My SE Love Affair Continues

H

Hippo

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509
Location
Peterborough
Well another chapter in my continuing lover affair with my 1912 started this evening. After my good lady tried it on her legs and loved it, I got brave and decided to use it on my head.

Now this job has previously been left to whatever cartridge multi blade thing I happened to have skulking around the depths of the medicine cabinet. Even once I discovered DE shaving at the beginning of the year I've never felt inclined to use it on my head. The idea of trying to shave blind behind my neck conjured up terrible images of a swift and bloody death! However the Ever Ready seemed to somehow invite me to try, not sure why. Anyway the results were stunning, the 70 year old razor scythed it's way through 10 days worth of the patchy cranial covering that passes for my hair like it wasn't there, which in places of course it isn't! It totally out preformed my hydro 5 thingy and has left my scalp gleaming and smooth without any irritation or nicks.

Another victory for 70 year old technology.....off to bin the hydro as it was only being kept for scalp duties!

Think I'd better order in some more blades, between my face, my head and the good lady's gateway sticks I feel I'm going to need them!
 
Heh, nice post, Hippo. I'm getting thin enough on top now to start considering the 'Full Brynner', and also hope to get into SEs this year so perhaps it's a sign. Did anyone suggest an SE in the gentleman vegetables thread?
 
Respect to you Hippo. I can't even bring myself to try DE on my head never mind the thought of SE! And that's after only 1 days experience of SE from yourself. Would be interesting if you could try DE on your head too and report back on the differences etc, save me trying myself... Well done sir.
 
Cheers Chris......as it so happens I have the loan pool digress.....might fire it up and see how it does on cranial smoothing duties. TBH DE scares my more than SE still in the name of research! I'll report my findings if I make it in one piece!
 
I can happily report great head shaves with Digress HD, Futur, Super Speed Red Tip, Merkur 38, Fat Handle Tech.

In fact the only DE I've tried that wasn't sweet was Fat Boy.

Do not fear shaving blind round the back, use the force Luke(!)

Oh and the best DE head shave I've had is Weber polished (bulldog handle) and Astra Super Platinum.
 
I made it, I survived! Actually DE head shaving wasn't as tricky as I thought. I didn't suffer any nicks, cuts or razor burn. I did find it a bit trickier to get the correct angle a few times, something I oddly didn't struggle with using the 1912. I also found that even though I managed to get BBS with both DE and SE, it lasted longer with the 1912. Mind you I experience that on my face too. It seems there's BBS and then there's SE BBS!!
 
pjgh said:
Hippo said:
It seems there's BBS and then there's SE BBS!!
Click to expand...

It seems there is :D

I find that when my stubble comes back, it seems softer somehow. More so with a Durham Duplex, but I think getting used to SE shaving with the GEM blades primed me well for that experience.
Click to expand...

I'm glad you agree, I'm so pleased you've confirmed what I've been thinking since taking up SE shaving all of nearly 7 days ago! I've been finding the stubble is sort of softer too, well not softer, sort of, (I've really be struggling how to explain this, the best I can do is...), more analogue, if that makes sense? DE is super sharp and offers a very clinical cut, to use my earlier analogy, a more, digital kind of shaving experience. It seems to achieve its shaves by the shear sharpness and thinness of the blade, slicing the hairs at 90 degrees, well this is what I imagine anyway!

SE, now I'm guess here, has a much more rigid and thicker blade, so I would guess relies more on the weight behind a possibly less sharp cutting edge, I feel this extra heft gives the blade more energy to slice through the hairs, but due to the thicker blade maybe it sort of chamfers the edges of the hairs?

Whether there is some truth in this, or it's just the ramblings of someone who is over thinking his daily shave, I'm not sure!

Either way I much prefer the way an SE shaves, in terms of the smoothness during the shave, the total absence of irritation after, the longer lasting BBS and the resulting analogue regrowth.

In fact I like it so much compared to DE I'm off to write a sales post for my Gillette Slim and my modest collection of blades.

As an aside......I wonder if straights have a similar feel to SE?
 
