Share your shave of the day!
December 16, 2023
- Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts w/Maggard SHD 30mm Fan
- Razor: Fatip Classic Testina Gentile
- Blade: Personna Lab Blue (5)
- Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Varen - Soap
- Post Shave: Barrister & Mann - Lyssa - Aftershave
- Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Mood Indigo - Balm
- Fragrance: Eau Factory - Noble - EdT
Nice shave. I like this knot a lot. It’s more gelled than I remember. I typically don’t like gelly knots but this one feels great.
The frag is a cheapo from Lidl. It’s a dupe of something, probably.
That sounds like a lot of badger! I’ve tried to Maggard SHD knots and liked both a lot. I wonder how such a big one feels.
Varen++;
Mindigo++;The story behind this knot is that I bought a 28mm to fill a “reject” Dogwood handle. The knot did not fit the handle, and after measuring with calipers I figured it was a 30mm. Brad offered to send another 28mm which would hopefully fit and said sometimes the factory in China messes up the size. In the end, I decided to keep it and used a Dremel to embiggen the handle hole, and now it’s one of my favorites. I have a 28mm also, which measures closer to 28mm, and I prefer this larger one.
I did that to a Rubberset 400 to hold a 26 mm knot. It became a great brush, too
December 16, 2023
- Brush: Zenith r/Wetshaving 31mm x 57mm Moar Boar
- Razor: GEM Micromatic Flying Wing
- Blade: Personna Gem PTFE (2)
- Lather: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag - Soap
- Toner: Thayers - Lemon - Toner
- Aftershave: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag - Aftershave
- Fragrance: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag - Eau de Parfum
- Talc: Yardley Gold
2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.
It is nice to bring out the Stag every once in a while, and I enjoyed the trifecta today. However, only the dog and I seem to like this scent.
To me, the Flying Wing is more form than function. I find it to be too mild a razor. I can get a great shave from it, but it does not have that wonderful blade feel that I love about the MMOC, and I can’t help but compare them. I was inspired to use this by @djundjila’s 7-day Micromatic tour, and it will likely stay on the shelf unless MMMMFF becomes a thing again.
To me, the Flying Wing […] I find it to be too mild a razor.
I’m on record with a similar (but over-the-top) statement: “The Micromatic Flying Wing has the same mechanism and is beautiful, but unfortunately it’s so mild you can barely get a shave out of it.”, but I later ate my words 😅
After using it for a while it became one of my favourite razors, and it’s one of the few razors I have two of (one gold plated, and one chrome)
MMMMFF
❤️ I miss those!
After using it for a while it became one of my favourite razors
I wonder how you feel about its mildness now that you have put in so many hours using straights. My technique provided a comfortable BBS shave today but I have grown accustomed to much more blade feel. As you mentioned in one of your SOTDs, it is arguably the best looking Micromatic and while I was using it today, I was wondering how DEs ever took over. I see no benefit to a DE over a Micromatic SE.
I don’t really think of it as a mild razor any longer. It just has a different geometry than the MMOC and Clog-Pruf (which are very similar IMO), and it took me a minute to adjust.
wonder how you feel about […] mildness now
I rudely changed your question to answer with an observation: I don’t think mild and aggressive are super helpful categories, because even mild razors will give you a bad irritation if you don’t do your homework. I used to think of the safety bar as a mix of safety belt (doesn’t help avoid accidents, but helps in case of an accident) and training wheels (does help avoid accidents).
Now, I think of it as a mix of safety belt (not a nuisance) and training wheels (very much a nuisance).
On the spectrum between safety belt and training wheels , a training-wheel-like razor is one where the safety bar gets in the way of a good shave. The Merkur 34c is on the edge of that category for me, for instance. The Flying Wing isn’t, I get to feel and hear the blade without interference from the safety bar.
I see no benefit to a DE over a Micromatic SE.
100% agree. But then again, one can get a great shave from a DE too, and before Gillette adjustables, DE razors were probably much cheaper to manufacture than Micromatics?
Now, I think of it as a mix of safety belt (not a nuisance) and training wheels (very much a nuisance).
