I’m trying to get in a second shave with the new razors more quickly than a more normal rotation might allow. Plus, I’m just excited to get into another week of using the Razorock GameChanger .68-P
You’ll recall that in my first week of shaves with the GameChanger, the shaves were harsher than I had hoped, but swapping down to a less aggressive blade really delivered an outstanding shave, so lessons learned there.
So that’s where this weeks plan started: a combo with the GameChanger that featured a mild blade. I could have gone with the Bic, or the PAA Strangelet, or a couple of others, but I opted for the Gillette 7 O’Clock Sharp Edge (yellow).
The 7 O’Clock Yellow is my go to for mild feeling yet effective shaves. It’s actually a very sharp blade–sharper than a lot of others out there–but it doesn’t feel it, leading me at one point to say that if I ever want to shave and not feel like anything touched my face, I’d shave with the 7 O’Clock Yellow and the Henson mild.
After the experience of swapping in the Astra blue, this seems like an excellent match.
There are some new things joining the party this week, including one thing that isn’t really new, but will be used in a new way. I’ve been seeing a few posts with people using particularly slick latherless shaving creams paired with their regular lather. So think Cremo, Barbasol 1919, and others, laid down as a pre-shave layer for the full lather show. I’ve been waiting for the right moment and the right pairing, and I’ve decided to give the Carden Farms Clear & Clean shaving stick a go as a pre-shave. Even though it isn’t a latherless product, it seems like a great candidate: it’s in stick form, which should make it easy to apply (at least the Razor Emporium pre-shaves are easy in that sense); it’s glycerin based, which means it should be slick; and it’s unscented, which is one thing I generally appreciate among the shaving software.
I’ll be pairing the Carden Farms in this experimental shave with the House of Mammoth Shire shaving soap sample I got a little while back. HoM is a noted brand among artisanal shaving brands, and I’ve been meaning to give one of its soaps a go. So here’s my chance.
I’m also going to use my new tube of Tabac shaving cream this week, along with my new Harry’s Post Shave Balm. This should be interesting. Tabac is a famous and seemingly ubiquitous brand from Germany, while Harry’s is a widely available online and store-brand here in the states. I’ve seen it repeatedly at my local grocery store and finally decided to pick some up. Tabac is a widely available favorite, especially in Europe, and it shows up a lot here stateside, so I’m excited to get it into the mix.
And let’s face it: anytime I get to shave with either the Proraso white or blue, I’m a happy man. Those two just bring me joy.
As I enter the last 25 shaves leading up to shave 300, I’m really feeling like I’m letting go a bit and having more fun with the combinations for shaves. And this week is the first example of that. Stay tuned for more!
The Ratings
Sunday’s Shave, #276. The Proraso Protective GameChanger Shave.
The setup:
- Razor: Razorock GameChanger .68-P
- Blade: Gillette 7 O’Clock Sharp Edge (yellow)
- 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:
- 22nd shave with the 7 O’Clock yellow blade (tops among all blades), first since New Year’s Day
- 17th shave with the Proraso blue cream
- After this week of shaves, there will be only 100 yellows in my inventory
- 3rd blade used with the GameChanger
- 93rd almost perfect shave
- 65th shave with an overall rating of 23 (30.8% of all logged shaves)
- 10th shave with the 7 O’Clock Yellow with an overall rating of 23
This shave is why I encourage people to experiment and switch out the parts of a shave to try a variety of products, and more importantly, to write it all down. While my obsession with tracking, planning and documenting my shaves is probably excessive, that documentation has led to an understanding of what works for me and what doesn’t, and it helps fix problems in my shaving.
Without that understanding, I might not have realized that the irritation I was experiencing in the first two shaves of the GameChanger was due to it being more aggressive than I’d initially thought. And that the fix was to use a less aggressive blade. And my logging and tracking has shown me what blades and razors feel more aggressive for me and which feel less aggressive.
Long story short: this was an excellent shave, with just a few very limited spots of stinging with the alum, which were noticeable, but did not last long and weren’t strong. It let me truly experience the razor, and I can say that while the name is marketing hyperbole, it’s a very pleasant shave experience, and I’m happy to have decided to buy it.
