Anything that can go wrong will happen while I'm shaving...

The Mods have been discussing it for some time and split 50/50. We're waiting on Andrew to be the tie breaker.....

Thanks Eric and Dave!

Next conquest will be the Macduffs Aspen Parkland. I'd like to see that one through to the end, if I can. It's still 50%+, so it'll be some time. Still, it's nice to have a plan.

Have a good day everyone!

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...maybe... (To the above)

Last night I used the MacDuffs and the shave wasn't all that great, at least compared to what I've been enjoying the past few months (with Zingari).

I'm going to chalk this one up to the lather consistency. Tub loading from a hard cream, like MacDuffs, can be tricky. It's too easy to end up with a joint compound consistency. I'm going to try finessing  the load in my palm, with some water. That'll better tell me if I've just become accustomed to harder soaps over the past months of straight Zingari.

Happy Friday folks!

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Hey Dave in KY or Marko ... can we kick this idiot out of the forum? He seems to be way out of touch with reality, stating MacDuff's wasn't all that great. What an idiot. Seriously,  no one should ever listen to this guy.

In other words: Another great shave with MacDuffs and I'm basically eating crow. They have all been fabulous, other than my brief loading mishap on the first shave back. Also, with the consecutive uses, it's hardened up a bit (just as someone mentioned above). Still likely using it faster, but man is it good.

The final step in my 'walk of shame' here... I think I'll be replacing this after all

Time for some dinner...

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Paul, this is hilarious! But don't be too tough on yourself.

So, as Pasteur's is having a veterans Day sale (15% off) this weekend, and always offers free shipping, I made an impulse buy and reordered the MacDuffs AP early. I'm still working on finishing this tub, which I guesstimate will be done in 2-3 weeks. Nonetheless, a sale is a sale, especially if you know you're buying it soon, anyway. Glad I found it when I did... in these fiscally defunct times, I appreciate a deal more than ever.

Now onto another topic... razor blades. I jumped back into a blade Eric MaineYooper generously sent me some time ago to test... these Red box / wrapped Personna Platinum Stainless blades. It's mind boggling the number of blades, packaging options, and nicknames Personna has for the same product. So my question... Beyond the above (actual details), do these have a particular nickname?

To save space I pitched the cardboard sleeve and only have the blades. This, I believe, is what they looked like (it matches the wrapper on them, I'm pretty sure). I would have said Israeli red, but they're German according to pic #2? So German-i Reds? Lol. Personna could really use some sort of product consolidation. As a customer, and a fan too, this confusion is a deterrent not a boon.

Nonetheless, any help is greatly appreciated.

Fwiw, I decided to give this blade a go after watching the Tatara thread (thanks for the inspiration Dan DanLaw ). I use a Personna Comfort coated (CC) blade most of the time. It's smooth and gives me 2 great shaves before I bin it. However, my recent trial has yielded 3 great shaves and counting. If it reaches 4 BBS without issue, and I can repeat it on the next blade or two (I think I have 2 more to try), it might be worth the extra money (they seem to be about 33% more than CC, via Amazons prices). At least that's my thinking today. We'll see if I follow that through or get distracted by other shiny things.

If you made it this far, congrats. I just stole ~2 minutes of your life. It was a waste, too, Huh? Sorry about that. Regardless, have a great Sunday everyone.

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I like wasting time sometimes

Good morning Paul!

Isn't the confusion on naming Personnas and trying to figure out where they are made, is there difference between similar blades, etc, etc, just a blast?! 

In my own cranium, I refer to them as Reds, Israeli Reds, German Reds, PtCr, and so on and so forth! Inside your cranium, you can call them whatever you think is best and most fitting! 

For what it's worth, I can't tell any difference between the Israeli produced blades and the German blades. In my blade acquisition disorder, I want more original Reds, but my experience with the German-made blades stops me from paying stupid prices for NOS Israeli blades.

Good morning Paul!

Isn't the confusion on naming Personnas and trying to figure out where they are made, is there difference between similar blades, etc, etc, just a blast?! 

In my own cranium, I refer to them as Reds, Israeli Reds, German Reds, PtCr, and so on and so forth! Inside your cranium, you can call them whatever you think is best and most fitting! 

For what it's worth, I can't tell any difference between the Israeli produced blades and the German blades. In my blade acquisition disorder, I want more original Reds, but my experience with the German-made blades stops me from paying stupid prices for NOS Israeli blades.

Thanks Eric, I recall I got these from you, who sent me two reds to try. I'm guessing the others were Israeli reds? Hmm... now there are Israeli in a blue and white (hard plastic container). Any idea if those are the same? Wouldn't it be a hoot if they not only are Israeli Red and German Red the same, but also Israeli blue (and dare I add German blue?!)? I don't think a German Blue actually exists ... yet, give them time.

