blade recommendations sought

I think it might be one of the greatest films ever, Walter Murch's masterpiece of sound/video editing and one of the loneliest/paranoid films I can think of.

I'm about the same generation as Boyce (I'm 82 opposed him being 83) and I've seen a few R2R's around, the first time was when I bought/sold a guitar to a chap who had one in his guitar room and also told me of copying vinyl to R2R as it would bring out sounds that'd be missed otherwise.

I'm a fan of the compact cassette as well, mainly for the sake of nostalgia. My association with music was heavily dependent on friends giving me home recorded cassette's (D90, an album on each side). As a 14 or 15 year old, a friend of my dad's gave me a D90 with Meat is Murder on one side, Unknown Pleasures on the other.
+ 1 on Unknown Pleasures.... & TDK D90 cassettes. ;)
 
+ 1 on Unknown Pleasures.... & TDK D90 cassettes. ;)
As a budding audiophile, I favoured AD90 and SA90 tapes - I still have a decent size suitcase full of all my teenage music on tape (I too was a Joy Division fan btw) - I also have a rather battle scarred Sony Pro Walkman tucked away somewhere - what I really miss about the format is the compilation tape: I don't really think there is a modern equivalent - 'sharing' an online playlist is just not the same as poring over assembly of a custom mix tape for someone you care about/want to impress/both - I don't really miss the sound quality, though - unless you could afford something like a Nakamichi, cassette was only ever a secondary source and a necessary evil if you wanted access to more than the handful of albums you could actually afford to buy on vinyl.
 
Indeed the one. A Delphi. With a Kuzma arm and Benz wood and it sounds as good as it looks. Best turntable I've ever owned and that is quite a few
This thread has gone a little off topic, but I think we should roll with it: I'm guessing the arm is a Stogi, but which version of the Delphi is it? - having revealed this much, I think you should tell us which phono stage/amp/speakers - I'll show you mine if you show me yours....
 
As a budding audiophile, I favoured AD90 and SA90 tapes - I still have a decent size suitcase full of all my teenage music on tape (I too was a Joy Division fan btw) - I also have a rather battle scarred Sony Pro Walkman tucked away somewhere - what I really miss about the format is the compilation tape: I don't really think there is a modern equivalent - 'sharing' an online playlist is just not the same as poring over assembly of a custom mix tape for someone you care about/want to impress/both - I don't really miss the sound quality, though - unless you could afford something like a Nakamichi, cassette was only ever a secondary source and a necessary evil if you wanted access to more than the handful of albums you could actually afford to buy on vinyl.

The compilation tape was a truly beautiful construct. I've never recaptured the excitement with any format even if the sound quality wasn't the greatest.
 
I should add that I feel I've now given the first two blades a fair crack of the whip - I'm aiming to try each blade twice:

BIC chrome platinum - kindly sent to me by Woody72 - I was hoping that I would get on well with this blade, and would have liked to repay a kind gesture with a positive response - sadly, I did not get on with it at all: I followed my usual prep routine, and initially proceeded with caution with the Slim set to '3' (I'd seen a test somewhere from a chap who somehow measures the sharpness of blades, and he put these up there at nearly Feather levels) - WTG, I found needed two passes just to make a start - ATG pulled like crazy, and still didn't seem to get past the stubble to my actual face - I gave up after I'm not sure how many passes, still only feeling partly shaved - no actual cuts, but not a pleasant experience. I followed this up some 36 hours later and tried dialling the Slim up to '4' and even briefly '5' - results were similar but felt even more like my beard had been filed down rather than sliced away at - I confess I gave up and switched to a 7 0'clock - YMMV is a given. as some people find this blade to be ideal, but I'm afraid it's not for me

Polsilver Iridium - the first of the blades from my sample pack - this appears to be universally well thought of, and evidently with very good reason: again set to '3', first pass was definitely closer than my 7 o'clock yellow, but noticeably smoother and far more confidence inspiring than with the Feathers - still took 3 passes to achieve a decent shave, and results didn't last as long as the Feathers, but this is a blade I could definitely live with (and feel happy about using the morning after the night before, as it were) - still pulls a bit ATG or when dialled up to '4', but already taking the lead over my Gillettes, and if anything seemed to perform even better on my second shave - a small nick on my troublesome upper lip area, but otherwise completely satisfactory results

there may be a brief hiatus in my testing process, as my better half is collecting my SE razor from the PO today, and I'm going to find it difficult to resist giving it a try - I have developed a new found respect for people who test and write up dozens of blades - it really is quite a lot of faff - F
 
