Rockwell Blades 1st Impressions:

In today's shave, I used Rockwell blades in the doc and they seem a little too mild for me in the doc. But they were super smooth and comfortable to use:

They're dirt cheap at only $10.00 dollars for a 100 pack of blades. They're made from Swedish stainless steel which is some of the best steel you can get. During the first past, not much of my beard was getting removed and there was no tugging or pulling and I couldn't feel the blade at all in the doc. The second pass removed more of my beard but was still comfortable. The 3rd and final pass pretty much finished the shave off. If these blades were a touch sharper I would buy a bulk pack of them. They're just a bit too mild for my liking. I don't expect to get more than 2 shaves out of these blades. I will see how they perform in the DE 89.

Polsilvers & The DE 89 Final Thoughts:

Well I am sold on these Polsilver DE blades. Today's shave was the 3rd one on this blade in the Edwin Jagger DE 89 and I can easily get at least 2 more shaves out of this blade. But I will be calling it quits after the next shave. These are one of the most comfortable blades I've ever used in the DE 89 and that says a lot. These are smoother than the Astra greens and the Perma-Sharps, but are just a shade below them in terms of sharpness:

^ They went through my wiry stubble with no issues. And usually about the 3rd shave in I'm looking at switching blades out but not with these. They have the same longevity as the Astra greens:

The Rockwell blades are up next but it will be a day or 2 before I begin with them in the DE 89 which will have different results than the doc will.

Polsilvers & The Doc, Final Thoughts:

Well it's official, these Polsilver DE blades are awesome in the Doc. I got 3 multi pass shaves out of 1 of these blades and all of them were extremely comfortable. The only way I could tell that it was time to switch out the blade was when I was looking at a possible 4th pass which I didn't make with today's shave. But I could have gotten another shave out of it:

So when I get a chance, I will pick up bulk pack of these Polsilvers. They're extremely comfortable blades. Straight Razor Designs has a few things I want but it'll have to wait some because I'm on an extremely tight budget at the moment and can't buy much. Rockwell DE blades are up next and I'm already somewhat impressed with them:

^ They're dirt cheap for one at only $10 U.S. Dollars for a 100 pack. The 2nd thing I noticed is that they're made from Swedish stainless steel which is one of the best quality steels you can get. The shave will determine whether or not these get added to the rotation.

Pumpkin 3.14 & The Doc:

This morning's shave was great. Sorry for the delay ladies and gentlemen, I'll explain below. Since this is the first day of fall, I went with Phoenix Artisan Accoutrement's pumpkin 3.14 which has an incredible pumpkin pie scent and I paired it with their Autmn Factory aftershave splash which is a sweeter version of the pumpkin pie scent with the other elements of fall added to the mix. Think of a fresh baked pumpkin pie left near an open window to cool on a fall day:

The doc did great and the 2nd shave on the Polsilver blades was just as good if not better than the 1st shave on that blade. I have a feeling that I've met my "go to" blades for the doc. Earlier this morning around 1 AM before crashing for the night, I downloaded a windows update. This morning when I started the laptop, it ended up taking several hours to configure itself. I had already uploaded my shave of the day to Intsagram and my camera deleted the photo and wouldn't let me post to any of the face book groups or G+ community, so I ended up waiting till now to do a blog post:

This will be the last shave of the day blog post. The reason behind this is because I will be sharing it directly with the communites and FB groups. Plus here lately, people haven't been reading what I post. They look at the photos and then in the comments they ask and I quote "What's the scent like on that soap?" and I clearly described in the beginning of the post. So I will be doing the SOTD posts directly. Plus it also takes me longer to type and share a blog post than it does to snap a photo and share with everyone. So mail calls and honing sessions only in my blog.

