First Shave with Feather/34C...

[PalmettoDuckhunter]

... and I'm pretty impressed. I mentioned when I joined last week that I had some Feathers on the way. Well, they came in Thursday and despite the temptation to use them before work on Friday, the rational part of my brain insisted that I wait until Saturday :think002 .

I've been wet shaving for a lot of years, but have generally used Gillettes, Personnas or whatever was easily (read "while in the drugstore or supermarket") obtained. When I bought the 34C a few years back, the proprietress tossed a couple of packs of Merkurs in the bag, smiled and said "Lagniappe. Enjoy." The HD "liked" the Merkurs, as did a subsequently purchased Futur, and I've stuck pretty closely to the Merkurs since.

The shave went routinely - lathered up with GFT Lime cream and a Vulfix 2235s brush, and because of how "scary sharp" I'd heard these blade were, kept repeating the "use solid technique" mantra throughout. I made my standard three-pass(WTG, XTG, ATG) shave and noticed immediately that what I'd thought had been minimal pressure with the Merkurs was excessive wjth the Feather - adjustment made. Touch-up was minimal and uneventful. A cool-water rinse followed by a once-over pass with the alum block indicated an almost complete lack of irritation. A bit of ASB and the deed was done - the best, longest lasting shave I've had in a long time. I'll be curious to see how long the blades last.

Even with the seeming success of the Feather, I'm open to any blade suggestions anyone has to offer. I know ther's a lot of good stuff out there.

Thanks again for the wealth of good information you folks provide.

Take care.

[blue_monkey]

The Feather is a heck of a sharp blade, and it will teach you respect in a hurry. On the other hand, properly wielded, it is a smooth shaver indeed. The bad thing about Feathers, IMHO, is that they can go South on you in a heartbeat, with no warning. Always remember to apply zero pressure with these blades, and you will be all right. Personally, I am a Derby man, but I could not resist the opportunity (and great deal) to purchase a pile of Feathers to keep on hand when I really want to lay down the smack on my whiskers. I usually use a Feather with one of my Slant razors, which I think is about as aggressive of a shave as one can get. I personally prefer really sharp razors over the so-called "forgiving" ones because I think more damage occurs when hacking away with a dull blade than a sharp one. Just my opinion.

[PalmettoDuckhunter]

The Feather is a heck of a sharp blade, and it will teach you respect in a hurry. On the other hand, properly wielded, it is a smooth shaver indeed. The bad thing about Feathers, IMHO, is that they can go South on you in a heartbeat, with no warning. Always remember to apply zero pressure with these blades, and you will be all right. Personally, I am a Derby man, but I could not resist the opportunity (and great deal) to purchase a pile of Feathers to keep on hand when I really want to lay down the smack on my whiskers. I usually use a Feather with one of my Slant razors, which I think is about as aggressive of a shave as one can get. I personally prefer really sharp razors over the so-called "forgiving" ones because I think more damage occurs when hacking away with a dull blade than a sharp one. Just my opinion.

Thanks, Rick -

We'll just have to wait and see on the Feather's staying power. Until I put the blade to my face I didn't realize that I was using anything but the weight of the razor for pressure - oh, well :ashamed001 - live and learn. I think really sharp is better with anything you use to cut. The Wusthoffs in my kitchen are kept sharp enough to shave the hair on my arm - a dull knife can do a lot of damage in a big hurry.

I'll try to find some Derbys and give them a try.