I've been shaving after showering the past few shaves, rather than before, which was always my preference. I've been surprised that I haven't hacked myself bloody! Indeed, I've had fewer cuts and closer shaves!
Today I decided to begin using up my old Mach 3 cartridges and I must say, while I was more comfortable with the razor, the double-pass shave was as close as, but no closer than the two-pass shaves I've been getting with the Gillette DE. No cuts at all, and no razor burn either. I have to say, the Mach 3 is the mildest razor I've ever used. I don't know if it's the pivoting head or what, but it does a much nicer job than the Shick that I keep in my travel bag
That said, I'll continue to go back & forth between razors until I've used up the Shick and Mach 3 cartridges. Then, sometime after New Year's I'll have to get back to the pursuit of the straight razor shave.
Showing posts with label Mach 3. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mach 3. Show all posts
Friday, December 18, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Blade Sharpness
I have to admit, these days I shave so seldom that a blade lasts me weeks, perhaps well over a month. I used to push the Mach 3 blades I used as far as I could, way into dullness, just because they were so stinkin' expensive - pushing $4 per cartridge.
However, a down side to this practice is my belief that a blade starts deteriorating after the first shave, due to water and residual whiskers and cream on the blade after that first shave, even with vigorous rinsing and shaking. I think this is time-based, not just due to the number of shaves on the blade. If you buy the theory, a six week old blade with six shaves on it would be in much worse shape than a two week old blade with six shaves behind it.
I think there's something to this, because once upon a time I shaved nearly every day. Only when I began to stretch the time between shaves did I notice that time seemed to be part of the equation when it came to a dulling blade. Of course, part of the problem could well be the fact that a blade used once a week is cutting a longer, heavier whisker than a blade used every day or two.
My DE Wilkinson blade now has four shaves on it over the course of about three weeks, and I think I can tell that it's not as sharp as it was. However, it's still doing pretty well, and that pack of five blades cost me a little over $2. So I'm going to get possibly 100 shaves (two packs, 10 blades, 10 shaves per blade) for roughly the cost of ONE Mach 3 cartridge, which might give me ten or twelve shaves if I push it, the last four or five being quite miserable.
However, a down side to this practice is my belief that a blade starts deteriorating after the first shave, due to water and residual whiskers and cream on the blade after that first shave, even with vigorous rinsing and shaking. I think this is time-based, not just due to the number of shaves on the blade. If you buy the theory, a six week old blade with six shaves on it would be in much worse shape than a two week old blade with six shaves behind it.
I think there's something to this, because once upon a time I shaved nearly every day. Only when I began to stretch the time between shaves did I notice that time seemed to be part of the equation when it came to a dulling blade. Of course, part of the problem could well be the fact that a blade used once a week is cutting a longer, heavier whisker than a blade used every day or two.
My DE Wilkinson blade now has four shaves on it over the course of about three weeks, and I think I can tell that it's not as sharp as it was. However, it's still doing pretty well, and that pack of five blades cost me a little over $2. So I'm going to get possibly 100 shaves (two packs, 10 blades, 10 shaves per blade) for roughly the cost of ONE Mach 3 cartridge, which might give me ten or twelve shaves if I push it, the last four or five being quite miserable.
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