The theme for today's shave was 'Downtrodden Oneblade or an upbeat disposable?'
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Downtown - Gillette Skinguard
Uptown girl - Gillette Skinguard 2 blade cartridge
Dragging me down - Razorock Plissoft 24mm
Build me up buttercup - Gentlemen's Tonic
Falling down - Nivea for men moisturiser
'The best a man can get'.
Mrs Satanfriendly doesn't think I am the best she can get, so this razor has a lot of ground to cover to live up to Gillette's claim.
A cheap buy at the local Tesco and to which I sacrificed a cut of Rib eye steak for. Rarely does anything get between me and my food and I really was at two minds over this one, but I let it win the day. Rib eye steak? Cheese butty? Rib eye steak? Okay, cheese butty it was.
It has been sometime since I went the way of a cartridge razor but curiosity killed the cat and it was time to find out whether or not going the way of DE's and SE's was a move well made. More so in consideration of the cost difference. Or better put, how much I have allowed it to cost.
So for buying cheap you get a handle which is the ubiquitous Gillette offering complete with splashes of plastic chrome - yuk!
and tacky in a similar manner to Blackpool, and just the one Skinguard blade. The blade having quite some gap between the 2 blades and the usual 'lubristrip', or to be more upmarket 2 of them just in case there wasn't sufficient gloop to spread about your face. And I thought lubristrip was a sexual lubricant for us older generation still using a touch of Castrol
.
There is also a very useful blade on the end of the cartridge which is very handy for trimming and those awkward places. I only found it by accident but I am guessing something may have been mentioned in the blurb, but who needs instructions? I obviously do.
No cans of shaving foam, no extra blades, no moisturizing creams and no extra anything else. A blister pack, the extraction of £4.50 and that is the lot.
Cream whipped in to the usual classy lather GT delivers and applied using the ever faithful Razorock. If I had a dog I would call it Razorock.
First impressions? It did take me back quite a few years and rather like the OneBlade it does make one ponder whether or not anything is actually happening. A quick run over with a finger and even more pondering over whether I am actually being shaved here or am I experiencing the after effects of the lubristrip? Feels very smooth to the touch. Much in the same way as the OB this is slick to use and can be thrown around ones face in a way no DE or SE could ever match. Three passes in as many minutes. Around the chin without the usual sense of caution and care being required. Under the nose was a bit more challenging. Because the blades have a relatively wide seperation one blade is just above the top lip and the other just under the nose which doesn't leave much of a blade strike. Ah ah he thinks. This is where the small single end blade comes in to play and soon sorted.
No cuts, no weepers, no irritation and to be honest what feels like a very good shave.
The usual final face lathering and a cold rinse. Hmmmm? May be not as smooth as I thought. Instead of removing the 5 O'clock shadow it actually seems to be more visually prominent. Strangely to the touch a pretty bloody good shave though with just a slight hint of residue growth . The acid test will come in 12 hours or so. With the likes of the other razors I use, 12 hours down the line there is still one wonderful smooth feeling. Time will tell.
It certainly doesn't get as close as say the OneBlade or Ikon, but £4.50 for a complete ready to use razor I am not going to complain. It is one I could see my wife happily using and me once in a while. A nice razor for hand baggage only on a plane.
BBS, DFS, DFDS, the Sofa Company and altogether a nice shave, but here is the big but again. There is no skill, no sense of fear and no real sense of achievement. Even less so than the OB which is going some distance to say. And it ain't as close, so fails on the 'best a man can get'.
But it has its place in life and a worthwhile little purchase. At least I can use it again whereas the Rib eye would have been a 'use once only' purchase.
Having a lack of fear factor I shall sign off this SOTD with some Fear Factory
Not quite signed off as yet and now for my cheese butty to finalise my shaving exercise.