209 On the Stone:

Something felt off with my the last honing session that I did not too long ago. Even though I did a previous blog post stating that it would be the last honing session on the 209, I didn't feel comfortable at all with the edge. So I broke out what's left of my Norton 4/8K combo stone and went at it. Right now the 209 is the only straight razor I have and I have been looking at EBay quite a bit here lately for a nice vintage to start a new collection. So once I get some premium and vintage razors in, I will be saying good bye to these types of razors. So lets get started:

First I killed the previous edge using the Norton stone and while I soaked the stone for 10 minutes, I thought about which method and/or technique to use this go around. I decided to use the 40 circles method which is used often by Mr. Lynn Abrams:

So after soaking the stone and wetting the razor under some low running water, I performed 40 seconds worth of circles on each side followed by 20 round trips to clean up the edge and to give it a little extra polish. One of the reasons I want to go to vintage and premium razors is that these take much longer to hone and require a massive amount of metal to be removed to be made shave ready and they also tend to eat up the softer stones like you can see below:

Next I did 10 round trips on the nylon webbing of my strop:

After I finished the 10 round trips on the nylon webbing I went ahead and cleaned my Norton with a 600 grit diamond plate:

These Norton stones are fairly easy to clean just avoid the flattening stones:

Next I went back to the Norton again and this time I did 20 seconds worth of half circles on each side and I followed that up with 10 round trips to clean up the edge. As you can see with the slurry below that I got the entire edge of the razor and it was time to strop it:

I also went ahead and cleaned my stone again before stropping my razor:

Now for my full stropping routine. First up the nylon webbing of my 3 inch black latigo strop that I got from Straight Razor Designs nearly 2 years ago which has held up really well. I did 10 round trips which cleans the razor very well:

Next I did 20 round trips on the rough leather which really makes the edge pop under the loupe:

Now before I finished on the smooth leather, I took the palm of my hand and rubbed it down using a back and forth motion until it got nearly hot to the touch which makes a huge difference in not only the edge quality but it feels much smoother and more effortless:

Next I did 40 round trips on the smooth leather side of my strop:

Under the loupe, the edge looked great but I won't know how it is until I shave with it which will probably be tomorrow:

The sooner I can go to premium and vintage razors, the better because honing these Gold Dollar, Gold Monkey and ZY razors wears me out much quicker than it does to hone something like a Dovo, Boker, Ralph Aust, Ti, or a Vintage.

Excellent in the Doc:

And we have another winning combo for the doc ladies and gentlemen, wow. These were so comfortable in the doc that you just about couldn't tell there was a blade in there. Now the next test will be the longevity test. I doubt that they will tie the Astra greens but we will see:

During the 1st pass, I watched the bulk of my beard disappear with relative ease and I almost couldn't feel the blade. The 2nd pass got every area close to an "ice rink" type of post shave with the exception of my trouble spots. The 3rd pass pretty much finished those off trouble spots. So these are definitely going into the rotation when I get the chance.

Armada & The Doc:

Today's shave was simply amazing. Through The Fire Fine Craft made by Maria Arman is an amazing soap and if you like Vintage Old Spice, you will love her "Armada" scented soap. And to finish off this shave, I paired it with a 2003 version of Old Spice:

The doc was awesome this morning. I got an "ice rink" type of post shave in just 3 passes. And when I applied the aftershave, I got almost no burn from it.

Polsilvers Are Excellent:

During the blade reviews that I've been doing, there have been 3 brands that were recommend the most. Astra Superior Platinums (green packaging) which ended up becoming my "go to" blade was recommended the most. But here recently, that has changed to Polsilvers which are very good and are currently tied with the Astra greens. I really can't wait to try these in the doc:

The 1st thing I noticed was how smooth they were and during the 1st pass, I didn't have a lot of beard left which is a good thing. I could have stopped after the 2nd pass was completed but no I wanted to do 3 passes which was NOT regrettable. No tugging of any kind. In fact these blades had no trouble in the glide department. They're not quite as sharp as the Astra greens are but they're pretty close. The 3rd most recommended blades have been Voskhod DE blades. I have to order them this next go around and that's if I don't order me a new razor 1st. Oh for those wondering, my dad's hip replacement surgery went okay. They told him it would take 4 hours and instead it only took 2 and this week he's suppose to start rehab on it.

