Thread: How does your skin differ between a great razor and a good one?

Originally Posted by BobH

The difference for me, shaving daily, is a great razor leaves me with very little to no irritation and a good one leaves me with just a touch more irritation. Irritation is not redness but a bit of sting from the alum block post shave that disappears almost immediately. The difference is cured most times by a touch up. It has nothing to do with the HHT, I don't use that, or grind.

Bob

There's was a tiny bit more sting with the blade I honed, but hardly worth mentioning. Basically equivalent.

"YMMV! What a wonderful phrase

YMMV! Ain't no passing craze

It means no worries for the rest of your days

It's our problem-free philosophy

YMMV! "

(Sung to the tune of Hakuna Matata)


You are trying to qualify and quantify something that changes from face to face,,

Sooner or latter you will get what we refer to as a WOW shave, a certain razor combined with the right honing comes together on your face with the proper prep, so that when you do the first opening stroke you actually go WOW !!!!!

Then as you get better and better at narrowing down the type of razor you like and the type of hone that makes it sing and the prep that works best for you, those WOW shaves become elusive again because you have upped the whole playing field...


The search never ends for the hobbyist, it ends at a close comfortable shave with the shaver....

This is all subjective but for me its the combination of a lot of things. First, certain razors simply feel better on my face than others. I had Filarmonica and never really cared much for it. It shaved well but didn't feel great against my face. However, all of my Wade and Butchers feel great. The most prized of the lot is my W&B FBU wedge. It plows over stubble with real authority. And yet it feels really smooth. When I got it, it had been honed on JNAT. Since then I have re-honed it using my Norton 4/8 and the Naniwai 12K. It still feels great and shaves the same way. I used it yesterday on a 3 day beard and today at 12.30 I can still just barely feel the stubble popping through the surface of my skin. Others that come to mind are my TI's. They also knock down stubble like no other. The great razors seem to leave me thinking "are you serious.....its gone already?" After that second pass, you're thinking that this razor is more efficient than the rest. And of course the feel in your hand is part of it. My Fiodurs also come to mind. However, I also have an old Henckle that is not stainless and has a rather pronounced smile. It takes a super sharp edge but there is something about the smile in the blade that leaves behind stubble and can easily irritate the skin during a shave. Its not a bad razor but it doesn't leave the impression that the others do or feel as good either. While I use and enjoy many razors, my greatest shaves come from heavier grind razors. But in the end, a razor that takes a great edge, shaves really efficiently and smoothly, and feels great is the one that I hold in higher regard.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

[I]
You are trying to qualify and quantify something that changes from face to face,,
.

Ah, but I'm not, Glen. I'm trying to quantify WITHIN a face. Same way I would work to quantify "feels classy" when designing a new car seat or "this sounds good" when designing a loudspeaker. Gather data about how each individual feels and then try to draw conclusions from the aggregate data. Boom! :-)

Originally Posted by Headcrowny

Ah, but I'm not, Glen. I'm trying to quantify WITHIN a face. Same way I would work to quantify "feels classy" when designing a new car seat or "this sounds good" when designing a loudspeaker. Gather data about how each individual feels and then try to draw conclusions from the aggregate data. Boom! :-)

One of these days if you keep chasing the edge you are going to get a WOW !!!! shave then your entire perspective is going to change

Somethings you just can't really quantify, shaving ain't a science. I look at a plane like the Avro Arrow and say to me it meets the "If it looks right it is right" statement but don't ask me to quantify that what makes it so. With shaving you will know it when you feel it, till something better feeling comes along.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

Somethings you just can't really quantify, shaving ain't a science. I look at a plane like the Avro Arrow and say to me it meets the "If it looks right it is right" statement but don't ask me to quantify that what makes it so. With shaving you will know it when you feel it, till something better feeling comes along.

Bob

We engineers are VERY good at quantifying feelings. It's what we do ;-) Ford RUTH Robot Has Feelings - YouTube