August Aquisitions

[Stircrazy]

This little lot arrived today, direct from Claus Porto in Portugal. Never tried these creams so looking forward to using them.

 

[Scorpio93]

This stunner has arrived! Unfortunately few brushes had to/ have to go for funding this - Declaration grooming B11 28mm snowblivion (Jefferson handle)

video does have a bit of yellow hue.

 

[Deleted member 12673]

Merkur 39C

 

[Scorpio93]

PIF win from Paul @pjgh has arrived! Thank you! Some gear I’m really looking forward to trying! Opening up the box…. There was bunch of willys laying all over! They are spreading and conquering the world hah!

The last time I used tech, other than flat bottom one, was when I had a newbie pass around box this February (if I remember the time correctly). I remember enjoying it thoroughly!

the OSP cream smells nice - quite bright sandalwood I’d say and looking forward to seeing its performance - osp soap sample that I have, of prototype soap - works really well. So this should be interesting!

 

[pjgh]

What a haul!!!

First, a Hawk flew in by Special Delivery with Royal Mail ...

... then APC slid a SLOC through my door!

Thanks to @donnie_arko for the heads-up on this one being a good companion to Lord blades, which I do have a good few of and enjoy very much. Cheers! I got the Haloed UFO handle for the SLOC because that's the handle that I wanted ... the Super Knurl will likely pair with the Hawk, as that seems to be a popular match.

Speaking of blades ...

I popped a tuck of "New" Treet blades (on the right) in with the SLOC and fullly expected to find a black blade inside, but no ...

Inspecting the packaging, actually these are not even carbon (or it doesn't say so), so a quite root about in my Treet box to see if I could match the blade to one that I have, and found it to be a match for the New Steel (left) ... maybe better, maybe worse printing, maybe just all over the place with QC. The New Steel is reputed to be fine for the first shave, then go a bit rough and tuggy thereafter ... and that's from a fellow over on B&B who really likes Treet. Designed as a use once blade, I guess.

 

[donnie_arko]

What a haul!!!

First, a Hawk flew in by Special Delivery with Royal Mail ...

... then APC slid a SLOC through my door!

Thanks to @donnie_arko for the heads-up on this one being a good companion to Lord blades, which I do have a good few of and enjoy very much. Cheers! I got the Haloed UFO handle for the SLOC because that's the handle that I wanted ... the Super Knurl will likely pair with the Hawk, as that seems to be a popular match.

Speaking of blades ...

I popped a tuck of "New" Treet blades (on the right) in with the SLOC and fullly expected to find a black blade inside, but no ...

Inspecting the packaging, actually these are not even carbon (or it doesn't say so), so a quite root about in my Treet box to see if I could match the blade to one that I have, and found it to be a match for the New Steel (left) ... maybe better, maybe worse printing, maybe just all over the place with QC. The New Steel is reputed to be fine for the first shave, then go a bit rough and tuggy thereafter ... and that's from a fellow over on B&B who really likes Treet. Designed as a use once blade, I guess.

Hello Paul,

Thanks for the tag. I hope enjoy the SLOC/DOC, it's a nice smooth and comfortable shaver, even if it's not massively efficient.

Both the Treets look to be the same blade right but with different packaging.

****
Found lurking in the wild in a Polish Deli by the counter, as I was paying for some Roasted Ham (the finest ham in the deli!)

 

[pjgh]

View attachment 75858

WARS!!! Huh! What is it good for???

Well, shaving?

 

[Scorpio93]

Hello Paul,

Thanks for the tag. I hope enjoy the SLOC/DOC, it's a nice smooth and comfortable shaver, even if it's not massively efficient.

Both the Treets look to be the same blade right but with different packaging.

****
Found lurking in the wild in a Polish Deli by the counter, as I was paying for some Roasted Ham (the finest ham in the deli!)
View attachment 75858

Funny thing - I was talking recently with my father and apparently Wars is one of the brands that my late grandfather used to use! Still trying to find out what Aftershave was using - apparently smelled similar to tabac - but it wasn't it!

 

[TobyC]

What a haul!!!

First, a Hawk flew in by Special Delivery with Royal Mail ...

... then APC slid a SLOC through my door!

Thanks to @donnie_arko for the heads-up on this one being a good companion to Lord blades, which I do have a good few of and enjoy very much. Cheers! I got the Haloed UFO handle for the SLOC because that's the handle that I wanted ... the Super Knurl will likely pair with the Hawk, as that seems to be a popular match.

Speaking of blades ...

I popped a tuck of "New" Treet blades (on the right) in with the SLOC and fullly expected to find a black blade inside, but no ...

Inspecting the packaging, actually these are not even carbon (or it doesn't say so), so a quite root about in my Treet box to see if I could match the blade to one that I have, and found it to be a match for the New Steel (left) ... maybe better, maybe worse printing, maybe just all over the place with QC. The New Steel is reputed to be fine for the first shave, then go a bit rough and tuggy thereafter ... and that's from a fellow over on B&B who really likes Treet. Designed as a use once blade, I guess.

I have used Treet DE blades before and found them to be dull,... not rough or dangerous, just not sharp. The Treet SE blades, which are carbon, are every bit as good as GEM SS SE.

 

[md01jm]

Just got this for my birthday

 

[pjgh]

I have used Treet DE blades before and found them to be dull,... not rough or dangerous, just not sharp. The Treet SE blades, which are carbon, are every bit as good as GEM SS SE.

At a guess, I'd say different companies ... or umbrellas. I've used Treet SE blades before and yes, they're very nice to use. PAL blues, too. I had a good stash of PAL blues and bought some more from an untested source which turned out to be just two facet grinds (which being a fellow of reasonable stuff can actually shave with) and they're all mixed up so it's a Russian Roulette whenever I load up one of those

Treet DEs cover a wide range of experiences and I think it's one of those you like 'em or you don't. I do. Treet Platinum are my favourite and most readily "to go" blade. Treet Durasharp my favourite carbon steel and a blade I'd say is a favourite above a long list. I'd agree, not sharp ... and empirically not so (according to Refined Shave methodology) but very much a shave that I enjoy.

There are 8 or 10 different blades in the Treet stable at the moment and making any sense of them is nigh on impossible. Suffice to say, the Platinum, Durasharp Yellow and Kala (Black Beauty) are well known and well understood. Classic, Trig and the Durasharp Blue (actually a stainless blade) perhaps less so, but still better known than, say, Falcon (CS), King (SS), New Edge (CS), New Steel (SS), Silver (CS) and 7 Days Platinum (SS). Certainly Falcon, King, New Edge and New Steel, I think are rebrands of the Classic and the Durasharp Blue, perhaps different grinds or finishing. Silver appears to be a new high performance carbon blade, but not quite up there with the Durasharp Yellow and perhaps hiding some production efficiencies behind a triple squirt of teflon. That last one, 7 Days Platinum, is a super blade which I think is an extended technology regular Platinum delivering actually 7 full days of shaving without any dip in performance - it also feels noticeably sharper than the regular Platinum.

This "New" one appears to be leveraging the Black Beauty graphics but is likely just another "New Steel" or poor-man's Durasharp Blue. Perhaps these are a lesser QC of the Durasharp Blue or just single grinds or single stropped, or something and aimed at the cheap, use once end of the market.

... oh, and then there's the Super Power and Extra Tez, both carbon.

I hope to have a straight run throught my Treet blades at some point (and Lord), like I did with the SuperMax.

 

[culcreuch]

 

[TobyC]

At a guess, I'd say different companies ... or umbrellas. I've used Treet SE blades before and yes, they're very nice to use. PAL blues, too. I had a good stash of PAL blues and bought some more from an untested source which turned out to be just two facet grinds (which being a fellow of reasonable stuff can actually shave with) and they're all mixed up so it's a Russian Roulette whenever I load up one of those

Treet DEs cover a wide range of experiences and I think it's one of those you like 'em or you don't. I do. Treet Platinum are my favourite and most readily "to go" blade. Treet Durasharp my favourite carbon steel and a blade I'd say is a favourite above a long list. I'd agree, not sharp ... and empirically not so (according to Refined Shave methodology) but very much a shave that I enjoy.

