Neo Gam - Day 1 (long - summary at the very end)
I received the Feather WS-D1S I won in the raffle today. Ten minutes later this razor also arrives. So first I admire the Feather for a while, then SWMBO comes back home and (as agreed) she takes control of the Feather. I'll consider the Feather a Christmas present from TSR. Thank you.
So I shift my attention to the Neo-Gam. The construction of this razor is quite ingenious and I soon figure out how assemble it.
The first impressions are: That's quite an angle. 45 degrees or thereabouts. And: It's quite a lightweight. Onto the scales it goes and weighs are mere 23.4 grams without blade. That's lighter than any DE I own, a Gillette Tech from 1972 holds that record at 30.1 grams.
I have two days worth of stubble and get going. A fresh Voskhod blade goes into the razor and after the usual prep I lather up some Cella croap. A tried and tested combination, so only the razor is an unknown. I'll try to remember what
@Whosthedaddy wants me to remember:
Remember remember remember to keep the handle as you would and forget the angle of the head.
I get the impression he wants me to remember this.
First pass WTG. Not to difficult. My muscles remember quite well how to move a razor across the face. I just try to keep one eye on the head, as it is not exactly where my muscle memory says it should be.
On the first pass I normally move the razor down across the jawline while adjusting the angle of the handle. If I do this with the Neo-Gam I fear that only a tiny bit of the blade will be in contact with my face. That sounds like asking for trouble. One glance around the shaving station confirms that all styptic products are within easy reach. I proceed with the procedure. What a weird sensation to see the razor head move across my jawline in a slanted way. Even weirder is that nothing bad happens. The lather is gone and is not replaced by blood. This is getting fun. Under the nose is a bit puzzling at first (the nose gets in the way) until I realise that the razor is not the same if you rotate the handle by 180 degrees. First the head is like a forward slash / , rotate it and it sits on your face like a backslash \. So you can use (as seen in the mirror) the forward slash on the left, the backward slash on the right, like this / \ without your nose getting in the way of the razor. Nifty.
So the first pass is done without incident. I'm trying to go for full on BBS, so I do a four pass shave WTG, XTG, XTG, ATG. All passes are easy and I get quickly used to strange angle of the head - I almost forget about it.
One thing that I get more and more aware of is the above mentioned slash/back slash thing when you turn the razor around. Surely this must change the way the stubble is cut. Maybe I should try two WTG and two ATG passes on another day, with only using one side of the head during one pass and the other side during the next. Right, (that's) a plan.
Four passes are done and what's the result? I missed a few millimetres just under the nose, almost inside my blowholes. I grab a Schick injector and finish that off. Easiest tool for that task. Other razors need practise. Not today.
Rinse with cold water. Feels good. The alum block must be broken as there is no sting whatsoever. We'll see about that. After another rinse I go for some high alcohol EdT for afters. Wow. Nothing. Doesn't sting.
Was it a close shave? Oh yes, indeed! Full on BBS everywhere, just as planned, and quite long lasting as well. Even difficult areas (right below the chin, corners of the mouth) were dealt with efficiently.
The verdict:
¡Ay, caramba! I didn't expect that. What a corker! This is one fantastic razor. It is mild in the sense that it doesn't hurt you. It is aggressive in the sense that it gives you great, close shave. It needs a slightly different technique, but I don't think (that's) going to be a problem if you have some experience with DE shaving.
Most of all, this razor is fun. I'm looking forward to a couple more shaves with it to learn how to use the two sides of the head properly. This razor is a must-try! If I was spending money on razors at the moment I'd definitely get one, or one like it. I like the look of the similar
Neo-Lux in red.
Tl;dr:
¡Ay, caramba! Nice. Try it!
