Nobrainer’s Think Tank

Yesterday I picked up my new razor at the post office. After a late night at the work place, I awoke this morning to the pleasure of trying out my new old-school double edged safety razor.

Having taken the advice of TrvlnMn, I ordered a Merkur “Progress” Adjustable Safety Razor.

This morning, brimming with excitement and caution, I put my new razor to the test. Little was I aware that I must be the butt of some sick joke. Not only was the shave not close, but my face was left burning long after the event.

My thoughts about the experience are not too different from those of a girl who has just been deflowered. “Is it supposed to hurt so much the first time?” “Will it get better with practice?” “Is it normal to bleed that much?”

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Day 10: I used the Sensor on the left and the Fusion on the right with the Fusion HydraGel shave cream. Everything got a single shave, but from jawline up, I only went against the grain. Again, the closeness was very similar, but the Fusion felt easier to use as it was less prone to kinda getting stuck. I also got several knicks with the Sensor, which also feels to have caused more irritation. Neither did too well around the jawline.

Maybe there’s something to those MicroFins afterall.

Sidenote: I’ve been paying more attention to commercials, in part because something erred in my favor giving me cable forever… or until I move in 2 weeks.

• I’ve now noticed many commercials for Lectric Shave. How about that.
• The Fusion commercials really don’t promise a closer shave, just a more comfortable one.
• Same goes for the Edge ActiveCare shave cream. I’m not even sure that is promises a good shave, just better skin. That may explain why my one experience with it was unpleasant.

Day 11: Sensor left, fusion right, with Fusion HydraGel. I did the double shave, once with the grain and once against it (wish I could go without it). The mistakes from yesterday were magnified: yesterday’s plan was stupid and nearly suicidal. Thus the left side of my face has more red spots and cuts. Strangely, the right side of my face was slightly higher on the burn factor. There is still not much, if any, difference in closeness. Tomorrow I may have to skip the against the grain shave because it’s really tearing up my face.

Day 12: Still recovering from days 9 and 10, I’m taking the day off.

Days 13 & 14 (Thursday & Friday): Going back to the Mach3 whilst I finish the last leg of the summer wedding tour.

I expect delivery of my old-school double edge safety razor by the time of my return. It’s a good thing I’m not a hemophiliac.

On another trip to the store, I picked up a Gillette SensorXL. In addition to two new SensorXL cartridges, a Sensor3 cartridge was included with the razor. I also picked up some of the original Sensor cartridges.

For a little bit of history, the Sensor came out around 1990. It was remarkable because the two blades were each mounted on little springs.

As a 9 year-old, the technology was overwhelmingly impressive. Five years later, the SensorXL served as an improvement; the little lubricating strip was slightly bigger and 5 MicroFins were added. My pubescent beard was thrilled. After a couple more years, the Sensor3 debuted. It was just like the XL, only made larger to fit 3 blades.

Are you picking up on the pattern?

What’s amusing to me, is that the blade, MicroFin, and lubricating strip look to be in the exact configuration used in the Mach3. The difference shows up in how the package attaches to the handle. The back of the Mach3 cartridge is more open, supposedly helping to prevent the blades from clogging, which is actually very nice if, like me, you often shave only once every 3 days. Also, the pivot point is moved lower. The Fusion has a similar setup, albeit with improved handle ergonomics and a cartridge that is bordering on freakishly large due in large part to the decade of microfins. (In between the Mach3 and Fusion, there was the Mach3 Turbo, which Wikipedia tells me had 10 as well.)

So, over 16 years, Gillette has added bigger lubricating strips, 10 microfins, 3 blades (+1 more because the whole thing got so unwieldy), and for what?

I went both with and against the grain today using the Fusion HydraGel shaving cream, splitting my face between the Fusion and Sensor. I can say this for the Sensor, the handle isn’t as comfortable as the Fusion’s. However, I forgot how much I like the extra feel of control you get from the Sensor. The way the Mach3 and Fusion pivot, I have never felt like I was in control of the head of the razor. Not so with the Sensor.

The result? Remember, that my goal here is primarily to find the closest shave. And once again, a head-to-head comparison has failed to show me any major differences in closeness.

As for the rest of the shaving experience, the Fusion, unwieldy as it is, is marginally more comfortable. I’m thinking that closeness was maximized eons ago. The designers have since spent their time trying to further make the process idiot proof.

The plan now is to continue using both blades side-by-side for a few more days until I go to my next wedding-adventure.

On a side note, does anyone else notice that brand new blades seem a little less comfortable than the ones that are a couple days old?

The last shaving cream in the rotation had its moment today. The Edge ActiveCare Deep Cleansing Shave Cream was an utter disappointment.

On the left half of my face I used a Fusion, on the right the Mach3. The Fusion side feels slightly better, but not by much. It has a few less shaves on it than the Mach3, which may help explain the discrepency.

Either way, the Edge ActiveCare didn’t make my shave all that comfortable. I ended up with a knick along my jaw and about a 3 on the 1-10 burning factor scale.

I expect I’ll continue re-testing the various shave creams over the next week or two then publish a summary. That should give me time to track down some other blade options.

I’ll start by saying that my quest for the perfect shave has made me interested in shaving for the first time since I was about 14. I actually look in the mirror and want to shave just to view the outcome.

Unfortunately, I’ve made it through another day, and I consider myself no closer to the Holy Grail of shaving than I had been the day before.

As I quoted in Day 3, from an interview from MSNBC:

But the biggest difference between wetshaving and the way most guys shave today is the use of a shaving brush. A good badger-hair shaving brush is the single most important ingredient in getting the perfect shave — if you change no part of your shaving routine except to add a good shaving brush to the mix, you’ll be astounded at how much better and more enjoyable your shaves become.

As I noted, I didn’t buy the badger hair brush. Instead I opted for the available-at-Wal-Mart Burma-Shave option.

This morning I lathered my beard with the Gillette Fusion Hydragel: half by hand and the other half with the brush. I also used the Gillete Fusion 5 (+1) razor.

I spent so much time trying to find a difference in results that I realized there wasn’t one. What I did realize, was that on each cheek, some areas were better than others. So, sans brush, I re-lathered the previously brushed side of my face and shaved again (face only, not neck). This seemed to offer a marginal improvement. It felt more uniform and a slight shade closer. It seemed to look a little better. Nonetheless, I’m not pleased with the result.

Part of the shave-brush theory is that the brush helps the whiskers stand up, thus allowing for the closer shave. Does that theory even make sense? Most of the whisker is buried. How gently brushing the visible part can really help is beyond me. A quick calculation shows that daily growth should be about 0.4 millimeters, or 0.017 inches, per day.

The Edge ActiveCare Deep Cleansing product remains untested. For some reason I am doubting that it will prove to be superior compared to previous tests. I also doubt that I will suddenly have women stroking my freshly shorn beard as shown in the commercials.

It looks as though this contest is going to be prolonged.

BTW, if anyone has an extra old-school double edged safety razor, I’d like to borrow it for testing.

Day 4 I was on the road in Charlotte. I opted to use the shave oil and went against the grain. It wasn’t as comfortable as I remembered from Day 2. Perhaps I should be measuring comfort by the aftershave burn factor.

Day 5, yesterday, I didn’t shave at all. That felt pretty good.

Today I tried the Nivea product with no secondary, against-the-grain shave. The burn factor was low, but it was not so different from any other shave any other day. I’m also not sure that my skin looks “calm and healthy”, nor am I sure that it “feels relaxed and comfortable.”