Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Why Two Razors for a Two-rriffic Shave, if the First Razor is an Adjustable?

My current-best shaving process is a two-pass process using different razors for each pass -- see yesterday's article, "Two Razors, Two Passes: Two-rriffic!".
The Weishi 9306-F, shown above, has a
milder shaving character  than the Gillette
Slim Adjustable even on its lowest setting.

The idea is to use a more aggressive razor for the first, with-grain pass. Then use a safer, more-mild razor for the second, against-grain pass.

This begs the question: "Hey, goofball, you're using an adjustable razor for the first pass! Why not just dial it down for the second pass and skip the second razor?!"

Goofball replies: "The Gillette Slim Adjustable razor doesn't dial down mild enough to safely and comfortably shave against grain with my second pass. It may be hard to believe, but it's true. The Weishi 9306-F is a superior choice as a second-pass, against-grain razor because it's milder than the Slim set to one. Yet it is capable of shaving pretty close in this situation."

I, personally, believe that the lack of exceptional mildness in the Slim's adjustment range is because its designers only envisioned users taking a standard shave -- that is, a one-pass shave -- and, given that intention, the lowest setting of the Slim is mild enough to accommodate even the most sensitive of skin when taking a single with-grain-pass shave, but not, in my case, against grain.

Happy shaving!
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9 comments:

  1. Stephen McGuireSeptember 1, 2015 at 6:59 AM

    Interesting points, might give that a try just for fun. ATG with my pre-war tech is too much, might be ok with my 40's Gold Tech.

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    Replies
    1. Doug NealSeptember 1, 2015 at 7:13 AM

      My gold, c.1948 Tech wasn't mild enough for my skin on an against-grain second pass, but, of course, that's just me. It consistently left a few weepers.

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    2. Stephen McGuireSeptember 1, 2015 at 7:32 AM

      Good point, I have a later travel tech that might be milder as well. Worth thinking about :)

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    3. Doug NealSeptember 1, 2015 at 7:51 AM

      I hope it works for you; I've been unable to distinguish the shave character of my 1965 travel Tech and my c.1948 Tech. Certainly the Weishi and likely its different-brand fraternal twins (Dorco, Van Der Hagen, and MicroTouch One) seem to be uniquely mild, and work for me as a second-pass, against-grain instrument.

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    4. Doug NealSeptember 1, 2015 at 7:54 AM

      Uhhh, I meant to say "...unable to distinguish between the shave character...". Also, I can personally testify that the Weishi 9306 and the Dorco TTO are essentially of the same shave character. I ASSUME that the VDH and MTO are also the same, but, of course, assumptions aren't guarantees.

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    5. Joseph DicksonSeptember 6, 2015 at 1:35 PM

      Ah, that combo makes perfect sense now. I think I may try this method with my Muhle R41 and Parker 22R.

      Delete
  2. Stephen McGuireSeptember 1, 2015 at 8:27 AM

    Tried my '65 (K2) travel tech for both shaves on my ATT Atlas, I think it's close to the 40's gold Tech (I don't know the specific year). I'm pretty satisfied with the Gold Tech for both passes (WTG & XTG) it's not extremely close and a bit more forgiving than my Pre-War Tech so I'll stick with it for a while. At this point I don't have enough room in the cabinet for two razors for different passes.

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  3. Joseph DicksonSeptember 6, 2015 at 2:35 PM

    Tried it with the Muhle R41 for the first pass followed by the Parker 22R for the second against the grain. Works perfectly. Cutting the 3rd pass out also limits on soap irritation.

    Also did a head shave using the same process. Works almost as well.

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  4. dimeSeptember 6, 2015 at 7:40 PM

    I never would have have thought to use a second milder razor for a final ATG pass. I'd all but given up on doing ATG shaving with the irritation I typically get. Will have to try it and see how it goes!

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