Hippo said:
pjgh said:
Hippo said:
It seems there's BBS and then there's SE BBS!!
Click to expand...

It seems there is :D

I find that when my stubble comes back, it seems softer somehow. More so with a Durham Duplex, but I think getting used to SE shaving with the GEM blades primed me well for that experience.
Click to expand...

I'm glad you agree, I'm so pleased you've confirmed what I've been thinking since taking up SE shaving all of nearly 7 days ago! I've been finding the stubble is sort of softer too, well not softer, sort of, (I've really be struggling how to explain this, the best I can do is...), more analogue, if that makes sense? DE is super sharp and offers a very clinical cut, to use my earlier analogy, a more, digital kind of shaving experience. It seems to achieve its shaves by the shear sharpness and thinness of the blade, slicing the hairs at 90 degrees, well this is what I imagine anyway!

SE, now I'm guess here, has a much more rigid and thicker blade, so I would guess relies more on the weight behind a possibly less sharp cutting edge, I feel this extra heft gives the blade more energy to slice through the hairs, but due to the thicker blade maybe it sort of chamfers the edges of the hairs?

Whether there is some truth in this, or it's just the ramblings of someone who is over thinking his daily shave, I'm not sure!

Either way I much prefer the way an SE shaves, in terms of the smoothness during the shave, the total absence of irritation after, the longer lasting BBS and the resulting analogue regrowth.

In fact I like it so much compared to DE I'm off to write a sales post for my Gillette Slim and my modest collection of blades.

As an aside......I wonder if straights have a similar feel to SE?
Click to expand...

Oh dear, what have I done... Glad you're enjoying the SE so much.
 
Hippo said:
As an aside......I wonder if straights have a similar feel to SE?
Click to expand...

Now here's a can of worms you're opening.

Just this morning I popped a Feather SE into my Streamline (old version) and had a wonderful shave - to me it's more like a DE shave - that's probably because I use a straight most days. So that partly answers your question about whether straights have a similar feel. I think it's more to do with the blade - the Feather is not quite so rigid as GEM blades and you don't get the same resonance either. A GEM blade is probably closer to a straight although you can't really compare the experience because the straight obviously does not have a safety bar.

So, the conclusion - you'll have to try yourself. It's not nearly as hard or dangerous as some have been assuming lately.
 
Granted, the Durham Dorset is a DE, or sorts, but having that rigid blade it is somewhere between an SE and a straight edge. You can fly the Durham Dorset with the stropping attachment, making it an unguarded single edge shave. I have yet to pluck up the courage.

... pictured here on my home-made Kamisori-styled "Durham Artist Club":

DSC04877.JPG


DSC04878.JPG
 
UKRob said:
Hippo said:
As an aside......I wonder if straights have a similar feel to SE?
Click to expand...

- the Feather is not quite so rigid as GEM blades and you don't get the same resonance either. A GEM blade is probably closer to a straight although you can't really compare the experience because the straight obviously does not have a safety bar.

So, the conclusion - you'll have to try yourself. It's not nearly as hard or dangerous as some have been assuming lately.
Click to expand...

Sorry for the silly question...but what's resonance?

Yes I'm coming to that conclusion too!!! Already started looking on the bay as you suggested! Off to flog the Slim and raise some funds.

Expect a PM about honing soon!! :)

pjgh said:
Granted, the Durham Dorset is a DE, or sorts, but having that rigid blade it is somewhere between an SE and a straight edge. You can fly the Durham Dorset with the stropping attachment, making it an unguarded single edge shave. I have yet to pluck up the courage.

... pictured here on my home-made Kamisori-styled "Durham Artist Club":

DSC04877.JPG


DSC04878.JPG
Click to expand...

Yes I've seen that, rather taken, it's been the subject of some of my searches on the bay. It came with a set of scales like a straight to begin with didn't it?
 
@paul - so that's what it is - a stropping attachment. I've been wondering why there are two attachments.

To me, the handle looks as though it may get in the way - a kamisori generally has more room between handle and cutting edge. I've got a home made (cut-down straight) at home that just needs re-honing - if you want to try it, pm me your address and I'll get it in the post.
 
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