Shaving with Dog Grooming blades

Darkbulb

Darkbulb

Messages
6,401
Location
California
So, it has gone this far...I am now shaving with dog dresser/grooming blades in order to try out ALL the razors that I have accumulated. Some might call that idiotic or even a sign of commitment - but a lot of you might just see it as normal :)

Regardless, the intent is to use these blades for three days this week...well, that's the plan at least...

Loaded up one of these...
41NuZ8C8lEL.jpg


...into my Durham 300 razor...
s5hbhj.jpg


...which didn't make it seem less intimidating....
bg7ckh.jpg

(Photo with my $2 macro lens on my phone)

But it still sure is a purty razor though...
j5c86t.jpg



Stop stalling and tell us how it went!

I'll admit I wasn't quite looking forward to the morning's shave as I normally do.
Some of that came from a friend who had just tried out these blades and found them to be so tuggy that he couldn't complete a full pass.

So let's just say that the bar was laid pretty low...

Lathered up, took a deep breath and slid this beastly, canine-hair-cutting contraption down my face...

1st pass - WTG:
Started out treating it a bit like a SE as far as angle goes and had the head near-flat to my face.

"Wow, there is zero dragging - it feels really smooth! Love it."
"Hmm...is it actually doing anything"

No, it turned out that the reason it was so mild was because that angle was too shallow and the blade barely, if at all, made contact with the face.

2nd pass - ATG:
Adjusted the angle a bit and made sure it would shave this time.

"Ouch!"
"Tu-uu-uggy!"
"Wait, is this....ouch...no way"

And my three-day experiment with the razor ended after 12 minutes.

Popped a 7 O'clock blade into my Weber and finished the shave. Mmm...

I am pretty sure it's the blade and not the razor (or me) - but since this is the only option readily available to me I can't see myself going through another two days of this. I may be adventurous but I'm not this dumb :)

Sad in a way, I really love the look of this razor but if I can't shave with it (note: I'm convinced there are a lot of people out there that love this razor and shave with it w/out any issues but for me it didn't work out) I unfortunately can't see myself holding on to it :(

So I guess the Berkeley Custom Shaver is coming up already tomorrow!
 
I always found the first pass a little more tuggy thank others but the subsequent passes easier and the final results very good. No way would I try several days growth wi this razor.
 
Whosthedaddy said:
I always found the first pass a little more tuggy thank others but the subsequent passes easier and the final results very good. No way would I try several days growth wi this razor.
Click to expand...

You know that might actually be a good point...I had 2.5 days of stubble to work through.... Hmmm....I might actually give it a second try tomorrow with just a day's worth of stubble.
 
I would beg to differ ...

I think these blades are a LOT sharper than DE blades. If I put a DE blade on top of a tomato and apply a tiny bit of pressure, it will start to cut through; put a Personna (these are Personna inside, right) on top of a tomato, it's already bitten through the skin, no pressure applied.

You've got Personna blades inside, yes? If not, I don't know what you've got - they are only 'Dog Dresser' because they're not 'Shaving Blades' any more as Durham switched markets when the shaving market became saturated. It could have easily been medical or pathology, which is the way Weck went. In fact, yes, they did as Personna also scooped up that as these blades are also marketed for pathology purposes.

I don't think amount of growth is an issue - I've scythed through several days worth with these razors. I do think angle is the issue - cap flat to face and let it off about 5 degrees. I also think pressure is. Counter-intuitively, you apply more pressure. I also notice "disappearing stubble" as others have, an hour or so after the shave ... pure baby face.

For what it's worth, I tried one of the hallowed blue faced FEATHER blades, carbon steel, hard to get hold off and regarded as the smoothest shave. Popped into my known-good and trusted VC1, I got two strokes ... moved to the other side, one stroke ... nope. Tried another blade. Nope. Nothing. Nada. So dull, it couldn't cut its way out of a paper bag. Apparently, I'm not the only one, but FEATHER? Dull? It happens.

I have to say, the model you have is almost my least favourite, the Dubarry (a straight comb on a stick) being my absolute least, and both of these not really getting any play time from my collection. The Dorset and 201 with the safety bar are lovely, the combed straight razor is lovely and the long comb (like on this razor) in straight razor format probably the best, like the Gillette (British) 'New' versus the 'Old'.

It's DD's 1907 patent day towards the end of the month, so I'll be enjoying mine for a few days in various guises.
 
pjgh said:
I would beg to differ ...

I think these blades are a LOT sharper than DE blades. If I put a DE blade on top of a tomato and apply a tiny bit of pressure, it will start to cut through; put a Personna (these are Personna inside, right) on top of a tomato, it's already bitten through the skin, no pressure applied.

