It's an amazing coincidence, but two days ago my wife decided to try out the extra RiMei razor that I recently purchased and liked it so much that she returned my Gillette black handle Super Speed to me. Just in time for Super Speed week over at The Shave Den!
In light of my beloved black handle being returned I decided to bite the bullet and try out a Merkur blade. I've had two Merkur blades for a while now, but I kept putting off using them for various reasons. The reality is that I don't want to waste a shave on a blade that I believe will perform poorly. The possibility that Merkur blades will live up to their infamy has kept me away, but there are a few nearly universally hated blades out there that I actually like, so Merkurs could do well for me.
To give these blades the best possible chance I broke out my C.O. Bigelow and my uber soft EMJ synthetic brush. At the last minute (and after taking the picture) I decided to make it a superlather of VDH Deluxe and C.O. Bigelow. I created mountains of thick, creamy lather and did a three pass wtg/atg/xtg shave followed by a simple cold water rinse. I could almost hear the the Psycho shower scene squeal as I began my shave, but that ominous feeling quickly went away. As it turns out, I managed a BBS shave with zero irritation and zero nicks. My skin was ultra soft and smooth, even without any post shave treatment. I know it's just one shave with a single example of this often reviled blade, but if it continues to perform, then I will have to count myself among the dozen or so folks who actually like Merkur DE blades.
Pre: Hot shower and warm water splash
Razor: Gillette black handle Super Speed
Blade: Merkur
Brush: Every Man Jack synthetic
Soap: Superlather of Van Der Hagen Deluxe and C.O. Bigelow
Post: Cold water rinse
[attachment=8152]
