A Near Perfect "Bakelite" Shave, Then Oops!

Today I took my morning shave with the Merkur "Bakelite" razor and a seventh-use SuperMax Titanium blade.

The "Bakelite" razor is one of the more aggressive razors in my regular stable. It has a pretty positive blade exposure (blade edge above the shave plane) as shown in the close-up photo below -- and actually the blade exposure may be more positive than illustrated because the safety bar is actually recessed a bit from the visible side of the baseplate, which means that the shave plane is a bit steeper than drawn and the blade edge more exposed.

The blade-bar span of this razor is generous as well -- again perhaps a bit more than it seems in the photo. [UPDATE: Also, the span from the blade edge to the top cap is exceptionally long as well due to the thick top cap required by the choice of plastic material rather than metal. The combination of long spans to the top cap and the safety bar magnify the effect of the positive blade exposure.] Meaning that this razor, all tolled, is a bit of a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Anyway, I got a close, flawless shave this morning until.... well, I was going for near perfection, and trying to clean up my mid neck. I was using almost horizontal strokes (that is, side to side, not vertical) to try and get very smooth on my neck. I didn't pull the skin sufficiently tight, and the blade nicked my mid neck, causing a significant weeper that required styptic pencil.

Ah well, despite my cockpit error, the shave was pretty good nonetheless.

Tomorrow I'm using another relatively aggressive razor from my stable, the Rimei RM2003 -- one of the best values in double-edge shaving. I'm interested in comparing the aggressiveness and quality of shave to the "Bakelite" razor.

           

Compared to my shave yesterday with the Gillette Slim Adjustable, this one was more aggressive, more risky owing to the greater blade exposure and the longer blade-bar span.

Stay tuned for the comparison to the Rimei RM2003.

Happy shaving!