You've got Personna blades inside, yes? If not, I don't know what you've got - they are only 'Dog Dresser' because they're not 'Shaving Blades' any more as Durham switched markets when the shaving market became saturated. It could have easily been medical or pathology, which is the way Weck went. In fact, yes, they did as Personna also scooped up that as these blades are also marketed for pathology purposes.

I don't think amount of growth is an issue - I've scythed through several days worth with these razors. I do think angle is the issue - cap flat to face and let it off about 5 degrees. I also think pressure is. Counter-intuitively, you apply more pressure. I also notice "disappearing stubble" as others have, an hour or so after the shave ... pure baby face.

For what it's worth, I tried one of the hallowed blue faced FEATHER blades, carbon steel, hard to get hold off and regarded as the smoothest shave. Popped into my known-good and trusted VC1, I got two strokes ... moved to the other side, one stroke ... nope. Tried another blade. Nope. Nothing. Nada. So dull, it couldn't cut its way out of a paper bag. Apparently, I'm not the only one, but FEATHER? Dull? It happens.

I have to say, the model you have is almost my least favourite, the Dubarry (a straight comb on a stick) being my absolute least, and both of these not really getting any play time from my collection. The Dorset and 201 with the safety bar are lovely, the combed straight razor is lovely and the long comb (like on this razor) in straight razor format probably the best, like the Gillette (British) 'New' versus the 'Old'.

It's DD's 1907 patent day towards the end of the month, so I'll be enjoying mine for a few days in various guises.
Click to expand...

Is it worth stropping these blades at all?
 
Yes, but only with a Durham Duplex stropper ... I think the shave is smoother.

With regular blades, I'd enjoy three or four shaves without stropping and then strop before and after each shave through to 7 or 8. With pathology blades, I strop before first use, enjoy 3 shaves without stropping and then a couple more stropped before and after.
 
I have had a Durham Duplex (combed straight razor type) in my drawer for almost a year and last week I finally gave it a try. Blades were Ever Ready Compact Hair Trimmer Blades. First impressions were OK and I managed to shave without nicks or cuts. Then my face was on fire. The alum block seemed to be made from molten lava. I had to apply Speick sensitive balm several times during the day. It was by far the worst shave I have ever had in my life. I suspected an allergic reaction to the shaving soap, but I have tried the soap again without problems. The Durham will disappear into the drawer again or maybe appear on BST.
 
pjgh said:
I would beg to differ ...

I think these blades are a LOT sharper than DE blades. If I put a DE blade on top of a tomato and apply a tiny bit of pressure, it will start to cut through; put a Personna (these are Personna inside, right) on top of a tomato, it's already bitten through the skin, no pressure applied.

You've got Personna blades inside, yes?
Click to expand...

I couldn't see any markings on the actual blades. This morning I did however realize that they most likely are carbon blades as they had gained quite a bit of dark-brown rust-looking stains over night (I carelessly left the blade in the razor after last night's disappointing shave).

I'll pick out a fresh blade and strop it a few times and try again this morning. I'll try the two advice I've gotten - keep a really shallow angle and stretch your skin out.

If that doesn't work I'll take it down as poor blades as I can't see why the razor itself shouldn't be able to deliver a decent shave.
 
If they were Personna, they'd be in a Personna wrapper, like so:

DSC07678.JPG


If you want to persist, PM me your address and I'll get a pathology and a rug cutter in the post for you to try - both Personna. That goes for you, too, riverrun as those Ever Ready had me wincing just from the picture and I shave with broken glass and can lids!
 
pjgh said:
If they were Personna, they'd be in a Personna wrapper, like so:

If you want to persist, PM me your address and I'll get a pathology and a rug cutter in the post for you to try - both Personna. That goes for you, too, riverrun as those Ever Ready had me wincing just from the picture and I shave with broken glass and can lids!
Click to expand...

Ah...then they might not be that as they are in plain white papers with no markings on them.

Fantastic offer but I won't have you send that all the way over here without reimbursing your cost. :) PM sent.
 
pjgh said:
If you want to persist, PM me your address and I'll get a pathology and a rug cutter in the post for you to try - both Personna. That goes for you, too, riverrun as those Ever Ready had me wincing just from the picture and I shave with broken glass and can lids!
Click to expand...
That is a very kind offer I'd like to accept as I need to build up some muscle memory for shaving with a straight (Against my will. I promised - more on that later). PM sent. Thank you.
 
They have arrived! Thanks Paul. Which one to try first? Rug-cutter? My beard isn't rugged. Pathology? My beard isn't a terrible disease. I just want a pleasant shave that gets me over my previous Durham trauma. My new signature should be: I have shaved with blades even pjgh won't touch :icon_razz:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom