This is the fifth and final week of Anniversary Month shaving. During this month, I’ve tried some new things, re-tried some old things, and had a generally good month of shaves.
This week, I committed to come back to the Parker 55SL Semi-Slant. I really want to see if I need to change my technique with it, or if finding that perfect blade for it will somehow make it more comfortable or closer shave. I was pleasantly surprised by the Dorco Platinum HQ Red blades a while back, and I thought I’d give this combo a try and see how it goes.
I’ve been doing some reading and studying on how best to use slant razors, and it was noted for some to try it without using an against the grain (ATG) pass. I thought I’d try that, but in the first shave, found the closeness just wasn’t there, and I had to do one very light and short ATG pass after a couple of with the grain (WTG) and across the grain (XTG) passes.
There are also the competing schools of thought on sensitive skin pairings with aggressive razors: one argument says that an aggressive blade with an aggressive razor minimizes the need for additional passes, thus reducing irritation and discomfort. The other insists that a mild blade with an aggressive razor just minimizes irritation in general, and extra passes really aren’t a problem then.
I’ve generally agreed with the latter thought, and my case in point is a recent shave with the Perma-Sharp in the Rockwell 6C. I had an almost perfect shave with plate 4 (just above midway for aggressiveness). But when I tried plate 5 with it, I noted that it was a close and comfortable shave, but felt more aggressive. It wasn’t better than the plate 4 shave.
So after the Sunday shave, I’m wondering if I should swap out the Dorco for something else. But what do I swap to? If I go milder, I’d have to go with the Bic again (which wouldn’t be a bad idea), or the Rockwell blade, or possibly the Phoenix Platinum Strangelet Super Sharps, which I haven’t tried yet. Going harsher would involve the Nacet or the Feather, and frankly, the Feather in the Parker kind of scares me. But I’ve got a few days to think on it.
At any rate, I feel like I’m making progress with the Parker. It still feels aggressive, but that’s the nature of the slant razor. I’m learning to use a lighter touch, and to adjust my technique with it. So it may just require more experimentation. And Tuesday proved that further, as I went back to the Bic blade and tried the Barbasol 1919 cream and balm.
The Barbasol cream is a thick, non-lathering cream that is very slick and protective. I wasn’t entirely sure it would be a good pairing with the Parker, but it proved to be a good choice as I kept rewetting my fingers and spreading cream on shaved areas for the other passes, and it still protected very well. So there’s hope.
But Thursday brought me back down. I went with the Nacet blade, thinking the more aggressive blade would deliver a closer result with fewer passes. Plus, I decided on no ATG passes on my neck. And it just wasn’t close on my neck at all, making me make additional WTG and XTG passes, and that was the wrong answer.
So, I’ve learned things for the future: no ATG passes on my neck, or very limited passes with a very mild blade. Also, only use mild blades with the Parker. And–this is probably most important–stop trying to clean things up earlier. Limit the number of passes, because no matter what, there will be irritation if I make more passes.
For now, though, I’ve just got to set it aside for a while…A long while. I wanted to try a slant, and have tried it, and it was generally disappointing. All of the great things said about slants and the Parker specifically just didn’t pan out for me, and after struggling through six shaves, I just need to decide if I’m done, or if I want to keep trying.
Here’s the thing–deep down, I don’t want to stop using this razor or say I don’t like it or it doesn’t work for me for a few reasons: first, it was a gift, granted a $30 gift, and the price was one of the primary reasons I wanted to give it a go. Second, I don’t want to feel like I failed, which I know I haven’t, but deciding I can’t use something because it’s just bad for me feels kind of like a failure. And third, I don’t want to declare that this experiment just didn’t work out for me. This third one is a biggie. To me, razors are the biggest spend, even though this one isn’t. But saying that this $30 experiment just didn’t work out feels expensive. (And to answer the question that’s probably in your head right now, yes, there is a more mild slant razor–at least one, the RazoRock Superslant L1–but it costs $130, which is way over the price that I’d consider worth trying out.
I need to get out of my head on this one, but I can promise we won’t be seeing the Parker soon.
The Ratings
Sunday’s Shave, #168. The Proraso Green Sunday with semi-slant.
