Week two with the Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Platinum Strangelet Super Sharp blades. This week, I’ve moved over to the Henson medium, and I think I kind of know how this week is going to go. Last Thursday’s shave with the Rockwell’s plate 5 was fairly aggressive feeling, though oddly it wasn’t a terribly close shave. So I’ll be interested to see if this week’s shaves are closer or not.
As I was looking at this week’s shaves last night (Saturday) and putting them in my calendar, I decided to make some changes, getting away from some of the samples I’d had planned in order to get to some favorites for the next couple of weeks. I was surprised to see that I haven’t touched the Cooper & French soap since early August, and also decided that I need to use the Arko, Cella, and Taylor of Old Bond Street sooner than planned because I like them so much. So those will be coming in the next couple of weeks.
I’m not sure how I feel about the Strangelet blade, though. It certainly isn’t bad, but it doesn’t thrill me. It doesn’t feel as sharp or precise as some recent favorites like the Shark or Bic, but it isn’t performing terribly, which really conflicts me. I kind of doubt I’ll restock it when the time comes, but you never know. But I’ve had this tuck in the collection for a very long time after ordering a sampler pack from Razor Emporium, and it’s just time to check it out.
The Ratings
Sunday’s Shave, #196. The Proraso White Strangelet Sunday Shave.
The setup:
- Razor: Henson AL-13 medium
- Blade: PAA Platinum Strangelet Super Sharp
- Pre-Shave: Proraso Sensitive pre-shave cream (white)
- Brush: Proraso boar shaving brush
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Proraso Sensitive shave soap (white)
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Proraso Sensitive aftershave balm (white)
After going a while without touching the Proraso white soap, I’ve chosen it again over the cream for today’s shave. No particular reason other than the last shave with the white products was with the cream. I can tell that generally I’m really perfecting my lathering technique, as I had a perfect lather going today, as you can see above.
There was initial tugging again with the week’s fresh blade, but it stopped after the first couple of strokes. I don’t understand what could be causing that, as it has happened twice now with two different razors, and on the first shave with both as well. I’m wondering if the blade coating (all blades have some microscopic coating out of the factory that wears off either quickly or over a longer time) is causing issues and that first cut gets rid of the problem.
Overall, the Henson medium performs well with this blade, but there is more blade feel than there would be with a milder razor, and I need to cut back any extra strokes or passes. I took a few to clean up today, but reapplied some of the lather to cover, and while I didn’t feel that much discomfort while shaving, there was one weeper on my neck that bled very lightly.
There was some stronger but brief sting with the alum block, and minor lingering irritation, but the balm settled everything down and my face and neck feel very smooth after this shave. A very good shave with some irritation but excellent closeness. We’ll see how the rest of the week pans out.
Comfort: 20 of 25
Quality/Closeness: 24 of 25
Overall: 22 of 25
Tuesday’s Shave, #197. The Cooper & French shave.
The setup:
- Razor: Henson AL-13 medium
- Blade: PAA Platinum Strangelet Super Sharps
- Pre-Shave: Proraso Protective pre-shave cream (blue)
- Brush: Omega 10019 boar shaving brush
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Cooper & French Unscented shaving soap
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Dollar Shave Club Post Shave Cream
After having a bit of irritation on Sunday, I decided to change up the technique a little bit today and limited the strokes. The trade off, of course, is that the closeness wouldn’t be quite as good, but giving up the burn and light lingering irritation would be worth it.
It’s been almost three months since I last used the Cooper & French soap, and that’s a shame because it’s a wonderful product. It’s luxurious, slick, lathers extremely well, and protects better than many soaps in the collection. And, note that I broke up the band–something hard for me–and used the Proraso blue pre-shave without using other Proraso products.
This was a very nice shave. Not almost perfect, as there was still some irritation and some very light stubble, but it was a perfectly acceptable shave. But I’m convinced that the Strangelet blade just is not as good as others in my collection.
Comfort: 22 out of 25
Quality/Closeness: 22 out of 25
Overall: 22 out of 25
Thursday’s Shave, #198. The Proraso white cream comparison shave.
The setup:
- Razor: Henson AL-13 medium
- Blade: PAA Platinum Strangelet Super Sharp
- Pre-Shave: Proraso Refreshing pre-shave cream (green)
- Brush: None
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Nivea Sensitive shave gel
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Nivea Sensitive Soothing post shave balm
Let’s talk learnings first: this is the first time that I’ve noticed that the blade of the week is dulling. And this was only its third shave. Kind of disappointing, but also strange.
Next, building on Tuesday’s experience, I very intentionally cut off the extra strokes and it paid off: almost no irritation, while the closeness was very good with only a few spots of very light stubble. And this goes toward arguing against some of the assertions about aggressive razors and blades: that only those are efficient and that they achieve the balance between irritation and closeness. While this wasn’t a perfect shave, it was almost perfect, and one that I enjoyed.
Again, I paired a Proraso product with non-Proraso products. The Refreshing (green) pre-shave kept the cooling feel through the entire shave, which was actually pretty nice. And the thick lather of the Nivea really helped protect my face. Finishing up with the Nivea balm is just wonderful, as it easily is just as good as the Proraso balms.
But overall the Strangelet blade is just disappointing. It’s okay and does what it needs to, but that feeling this morning of it being noticeably duller by the start of the third shave just tells me that it doesn’t have the quality I’d expect.
So while I’ve got one more week with it, I’ve decided for sure that I won’t restock.
Comfort: 24 out of 25
Quality/Closeness: 20 out of 25
Overall: 23 out of 25
