After a few weeks of playing with my new Henson medium and trying out blades that I’ve used before, it’s time to get back to the two remaining blades that are new to me.
The first, and the subject for this week and the next three weeks, is the PAA Platinum Strangelet Super Sharps. PAA is Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements, which is the store brand of Phoenix Shaving. They’re an odd little shop, with their branding embracing aliens and unusual designs. Case in point: the tuck art includes an astronaut and an alien who’s shaving?
The unusual designs extend to their razors–a line of designs that are probably best described as extreme. They have an unusually large number of slant razor designs, lots of extreme open combs, a series of razors that are made out of plastic, and a few of those that glow in the dark. Seriously, it’s some strange stuff, and you can check it out for yourself here.
And just out of curiosity, what’s in the water in Phoenix where there are two major players in the wet shaving world (PAA and Razor Emporium). And Oliworks makes their own razors in Mesa, AZ (that’s a whole big messy story that maybe I’ll talk about someday, but suffice it to say that the wet shaving business world is not devoid of drama.
Anyway, on to this week’s shaves. The PAA Strangelet is ranked as one of the mildest blades out there, and there seems to be some debate as to whether they’re on the duller end or sharper end, as mildness or efficiency is not always tied to how sharp the actual cutting edge is. The Razor Emporium aggressiveness ratings put it down there with the Bic Chrome Platinum, which seems to be in my preferred blade zone, so we’ll see how the week goes.
The Ratings
Sunday’s Shave, #193. The Proraso Green Strangelet shave.
The setup:
- Razor: Rockwell 6C plate 3
- Blade: PAA Platinum Strangelet Super Sharps
- Pre-Shave: Proraso Refreshing pre-shave cream (green)
- Brush: Proraso boar shaving brush
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Proraso Refreshing shave soap (green)
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Proraso Refreshing aftershave balm (green)
It’s rare to have 4 shaves in a week as I did last week, and even more rare to shave twice in two days, but I kept my regular Sunday shave for a couple of reasons: first, I like the Sunday regimen–trimming my beard, taking time to prep and shave, apply the beard oil and butter, etc. I look forward to Sunday’s shaves more than the others during the week, so I didn’t want to miss that. And the other reason I wanted to stick with the schedule is that I can’t remember the last time I shaved two days in a row, and I wanted to see how it went. I don’t anticipate needing to do that in the future, but it’s good experience.
Since my bonus shave was with the Parker, I wanted this morning’s shave to be mild, so I went with plate 3 on the Rockwell, even though I knew the Strangelet would provide a mild shave.
The Proraso refreshing line was a good choice for today as well: the fourth Proraso shave of the last five shaves, and I’ve just got to say that my continued love for Proraso is not misplaced. The menthol and eucalyptus of the formula provided a soothing cooling feel. It is interesting that the balm doesn’t have much fragrance–the blue I used yesterday had a scent that sticks around for a few hours, and just a couple of hours or so after today’s shave, I can’t detect the green balm at all.
This shave was very good, but not outstanding. It was nice to clean up the stubble that the Parker left behind yesterday, and while there was surprisingly some blade feel, there was only slight irritation. Being a mild setup, it wasn’t as close as I’d normally like, but close enough for me.
Overall, I’m not sure these first impressions should count for much, but this blade is not outstanding, or bad, either. I’d be happy to use it if I had to, but I’m not sure I’d restock it. But we’ll see how the rest of the week’s shaves go.
Comfort: 20 of 25
Quality/Closeness: 23 of 25
Overall: 21 of 25
Tuesday’s Shave, #194. The Barbasol 1919 Strangelet shave.
The setup:
- Razor: Rockwell 6C plate 4
- Blade: PAA Platinum Strangelet Super Sharps
- Pre-Shave: Razor Emporium Unscented Pre-Shave Stick
- Brush: None
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Barbasol 1919 Classic Shaving Cream
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Barbasol 1919 After Shave Balm
I always forget how good the Barbasol 1919 shaving cream works for me. It’s a non-lathering cream that goes on pretty thick. It’s slick and protective, and does a great job, especially in aggressive shaves, including this one. The hairs were stood up nicely, and the protection made for a very comfortable and very close shave. This was one I’ll have to come back to in the future–or at least making sure to pair the 1919 cream with aggressive setups.
I did call this one almost perfect because it was–very close, very comfortable, and I really like the 1919 scent.
Comfort: 23 out of 25
Quality/Closeness: 24 out of 25
Overall: 23 out of 25
Thursday’s Shave, #195. The Nordic Phoenix shave.
The setup:
- Razor: Rockwell 6C plate 5
- Blade: PAA Platinum Strangelet Super Sharps
- Pre-Shave: Razor Emporium Unscented Pre-Shave
- Brush: Omega 10019 boar brush
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Razor Emporium Nordic shaving soap
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Zingari Man Unscented Sego Balm
If you’re wondering where the name of today’s shave is coming from, well, Razor Emporium and PAA are based in the Phoenix area.
As per my usual pattern when trying a new blade in the Rockwell, I go through my 3 favorite plates. So today’s shave was destined for plate 5, which is next to the top in aggressiveness.
It’s a strange thing sometimes that a more aggressive setup doesn’t result in a closer shave for me. I think it’s because when there’s more blade feel, I use fewer strokes and make them lighter on my skin. But that’s what today’s shave was: much more blade feel, more irritation afterward, and not nearly as close or positive as Tuesday’s shave. So plate 4 seems to be the sweet spot for this blade.
The Nordic lather was good: slick, thick, comfortable, with a pleasant piney, foresty smell. The Zingari Man Sego Balm continues to just kind of disappoint–it doesn’t absorb as quickly as I’d like, and forms a kind of white film on my face until it does. It’s thicker than my other balms, but it’s closer to the lotion form of the Dollar Shave Club or the Barbasol 1919, but those don’t leave that film and seem to soak in faster.
The bottom line for the week is that the PAA Platinum Strangelet blade is okay but not outstanding. I think it’ll be one that I’ll finish up the tuck with and then just move on. But there are two more weeks with it, so stay tuned for those. Maybe my thoughts will change.
Comfort: 21 out of 25
Quality/Closeness: 22 out of 25
Overall: 21 out of 25
