I’ve said it often that my experience with double edge or safety razor or wet shaving is a constant learning experience. I’ve got enough combination options to be able to change up almost every aspect of my shave with every shave. And there are still some things that I haven’t tried yet. I’ve got 4 razors, one of which has 6 possible adjustment options; 21 different blades; 16 shave soaps/gels/creams; 2 pre shave options, and 5 after shave balms or lotions. And what’s fun is that even when I’m trying things I’ve used before, I still learn things about some of them.
Today, I answered a question I’ve had for a while, but haven’t really paid enough attention to to adequately measure, and that was where does the King C Gillette fit in to the aggressiveness scale with my other razors? But, being a blog, if you want to find out what I’ve found out, you’ll need to check that out in a later post. I’ve gotta keep you hanging!
Today’s shave was an interesting one. The KCG is one of the most aggressive razors that I’ve got. Some people out there insist it’s toward the mild end, and I know I prefer mild razors, but I would firmly place the KCG toward the top. Paired with the Bic Chrome Platinum, which I will continue to point out is rated middle of the pack for aggressiveness, there was a more aggressive feel to the shave than I’d had with the Bic in either the Henson or the Rockwell.
A more aggressive shave isn’t necessarily a bad thing for someone like me with sensitive skin and a preference for mild razors. But it does take some getting used to. I wouldn’t call the actual shave uncomfortable, but there was a lot of blade feel and by that I mean that scraping feel of the blade on the skin. But that closeness also means you usually don’t need to make extra passes to clean up. So it’s a trade-off that almost defies logic: closeness and an aggressive feel for less razor burn and discomfort, or a more mild shave that needs more passes and possibly more razor burn and discomfort for a close shave.
The experience with this shave also has emboldened me to do a couple of things: put the Bic Chrome Platinum on the list to restock once I’m out to make sure it becomes part of the regular rotation; and that I need to try a shave cream I’ve had for a while–the Barbasol 1919 Classic Shaving Cream. It doesn’t lather really, it’s more a pasty cream that goes on the face thick, but I’ve heard plenty of good reviews of it, so we’ll see how it holds up with a really close shave like this one. Stay tuned for that!
The Rating
Shave #147. This was a shave that even though I’ve used the Bic Chrome Platinum and the King C Gillette before, together they weren’t going together in my head quite as easily as other combinations have. But that’s the nature of experimentation: you need to try things sometimes to see how they work out.
This was an aggressive feeling shave with a lot of blade-feel on my face, which usually I don’t like too much. I’ll say that this was right at the edge of where I’d say I’m comfortable, but I stuck through it and I’m glad I did, because the end result of the shave was extremely close and comfortable with little or no razor burn with the alum post shave. Coupled with the Proraso setup, I’m very happy with the result.
Comfort: 4.75 out of 5
Quality/Closeness: 5 out of 5
Overall: 4.875 out of 5
