Chatsworth - worth a chat?

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DEbest

Joined
Tuesday December 22, 2009
So my Chatsworth is inbound and I am wondering what to expect and how different an experience this much-praised beauty is going to make. As a loyal Progress user switching over to a non-adjustable might take some adjusting! I hear things about the uneven blade exposure of the Progress and this is something that the Chatsworth won't suffer from. Was the Mergress an adaptation of the Progress that was meant to rectify this?
So does EJ heads represent the best of modern engineering applied within the bounds of the traditional set-up?
 
I have now settled into a routine of switching between a Chatsworth and a Merkur and an occasional straight. The Merkur and the straight will give me the closest shave but it essential to maintain a light touch. The Chatsworth offers a different experience. Still a close shave but it doesn't require such a light touch so you can go about your shave in a more relaxed way. It is simply a less aggressive razor than the Merkur. Both are well made and should last a lifetime. Unfortunately my first Chatsworth lost its head. It meant I rediscovered how good the Merkur is. Now I have a new Chatsworth I alternate more often.
 
Thanks for the opinion on the Chatsworth - it was your fine picture of the Chatworth that inspired me to order one. Surprised to learn you now use the occasional straight - I have not ventured that far yet, I'd imagine it is after you've had your coffee that you unleash the straight. Is there one you would recommend for starting out?
 
I just thought the Mergress was a Progress where the plastic dial has been replaced with a metal one? No doubt it looks better and a metal knob would add a little more heft and change the feel slightly, not sure if it would make any difference to the "idiosyncrasies" of the razor though.

As Fido has described when you give a razor enough time you can learn to use and enjoy most of them.
 
I think the main purpose of the Mergress was to "fix" the adjuster on the Progress. What goes wrong is you unscrew the bottom part to get the cap off, change the blade and screw it back down, some Progress users reported that it does not always tighten down to the same place, therefore 1 is not always 1 and so on. This made is hard to maintain a constant setting between blade changes. I don't know if every model was affected and how much of a pain it was as I have never owned a Progress. I did buy a Mergress from Guy on this forum and that is a lovely razor, the metal end bolt feels nice and gives it a nice heft to it, no progress to compare it to but it is a nice adjustable.

The Chatsworth is certainly an easier shave than the Merkurs, I can get a really close shave with the EJ head, I just need to use a nice sharp blade like a super thin or kai and it makes up for some of the mildness of the razor, alternatively used with a mild blade like a Personna you have a nice weekday 2 pass shave with no fuss or hassle and I find the results very repeatable.

Maybe on the first use it would be interesting for you to use the same blade type as the one you just used in your Progress, but do try some of the blades you found a bit harsh before and see how they feel in the Chatsworth. Either way I do find having a rotation stops me becoming sloppy with my technique and am sure you will be delighted.
 
Audiolab, that is good advice and I plan to start out gently with my favoured blade, a derby, and see what differences I notice. A feather is something I have accepted as just not being right for me but I am curious to try it in the more comfortable razor. As I go along with traditional shaving getting BBS is just not a goal for me any longer. It is possible to get that pre-pubescent look but it also feels like a layer of skin come away with it too. I now even avoid ATG and and look for a nick-free, gradual stubble-reducing shave that is repeatable and can be done confidently with speed if necessary.
 
DEbest said:
Audiolab, that is good advice and I plan to start out gently with my favoured blade, a derby, and see what differences I notice. A feather is something I have accepted as just not being right for me but I am curious to try it in the more comfortable razor. As I go along with traditional shaving getting BBS is just not a goal for me any longer. It is possible to get that pre-pubescent look but it also feels like a layer of skin come away with it too. I now even avoid ATG and and look for a nick-free, gradual stubble-reducing shave that is repeatable and can be done confidently with speed if necessary.
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I had a bloody shave with a Feather in my Merkur. When I used a Feather in my EJ with a light touch I had a smooth comfortable shave with no nicks or cuts.
 
Problem I had with Merkur Progress was not realising that the indents on the head of the removeable top & the base must be aligned in order to maintain consistent adjustment. Once I worked that out everything became much more predictable.
JohnnyO.
 
A Feather in a Fatboy is another good combination, it is all this knowledge of how mild the razor in hand is and what blades work best in it that enables you to choose what type of shave you have. If I am going out for the day to a function I would use an aggressive combination and get it so smooth that come close of evening I am still pretty smooth but the next day it would be a mild razor with a mild blade and really protective soap.

This for me is the fun on DE shaving, with cartridges a shave is a shave it is quite hard to mess up abut it is easily repeatable and that is what most men want, they don't want variables, just a quick shave because they view it as a chore. For me the ability to pre-determine the aggressiveness of the shave and the fun of finding new combinations that work well is enjoyable.
 
DEbest said:
Thanks for the opinion on the Chatsworth - it was your fine picture of the Chatworth that inspired me to order one. Surprised to learn you now use the occasional straight - I have not ventured that far yet, I'd imagine it is after you've had your coffee that you unleash the straight. Is there one you would recommend for starting out?
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Hi DEbest! Since Neil hasn´t answeared, maybe I should try and make a go of it :) . I would recommend a smaller blade (easier to manouver under the honker), 4/8 - 5/8 and something with a wedgier blade. Some people mean 6/8 is ok too. There are many to chose from and the smaller ones´re cheaper than the big blades ;) . Neil has many on his site and you allways get a good edge from him. If you want a Swedish blade I can set you up (even though Neil has them too).

Of course you need a strop too, buy a cheap one. You _will_ nick it. You actually can use a piece of leather and put it on a table and go, or a leather belt ...

Just my two pennies tough. Neil´s the real guy to go to. For sure. Try it, you´ll like it and for me it improved the use of DE:s aswell (you don´t want to put preasure on a straight and angels are even more important ;) ).
 
Thanks Mikael, I need to ease in slowly into cut-throat shaving. I managed to inflict an 'almost requiring stitches' wound on my thumb with a DE razor but that is another story. Recently I watched that impressive video on yourtube of a 'gentleman' proceeding to shave with a straight while downing a bottle of whiskey. So it got me thinking, well how hard can it be and would the results be significantly better. Would I be shaving with my mobile at hand in case I harmed myself and need to dial 999?
I guess what I need is a starter kit so I can tiptoe into this gently.
 
Tried the Chatsworth with a feather. Bloody mess! Feathers and dashing just leads to gashing! Must slow it down next time or else go back to Derbys.
 
Dashing doesn't work with anything for me, especially a Feather. If I am in that much of a hurry I will use a Sensor or not shave at all. Am sure the Feather would work in the Chatsworth, it is a mild(ish) razor although I haven't tried it with a Feather myself so yes try when not rushed and see how it goes.
 
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