Friday 19th November
Ganders Goat Soap w/Hop, Sage & Birch
Imperial Leather (Vintage) Shaving Bowl
Kent Infinity+ Silvertex
MARS Razor w/Number 10 Plate
Super Gillette Blue Stainless (1) SE
Imperial Leather (Vintage) Aftershave
Drumroll ... time for the number 10 plate and what better pairing than a Super Gillette Blue, possibly Gillette's finest current blade?
In use, I did not get a lot of difference between the 9 and 10 plates, both of which I think are a step just beyond what is necessary and both requiring a conscious re-angling to get the smoothest from them where, say, the 8 plate and below do not. I'd also say that I don't think anything beyond the 8 plate is necessary for sweeping off a couple of weeks of growth. I'm guessing, since I'm a daily shaver.
In summary, I think I'd say that when faced with a pack of 10 graduated plates to adjust the capability of the shave, I'd say we're looking for one particular plate to suit the shaver rather than to adjust between passes as that is a tad fiddly. I suppose you could. On that then, we're perhaps looking for a couple of plates that suit our shaves: a mild one and a not-mild one.
From the mild end, I'd say that plates 1, 2 & 3 all have a relationship with each other than they do not have with, say, 4 or 5. I found 2 to be the Goldilocks plate as plate 3 gave the same mild shave but lacked in finesse, whereas 1 required much buffing to get just right.
Plates 4 & 5 change in character and are not mild, but most definitely somewhere in between and both capable of a reasonable single pass shave but more passes could perhaps fall foul of the increased gap and aggressiveness. These plates would be useful for every other day shavers wanting a milder shave, perhaps.
Certainly improving upon that state are plates 6,7 & 8 which (like 1,2 & 3) seem to have a relationship amongst themselves. My personal sweet spot plate was 7 which I found delivered the same sorta shave as 8 but with more finesse. Plate 6 was just a tad milder and less capable.
While leaves 9 & 10 which as I said above, I found an unnecessary step beyond 8.
I don't think there's merit in trying to list out the plates against known razors, but there were a few comparions that came to mind ...
Tonight's plate 10 immediately put me in mind of the vintage Wardonia, a razor that you have to modify modern blades to fit and once clicked in place you marvel at the yawning blade gap while in use it is truly frightening! My personal favourite, plate 7 was much like the original Merkur 37 where somehow it had a rigidity that plate 8 did not, less chattery. Highly capable yet super-smooth. Maybe 8 could be compared to the Yaqi SE? Plate 3 felt very much like the Gillette Guard while improving upon that, my favourite for a truly foolproof, safe and mild shave in plate 2 felt more like the often overlooked Gillette Twinjector delivering that little bit beyond what even the best cartridge razors can.
I've had a lot of fun with this razor and would happily carry on with plate 7 and reserve plate 2 for my holidays in place of the Gillette Guard.
I gather there a lot in the pipeline for the MARS system, not least a refresh on the handle itself and a revised set of plates that Rob suggested might be a new set of 10 but within the current bracket of 1-8, something I think is a good move as the current 9 and 10 do feel to be outside of the character of the rest of the set. Different colours, maybe? Also an injector head and perhaps an AC head.