C.O. Bigelow & The DE 89:

This morning's shave was nothing short of excellent, wow. C.O. Bigelow is an awesome cream. This is the Menthol & Eucalyptus scent. And to finish off the shave, I paired it with Skin Bracer:

The Edwin Jagger DE 89 was great this morning. I got a squeaky clean post shave feel in just 3 passes. These Polsilvers are extremely good blades and there will be another blog post to follow. I can't wait to see how these perform in the doc.

Treet Classic & The Doc:

They're decent but still not quite what I'm looking for. After 3 passes with the doc, you should have a BBS type of shave. I didn't get that with these blades. In fact I had to go back and hit my neck area again with the Treet Classic blades. They're simply not sharp enough for my beard:

The 1st pass was a shade better than they were in the DE 89. The second pass I started buffing and ended up doing that for the entire second pass which got most of it but not all. Usually the 3rd pass is to clean up my trouble spots and to get what's left but that wasn't the case here at all with these blades. It got my jaws pretty clean along with my moustache area but for some reason, it was like I had missed my neck area and I ended up going back to it and buffing to get it cleaned enough to my liking. These blades do work but you have to buff with them and count on having to make an extra half of a pass or more to get a BBS with these blades in the doc. A Polsilver went into the doc right after this morning's shave which I've heard to be a good blade.

Vision & The Doc:

This morning's shave was great. It's been a while since I've used a Soap Commander product and it's been a while since I've used my top soap which is Vision which has an aqua, amber and mint scent and I paired it with the matching aftershave balm and Aqua Velva classic ice blue aftershave splash to give it that extra fresh chilling effect:

The doc done great but I'm still not too keen on these blades which will be detailed in another blog post. Got a nice clean shave in 3.5 passes which I wasn't happy about because I usually like to keep it at 3 or less with the doc. So I put in a Polsilver blade in it.

Polsilvers Are Next:

The next blade going into the DE 89 is an extremely popular choice, The Polsilvers. Out of all the blades I've been asked to review and/or try, this one gets recommended the most along with the Voskhods. People also use to recommend the Astra greens which became my current "go to" blade in the DE 89 which is the most comfortable and longest lasting blade for me. I've been told by many that I would love these blades and I will soon find out:

The packaging says that these are made in St. Petersburg Russia on one side and the other side of it states that they're distributed through Warsaw, Poland which is a bit weird. I tried to get a couple of pictures of it for you guys, but the camera just wouldn't pick up the writing and if it did, it wasn't readable at all:

There's more versions of the Rapira and Treet blades that I want to try, but those will be later on because I want to get some more soaps first. I might add a pack of the Voskhods to one of my orders this coming pay day if my propane doesn't set me back too much.

Treet Classic Initial Impressions:

The impression I got from these blades is that they're good in the DE 89, but not great. But I also think that they will do better in the doc and more aggressive razors such as slants and standard open comb razors. After the 1st pass, I noticed that I had more beard left behind than I normally do which told me that I was going to need to do 3 passes. There was no tugging or pulling and these were more comfortable than the Gillette Platinum Plus blades that I tried earlier this year:

During the 2nd pass, I had to start buffing to get what was left behind and the blade was still comfortable. The 3rd pass was pretty much like the first pass, but I got everything squeaky clean except for the usual trouble spots which I stretched the skin and did a little buffing action which took care of those areas. These blades are specifically made for buffing in my opinion. I just wish they were a touch sharper and a tiny bit smoother. I don't think I will be getting more than 2 multi pass shaves out of these blades. So I will be moving onto the Polsilvers next.

Pumpkin Spice & The DE 89:

This morning's shave was great. Uncle Jon's soaps are excellent and this pumpkin spice was unbelievable. This was a sample tht was included with my order and it stole the show. If you like a fresh made sweet pumpkin custard pie, you will love this soap. And since the only pumpkin scented aftershave I have is PAA's Autumn Factory, I paired the soap with it and it's as if it was made for this specific soap. I will definitely be getting more soap this go around:

The post shave feel I have is great. I got a squeaky clean post shave feel in just 3 passes. I'll do a more detailed blog post about the blades I used here in a bit. But it's looking great for these Treet Classic DE blades in the Edwin Jagger DE 89. And I also put one in the doc to try out tomorrow which is really going to be interesting.

Pipe Smoke & The Doc:

Oh my is all I can about this morning's shave which was nothing short of phenomenal. Uncle Jon's Pipe Smoke is and awesome soap and the performance is off the page. The scent is cherry pipe tobacco, vanilla, and spices and it's mind blowing. And to finish this off, I paired it with Aqua Velva classic ice blue aftershave. Wow what a soap:

In terms of lathering, it's a beast. I got what you see below in 20 seconds of load time and it's really slick too. Quite possibly my slickest soap in my entire collection and it has tied with my top soap:

This combo is still going strong. That was shave number 2 on the doc with the Rapira Platinum Lux blades and it was still just as good as it was the other day if not more comfortable. I'll be keeping these blades around to try in other razors that I may get later on. I have a feeling that they would be great in a slant and/or open comb razor:

The post shave feel I have is good. Not quite a squeaky clean post shave after 3 passes with these Rapira Platinum Lux blades, but more than socially acceptable. Some people suggested that I strop these blades and to me, that's pointless because if I'm going to strop a blade it will be a straight razor. So I won't be stropping these blades.

Mail Call #3 of 3:

Today's mail call is from Uncle Jon's Soaps and it's awesome! This is his Pipe Smoke scent which has a little hint of cherry pipe tobacco, vanilla and a little hint of spice :

Also included in my order was a sample of his Pumpkin Spice scent which is epic. Get it if you can because it smells exactly like a fresh made pumpkin custard pie and it stole the show, wow:

This mail call was a little late but it was explained to me via email that there was a problem with the batch and that he had to remake the entire batch which was really cool for him to do that. Plus the iconic bearded man logo is cool:

Here's his other logo which is also really cool as well:

The hand written thank you on the receipt is a really nice touch and greatly appreciated:

I've got to order some more of his shave soaps specifically his pumpkin spice. I also have to get the matching aftershave for both the pipe smoke and the pumpkin spice. I also want to try his laundry soap and his castile bath soap.

Treet Classic is Next:

While I'm doing a longevity test with the Rapira Platinum Lux blades in the doc, I'm going to go with the Treet Classic blades next in the Edwin Jagger DE 89. My friend Sly Diabo recommended that I try these blades and he did say one thing that I must pass on to others that also wish to try these blades. *DRY THE BLADES AFTER EACH USE* which I already do with every blade. But these are a must because they are carbon steel blades which means they will rust easy if you aren't careful:

So far this is the only turn off about these blades. They're made in Pakistan who is known for having one of the worst knives and razors you can possibly get. But we will see how they do:

They're sealed really good. I had a bit of trouble opening them:

They were sealed for nuclear war because I still had a tough time getting them unwrapped:

Since these blades are made in Pakistan, I'm not expecting much. But I will give these blades a fair shot and see how they perform. My friend Sly Diabo likes them and seems to think that I will as well and we both have similar beards so it should be interesting. I hope they do well in the DE 89. I have no idea how they will perform in the doc and it will be another shave or 2 before I can find out because I want to see how many shaves I can get out of the Rapira Platinum Lux before having to switch it out. I'm certain that it will probably be only 1 more shave because I had to buff on the 1st pass with the doc yesterday and I normally don't do that until the 2nd or 3rd pass.

