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This morning had my third shave. Used my Gillette red tip with NOS Gillette blades. This morning I did my prep, had a good lather but the shave was horrible! Did a three pass but my neck still has stubble. Is the blade dull and needs changed? What did I do wrong. Thanks
Hard to say but at the third shave you are still learning. Maybe your technique was off.
In general you can get up to 3 shaves from a blade but I'm not familiar with the ones you are using so it's possible it was dull. That's easy to check just by changing the blade and seeing what happens.
+1 on new blade. I saw/read on mantic59 YouTube video or blog that he advises using nos de blade as they may got knocked around making them blunt or deteriorate with unproper storage and handling.
What blade are you using? And how many shaves have you done with it?
If your "3-pass shave" means WTG / XTG / ATG, here's my experience:
. . . For a comfortable ATG pass, the blade has to be _very sharp_.
For straight razor ATG passes, the general rule is:
. . . Sharp razor;
. . . Very light pressure;
. . . Flatter blade angle than for WTG / XTG.
With a safety razor, you don't have any control over the blade angle. If you did an ATG pass, and you have stubble left, here's my bet:
. . . Change the blade for a new one.
Whatever you do, _do not_ increase your pressure to compensate for a dull blade !
Charles
On my thing shave. Gillette Thin Blades in the red package.
Are those NOS blades actually old? If so, they may not have been used but still might not be sharp.
I just read on another site that they don't make them any longer. That the blades were cr*p then.
It could be the blades or it could be the technique or a little of both. It took me about 3 months to get my neck area silky smooth. In that time frame I tried different blades till I found one I liked.
crazy8days71,
The Gillette Red-Tips are fine razors, and are more than capable, with the right blade, of giving you excellent shaves.
As others have recommended, I would suggest getting a blade sampler pack :
West Coast Shaving : DE Blade Sampler Pack, Everything
ConnaughtShaving : Connaught DE Sample Packs
The choice of blade is extremely personal; one persons Nirvana blade is somebody else's worst blade !
Good luck !
Have fun !
Best regards
Russ
Crazy8,
I ditto what Mr. Cohen states. Those Gillette Reds are OLD! They weren't that great to begin with and have probably deteriorated over the years. I shave often with a Super Speed Red Tip.
It is a fine shaver with any of a number of new blades. I prefer Israeli Personnas but, order a sampler pack of blades, keep records and whatever you do....don't compensate with more pressure!
With a safety razor, you don't have any control over the blade angle.
Everything else you said in your post gets a big +1 from me. However, this is just incorrect. You have almost as much control over the blade angle as with a straight. Lifting the handle more or less in relation to your face changes the angle of attack. General rules of angles for ATG, XTG, WTG still apply.
And one more time for good measure:
Don't compensate with more pressure!