Yeah, interesting analogy, and spot-on IMO. The training wheels aspect can be overdone. The Henson razor is a design that exemplifies this I think; safety to the detriment of technique development. (Again, IMO. Judging from what I see in pictures). I became aware of technique during my first bout with straight razor shaving years ago. Admittedly, I really didn’t focus on it until I took up wetshaving as a hobby. That was a big mistake.
DE razors were probably much cheaper to manufacture than Micromatics?
This is certainly true about 3-piece razors, but I think the “big win” was with the band steel used for DE blades. There’s less steel mass to each blade and almost zero cost to machining both sides of the band. I’m not sure how the user benefits from this. I guess it was a greater benefit to manufacturers than anyone else. I’ve heard many times that Gillette made razors in order to sell blades.
Again, IMO. Judging from what I see in pictures
You’re right. If you want to confirm your suspicion for yourself, I’d be happy to loan you my Henson mild.
I’ve heard many times that Gillette made razors in order to sell blades.
I think that works for every blade format of Gillette except the DE blade, which was very quickly copied and Gillette had to compete unlike the later monopolies on patented cartridges.
I think the “big win” was with the band steel used for DE blades
GEM did that too with the double edge Micromatic blades. Single, spineless piece of band steel with an edge on either side and relatively simple cutouts.
Injector blades are single edge, but very narrow and probably don’t use much more steel per edge that DE blades of the time (they weren’t thin like today).
If you take into account that people used to hone even disposable blades to save money, the GEM format has a huge advantage over DE: if you sharpen a DE blade many times, the edge disappears behind the top cap and becomes useless. A GEM blade can be filed down several millimetres before the mechanism doesn’t push it all the way to the blade stops anymore.
I think the victory or the DE blade might be due to non-technical reasons. Better marketing and early market penetration?
Anecdotally, I’ve bought an MMOC with an old blade in it that had been honed so many times that it had a very obvious frown
Saturday Morning
- Brush: Chisel & Hound Gulf 26mm Maggard Premuim Boar Knot
- Razor: Karve Shaving Co. Overlander
- Blade: Gillette 7 O’Clock Super Stainless (Green) [9]
- Lather: Catie’s Bubbles - Saturday Morning - Soap
- Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Atomic Holiday - Aftershave
- Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Alive - Eau de Parfum
It was a very colorful shave, and I wish I’d gotten a picture in the rush to leave this morning.
Rating: 4/5
Saturday, December 16, 2023
- Prep: hot shower
- Brush: Yaqi 24mm Naples Tuxedo Knot (synthetic)
- Razor: Gillette Ball-end Tech K4 (1965)
- Blade: Gillette Silver Blue (1)
- Lather: Wholly Raw - Monaco Royale - Premium Shaving Soap
- Post Shave: Wholly Raw - Monaco Royale - Artisan Aftershave Balm
A rare late-in-the-day shave for me today. Was nice and relaxing.
Micromatic 7/7
- Brush: Boti Motherlode knot in laminated wooden handle, 30mm
- Razor: GEM Micromatic Clog-Pruf Peerless (gen 2)
- Blade: Personna GEM PTFE (1)
- Lather: Turtleship Te Java
- Aftershave: Spearhead Shaving Company Seaforth! Black Watch
- Fragrance: Imaginary Authors Saint Julep
This Micromatic tour was a great reminder of how great this line of razors really is. For some reason, safety razor technology seems to have peaked there, and I’m glad that the GEM blade format is still being manufactured.
Today’s was a sweet-leaning warm gourmand fragrance combo that I could happily repeat anytime
@djundjila@sub.wetshaving.social @wetshavingadmin @djundjila@wetshaving.social
St. Julep is on my list for test. Never smelled it yet.
I have an almost full tester of it that I won’t use. I’d be happy to send it to you.
That’s very nice of you and would have liked to take advantage of your offer. I am in regular exchange with a friend who has several bottles of IA. I will get samples from him after Christmas. Nevertheless, thank you very much!
You’re welcome!
😶😮