Horrible in the DE 89:

As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, these Rapira Platinum Lux blades in the Edwin Jagger DE 89 were awful this morning. They tugged and pulled something fierce and if I had not been using Barrister & Mann's soap, I have zero doubt that it would have made my eyes water. I pulled the plug on these blades in the DE 89 because if the first shave was that bad, I don't even want to know what next one would be like:

They have no glide in the DE 89 and what makes it worse is the fact that they are not sharp enough for my beard. I will still be using them in the doc to see how many I can get out of them, but that was it with these blades in the DE 89.

Le Petit Chypre & The DE 89:

This morning's shave was awful. Barrister & Mann saved this shave and kept me from getting chewed up something fierce this morning. More on that later in another post. This Le Petit Chypre scent is an excellent cypress wood scent and B&M's performance is awesome. I also paired it with the matching aftershave which was a very welcomed sight this morning:

The DE 89 with Rapira Platinum Lux blades is a horrible combo. There won't be another shave with these blades in the DE 89. I get the fact that the first shave can be rough, but these were just awful in the DE 89 for me. And after 3 passes, I still have some beard left behind. Normally after 3 passes, I usually have a BBS or at least close to it.

Rapira Platinum Lux 1st Time:

First impressions mean a lot when it comes to DE blades especially if you never used them before. And I'm very impressed with these Rapira Platinum Lux DE blades. They're comfortable as the Perma-Sharp DE blades are, but not quite as sharp as they are either. I would describe them as a more comfortable version of a Gillette Silver Blue in this specific razor. So far I think these would be great in a medium to aggressive safety razors and I also think that these would be great specifically in slant styled razors. On the 1st pass this morning, I had to start buffing and normally I don't do that until the 2nd or 3rd pass depending on which blade I'm using:

Of course this was only the 1st shave with these blades in this specific razor, but I'll know more as I continue along with my longevity test in this razor. Plus I still have to use them in my Edwin Jagger DE 89 before I do my initial review. But so far they're looking good for slants and open comb razors. So far the Russian made DE blades have been my favorites.

Jack Frost & The Doc:

This morning's shave was very refreshing to say the least. Steambath Factory's Jack Frost was perfect for me this morning which has a warm sugar, vanilla and light peppermint scent. And to give this shave an extra cooling effect I paired it with Aqua Velva ice blue aftershave:

The doc done really good this morning. I got a squeaky clean post shave feel that reminds you of a sheet of solid ice in just 3 passes. There will be another blog post about the blades here in a bit as I give my first impressions.

Mail Call #2 of 3:

Today's mail call is from Amazon and it's a shocking surprise because I was NOT expecting these to arrive until this coming Friday. In fact I wasn't expecting it to arrive on time either so this was really cool to see this in my mail box. This cost me $17.36 shipped which is dirt cheap:

I just checked the tracking number and it's still showing that it's scheduled for tomorrow and yet I'm I have it in my storage area:

I'm good to go for a while now in terms of blades:

^ These will probably last me well over a year easy. So for $26.65, I have over a year's worth of shaves for less than half of what Gillette charges for what they claim is a year's worth of carts and I would be doing good to get 3 months out of those cartridges.

Mail Call #1 of 3:

Today's mail call is from Maggard Razors and I'm very excited to give these blades a try in both the DE 89 and the doc. A lot of people have recommend some blades to me and I thought why not give them a try and see what I like:

I love it when a mail call arrives early. These were not scheduled to arrive until tomorrow:

Since I couldn't go to the meet up for a long list of reasons, $9.29 shipped for DE blades won't be a problem at all:

The Rapira Platinum Lux blades are up first. I've been wanting to try these blades out for a while now and several people have recommended them:

They came sealed for nuclear war man. I like to have never got them open:

All in all I think I have about 25 DE blades and I have no idea how many shaves I will get on these blades which is the fun part.