Any Wet Shavers, here?

Sid Post said:
https://lambda-razors.com/product/lambda-athena/

GK5_7043-570x570.jpg


These are really popular but, are a bit spendy for most people.
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So you got one? I almost bought both models but then, after being notified, thought better of it. I must have 18-20 razors between vintage and modern. I love everything this guy is doing right down to the case.

I posted last year (I think) that while I truly love all my various razors from 1920's open comb Gillettes to modern like my Tatara Masamune (God, is that a sweet razor), I think my absolute favorite from not only a shaving POV but, as importantly a looks and ergo pov, is Muhle's incredible Birch Bark Rocca R95 with its matching brush (I chose the synthetic version vs. silvertip) and stand. I just moments ago finished shaving with it and some AoS Lemon shaving cream (I'll be sad when I run out of that one). Interestingly, it's plate design shoots rinse water out the sides like the Athena and, I believe the Aries. Really cool if you shave the way I do (no filled basin, water on/water off to rinse).

The Muhle Rocca set:
muhle-rocca-birch-bark-stainless-steel-silvertip-fibre-set_1800x1800.jpg
 
CSG said:
So you got one? I almost bought both models but then, after being notified, thought better of it. I must have 18-20 razors between vintage and modern. I love everything this guy is doing right down to the case.
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Yep! Really nice razor too!

CSG said:
The Muhle Rocca set:
muhle-rocca-birch-bark-stainless-steel-silvertip-fibre-set_1800x1800.jpg
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I have the Muhle Rocca and Edwin Jagger 3one6 too. I really like the Rocca all-stainless model but, I just could not resist the Birch Bark 😍 version so, bought that model too!
 
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When I'm not bearded I wet shave with a safety razor. And I change blades relatively frequently. Just not worth it to stretch them out to me.

When bearded, sometimes I'll use the electric on stray cheek hairs.

In my 20s (1990s), I'd use a disposable or cartridge for weeks before switching. But I was dumb and poor.
 
Cpbkn said:
When I'm not bearded I wet shave with a safety razor. And I change blades relatively frequently. Just not worth it to stretch them out to me.

When bearded, sometimes I'll use the electric on stray cheek hairs.

In my 20s (1990s), I'd use a disposable or cartridge for weeks before switching. But I was dumb and poor.
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I got carried away buying blades a couple years ago (maybe 2500 on hand) and considering I'm not as young as I once was, I am much quicker tossing a blade after 2-3 uses where I used to hold out for 5-6. You get much better shaves with fresher blades. Duh! ;)
 
Cpbkn said:
When I'm not bearded I wet shave with a safety razor. And I change blades relatively frequently. Just not worth it to stretch them out to me.

When bearded, sometimes I'll use the electric on stray cheek hairs.

In my 20s (1990s), I'd use a disposable or cartridge for weeks before switching. But I was dumb and poor.
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Yeah, DE blades are cheap enough that I don't have to stretch it out. I use them twice & pitch them. I use them once, flip them over & use them again, then pitch them. I have enough Feathers & Wilkinsons to last me a while, but I see on Amazon that you can buy a pack of 100 blades from Astra, Wilkinson & a few others for under $10. Since I retired I only shave twice a week, so that would last me two years.

I remember my grandfather stroping the old Gilette blue blades on a piece of paper, because he didn't want to spend the money on new blades.:)
 
Ironbut said:
Yeah, DE blades are cheap enough that I don't have to stretch it out. I use them twice & pitch them. I use them once, flip them over & use them again, then pitch them. I have enough Feathers & Wilkinsons to last me a while, but I see on Amazon that you can buy a pack of 100 blades from Astra, Wilkinson & a few others for under $10. Since I retired I only shave twice a week, so that would last me two years.

I remember my grandfather stroping the old Gilette blue blades on a piece of paper, because he didn't want to spend the money on new blades.:)
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Many things make sense to stretch out, and I don’t like waste. But this one isn’t one of them - particularly as I’m bearded more often than not, I use them so infrequently.