If Personna is in a bad way for money, all they need to do is cut out 1/2 their blade types and save millions (billions? Maybe as much as the US national debt). I joke, but it seems it would be a sizable savings just in packaging alone.

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Good morning Paul!

Isn't the confusion on naming Personnas and trying to figure out where they are made, is there difference between similar blades, etc, etc, just a blast?! 

In my own cranium, I refer to them as Reds, Israeli Reds, German Reds, PtCr, and so on and so forth! Inside your cranium, you can call them whatever you think is best and most fitting! 

For what it's worth, I can't tell any difference between the Israeli produced blades and the German blades. In my blade acquisition disorder, I want more original Reds, but my experience with the German-made blades stops me from paying stupid prices for NOS Israeli blades.

Thanks Eric, I recall I got these from you, who sent me two reds to try. I'm guessing the others were Israeli reds? Hmm... now there are Israeli in a blue and white (hard plastic container). Any idea if those are the same? Wouldn't it be a hoot if they not only are Israeli Red and German Red the same, but also Israeli blue (and dare I add German blue?!)?  I don't think a German Blue actually exists ... yet, give them time.

If Personna is in a bad way for money, all they need to do is cut out 1/2 their blade types and save millions (billions? Maybe as much as the US national debt). I joke, but it seems it would be a sizable savings just in packaging alone.

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Ha, I forgot about the blue 10-blade packs. Yes, those too are "Reds!" Supposedly that was for European markets? I think the new German-made 10-packs are also blue, and like the Reds, have an updated packaging. 

Good morning Paul!

Isn't the confusion on naming Personnas and trying to figure out where they are made, is there difference between similar blades, etc, etc, just a blast?! 

In my own cranium, I refer to them as Reds, Israeli Reds, German Reds, PtCr, and so on and so forth! Inside your cranium, you can call them whatever you think is best and most fitting! 

For what it's worth, I can't tell any difference between the Israeli produced blades and the German blades. In my blade acquisition disorder, I want more original Reds, but my experience with the German-made blades stops me from paying stupid prices for NOS Israeli blades.

Thanks Eric, I recall I got these from you, who sent me two reds to try. I'm guessing the others were Israeli reds? Hmm... now there are Israeli in a blue and white (hard plastic container). Any idea if those are the same? Wouldn't it be a hoot if they not only are Israeli Red and German Red the same, but also Israeli blue (and dare I add German blue?!)?  I don't think a German Blue actually exists ... yet, give them time.

If Personna is in a bad way for money, all they need to do is cut out 1/2 their blade types and save millions (billions? Maybe as much as the US national debt). I joke, but it seems it would be a sizable savings just in packaging alone.

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Ha, I forgot about the blue 10-blade packs. Yes, those too are "Reds!" Supposedly that was for European markets? I think the new German-made 10-packs are also blue, and like the Reds, have an updated packaging. 

I just found some info that the Israel facility is closed, moved to Germany. So, that would explain some of the eerie similarities. Since the blue vs red is merely a packaging issue (10 vs 5), guess we only have one European made.

Additionally, I read that the US variants are a separate animal - maybe even a different parent company? We only have med prep and comfort coated (AFAIK)... They're "US made" (really Mexico, thanks NAFTA). Then they repackage them and sell as CVS or RiteAid or whatever brand.

A little less confusing, if I got solid Intel.

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This evening I received this brush: The Hive, by Techichi. It was featured in Dave in KY Dave's SoTD a few days ago and it sounded right in my wheelhouse. A cheaply priced 26mm synth that simply performs.

After rinsing it out I gave it a try. My first thoughts...

It's a cheap brush... cheap handle, cheap knot, cheap price. The knot is set well and well picked with good quality and very little glue bump. It's soft to the face and has a medium amount of backbone. I'd say it's a bit on the springy side, but pretty good nonetheless. Basically, though you can easily tell it's a normal run of the mill cheap synth, it is better than it has any right to be. Being set right and enduring a good QC so you don't end up with a lemon is more than half the battle. That's awesome and I'm quite happy.

The handle has good grip, a nice size, and is as ugly as the day is long. It has neon 80's clown written all over it. Regardless, it works quite well, which is the main purpose.

For $20 shipped I got exactly what I wanted ... a 26mm synth that does the job exceedingly well, and has no extra bling to add to the pricetag. Well done Don (Techichi) - and Dave for the recommendation.

Pictured below for your entertainment/ nausea.

(PS - Pictures keep coming out either Butterscotch or faded orange. This thing is absolutely NEON orange, through and through)

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So many variations to what people call Butterscotch.....now add neon. That's why I liked white