Thread: Thoughts on the Pils

Ladies and gentlemen:

The Pils reminds me of a little hammer that might be used on board a space ship. It has the weight to match, too. This is a sleek and precision stainless steel shaving instrument — mine has a striking matt finish — that asks for the utmost respect and, in turn, delivers the perfect shave.

Much has been written about the overall quality and workmanship of the Pils. All true. It is a two-piece razor that loads easily, with the top fitting over the head like a cap and thus covering the entire blade. I like that.

My Pils is a gift from the dearly beloved and it will always have its own mantle in my humble shave den. Henceforth it will be named the Dearly Beloved.

I shaved with it this morning for the first time, using the Gillette 7 O'Clock "Sharp Edge" yellow pack blade on its second shave. Yesterday I used the blade with the Edwin Jagger "Chatsworth" lined barley. I'll use it again with the Pils tomorrow and then retire it — as a rule, I change blades after the third shave, although some blades are changed after only one shave.

Yes, the Pils did require a small adjustment in technique for two important reasons:

Because of its heavy weight — it's a touch heavier than my Edwin Jagger "Chatsworth" barley and even more so than my Feather — I had to reduce the razor's total weight on my face by moving my grip closer to the neck. It's like pulling the reins a bit tighter on the horse for a sweeter carriage ride. Ordinarily I grip the razor at slightly lower than the midpoint on the handle.

Unlike the standard razors in which the blade is housed inside the shave head on a slight arc, in the Pils it is flat. This requires lifting the handle to almost a perfectly horizontal position and thus flattening the shave head on the face. Whether moving with the grain, across the grain and against the grain, you have to hold this position to insure an optimal cutting edge. This position especially takes adjustment going south to north on the neck. I am still working on that.

On its maiden voyage the Pils gave me the perfect shave. When finished, I removed the blade, rinsed and dried the razor thoroughly and put it in the rack. I use the same cleaning process with My stainless steel Feather.

Is the Pils for everyone, beginner and old timer? It can be, yes, but remember the Pils treats everyone the same by demanding the utmost respect.

Regards,

Obie