When I retire I’ll likely stop trimming my beard more than 2x/yr!
 
Sometimes, I wish I could grow a beard that was a proper beard although I did wear a mustache for a good 30 years. But stubble drives me nuts so it has to get shaved off daily. I've read some guys flip blades and others say it doesn't do anything. I clean my razor after each shave and rinse the blade and never note which way it was when I put it back in.
 
CSG said:
Sometimes, I wish I could grow a beard that was a proper beard although I did wear a mustache for a good 30 years. But stubble drives me nuts so it has to get shaved off daily. I've read some guys flip blades and others say it doesn't do anything. I clean my razor after each shave and rinse the blade and never note which way it was when I put it back in.
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Yeah, I don't know if flipping the blade makes any difference or not, but it makes sense, so I just do it. :)

As for growing a beard. When I was in the Marines over 50 years ago, I swore that when I got out nobody was ever going to tell me to get a haircut, or shave again. Well, that didn't work out. I've had a moustache ever since, but whenever my beard started, I just couldn't stand it & I'd shave it off.. Same with long hair. When it would start growing over my ears, I was like, "Nope, nope, nope." and I'd head to the barber.
 
Ironbut said:
Yeah, I don't know if flipping the blade makes any difference or not, but it makes sense, so I just do it. :)

As for growing a beard. When I was in the Marines over 50 years ago, I swore that when I got out nobody was ever going to tell me to get a haircut, or shave again. Well, that didn't work out. I've had a moustache ever since, but whenever my beard started, I just couldn't stand it & I'd shave it off.. Same with long hair. When it would start growing over my ears, I was like, "Nope, nope, nope." and I'd head to the barber.
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We're probably in the same age range. I didn't serve in the military but was a cop in the mid 70's. Before and after that time, I had long hair. Grew the mustache at 29-30 (thanks, Magnum). After college, went into the financial world so the hair got short. Honestly, I look better with shorter hair and clean shaven, especially at my age.
 
I did testing of DE blades using my Henson Ti-22 medium and several Barrister and Mann soaps. I shaved at 2 day and 3 day intervals with each blade, with a 4 shave limit on each blade. This is absolutely non-scientific and your results will vary. Here’s the results of the blades that worked best for me. Some of them were so close that I rated them in groups.

Feather New Hi Stainless/ Persona Platinum. Definitely the best of the batch for me.
Perma Sharp/ Derby Premium/ Astra Green. Great blades, slightly lower than the top group.
Nacet/ Astra Blue/ 7 O’clock. Noticeably lower than the other two groups on my face.

Of course there are many, many more options available out there. It has been a fun journey getting back into DE shaving after 30 years of cartridge shaving. I recently swapped handles on my Ti-22 and now have an Alpha Shaving Titanium handle in use.

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drj211 said:
I did testing of DE blades using my Henson Ti-22 medium and several Barrister and Mann soaps. I shaved at 2 day and 3 day intervals with each blade, with a 4 shave limit on each blade. This is absolutely non-scientific and your results will vary. Here’s the results of the blades that worked best for me. Some of them were so close that I rated them in groups.

Feather New Hi Stainless/ Persona Platinum. Definitely the best of the batch for me.
Perma Sharp/ Derby Premium/ Astra Green. Great blades, slightly lower than the top group.
Nacet/ Astra Blue/ 7 O’clock. Noticeably lower than the other two groups on my face.

Of course there are many, many more options available out there. It has been a fun journey getting back into DE shaving after 30 years of cartridge shaving. I recently swapped handles on my Ti-22 and now have an Alpha Shaving Titanium handle in use.

View attachment 2428866
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I have all of those blades and a few more. In the same razor, I find I cannot tell a whit of difference between them. For me, it's the razor that makes a difference, not the blades. I think I mentioned up thread that I've got 13-15 razors in rotation going back to some early 20's Gillete OC to a Tatara Masamune. Maybe because I've been shaving this way for so long, it just all melds together. I can tell differences in razors, brushes, soaps and creams but not blades.
 
