Matching Blades to Razors: A Different Approach

I have a fairly large inventory of blades on hand. That inventory is far from limited to a single type or brand of blade.

As I've routinely rotated through the different blades in my current cache, for quite a long time now I've noticed a significant variation in shave outcome when using different blades in the same razor.

Yet it's interesting to note that I've had a hard time sorting out exactly which blades in which razors perform optimally for me. The way I've tried to sort that out to this point is to slowly rotate through my brands/models of blades as though they were offered on a carousel. That is, I'd use a given blade until it's useful life was over, then I'd move on to the next brand/model of blade. During the use of a given blade, I'd use razors according to whim, intuition, plan, skin condition or whatever, and try to make note of what works better, what works worse.

This hasn't worked out particularly well. Sure, I have some general ideas about matching blades and razors to the day's condition of my skin, but it's all still rather vague, inchoate -- and as a result, sub optimal.

So starting with my current blade, which is the sharp Personna Super (the so-called lab-blue) blade, when this one particular one is used up, I will NOT switch to a different brand/model of blade. Instead I will choose another of the same lab-blue blades. I will continue to shave with this blade until I fully understand the nuances of combining it with various razors under various conditions.

Then and only then will I switch to a different blade, and repeat the process.

Have you done it differently? How's it working for you?

Happy shaving!

Reconciling with the Gillette Slim

A couple of weeks ago after a really bad shave with my adjustable Gillette Slim razor, I swore I was done with it. But it was like a really bad argument with one's wife; after I cooled down and reconsidered, maybe it wasn't time to divorce just yet.

I don't think my Slim will ever be my favorite shaving implement, but it does have its moments. On my skin, the Slim seems to be more blade sensitive than some of my other razors. I haven't sorted out exactly all the blades that are better or worse, but I do know that a new Personna Super (the so-called Lab Blue) blade is NOT the blade for me in this razor. I had a disastrous shave with a second-use lab blue and the razor set to a mild 3.

Yet I had a great shave with the Slim and a used Personna red label blade, the platinum-chrome blade, with the razor set to a more moderate 5.

The Slim, like any of my long-term relationships, obviously has its ups and downs.

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If you are a regular visitor at the Sharpologist.com blog, you may have noticed that I had an article published there once again about a week ago. That one was on the subject of shaving as performance art. (To easily find any of my articles, simply search the site using my last name, Hansford, as the key word.)

I also have another article on deck to be published in the near future on the challenges and curse of modern cartridge-style, multi-bladed razor designs. You might keep an eye out for it.

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Two of my regular razors remain the Merkur open-comb 15C and the Rimei RM2003 (a.k.a. on Amazon as the "Traditional Double Edge Razor"), both of which are three-piece razor designs. In terms of shaving character, I think of them as bookends around the later (after WWII) Gillette Tech razors. The 15C is slightly more mild in shave character than the Tech, and the RM2003 slightly more aggressive though skin friendly. Depending on the blade, the condition of my skin, and the closeness of shave that I seek, these three razors are the ones that I tend to use most frequently.

         

 Happy shaving!