My shave soap again this week is from the second pre-production run of Grandad's Slick 'n Creamy Shave Soap for Sensitive Skin, which is being used for the initial offering of client samples.
- Sensitive & thin skin, somewhat loose on neck
- Lots of angles and dips -- paired with a moderately tough beard
- Challenging to get a close, comfortable shave
- Cool-water rinse only, prior to lathering
- Grandad's shave soap for sensitive skin lathered with a boar brush
- (After-shave treatments are specified in each day's notes)
- The Dorco ST-300 blade is the blade of the week.
- I dusted off the Weishi 9306-F TTO razor and used that with this blade -- in addition to my usual Merkur 33 and Rimei RM2003 razors.
What I Learned this Week:
- I don't sense a great deal of difference between the Dorco ST-300 and ST-301 blades.
- The grind or coating on this ST-300 blade is just the slightest bit irritating to my skin -- not one of the best matches to my face, though not bad either.
- Alternating daily between a mild and slightly more aggressive razor is a good approach for my skin because I so easily get weeper wounds whenever I go for a very close shave, which is frequently.
- With the ST-300 blade, preferred razor heads for me continue to be mild: Weishi 9306, Merkur 33, Lord L.6, and Rimei RM2003. (Though all are mild, the preceding list is also arranged in order of relative aggressiveness from mildest to most.)
- Final two shaves of the week were with the Dorco ST-301 in the Dorco Prime razor, and though the razor is very mild, I got two of the best shaves of the week.
Next Week:
The Dorco ST-301 blade is once again on deck for next week's shaves but this week will be in the Dorco Prime razor. This will help to give a comparison of the two blades. I will also during the week, give a review on the Dorco Prime starter set.
This week's shave journal:
Sunday:Weishi 9306-F TTO razor: a very mild shave. |
Closeness details: Upper lip - 4.0; Cheeks - 4.2; Lower lip & chin - 4.5; Under jawline - 4.0; Neck - 4.0.
Rating this day's shave*: Closeness-4.14, Irritation-4.8, Wounds-4.8
Merkur Classic (33C). |
Today the ST-300 was in the Merkur 33 Classic razor. Three passes, no fussing. Better shave today with the 33 than yesterday with the 9306 -- no tugging to speak of. Finished the shave with water rinse, witch hazel rub, and Gillette lotion (white bottle) supplemented with vitamin-E oil.
Closeness details: Upper lip - 4.2; Cheeks - 4.4; Lower lip & chin - 4.5; Under jawline - 4.0; Neck - 4.1.
Rating this day's shave*: Closeness-4.24, Irritation-4.8, Wounds-4.5
Summary rating: 4.45** (Again a fair shave that seems over rated because it wasn't as close as I really like.)
Rimei RM2003 |
Closeness details: Upper lip - 4.0; Cheeks - 4.8; Lower lip & chin - 4.9; Under jawline - 4.7; Neck - 4.7.
Rating this day's shave*: Closeness-4.62, Irritation-4.5, Wounds-4.0
Summary rating: 4.44** (The most rewarding shave of the week so far, despite the mediocre wounds rating.)
L.6 razor head on the Merkur Classic handle. |
Closeness details: Upper lip - 4.3; Cheeks - 4.5; Lower lip & chin - 4.5; Under jawline - 4.2; Neck - 4.1.
Rating this day's shave*: Closeness-4.32, Irritation-4.0, Wounds-4.0
Summary rating: 4.16**
Closeness details: Upper lip - 4.0; Cheeks - 4.2; Lower lip & chin - 4.1; Under jawline - 3.5; Neck - 4.7.
Rating this day's shave*: Closeness-4.10, Irritation-4.6, Wounds-3.0
Summary rating: 3.95**
Dorco Prime razor: suspiciously similar to the Weishi 9306? |
Closeness details: Upper lip - 4.0; Cheeks - 4.7; Lower lip & chin - 4.5; Under jawline - 4.6; Neck - 4.5.
Rating this day's shave*: Closeness-4.46, Irritation-4.0, Wounds-4.0
Summary rating: 4.23** (This might be a good process for late-to-work mornings.)
Closeness details: Upper lip - 4.8; Cheeks - 4.8; Lower lip & chin - 4.6; Under jawline - 3.8; Neck - 4.7.
Rating this day's shave*: Closeness-4.54, Irritation-4.0, Wounds-4.7
Summary rating: 4.45** (In all, a really good shave.)
Closeness -- a separate evaluation is done for each of these five areas: a) upper lip, b) cheeks, c) chin, d) under jaw line, and e) neck; then these five are averaged together for a single closeness rating. The following are the scale criteria:
5 – Smooth when rubbed against grain & other directions
4 – Smooth across grain but not against grain
3 – Smooth with grain only
2 – Not smooth to touch, but appears adequately clean shaven
1 – Not smooth to touch, and stubble apparent
Irritation:
5 – No perceivable irritation
4 – Minor irritation just after the shave, disappears quickly with time or applied balm
3 – Minor irritation that lingers for more than an hour but less than six
2 – Irritation that is perceived throughout the day
1 – Visible razor burn
Wounds:
5 – Absence of any wounds
4 – Pinpoint weepers only
3 – A total of three or less nicks, small cuts, and larger-than-pinpoint weepers
2 – A total of four to six nicks, cuts, and larger-than-pinpoint weepers
1 – Worse than 2, above (first aid, quick!)
Regarding use of tenths of rating points: For closeness or irritation, each additional tenth of a rating point represents about 10% of the shaving area in question. For wounds, it represents gradations within a rating. For example, if I have, say, six pinpoint weepers only, I might give a wound rating of 4. However, if I only have one wound, which is a pinpoint weeper, that would likely get a rating of 4.9.
**Regarding the single-number overall shave rating: To give equal weight to shave closeness and harshness, I now double the shave-closeness rating, then add the values for closeness, irritation, and wounds, and divide that sum by four.
Happy shaving!
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