As I try to do with all new razors, I’m continuing to try favorite blades with the Oliworks M3teorite to see how it handles. And since the M3teorite is adjustable, with its three plates of varying aggressiveness/efficiency/mildness, that works out perfectly to try all three plates during my 3 shave weeks.
The Shark Super Stainless blade (or Lord Shark, Shark Lord, (Lord) Shark…) became a favorite back in September after trying it for the first time in both of the Hensons and the Rockwell razor. For a relatively mild blade, it worked well for me as it feels like it has some aggressiveness too.
I’m expecting it to perform well–maybe less well on the aggressive and mild plates, but exceptionally on the medium plate, as that seems to be its sweet spot. It performed very well in the Rockwell with plates 3 and 4, and well with the Henson mild and medium, though less well than the Rockwell. So we’ll see how things go.
The Ratings
Sunday’s Shave, #231. The Proraso blue Sunday Shark M3teorite SOTD.
The setup:
- Razor: Oliworks M3teorite aluminum
- Blade: Shark Super Stainless
- Pre-Shave: Proraso Protective pre-shave cream (blue)
- Brush: Proraso boar shaving brush
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Proraso Protective shave cream (blue)
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Proraso Protective after shave balm (blue)
- Stats: 1st shave with the Shark Super Stainless in the M3teorite, 15th overall shave with this blade (2nd to the 7 O’Clock Yellow), 56th shave with an overall rating of 23 or 24, 18th consecutive shave with that rating dating back to December 11, 1st use of the Proraso blue line with the M3teorite, 12th overall shave with the Proraso blue line.
Let me start out by saying I had to think about this rating a bit. For an aggressive razor and blade setup, this shave required a lot of work to get the closeness I want. And I tried following the general rule of thumb to use an aggressive setup with a longer stubble, as the efficiency will result in a closer shave. I can’t say that was the case here. There was a lot of blade feel and blade noise, and I took the passes on my neck right up to the point where I knew much more would result in some razor burn. And fortunately, that was a point where my shave was as close as I want. So in the end, it was an almost perfect shave, just teetering on the brink of falling one point lower primarily for overall comfort.
There was some grabbing by the blade, but not enough to be uncomfortable, and frequent reapplication of the lather either from the bowl or by swiping some off of the beard and onto the skin helped quite a bit. The slickness of the Proraso pre-shave and lather worked perfectly in this case. So the takeaway here is that I need to avoid using the aggressive plate on the Sunday shaves.
There was some light scattered sting (I call them sparkles in my head) with the alum on my neck, but that went away quickly and the balm came in and did its thing to moisturize and comfort the skin quickly. All in all, matching the Proraso blue with this shave was an excellent choice, as I don’t think the white or green lines would have done quite as well (yes, there is a difference in the three that I’m starting to identify, but more on that in another post sometime).
An interesting comparison, though, after last week’s use of the Astra Superior Platinum, is that the Shark Super Stainless isn’t quite as good a blade. At least after the first shave. We’ll see how things go during the rest of the week.
Comfort: 23 of 25
Quality/Closeness: 23 of 25
Overall: 23 of 25
Tuesday’s Shave, #232. The Razor Emporium shave.
The setup:
- Razor: Oliworks M3teorite aluminum (medium plate)
- Blade: Shark Super Stainless
- Pre-Shave: Razor Emporium Unscented pre-shave
- Brush: Razor Emporium badger shaving brush
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Razor Emporium Barbershop shaving soap
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Barbasol 1919 After Shave Balm
- Stats: 57th shave rated 23 or 24 (almost perfect), 19th consecutive shave with one of those ratings, 4th (and final) shave with the Razor Emporium Barbershop soap with all four shaves with the Razor Emporium pre-shave.
Objectively, this was a great shave–comfortable, little irritation, great closeness–but it wasn’t terribly satisfying. It took a lot of work to get it as close as it was, and this seems to be a combination of the blade and razor setup and the lather.
I used the Razor Emporium Barbershop soap for the 4th and last time, and it just confirmed some of the issues I have with it. It didn’t provide a thick or rich lather, it was fairly thin and slightly watery, and overall, the pre-shave and lather combo just wasn’t as slick or protective as I like. So while there was some blade feel, and a feeling afterward of the scraping of the skin, it wasn’t bad enough to have much irritation or sting. And it’s interesting that I’ve noted the same lackluster feel with the medium plate on the first week with the Oliworks.
Overall, I’m not thrilled with this blade and razor combo. I mean, it isn’t bad, really, but I’ve had a lot better, and all of the shaves needed a lot of extra work to get the closeness I want. So I’m thinking I need to pair a more aggressive blade with the mild plate and see what happens.
That’ll come sometime later.
Comfort: 23 out of 25
Quality/Closeness: 23 out of 25
Overall: 23 out of 25
Thursday’s Shave, #233. The Bushido shave.
The setup:
- Razor: Oliworks M3teorite aluminum (mild plate
- Blade: Shark Super Stainless
- Pre-Shave: Stirling Soap Co. Unscented pre-shave soap
- Brush: Yaqi Rainbow synthetic shaving brush
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Hoffman’s Grooming Bushido shave stick
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Nivea Men Sensitive Soothing Post Shave Balm
- Stats: 20th consecutive almost perfect shave; 58th almost perfect shave; 6th shave with the M3teorite razor, 14th shave with the Shark Super Stainless
One thing I’m noticing with the Oliworks M3teorite razor is that because it has a fairly strong blade exposure, there is a lot of blade noise and blade feel during the shaves, and I think that is what really makes me take time to think about the rating of a shave.
Yes, this one was again almost perfect, because it was–no irritation to speak of, and close (but certainly not as close as I know a shave could be). But I can’t say it was an outstanding shave. It was the kind of shave I was hoping for when I started this journey, but I’ve made enough progress and learned enough to know that there are better combinations in my collection.
But that’s what this experimentation is all about, right? I won’t know something until I try. And I’m enjoying the trying.
Starting next week, another two-week comparison, as the Shark Super Chrome get compared to the Super Stainless in the Rockwell 6C. I’m excited to give it a go, so stay tuned!
Comfort: 23 out of 25
Quality/Closeness: 23 out of 25
Overall: 23 out of 25