For me, this is why it's important to check. I've talked to guys who blind tested blades and decided certain blades worked best for them, but for me the results were different (I didn't blind test, but still tried to be as honest as I could.) for me Gillete silver blue, or 7 o'clock black (or blue) do me the best, where derby and astra beat me up. I loved Pol-Silvers back when I could get them, and I have a handle that loves Gillette chrome platinum. I get an amazing shave from Feathers, but I have to be super careful, and because I also do my scalp, I don't risk them there. Other guys don't like the blades that I seem to have good luck with, so for me it's proof that some guys are brand loyal to their own detriment, and some are honest, and the more diverse the opinion, the more honest they probably are. And to be fair, the day matters and how much growth, how long you take with prep and how rushed you are all make a difference as well. I think we all find the "variable window" that works best for us, as we all go about our lives. The point is, a good shave can be had, and if you've only tried one blade/handle/prep combo and didn't like it, change a bit and give it time.
 
When I started wet shaving, I tested a wide variety of blades to see which worked best for me. I also did quite a bit of reading on other shaving sites to see what they experienced. Here is some of what I learned. Blade response is only partly due to the blade itself, steel, coated vs uncoated, etc. Other factors affecting performance include whisker hardness, skin type, soap vs cream, water hardness, etc. For example, a person who grew up outdoors and has tanned/leathered skin is likely to have a different blade response than someone who grew up indoors and has much softer skin. Different water hardness can effect the lather that is created, which in turn, affects blade performance. As a result, what is best for one may be worst for another. We're all an experiment of one and need to do our own testing. We can give recommendations of things to try, but cannot expect others to have the same results we have. We also have to keep in mind the passing of time. What had once worked best may not a decade later if any of the above factors have changed during that time. For me, I like Feather. But, I also did well with the very inexpensive Ladas. Once you figure out which you like, you can then buy in batches of 100 to save on cost.
 
Save for using a Feather in my Feather AS-D2, which is normally my favorite combo, if I put a Feather in my Gillette Old Type, that shave will be far more aggressive. If I put that same Feather in a milder razor or adjustable like my 1961 195 AKA Fatboy, that blade feels the same. I've used every blade mentioned in this thread with different razors and it's the razor, not the blade that I can feel.

As to hard water, we have it. I've read so many laments on successfully using Mitchell's Wool Fat with hard water and don't understand that either. I use it frequently with boar, badger, or synth brushes and all you need to do is get enough water to the soap and Bob's your uncle,
 
How many of you gentlemen use straight razors? After 20 years of smaller ones I've just moved to 7/8 brute and I'm having slight troubles with it. Learning curve I guess but I'm not getting particularly clean result and sometimes clean up with a disposable blade
 
CSG said:
So you got one? I almost bought both models but then, after being notified, thought better of it. I must have 18-20 razors between vintage and modern. I love everything this guy is doing right down to the case.

I posted last year (I think) that while I truly love all my various razors from 1920's open comb Gillettes to modern like my Tatara Masamune (God, is that a sweet razor), I think my absolute favorite from not only a shaving POV but, as importantly a looks and ergo pov, is Muhle's incredible Birch Bark Rocca R95 with its matching brush (I chose the synthetic version vs. silvertip) and stand. I just moments ago finished shaving with it and some AoS Lemon shaving cream (I'll be sad when I run out of that one). Interestingly, it's plate design shoots rinse water out the sides like the Athena and, I believe the Aries. Really cool if you shave the way I do (no filled basin, water on/water off to rinse).

The Muhle Rocca set:
muhle-rocca-birch-bark-stainless-steel-silvertip-fibre-set_1800x1800.jpg
Click to expand...
I have this same Muhle, except with the silvertip. It really is stunning and performs as well as it looks. I run Astras and James of Old Bond Street Sandalwood cream. Great way to start the day!
 
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