The setup:
- Razor: Parker 55SL Semi-Slant
- Blade: Dorco Platinum HQ Red
- Pre-Shave: Proraso green refreshing pre-shave
- Brush: Proraso boar brush
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Proraso green refreshing cream
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Proraso blue aloe & vitamin E aftershave balm
Let me start out by saying that after initially not being sure of either the Proraso blue or the green lines, that I’m very happy with both, though if I had to choose one, it would be the blue. The pre-shave lays down a nice cooling layer with a lot of slickness for the shave, and the cream comes along and just reinforces it. There isn’t a strong menthol scent (or eucalyptus, for that matter, as that’s what the refreshing line contains), just a coolness on the face that performs well for the shave.
The cream lathered very well in my new Bamboo Switch bowl (not specifically a shaving bowl, but the shaving bowl they were selling in a set with the brush was comically small).
As I mentioned above, I’m trying to limit the ATG passes this week, to see if that helps the comfort level, and it did, marginally. On my cheeks, it works great. One WTG pass and a second ATG pass to just clean it up, and it’s very smooth and comfortable. But my neck is where all of the problems will stand out.
This is an aggressive razor, or at least more aggressive than I’m comfortable with. It seems to be even more aggressive than the Rockwell plate 5. And that aggressive feel is apparent throughout the shave. That aggressiveness and today’s result has me thinking about changing up Tuesday’s blade to either something milder than the Gillette 7 O’Clock Yellow, or to something more aggressive, maybe trying the Nacet again with some of the things I’ve learned since using it for the first shave with the Parker.
Comfort: 4.500 out of 5
Quality/Closeness: 4.750 out of 5
Overall: 4.625 out of 5
Tuesday’s Shave, #169. The Barbasol 1919 semi-slant shave.
The setup:
- Razor: Parker 55SL Semi-Slant
- Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum
- Pre-Shave: Razor Emporium Unscented Pre-Shave
- Brush: None
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Barbasol 1919 Classic Shaving Cream
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Barbasol 1919 After Shave Balm
This shave was one of those times where I accidentally discovered something great…or potentially great.
The Barbasol 1919 Classic Shaving Cream is thick and heavy, and the good news is that it wasn’t all scraped off by the razor and blade, so I could keep rewetting my fingers and spreading more of the cream around my face after each pass. But it also provided a very slick and nicely protected shave. Coupled with only an extremely light partial ATG pass to just knock down a couple of spots of stubble, I can say that this was the best experience yet with the Parker.
And the Bic blade seems to be part of the secret sauce here: it’s mild yet sharp enough to do a good job at the shave before any ATG passes.
This shave gives me hope for the Parker and has given me direction for future shaves. Thursday’s shave is now almost a completely different shave plan than I originally committed to, so stay tuned to see what it offers!
Comfort: 4.750 out of 5
Quality/Closeness: 4.750 out of 5
Overall: 4.750 out of 5
Thursday’s Shave, #170. Continued experimentation with the Parker.
The setup:
- Razor: Parker 55SL Semi-Slant
- Blade: Gillette Nacet
- Pre-Shave: Razor Emporium Unscented pre-shave
- Brush: None
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Nivea Sensitive Shave Gel
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Nivea Sensitive Soothing Post Shave Balm
Here was my thinking for this shave: after the success on Tuesday, I thought I’d try some of the same techniques with a more aggressive blade. So I dialed up the Nacet–one of my favorite blades, and the one I tried first with the Parker. I also made sure that the Nivea gel was nice and thick and well distributed on my face and neck, similarly to the Barbasol 1919. And I promised myself to not do any ATG (against the grain) passes on my neck.
And it just didn’t work like I’d hoped. Though I did learn things for the future.
The shave definitely felt more aggressive than with the Bic. And yet, just using WTG (with the grain) or XTG (across the grain) passes, it still wasn’t close or as comfortable as with the Bic. Generally, it was a disappointing and uncomfortable shave, but it did answer a question I had, and that is whether a more aggressive or less aggressive blade would be better. So less aggressive it is in the future.
Comfort: 4.500 out of 5
Quality/Closeness: 4.500 out of 5
Overall: 4.500 out of 5
