REVIEW: Silver Star carbon blades

I am a big fan of carbon blades and this particular brand - extinct for 50 years now - is hands down my favorite carbon. I've given samples to others who have verified what I found to be true: these "Duridium" (heh) blades are surprisingly smooth. Are they as smooth as finer stainless blades? No, but they do have two advantages. (1) they are as smooth as some low to mid-grade stainless blades, which carbons tend not to be, BUT (2) being carbons, they can be stropped and honed to maintain their superior cutting edge. 

The sealed lot pictured above is well worth the $10 shipped I paid for them because I know they give consistently smooth shaves which, with my Shake Sharp razor, will now last longer than they otherwise would. 

Highly recommended if you have the chance to try them. 

(by the way, that's blade wax you see on the opened blade...it's the first time I've seen one that heavily done)

 

REVIEW: Silver Star safety razor

The Silver Star Feather Weight razor is a sleeper. Unlike the gold plated version of this razor, which is all brass and struck me as somewhat off-balance, the FW's handle and blade deck are unplated aluminum (only the cap is nickel plated brass). 

This is the lightest DE razor I've ever used. Weight-wise, the only thing I can compare it to is a very cheap plastic disposable. Not hollow Bic disposable light, but close. The balance actually isn't an issue because even with a brass cap, there's no weight to speak of so it handles surprisingly well. The slightly too-short handle isn't an issue, either, as it is on the heavier gold one. The balance is near perfect here.

Having shaved with it several times using a variety of stainless blades, the exposure feels comparable to your average Tech. And that's okay - paired with the right blade (and so far I haven't had a bad match but sharper is probably better in this case) the near-weightless shave, maneuverability and killer grip more than makes up for what it lacks in teeth. 

DOES THE SHAKE SHARP'S HONE MAINTAIN OR IMPROVE A STAINLESS STEEL BLADE'S PERFORMANCE?

Short answer: Doesn't look like it.

While a minority disagrees with them, I've long read reports from guys who said stropping and honing blades just does not work for them. In fact, it is widely reported that using traditional strop devices actually DEGRADED the quality of the shave. 

In my experience, these guys are correct insofar as they're talking about modern stainless steel blades, which they almost always are. While carbon blades are maintainable with post-shave drying, stropping and honing, the very few times I tried the same routine with stainless blades, the results were either inconclusive (meaning I noticed no difference) or the next shave was slightly but noticeably worse. 

Now that I have the Shake Sharp, and despite saying I'd never use it to hone a stainless blade, I figured it was the best time to put the idea to bed one way or the other. I used a perfectly usable Big Ben blade (on it's 3rd shave and starting to drag just a bit) with the built-in hone. Result: the fourth shave was considerably degraded. 

I am no expert and don't want to be but the only guess I can come up with is that the multiple bevels common on modern blades are screwed up when the blade is treated like a vintage carbon. I can't think of another reason why a stainless steel edge would go from "used but still OK" to "definitely worse," whereas carbon blades - which I don't think were as complexly beveled - invariably improve.

While the Big Ben stainless and the Shake Sharp are a fantastic shaving combo, I've confirmed my gut feeling to avoid using the Shake Sharp's hone to work over stainless blades. If other guys can perceive improvements from honing stainless, I heartily say, more power and better shaves to them.

My review of the Shake Sharp itself here. 

REVIEW: Big Ben stainless blade

Smoothness is paramount to me. I'll take a less-sharp but consistently smooth blade any day over an ultrasharp blade that may get the job done faster but, no matter how careful you are, is just as eager to remove epidermis as it is whiskers. So while my search for razors is pretty much completed (...I think...) I'm always interested in trying new blades that are reputed to be smooth shavers, and the cheaper, the better. 

One of these is the Big Ben, a pack of which was graciously gifted to me by a respected member of the wetshaving community.

I don't have much to say on this blade, or any blade, except the basics of what I like or don't like. The reason is because my experience with stainless blades, unlike carbons, is relatively limited and, admittedly, rather pedestrian...I'll try any blade once, without caring much about its pedigree, packaging, printing, wax spots, flavor of machine oil, which shift at what plant in Upper Slobovia made it, etc (it's fine and dandy that others dig that minutiae, I just don't).

Anyway, even after one shave I can say that I like the Big Ben. As the recommendation said, it is smooth and performed excellently in my Shake Sharp - no nicks, no scrapes, no irritation. How much of that is attributable to the relatively mild Shake Sharp or to the relatively mild Big Ben? No idea. Don't care. Are they consistently smooth from blade to blade and pack to pack? Again, I dunno but I'll find out.

