In the Planning the SOTDs post, I talked about what goes into planning the shaves, and two considerations that came into play in a big way this week were a theme, and continued experimentation. This week, I’m continuing to use the Gillette 7 O’Clock Super Stainless (green) blades. I’ve got 52 in stock, so that represents exactly a year’s worth of shaves that I could have with them. But stock notwithstanding, it’s been quite a while since I’ve used them, going back to the end of February, and even then, I just used them with the King C Gillette razor. So this is an excellent time to come back to them and see how they work in the rest of the stable.
Last week, I shaved with them in my Rockwell 6C, on plates 3, 4 and 5 (remember that as the number gets higher, the aggressiveness of the shave goes up). They were great shaves, very close and mostly comfortable, but with plate 5, there was some more irritation than I’d normally like. So that brought up the question: just how medium is the Henson AL-13 medium razor? I’ve assumed, based on what others have said, that the Rockwell starts out very mild (and I agree with that) at plate 1, and plate 6 tops out at a medium aggressive shave. But at the same time, people have said that the Henson mild is extremely mild, so I’ve been able to rate that against the Rockwell for mildness. So I felt the need to at least measure them relatively.
So that’s a goal for this week’s shaves: keep using the Gillette 7 O’Clock green, and see just how medium the medium is. Let’s see how things go.
The Ratings
Sunday’s Shave, #186. The Proraso blue Sunday.
The setup:
- Razor: Henson AL-13 medium
- Blade: Gillette 7 O’Clock Super Stainless (green)
- Pre-Shave: Proraso Protective pre-shave cream (blue)
- Brush: Proraso boar brush
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Proraso Protective shaving cream (blue)
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Proraso Protective aftershave balm (blue)
To the big question for the week first: based solely on this morning’s shave, I would put the Henson medium somewhere between the Rockwell’s plates 3 and 4. The 4 felt more aggressive on the Rockwell, and there was more blade feel with that plate than with the Henson medium. And I think the Henson medium is a little more aggressive than the plate 3. But I’ll also say this, now that I’ve got a second Henson, I’m realizing that the way they’re designed produces a different blade exposure and feel than the Rockwell. I’m not going to necessarily say it’s better or not, but it feels a little bit more precise.
Now this rating feels a little odd, because I think the Rockwell plate 1 is more mild than the Henson mild, meaning the Henson lands closer to a plate 2 on the Rockwell, which then means that the gap between plates is larger than I would have expected. Anyway, more on that as the week goes along.
Today’s shave was just a joy. I love shaving with my Proraso stock, and I’ve really fallen deeply in love with the Proraso Protective (blue) line. As I’ve said before, it’s got a very nice fragrance that is stronger than the white or green, and sticks around a bit longer, but performs just as well or better (certainly better than the green). This is the only line in Proraso’s 4 shave formulas that doesn’t offer a soap, but the cream just lathers wonderfully. The pre-shave does what all of them do–lubricates and provides a wonderful slickness to the shave–but with a nice, but not overpowering menthol smell and feel. And the aftershave balm just makes me happy, reinforcing the scent and providing that wonderful moisturization that my favorite balms provide.
Today’s shave was close, but not almost perfect close. But it was comfortable and pleasant, with very little irritation. And this is the kind of shave I was looking for when I started this journey: it doesn’t need to be perfect, but needs to be comfortable and close enough to make me happy. I would definitely shave with this combo again.
Comfort: 5 out of 5
Quality/Closeness: 4.750 out of 5
Overall: 4.875 out of 5
Tuesday’s Shave, #187. The Imperial Barbasol Shave.
The setup:
- Razor: Henson AL-13 medium
- Blade: Gillette 7 O’Clock Super Stainless (green)
- Pre-Shave: Razor Emporium Unscented Pre-Shave
- Brush: Omega 10019 boar shaving brush
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Imperial Barber Products Field Shave soap
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Barbasol 1919 aftershave balm
This shave kind of pulled me in different directions. No, not the actual shave, but the plan for it. I haven’t used the Imperial soap in three months, so it was due. But I’ve been wanting to give the Arko it’s second try. So I was torn and wasn’t sure if I’d call an audible or not. But ultimately I didn’t change the plan and went ahead with the plan to use the Imperial shave soap.
The Imperial shave soap is a glycerin-based soap, and I’m finding that those formulations don’t provide the slickness and lubrication that I like to have in my shave. So while it lathered very well, it just wasn’t as slick as the Henson razors need due to their design. And let me note a learning here: this was the first time I’d lathered this soap in my shave bowl and not in the tub that holds the soap puck, and it lathered better than I remembered.
No, the shave wasn’t almost perfect, but it was really good. Similar, in fact, to Sunday’s shave. It was a little less comfortable than Sunday’s shave, and I’ll attribute that to the lack of lather slickness and the need for an extra pass or two to knock down some stubble. But there wasn’t much irritation with the alum, though there is that feeling of a little razor burn on my neck, something that the balm will take care of soon.
Heading to Thursday’s shave, I’m thinking I’ll make a conscious effort to cut back on the extra pass to see if it helps the overall comfort of the shave (even though that was great). I’m thinking I’m just pushing to reach a perfect shave, but that this combo just may not get there. Stay tuned!
Comfort: 5.000 out of 5
Quality/Closeness: 4.750 out of 5
Overall: 4.875 out of 5
Thursday’s Shave, #188. The None of Your Beeswax Shave.
The setup:
- Razor: Henson AL-13 medium
- Blade: Gillette 7 O’Clock Super Stainless (green)
- Pre-Shave: Razor Emporium Unscented pre-shave
- Brush: Omega 10019 Boar shaving brush
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Stirling Soap Co. Unscented with Beeswax shave soap
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Dollar Shave Club Post Shave Cream
Okay, let’s first answer the main question of the week: how medium is the Henson medium? With this blade, I’ll put it between plates 3 and 4 on the Rockwell. It isn’t as mild as plate 3, but not quite as aggressive as plate 4. I assume the gap (however that’s measured–blade gap, blade exposure, whatever) between the plate aggressiveness levels is even all the way up from 1 to 6, so that makes me believe that their scale from mild to aggressive starts on the mild side and just stays on the milder side of each level of shave.
Stirling Soap Co. makes some very good soaps, but I think most of their scented products are too strongly scented. So it’s nice to use their unscented products in a shave, and while I have a favorite (Sheep soap), all three of their soaps that I have work very well for me. The Unscented with Beeswax has a different lather feel to me, not quite as slick as the Naked & Smooth or Sheep (probably due to the beeswax), but still pleasant and protective. For today’s shave, I did load the brush from the tub that I’ve put the sample in, and then lathered in my bamboo bowl, and it worked very well. I’ve seen a lot of complaints about boar brushes in the online forums–that they’re too stiff or prickly and not as soft and comfortable as badger brushes–but I find them efficient in creating lather, and I’ve never had a problem with how they feel on my skin. And they don’t lose bristles like my badger has been.
The shave was great: I limited the passes as mentioned from Tuesday’s shave, and the result was outstanding. Almost no irritation or burn with the same closeness that I’ve had all week, so this one was better than the previous two shaves, but all-in-all, I’d come back to the 7 O’Clock green blades (which is good, since I have about a year’s worth of them).
It’s hard to believe, but this is the end of the second week of Henson medium shaves, and already I love this razor. It works as well as the mild, but delivers that more aggressive and efficient shave that I think I wished for from the mild.
Comfort: 5.000 out of 5
Quality/Closeness: 4.750 out of 5
Overall: 4.875 out of 5