The Proraso product end performed excellently, as always. The Blue line, along with the White line, are my favorites among their products. And, as I’ll talk about in a later post, the fragrance blends well with the Proraso beard care products.
I’m excited for the rest of the week’s shaves both to continue to experience this razor-blade combo, but also to try out some other new products.
Comfort: 23 of 25
Quality/Closeness: 24 of 25
Overall: 23 of 25
Tuesday’s Shave, #277. The Tabac-Harry’s Debut Shave.
The setup:
- Razor: Razorock GameChanger .68-P
- Blade: Gillette 7 O’Clock Sharp Edge (yellow)
- Pre-Shave: Razor Emporium Unscented pre-shave
- Brush: Parker Blue Storm synthetic shaving brush
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Tabac Original Shaving Cream
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Harry’s Post Shave Balm
- Stats:
- 1st shave with the Tabac shaving cream
- 5th shave with the GameChanger
- 2nd shave with the Parker Blue Storm synthetic brush
- 46th lather used in my shaves
- 94th almost perfect shave
- 66th shave with an overall rating of 23 (31.1% of all logged shaves)
Where to start….
First, I am quickly falling in love with the Parker Blue Storm synthetic brush. It’s soft but still firm, holds its shape well, lathers excellently, and just performs extraordinarily.
Second, my first outing with the Tabac shaving cream was excellent. It lathers wonderfully, making a very rich, thick, slick lather that stays slick throughout the shave. The fragrance is soapy–like a heavy, rich soap–and it lingers after the shave. It’s similar to Arko but not at the same time…that soapy smell, but the Tabac is stronger than the Arko, and the Tabac sticks around.
The GameChanger/7 O’Clock Yellow combo is fabulous. More efficient than most mild shaves, comfortable, smooth, and enjoyable.
And finally, the Harry’s Post Shave Balm works very well for me. It moisturizes well, isn’t greasy like a lotion, has a pleasant cooling feel with a very light scent, and is one of those pleasant surprises for a store-bought balm.
So, another outstanding shave today. Very close and very comfortable with some brief sting from the alum, but easily tolerable with the overall results of the shave.
Comfort: 23 out of 25
Quality/Closeness: 24 out of 25
Overall: 23 out of 25
Thursday’s Shave, #278. The Grand Experiment Shave.
The setup:
- Razor: Razorock GameChanger .68-P
- Blade: Gillette 7 O’Clock Sharp Edge (yellow)
- Pre-Shave: Carden Farms Clear & Clean Shaving Soap Stick
- Brush: Omega S10049 synthetic shaving brush
- Soap/Cream/Gel: House of Mammoth Shire shaving soap
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Nivea Sensitive Soothing post shave balm
- Stats:
- 1st Carden Farms soap stick use as pre-shave
- 1st shave with the HoM Shire soap
- 24th shave with the 7 O’Clock Yellow
- 47th lather used in my shaves
- 38th shave with an overall rating of 22 (17.8% of all logged shaves)
Overall, a very good shave, but more irritation and sting than the rest of the week, and not as close as I would like. So it falls out of the almost perfect shave category and down to a great level.
The experiment using the Carden Farms soap stick as a pre-shave worked better than I expected. It went on really easily, and lubricated well. The House of Mammoth Shire soap, though, seemed to be a little lacking. Yes, it lathered well, but didn’t seem to have as much slickness I expect from my lather.
While I’ve never been to a shire, the fragrance of the soap was warm, spicy, and complex, but not a favorite of mine. And it is lingering a bit through the Nivea post shave and even the Proraso Azur Lime beard oil and balm that I’d applied.
So, the learnings from the week: the GameChanger works well for me with a milder blade–the 7 O’Clock Yellow worked well, but still feels a little closer to medium than mild. So next time, maybe the Bic, Shark, or one of the other milder blades.
Next week, as indicated in Tuesday’s post, I start a period of eight weeks in which I’ll be using six new-to-me blades. And first up is the Personna Gem Platinum Diamond Glide. I’m excited to give it a try, and you’ll get the reports here.
Comfort: 22 out of 25
Quality/Closeness: 22 out of 25
Overall: 22 out of 25