Okay, it’s week two of the two week Shark comparison shave series. Last week, I used the Shark Super Chrome blades, which were new to me and needed comparing to one of their brand-mates and one of my favorite blades: the Shark Super Stainless.
As a reminder, the shaves last week were okay but not outstanding, as the blade just seemed to be imprecise and not as high-quality as others I’ve used.
This week, I use the same razor setups (Rockwell 6C plates 4, 3 and 2) with the Shark Super Stainless to see how it compares. And yes, I fully believe that by the time this week is done, I’ll have proven to myself that the Super Chromes just aren’t as good as the Super Stainless. But there’s no way to confirm that without actually doing the shaves.
And let me be clear: I’ve shaved with this razor/blade combo before, so this isn’t really new. But to properly compare it with the Super Chromes, I need to try it again.
So that’s what this week is about, as I close out this comparison shave before heading into some mail call shaves.
The Ratings
Sunday’s Shave, #237. The Proraso white Sunday Shark shave.
The setup:
- Razor: Rockwell 6C plate 4
- Blade: Shark Super Stainless
- Pre-Shave: Proraso Sensitive pre-shave cream (white)
- Brush: Proraso boar shaving brush
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Proraso Sensitive shave cream (white)
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Proraso Sensitive after shave balm (white)
- Stats: 2nd shave with the Shark Super Stainless with the Rockwell 6C plate 4, 61st shave with an overall rating of 23 or 24 (almost perfect), 8th shave with the Shark Super Stainless with an overall rating of 23 or 24 (2nd most only to the Gillette 7 O’Clock Yellow).
First off, let me say that I could tell the quality of the edge (if not the blade) right away this morning, as I got great efficiency as soon as I started shaving my neck. I’ve noted before that the Rockwell is a noisy razor–not a bad thing–and going back to do a second pass on my neck, the lack of blade noise told me I’d knocked down a lot of hair with the first pass. I did 3+ passes anyway, to get the closeness I prefer, but it really didn’t cause any issues.
Yes, there was some light irritation, but nothing more than kind of a standard light sting that didn’t last the whole minute I left the alum on my skin. The Proraso white balm came in and settled everything down and moisturized excellently, as usual.
For that matter, the lather and pre-shave were wonderful this morning–slick, rich, protective, and bringing that pleasant light scent that makes me really love the Proraso white line so much.
So all-in-all, a great shave that was very satisfying.
Comfort: 23 of 25
Quality/Closeness: 25 of 25
Overall: 23 of 25
Tuesday’s Shave, #238. The Middle Shave.
The setup:
- Razor: Rockwell 6C plate 3
- Blade: Shark Super Stainless
- Pre-Shave: Razor Emporium Unscented pre-shave
- Brush: Razor Emporium badger shaving brush
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Stirling Soap Co. Naked & Smooth shave soap
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Dollar Shave Club Post Shave Cream
- Stats: 3rd consecutive almost perfect shave rated 23 or 24, 62nd shave with that rating, 9th shave rated 23 or 24 with the Shark Super Stainless, 17th shave with the blade.
This shave continues to prove that the Super Stainless blades are just generally better than the Super Chromes. This shave was relatively effortless–comfortable, smooth, close, with just a little irritation–and it didn’t require the extra strokes that the Super Chrome shaves did.
I’ve also decided that I’m just generally not pleased with my badger brush. It isn’t losing as many bristles any more, but compared in particular to the boar brushes, it just needs so much more work to create a great lather. And while the Stirling Naked & Smooth soap was fine, it just never quite provides the rich lather that I want and expect.
Those disappointments make the performance of the blade that much more impressive, because it could have been worse under the circumstances. But all-in-all, it was a great shave that I’m happy with.
And I used my new beard brush for the first time, but that’s a topic for another time.
Comfort: 23 out of 25
Quality/Closeness: 24 out of 25
Overall: 23 out of 25
Thursday’s Shave, #239. The Cella Shark shave.
The setup:
- Razor: Rockwell 6C plate 2
- Blade: Shark Super Stainless
- Pre-Shave: Cella Organic Pre-shave gel (green)
- Brush: Omega 10019 Boar brush
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Cella Organic Aloe Vera shaving cream (green)
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Cella Organic after shave balm (green)
- Stats: 63rd almost perfect shave (rating 23 or 24 overall), 2nd shave rated 24 overall with the Rockwell, 3rd shave rated 24 overall with the Shark Super Stainless.
Saving the best for last, this was by far the best shave of this two week test. There was no irritation–no sting with the alum, none of that scraped skin feeling afterward–nothing. But that lack of irritation didn’t detract from the closeness, which I nailed pretty well with just a little extra effort to hit the usual trouble spots on my neck.
Plate 2 with the Rockwell seems to be a blade sweet-spot for me, with the perfect combination of comfort and quality across several blades. And this tracks with other findings that really, my skin prefers mild razors with just about every blade I’ve used.
And this shave really confirmed to me that the Cella green product line is my favorite. Not to say the red is bad, but the green is just noticeably better, with a better lather, better smelling and performing after shave, and a more pleasant experience.
That’s what this shave was: pleasant, and a great way to close out the week.
So, to the final question, how to the Shark Super Chrome and the Shark Super Stainless compare? The Super Chrome is just an inferior blade in every way–it didn’t feel as sharp, as precise, or as well engineered as the Super Stainless, and every shave showed it.
Next week, I try out another new razor. See you then!
Comfort: 25 out of 25
Quality/Closeness: 24 out of 25
Overall: 24 out of 25