While it does not seem as keen as a Feather (treacherously sharp but tolerable), Astra (very good) or Voshkod (disliked it on the first shave), for me it's smoother than any of them. It definitely blows Derby out of the water on all fronts and is on par with another new favorite, the Blue Bird...though the Big Ben seems a hair smoother. In fact, if I were shaving blindfolded the Big Ben could be mistaken for my all-time favorite stainless blade, the early '60s era Gillette stainless. As far as value goes, it appears to be a winner given its smoothness and its superior shave (sharper, I guess) to the readily available Dorcos, with which I have no problem. No blade snob, I.

I've a stock of about 50 of those fantastic old Gillette blades that I'm always hesitant to break into...but when I just HAVE to have the nicest shave I can get, rather than just a serviceable one, those old Gillette stainless are what I reach for. Now I won't have to because I've found a comparable alternative. I'll be ordering some of these Big Bens soon and unhesitatingly recommend trying them just once to anyone who wants a smooth blade that gets the job done right (that IS based on shaves from just the first blade so take this recommendation for what it's worth...YMMV).

UPDATE: 100 Big Ben blades are on their way to me from merry ol' England. Here's hoping they're consistent.

REVIEW: Remington "S" (aka Azor)

Seen here: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Remington-S-Women-s-Razor/20681462
 
The "S" is marketed for ladies but the carts and the "S-Flex" attachment mechanism are apparently identical to those used in the men's verison, the Azor. Only real difference is color and shape of the lower part of the handle, but the "S" is a bit cheaper.

PROS: As with the disaster I reviewed yesterday, if it shaved well the price and availability would be an advantage. The color is nice; I actually prefer the look of the woman's version over the cheaper chrome-looking man's Azor. Good grippiness to it. Aaaaaaaad...that's about it.

CONS: The shave is markedly improved over the disaster I reviewed yesterday - meaning only that it was far less uncomfortable and drew no blood. Surprisingly, though, it did not shave quite as well, either. Whereas the DG cheapie got me BBS on the face but tore up my neck, the "S" gave me more or less a disappointing SAS on both face and neck (my neck had healed enough to try it out). I could have taken the "S" for another pass but saw no point of going past 2.

The reason the DG razor performed better, at least in terms of removing skin, is because its cart pivots pretty much exactly like the Proglide does and so does a good job following the contours of the face. Too bad the cart sucks so bad.

These Remington razors, on the other hand, have an entirely unique design: the cart is mounted on two flexible arms called the "S-Flex," which are quite stiff...at least at first, perhaps they loosen up with use.

Anyway, the handle's stiffness means the cartridge is largely unresponsive to the curves and contours of the face and so does not shave well using typical technique. This in turn makes the large cart - large when compared with, say, the immobile Trac II - that much harder to maneuver. One immediately feels the need to press harder to force it to hug the curves but this, obviously, would be counterproductive. No doubt this stiffness might be preferable for some women to leg-shave, but it is just too stiff to use on the face, and the apparent quality of the blades do not make up for that weakness.

As stated, the men's version appears to have this same incongruously stiff "flexible" head design. If that makes you think this could be a really cool 5-blade version of the venerable Trac II...sorry, but so did I. It isn't. The smaller Trac II is far more maneuverable and efficient.

Verdict: A so-so face shaver, safe enough to use but appropriate only for when you don't need to look your best. It could be frustrating to use because the design is so different, you quickly realize you have to put in a headache-inducing combination of close attention and physical effort to MAKE it shave what needs shaved without pressing too hard. But even if you're up to that task, the quality of the cart will likely leave you with a SAS at most. I predict you'd probably see that coming mid-shave, get mad and grab another razor before you're halfway through. The innate stiffness probably makes it a dandy leg shaver for some ladies, though.

The ONLY way I can see this razor improving is if those S-Flex arms loosen up some over time...if they do, without getting too sloppy-floppy or breaking outright (no idea if there's a wire core in them), then it's possible these Remington's carts have potential that you just cannot tap with a brand new, too stiff handle. We'll see, as I'm not trashing this one (yet).

Since the purpose of these reviews are to have fun comparing the multi-blade monstrosities so popular today, I use the Proglide as the standard. By that measure, the "S," and its brother the Azor, no doubt, are nice tries but just don't measure up (at least not right outta the box).

[Later that week...]

After several dozen bends, the head now flexes so far back that it can be doubled over backwards. Not that anyone would need it to do that to shave but it apparently did improve this one. The overall experience was better because the razor was more responsive...less effort, thus less headache. The shave of 2 days growth was better as well.

Hand feel-wise, the half of my face I did first is 100% BBS with no irritation (all ATG), which inspired me to go grab the wife's Proglide to use on the others side. As expected, the PG side is about 97% BBS after 1.5 passes (also all ATG) but only because it's an old cart...brand new it's 100%. Still, no irritation. Overall, an excellent shave, both sides.

