Thread: Another Newbie

Originally Posted by mparker762

Hmm, when I commented that feathers don't last as long as other brands, several Well Known Members jumped all over me claiming that they last 1.5-2x longer than lesser blades and that I was making it up. Maybe some of the feather hype is finally calming down?

Nowadays I generally keep my opinions about feathers (DE and AC) to myself over at B&B and SMF, the feather fans swarm anybody that doesn't swoon over them, somehow everybody that has a bad experience with them is either (a) insufficiently skilled and hence unworthy of such a superior blade or (b) suspiciously aberrant, since everybody else loves them.

Remove the word "feather" and substitute "slant bar" and you will get the exact same result over there <g>.

Tony

I never bit on the slant bar fad; I never could figure out what it did that I couldn't do myself by angling my fatboy. That, and after my experience with the Vision I decided I really didn't want to try a Merkur that was deliberately built wacky.

I have just got 5 out of my last feather blade, but the last 2 were pretty ordinary shaves, and I probably should have changed it after the third shave.
Mind you the first 2 with the new blade is a real blood bath for me.

So with how my shaving is going it looks like my beard is fairly tough, which leads me back to which form of str8 should I lean towards?

John

Most guys with tough beards (myself included) seem to go for stiffer grinds, the 1/4 or 1/2 grinds, and larger razors like 7/8 sizes. Frameback styles also work well for heavy beards.

Henckels Friodurs are an exception to this, they are full hollow razors but are extremely stiff and use very hard steel so the edge stands up well to a hard beard. They're also stainless, so they don't need as much care. I love Friodurs, and have a bunch of them.

John Crowley (www.shavingshop.com) sells 1/4 grinds, framebacks, and 7/8 and 8/8 henckels friodurs, though I wouldn't necessarily recommend an 8/8 razor to a beginner (I did it myself, but they are a bit unwieldy). You can also find these on ebay, but that's a bit of a cr*pshoot.

Originally Posted by mparker762

Hmm, when I commented that feathers don't last as long as other brands, several Well Known Members jumped all over me claiming that they last 1.5-2x longer than lesser blades and that I was making it up. Maybe some of the feather hype is finally calming down?

Nowadays I generally keep my opinions about feathers (DE and AC) to myself over at B&B and SMF, the feather fans swarm anybody that doesn't swoon over them, somehow everybody that has a bad experience with them is either (a) insufficiently skilled and hence unworthy of such a superior blade or (b) suspiciously aberrant, since everybody else loves them.

Swarm him! Beat him down!

Must have missed those threads. Thanks for the warning.

Josh