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

I've got two razors, one honed by SRD (Aust 5/8) and one honed by moi (McDonald 5/8). They'll both pass a HHT, although the Aust does better at it. Both shave me without irritation.

This morning I used the McDonald. It's louder. Kind of like using 100 grit sandpaper as opposed to 400. It "feels" coarser. But it shaves the hairs off. I thought, after feeling my cheeks, that it was stubblier after a few passes than with my DE. But when I fetched my DE to actually check, the end result felt the same. So it seems I was imagining a difference between straight and DE that wasn't there. I tried ATG on my cheekbones, with DE and with McDonald. If anything, the McDonald was smoother.

Yet I have the sense that the Aust is better than the McDonald. Maybe it just sounds different. Which is a long winded way of getting back to the question. How would you describe the differences between great and good? Is it tactile? You can actually feel a difference on the skin? Or is it just the feel of the shaving? Or the sound? Or ...?

For me the difference between great and good is 'was the shave really comfortable? Then the next day, how much growth do you have? If I get a great shave there is very short stubble. A good shave is around the same stubble as I get with a DE.

Originally Posted by JoeSomebody

For me the difference between great and good is 'was the shave really comfortable? Then the next day, how much growth do you have? If I get a great shave there is very short stubble. A good shave is around the same stubble as I get with a DE.

Agreed 100%. Though I'll say that I usually can tell during the shave how well one razor is performing compared to another and what kind of shave it will end up being. Case in point, I sent 2 razors to Glen to be honed, a Genco Seneca Chief and a generic Geneva blade I've named Smilin' Sally. Well, I used the same prep, soap, etc. but the Seneca Chief far, far out did Smilin' Sally. My face just doesn't like that particular blade as much. It was still a DFS, but the Seneca Chief was BBS all the way.

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

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.

Originally Posted by JoeSomebody

For me the difference between great and good is 'was the shave really comfortable? Then the next day, how much growth do you have? If I get a great shave there is very short stubble. A good shave is around the same stubble as I get with a DE.

I'll have the same amount of stubble regardless; the difference in hair length between the two compared to the amount of grown 24 hours will bring is completely negligible. My hair, she grows very fast.

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YMMV! Ain't no passing craze

It means no worries for the rest of your days

It's our problem-free philosophy

YMMV! "

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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....

Getting a close straight shave is a given no matter the razor I use. If there is an issue it's in the comfort level which means the razor needs some work. Really all my shaves are top notch. I couldn't say one razor gives a better one over the other. To me the differences lie in the feel of the razor. Some you can feel working and if you're lucky you have some of the very few that slide down your face so effortlessly and comfortably you wouldn't even know you were shaving with a straight.

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 Headcrowny

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

And the problem with that is? Like I said minor differences in comfort levels. I think Glen summed it up nicely in post #7.

Bob