Visibly, there's no difference between the sides. No whiskers visible and the neck is as clean as the face.

The sole drawbacks are the slightly lesser quality blades on the Remington. They will get essentially the same result as the PG but, even now, still takes more work. Second drawback: the ladies' handle is less hand-friendly than the men's, but that's not really Remington's fault.

VERDICT: If Remington's blades were just a hair better, this would be a top-level contender of any cart shaver out there. You can get a guaranteed DFS and very nearly BBS in two passes, and that with - it bears repeating - no irritation whatsoever.

While I would not use this as a daily shaver unless I had to (only because the price is still higher than I'd want to regularly pay, and would switch to the Azor if I did), I would not hesitate recommending the "S" or the Azor for travel, for four reasons:

1. You WILL get a smooth DFS+, minimum

2. It's near impossible to cut or even irritate yourself before important business functions

3. With the cutting load being shared by five edges rather than one or two, a single cart - properly maintained - could last for many months of travel (I've found surprisingly good longevity to be an unexpected advantage of multiblade carts...the better quality ones, anyway...whether Remington's is one of those, no idea...I tend to doubt it)

4. If you lose it, you're out $4.97

REVIEW: Dollar General 5-blade razor

Handle with 1 cart. $5. Not compatible with the Proglide.

Pros: Handle has metal content and so feels more substantial than the partly chrome-plated all-plastic PG. Actually feels better in the hand. The head pivots much the same way as the PG's does, which is a plus. It has no largely useless vibrating gimmick. The lube strip is camouflaged - at first I thought it was just a useless strip of matching orange plastic but lo and behold, there it is. Really slimes you up on multiple passes. A box of 2 carts costs over $3.50; now, if it were as good a shaver as the PG, or even close, that'd be a dealmaker for me. However...

Cons: The five blades mimic the smoothness of the PG but only to about 75% as smooth, which still isn't that bad. I've used worse. In fact, on the face I got a 2 pass true BBS, so it was a dead tie with the PG on that point.

Baffling, though, is how BADLY it did on my neck. I could not endure more than two passes (and this was using extra-thick layers of Tabac, with lots of hot water prep, and as little pressure as I could on the 2nd pass). Still, I ended up with neck bleeders, weepers and razor burn the like of which I have not had since using the Xtreme-3 disposables which forced me to look into DE in the first place. Really strange that it can give great results on the face but HORRIBLE on the neck.

Also, the trim blade atop the cartridge is situated differently - and stupidly - than the PG's. That is, this trim blade is oriented STRAIGHT UP from the top of the cartridge, meaning to use it you have to old the entire thing at 90° to your face and even then, it isn't effective. Bad, bad planning, that.

Verdict: Too bad that the neck shave killed it. Worth experimenting but not worth buying again. Will give it to the wife as a backup leg shaver.

REVIEW: The Shake Sharp razor, "The Razor that Sharpens Itself."

I'm not much for hype, positive or negative (I like to think I'm not, anyway). Like the Marines I worked with taught me, "If it's stupid but it works, it ain't stupid." I've never forgotten that maxim and so I judge shaving gear not on popularity or lack of it but on how it works for me. As a result, I've long used various obsolete shaving supplies and eccentric devices which rendered me something of an oddball among wetshavers. I also get consistently great results from an much-maligned but admittedly overpriced multiblade razor. But as a wise man once said, "It's all about the shave." Those are words I live by.

So when I'd heard good things about the Shake Sharp razor and saw how it is supposed to work, I was cautiously intrigued. When the opportunity came up, I got one. 

What is the Shake Sharp? It's a long-dead type of safety razor from the 1940s. Its main selling point was that it is not merely a safety razor (there were literally dozens if not hundreds available back then) but also a self-contained double-edge razor blade hone. That might sound gimmicky since every area of the marketplace back in the early half of the last century was saturated with gimmicks (it still is), especially where shaving items were involved (it still is). Times were tighter than they generally are now, so if a guy had a chance at stretching something as (even then) relatively cheap as a razor blade, it was worth a shot. Having a considerable amount of Scot in me, so did I and for the very same reason.

So the big question is, Does the Shake Sharp work? 

Short answer: Yes it does, and it does so even better than I'd expected.

Luckily, mine was apparently in mint unused condition all the way around; the gold finish is gorgeous but condition was most important for the stone. After all, if the stone is worn or shot it wouldn't make any difference what shape the razor itself is in. I don't know exactly what compound the stone is composed of but mine is in excellent shape and - most importantly - it DOES do what it says. 

The first thing I did after the typical cleaning routine was to choose a carbon blade to test out the honing feature. 