There are 8 or 10 different blades in the Treet stable at the moment and making any sense of them is nigh on impossible. Suffice to say, the Platinum, Durasharp Yellow and Kala (Black Beauty) are well known and well understood. Classic, Trig and the Durasharp Blue (actually a stainless blade) perhaps less so, but still better known than, say, Falcon (CS), King (SS), New Edge (CS), New Steel (SS), Silver (CS) and 7 Days Platinum (SS). Certainly Falcon, King, New Edge and New Steel, I think are rebrands of the Classic and the Durasharp Blue, perhaps different grinds or finishing. Silver appears to be a new high performance carbon blade, but not quite up there with the Durasharp Yellow and perhaps hiding some production efficiencies behind a triple squirt of teflon. That last one, 7 Days Platinum, is a super blade which I think is an extended technology regular Platinum delivering actually 7 full days of shaving without any dip in performance - it also feels noticeably sharper than the regular Platinum.

This "New" one appears to be leveraging the Black Beauty graphics but is likely just another "New Steel" or poor-man's Durasharp Blue. Perhaps these are a lesser QC of the Durasharp Blue or just single grinds or single stropped, or something and aimed at the cheap, use once end of the market.

... oh, and then there's the Super Power and Extra Tez, both carbon.

I hope to have a straight run throught my Treet blades at some point (and Lord), like I did with the SuperMax.

Not a fan of Lord or Big Ben., they are equally dull.

 

[culcreuch]

Not a fan of Lord or Big Ben., they are equally dull.

The only Lord Blade I can't cope with is the Shark Platinum. The Silver Star I am using at the moment is more than acceptable

 

[hotmetal]

No longer waiting to arrive, my '63 US built Tech just arrived. I was a little unsure of buying from the bay, but the seller seemed sound and said it was his birth year, so I guess that at least makes him "one of us" and not someone punting out whatever they find in charity shops. It's in better nick than the ebay pics led me to expect. I haven't tried it yet as I shaved with my Koraat this morning, expecting the Tech to show up tomorrow. Guard bars seem straight when rested on an acrylic bar with a torch behind, so I don't think there are any unwelcome surprises. I think I'm just cautious because it only cost me £12!

 

[pjgh]

Not a fan of Lord or Big Ben., they are equally dull.

Again, there is a huge spread across the Lord brand ... from near-PermaSharp Super kinda sharp Silver Stars to empirically Black Beauty dull Shark Stainless.

It's nowhere near as clear-cut as this, but at one time I wondered if there was some kind of Russian vs non-Russian thing as I often found that folks who raved about Russian blades like PolSilver and Astra would speak of Treet, Lord and SuperMax as if they ripped up Coke cans; folks who spoke highly of the latter were unable to get on with Gillette, generally. It has become more complex as Gillette is now widely available from both the Russian and the Shanghai plants and I think there is a BIG difference between the two.

I also wonder if there's some kind of Wilkinson Sword legacy going on? We certainly know that Lord was established by Wilko equipment and expertise, but I suspect British involvement on the Indian Subcontinent left some of that legacy there as well. Personally, I like Indian blades ... even the bad ones give me what I could call a "spirited" shave. I'd take a SuperMax over a Gillette absolutely any day of the week.

Why or how that translates to some faces and not others, I have no idea ...

My most highly rated blades are from SuperMax, Lord & Treet (and as I said above, my absolute hands-down favourite blade is the Treet Platinum); my most hated experiences are with PolSilver, Astra and Personna Med/Lab (go figure!) and my least favourite blades, generally Russian Gillettes.

That said ...

I rate the Gillette 7 O'Clock Sharp Edge (Yellow) and PermaSharp Super very highly ... and yes (@culcreuch) I also rate the Shark Platinum lowly. Exceptions that prove the rule, perhaps.

Curious, innit?