Just a quick update: I did state in an earlier post that I intended to test all these blades and post my findings on the off chance that they may prove useful to others on a similar quest - testing the rest of the blades now seems a pointless/masochistic exercise following the arrival of my Above the Tie SE1 single edge razor - I have now shaved with it twice, but that is more than enough to convince me that I have found exactly what I am looking for - in both instances, I am not exaggerating when I say that it provided the best shave(s) of my life so far - utterly effortless, incredibly efficient, face-strokingly smooth, confidence inspiring and simply bloody brilliant - no hint of a nick - zero pulling ATG - wonderfully well balanced and utterly intuitive to use: I am 100% convinced that the AC blades are the key to this, and I don't really feel any desire to persist with DE ones - possibly the problems I've been having might be explained by the much thinner blades 'chattering' - I know this is all very much down to individual experience, but at this point I am seriously thinking of cleaning up my Slim Adjustable and sticking it on eBay along with a nice selection of blades for the new owner to try. I did consider posting a review of the SE1 in the appropriate section, but probably this is ground that has been well covered by people far more versed in the minutiae of wet shaving than I will ever be, and would probably not be the most edifying exercise - I may yet tinker a little with the soap/cream I am using (I seem to get through a tube of Proraso Red in fairly short order, I'd like to find a longer lasting hard soap that provides similar/better results) beyond this, I feel have achieved my goal - I don't think, had I not joined this forum (and Badger & Blade) that I would have even known of the existence of modern SE razors, so I am extremely grateful to all concerned :cool: - F
 
Just a quick update: I did state in an earlier post that I intended to test all these blades and post my findings on the off chance that they may prove useful to others on a similar quest - testing the rest of the blades now seems a pointless/masochistic exercise following the arrival of my Above the Tie SE1 single edge razor - I have now shaved with it twice, but that is more than enough to convince me that I have found exactly what I am looking for - in both instances, I am not exaggerating when I say that it provided the best shave(s) of my life so far - utterly effortless, incredibly efficient, face-strokingly smooth, confidence inspiring and simply bloody brilliant - no hint of a nick - zero pulling ATG - wonderfully well balanced and utterly intuitive to use: I am 100% convinced that the AC blades are the key to this, and I don't really feel any desire to persist with DE ones - possibly the problems I've been having might be explained by the much thinner blades 'chattering' - I know this is all very much down to individual experience, but at this point I am seriously thinking of cleaning up my Slim Adjustable and sticking it on eBay along with a nice selection of blades for the new owner to try. I did consider posting a review of the SE1 in the appropriate section, but probably this is ground that has been well covered by people far more versed in the minutiae of wet shaving than I will ever be, and would probably not be the most edifying exercise - I may yet tinker a little with the soap/cream I am using (I seem to get through a tube of Proraso Red in fairly short order, I'd like to find a longer lasting hard soap that provides similar/better results) beyond this, I feel have achieved my goal - I don't think, had I not joined this forum (and Badger & Blade) that I would have even known of the existence of modern SE razors, so I am extremely grateful to all concerned :cool: - F

I'd be interested in the slim if you fancied selling it on here?
 
I'd be interested in the slim if you fancied selling it on here?
I'm not sure that I would qualify for using the classified section - it looks as though I shall be given the all clear to return to work at some point next week, so will probably take the Slim in and run it through the ultrasonic tanks - happy to give you a heads up once it's ready to sell via whatever means - I did offer it to my son, but he seems to prefer the look of the Qshave Futur knock off I got him (!) - F
 
I'm not sure that I would qualify for using the classified section - it looks as though I shall be given the all clear to return to work at some point next week, so will probably take the Slim in and run it through the ultrasonic tanks - happy to give you a heads up once it's ready to sell via whatever means - I did offer it to my son, but he seems to prefer the look of the Qshave Futur knock off I got him (!) - F

That would be cool, cheers Flinders.
 
Just a quick update: I did state in an earlier post that I intended to test all these blades and post my findings on the off chance that they may prove useful to others on a similar quest - testing the rest of the blades now seems a pointless/masochistic exercise following the arrival of my Above the Tie SE1 single edge razor - I have now shaved with it twice, but that is more than enough to convince me that I have found exactly what I am looking for - in both instances, I am not exaggerating when I say that it provided the best shave(s) of my life so far - utterly effortless, incredibly efficient, face-strokingly smooth, confidence inspiring and simply bloody brilliant - no hint of a nick - zero pulling ATG - wonderfully well balanced and utterly intuitive to use: I am 100% convinced that the AC blades are the key to this, and I don't really feel any desire to persist with DE ones - possibly the problems I've been having might be explained by the much thinner blades 'chattering' - I know this is all very much down to individual experience, but at this point I am seriously thinking of cleaning up my Slim Adjustable and sticking it on eBay along with a nice selection of blades for the new owner to try. I did consider posting a review of the SE1 in the appropriate section, but probably this is ground that has been well covered by people far more versed in the minutiae of wet shaving than I will ever be, and would probably not be the most edifying exercise - I may yet tinker a little with the soap/cream I am using (I seem to get through a tube of Proraso Red in fairly short order, I'd like to find a longer lasting hard soap that provides similar/better results) beyond this, I feel have achieved my goal - I don't think, had I not joined this forum (and Badger & Blade) that I would have even known of the existence of modern SE razors, so I am extremely grateful to all concerned :cool: - F

Good luck with your SE journey. I enjoyed reading about your DE experience, albeit a short one!

I'm very new to it all but you were several weeks ahead of me so helpful information. We are in very different situations in terms of the experience we're looking for so I'll be sticking with DE.....at least for now.
 
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