By the way: I am very reluctant to hone stainless blades in this razor for two reasons. First, it seems to me that, being a harder steel, stainless would have to wear out this very difficult to replace if not irreplaceable hone much sooner than using the softer carbon blades it was designed for. I may be mistaken on that, but I doubt it. Second, for me the jury is still out on whether stainless blades even CAN be effectively honed, or if they can, whether it's worth the effort. When it comes to carbons, though, there's no question - if you can do it right, it's worth it.  

To test the hone, I marked up the edge of the blade with a red Sharpie...being just ink, it would quickly show whether the hone touched the edge of the blade evenly, if at all. 

Result: the entire edge of the blade was sanded clean of Sharpie, though about 30% of the edge was not done as evenly as the rest. Still, the extreme cutting edge itself - the part that actually matters - was visibly de-inked the entire length of the blade. A good sign, though only time would tell whether the Shake Sharp would live up to its claim to fame by maintaining an edge, thereby increasing a blade's longevity.

On an admittedly reckless impulse, I very carefully pried the stone loose and reversed it (this is extremely foolhardy since one wrong move and the whole stone could have cracked or shattered). Luckily it did not,* so I reclamped the reversed stone and repeated the Sharpie test. This time the edge was de-inked evenly the whole length of the blade. 

Now it was time for the moment of truth!

With two full days growth, I prepped and lathered. Long story short, I received a wonderful two-pass BBS (baby butt smooth) shave. The brand of carbon blade I chose performed as well as it ever does but, giving it a dozen or so shakes every 30 seconds or so - probably more than I needed to give it - the shave was perfectly smooth sailing the whole time, with none of the edge-dulled pulling typical to carbons as the shave progresses. The end result after both passes was not one nick and no irritation, either. A splendid shave!

The proper cutting angle of the Shake Sharp mimics that of the Guiding Eye gimmick found on some Gem Micromatics -- meaning the head is held pretty much flat against the face. Blade noise is also surprising as it resonates almost as loudly as early single edge razors do.

The safety bar is deeply ribbed; at a distance, squinting, one could mistake it for an open comb. In fact, it resembles one of the combs on that uber-aggressive bakelite monster, the Neillite 400. I'm pretty sure that between the deep combs and the hone feature - which can easily knock out soap sludge mid-shave - it could take off my yearly goatee without choking on it like most safety bar DEs do. We'll see come next Spring. EDIT: Decided to mow off my goat; the Shake Sharp didn't even blink. So now, my beloved Gillette NEW is obsolete, too.

As an unexpected bonus, this razor surprised me with various aesthetic elements which resemble features I've always found pleasing in other razors. For example, the cap of the head is rounded, mimicking the curved profile of my favorite ancient Gem/Ever Ready razors, most notably the Damaskene. Whatever the razor, I've long been convinced that this curve definitely makes for a nicer shave.

Something else I liked: While the razor has a slightly short handle (the only drawback I can name), it's tolerable because what it lacks in length it makes up for in girth and really grippy knurling that resembles Gillette's old Bar handle, also a favorite of mine. 

Overall, the razor is not as heavy as it would appear at first glance. Due to the stone, the weight is mostly in the head but the balance does not seem to suffer for this. The cutting angle finds itself, and quickly.

CONCLUSION: The Shake Sharp is, so far, the best $30 I've ever spent for a razor. It is wonderfully designed, handsomely finished, comfortable to use, shaves very well and lives up to its main selling point: It extends the life of carbon blades indefinitely. Is it going to replace my venerable Gillettes and Schicks? Yes, very probably it will replace most of them. Even after one shave I know some of them have just been rendered obsolete, along with various stropping and honing paraphernalia I've acquired over the years.

If you have a chance to obtain a Shake Sharp with a good hone, and if you use carbon blades, I'd advise you not to pass it up. It's worth a reasonable price (whatever you decide that is). If you're primarily a stainless user, I'd be leery of using it to hone them much at all, just for the sake of the stone's longevity.

*After pondering it awhile, I came up with an idea for a replacement hone that I'm reasonably sure would be close to if not just as effective, if the original ever wears out or breaks. I just hope it's a long time before I need to put this idea to the test. Since the stone can be swapped around, though, and since I don't use carbon blades exclusively, I hope to be in my box before wear really becomes an issue.

This is the boring but obligatory inaugural post of Modo's cleverly titled Safety Razor Review. It will feature occasional thoughts on shaving equipment and supplies from the last century to this one, from vintage Gillettes to modern multiblade monstrosities. 

The first real review will be of the Shake Sharp safety razor, an obscure but truly unique piece of safety razor history. Will it suck? Will it be miraculous? I dunno, it hasn't arrived yet.

Posts may be infrequent but I hope you'll find them informative or, at least, semi-amusing timewasters. You never know what I'm going to review because I never know. No razor is too cheap, no soap too unappealing, no aftershave too offensive to go unreviewed.

Thanks for bookmarking; stop by again sometime.