SuperMax Titanium and Full-Swing Golf Shots

The Super-Max Titanium Blade V. the Lab Blue

I am continuing my new process of rotating blade models not with each new blade, but rather with each new package of blades, which is most often five blades. My last blade in this process was the Personna Super (the so-called Lab-Blue blade). After using several Lab-Blue blades in a row, my opinion has shifted a bit, and I now consider this blade a bit irritating and weeper-prone on my skin. I found that it gives me the most acceptable face-friendly shaves in very mild razors, though they are still a bit irritating.

Enter the Super-Max Titanium blade. After just a few shaves, I have been able to move up through my mildest razors -- the Weishi 9306-F and the Merkur 33C -- with much more face-friendly outcomes than with the Lab Blue. Tomorrow I'll be using one of my c.1948 Tech razors as the next step in seeking to maintain an optimally face-friendly shave, while at the same time looking to get closer to my ideal baby-smooth outcome.

Yet even this far into my new get-thoroughly-acquainted-with-a-blade program, I can feel the difference between the Super-Max and the Lab-blue blades. I can't say for certain which is sharper, though I suspect that the Personna is. However, clearly the combination of sharpness, edge grind and blade coating makes the Super-Max Titanium the better choice for me and my skin.

I will continue to run the Super-Max Titanium blade through its paces for the next several weeks. I will be using it in razors of ever-increasing aggression until the face-friendliness of the shave begins to decline. At that point, I'll settle on the razors that I find optimal with this blade, and I'll report on my overall conclusions.

It's Spring! Dust Off the Golf Clubs

For those of you who play golf, it's time to hit the range and tune up your game. Now, I know that there's great truth in the old saying, "Drive for show and putt for dough." However, there's also something to be said for being able to hit full-swing golf shots straight when desired, and even better, to know how to draw or fade the ball when desired.

So if you have an unwanted hook or slice and would like to cure that, there is a clearly-explained process to straighten your golf shots. Also, if you want to learn the how and why of intentionally causing your golf shots to curve in a desired direction, that info is out there as well.

There's a book, The Ultimate Slice and Hook Solution: The Final Word on How to Hit Straight in Golf, that's available in paperback or as a download-able PDF ebook.

For the paperback version, it can be seen here:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/douglas-n-hansford/the-ultimate-slice-and-hook-solution/paperback/product-5161563.html

For the ebook (PDF) version, it can be shopped here:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/douglas-n-hansford/the-ultimate-slice-and-hook-solution/ebook/product-17551077.html

This book is the result of two years of research and practice in learning to understand and fix my own intermittent (the worst kind of problem) but persistent slice -- especially off the tee. A local golf pro couldn't clearly explain to me why a golf ball curves, how the movement of the club face through impact causes the various deviations from straight-and-true flight, the swing mechanics that produce unwanted club-head movement, and how to correct the relevant flaws in swing mechanics. This book does those things in probably the most direct manner of anything out there.

If you're a golfer, this may be a book you want in your library.

Here's hoping you're hitting 'em straight and long, and happy shaving!

Coming Full Circle

A Bit of My DE Shaving History

I got interested in DE (double-edge) shaving when I came across my dad's long-abandoned Gillette Slim Adjustable razor. It was in a cabinet in my mom's home. 

This discovery led to some experimentation and research. Initially, my research was a simple Internet query for "the best DE razor." This returned a blog article (long since lost; I haven't been able to find it again) that reduced this naive question and its amazingly complex potential answer to a gross oversimplification: the blogger said that the best razor was the Merkur Classic (33C) and the best blade was the Personna Super (the USA-made lab-blue) blade.

Not knowing any better, I bought them both.

My inexperience with DE technique led to dissatisfaction with this Merkur-Personna combination, and the lab-blue blade in the Gillette Slim was certainly not an improvement at that time.  So that began a not-uncommon quest for the "best" razor-and-blade combination for me.

Coming Around Again

The past few weeks, I've returned to Personna Super blade in earnest. Also, as I've previously mentioned, these days I don't rotate through blades one after another. Instead I stick with a given brand and model of blade until I have exhausted the combinations and have thoroughly analyzed its performance in most shaving situations.

I do think that the Personna Super blade is good. It's sharp and durable. However, it's almost too sharp for my skin -- having an unrelenting tendency to open weepers despite my due care. So I've returned to some milder razors including the Merkur Classic and, most notably, the Weishi 9306-F, the mildest razor in my stable.

I have found that the 9306-F is actually the best razor for me when paired with a Personna Super blade that is new or new-ish. As the blade enters the last part of its useful life, I will switch to the Merkur Classic razor to compensate slightly for the degradation of the blade's sharpness.

This is not to say that the mild razors won't shave close. My testing has proven that with these instruments I am able to still get a close shave without much additional effort. The fact remains, however, that mild shaving character doesn't mean harmless. If I pursue the shave closeness that I prefer, I can still easily open small weepers despite my best efforts to shave carefully. These weepers tend to be tiny and often disappear without any special treatment such as the alum block or styptic pencil, but they are evidence that even mild razors with very sharp blades deserve respect and call for good shaving technique.

Back to the Front Lines

So the Merkur Classic and the Weishi 9306-F once again remain close at hand in my shaving laboratory. Previously parked with other reserves, well behind the front lines of my daily skirmish with facial stubble, they have been called up as a good tactical approach when paired with very sharp blades.

So if you have some blades in your inventory that may be a bit too sharp or with an edge grind that is just a bit too irritating for your skin, if haven't already done so, consider experimenting with a very mild razor to compensate. The Merkur Classic is one such instrument, and the Weishi 9306-F is even slightly more mild.

          

Happy shaving!