, but I didn't do a lot of the gets the grain on the below jawline area that just wasn't happening on this shave just a little bit too painful, because those whiskers are tough and resistant.
That's about the extent of that shave next go-round will be with the big boy HA.
Lol, You're so thoughtful.@Keto, same deal as between me and Dave. I have your address. If we don't get a shave report from you on the HA by tomorrow, I will call 911 in your area.
Hold of on that I'm dragging myself up from the sink. I think I survived it just now, catching my breath from holding it through the shave, I'll post it later or earlier AM.
3rd shave was with the HA Stirling.
Blade:Gillette sharp edge (yellow)
Soap: A&E Kaizen
I eased into this shave with ole big boy razor HA.
The razor was taking care of business and did a great job the first pass, got about as close as any razor has in one pass.
2nd pass was a hybrid XTG/ATG . I say hybrid because I wanted to go against the grain but on some areas my whiskers were so tough and resilient all I was getting was Major hop out of the razor no matter what blade angle and that wasn't going to end up good so I changed to across my hybrid across the grain ATG and was able to keep going. I'm supposing this is because of my tough whiskers the grab, exposure and all of this aggressive razor. A lot of razors give me a little bit of this at times some I can lather exceptionally heavy and get through it but not this one, this shave, nope. On the positive note going slightly against the grain in those areas was enough to bring the whiskers down to very smooth level quickly which I like.
Some of my below the jawline shaving was pretty good considering how aggressive the razor. On other below the jawline places I just had to switch my angle and sneak into the ATG with varying degrees of whisker attack.
I ended up with a couple of tiny weepers but we're not talking about my eyes.lol
Actually had like two tiny weepers but sometimes you have to break some eggs to make an omelet. ( Mmm Omelet)
This morning after waking up my face is still very smooth with a tad ( very very little)bit more hair below the jawline than I went to bed with, but I'd go anywhere with this shave at the moment and be clean shaven.
Blade:Gillette sharp edge (yellow)
Soap: A&E Kaizen
I eased into this shave with ole big boy razor HA.
The razor was taking care of business and did a great job the first pass, got about as close as any razor has in one pass.
2nd pass was a hybrid XTG/ATG . I say hybrid because I wanted to go against the grain but on some areas my whiskers were so tough and resilient all I was getting was Major hop out of the razor no matter what blade angle and that wasn't going to end up good so I changed to across my hybrid across the grain ATG and was able to keep going. I'm supposing this is because of my tough whiskers the grab, exposure and all of this aggressive razor. A lot of razors give me a little bit of this at times some I can lather exceptionally heavy and get through it but not this one, this shave, nope. On the positive note going slightly against the grain in those areas was enough to bring the whiskers down to very smooth level quickly which I like.
Some of my below the jawline shaving was pretty good considering how aggressive the razor. On other below the jawline places I just had to switch my angle and sneak into the ATG with varying degrees of whisker attack.
I ended up with a couple of tiny weepers but we're not talking about my eyes.lol
Actually had like two tiny weepers but sometimes you have to break some eggs to make an omelet. ( Mmm Omelet)
This morning after waking up my face is still very smooth with a tad ( very very little)bit more hair below the jawline than I went to bed with, but I'd go anywhere with this shave at the moment and be clean shaven.
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gvw755
0
@Keto, glad I did not have to call 911 in your town.
Your experience and assessment is very similar to mine (except I did not come away with weepers, just frazzled nerves). It seems that this razor was built for aggression and not necessarily efficiency. Like you, most of my face was very smooth, however certain areas had stubble that the razor could not remove unless you did things like buffing or slight pressure, which you did not want to do with this razor. I think when TSC hits it's next membership benchmark, forget the paqui chips and go with one shave from this razor.
Now just one (or 5) more shaves with this guy and you're good to go.
Your experience and assessment is very similar to mine (except I did not come away with weepers, just frazzled nerves). It seems that this razor was built for aggression and not necessarily efficiency. Like you, most of my face was very smooth, however certain areas had stubble that the razor could not remove unless you did things like buffing or slight pressure, which you did not want to do with this razor. I think when TSC hits it's next membership benchmark, forget the paqui chips and go with one shave from this razor.
Now just one (or 5) more shaves with this guy and you're good to go.
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
I too had the feeling of it skipping or having trouble cutting thru on atg passes but hesitated to say it was my tough whiskers as some will boo poo it and say it's an excuse for poor technique. I think my first video I eluded to it and checked for the blade flex it has from the wide gap. Nice review
You might want to stand by with that 911 call to my local emergency responders/volunteer fire department. I think I'll try to get one more whisker fight with this Sterling HA. This thing does have some aggression.@Keto, glad I did not have to call 911 in your town.
Your experience and assessment is very similar to mine (except I did not come away with weepers, just frazzled nerves). It seems that this razor was built for aggression and not necessarily efficiency. Like you, most of my face was very smooth, however certain areas had stubble that the razor could not remove unless you did things like buffing or slight pressure, which you did not want to do with this razor. I think when TSC hits it's next membership benchmark, forget the paqui chips and go with one shave from this razor.
Now just one (or 5) more shaves with this guy and you're good to go.
Seems like even the best Ridgid blade holding razors might give me little shuffling Skips, at times AGT. This one was by far the longest skip distance, he's like a long jumper.lol
I'm sure there's a lot of people that have better technique than me, Dave from watching your videos I don't see how anybody could knock your technique, it seemed to me like you had your routine down. I'm probably like a bull in a China closet.lol
I'm close to two and a half years into this DE wet shaving. I've been very fortunate to try several different nice razors, but it's fun.
I do think that probably that blade Gap and how far out the blade is clamped is a big part of my discomfort AGT with the plate skip, bounce, jump. cartwheel. Well not cartwheel you get the point.lol
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
^^^^This^^^^
4th shave was with the HA.
Soap: Sterling Barbershop
Blade : Gillette sharp edge ( yellow)(2)
Brush: synthetic
Briefly this shape went pretty good.
Three pass shave WGT and XTG went pretty well, just pretty much went with some good deliberate strokes and of course very little pressure.
The third pass AGT is where I've learned not to try exactly against the grain, until just before the shave is over, if that makes sense.
When I go directly against the grain I get hop and bounce of the razor which just won't work. If I sneak in at a direction that's less than against the grain but not across,I can get the hair off pretty well.
All these things into account I got a pretty good shave, so probably not the most comfortable.
Soap: Sterling Barbershop
Blade : Gillette sharp edge ( yellow)(2)
Brush: synthetic
Briefly this shape went pretty good.
Three pass shave WGT and XTG went pretty well, just pretty much went with some good deliberate strokes and of course very little pressure.
The third pass AGT is where I've learned not to try exactly against the grain, until just before the shave is over, if that makes sense.
When I go directly against the grain I get hop and bounce of the razor which just won't work. If I sneak in at a direction that's less than against the grain but not across,I can get the hair off pretty well.
All these things into account I got a pretty good shave, so probably not the most comfortable.