PAA Starling Gem & Doppelganger black label soap pass around

Nice write-up, HoosierShave!  Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the razor and the soap.  

One question: when you say, "...opening the angle more as compared to the Bullet-tip,"  I assume you used a steeper angle(handle closer to the face/riding the guard?)  I have a MMOC, but I've never tried the Bullet-Tip.  Thanks!

Also, it's very generous of you to add some blades to the package  

Blade4vor, that is correct. Once I used the steeper angle, I started getting much better shaves. I'll be sending the razor out some time today to it's next destination

Starling-Purple plate/TNNSER. Give credit to PAA, the Starling is well put together. The Starling has zero feedback , no doubt because of the way the blade is clamped (no cap span), but both because of it's light weight and sharp edges (and user error) I find myself poking myself with the darn thing. It feels just like you're dragging a lightwieight sharp aluminum blade holder across your face, well, as you are. I can't hoIwever fault its efficiency. The TNNSER offers audible feedback and is way more comfortable, and this idiot doesn't poke himself while flinging it around. Efficiency is a close call. I'm tempted to give the edge to the Starling but the stubble grows differently on the two sides of my head so comparison is unfair after one shave. Both terrific. I expect tomorrow I'll do better with handling the Starling.

Starling-Green OC/MMOC. The Starling holds its own reasonably well in terms of efficiency. Heft and feedback from the MMOC makes it the more enjoyable shaver.

Any thoughts on the soap?

Oh sure, it's luxurious, delicious even. Very very nice stuff. I'm not a soap collector but I will peruse the listing and likely buy one of them.

Any thoughts on the soap?

Starling vs Damaskeene. The Starling will be on its way tomorrow to Michigan. It's not for me. I can't say it convinced me it has a reason for being as i enjoyed it less than every vintage SE I matched it up against (and Tom White's TNNSER). Does it clamp the blade tightly, yes. Is it well balanced, yes. Does that make it a better razor than the Damaskeene or Clog-Pruf or MMOC. Nope, not for me. I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to try it out, thank you DFS.

kudos on comparing it to other SE razors, jmudrick. That TNNSER is pretty interesting to look at. perhaps start a thread on it in the shaving section?!

how's this thing going, gents?

I'll be sending it off to dabearis on Monday.

So, the box is on its way to dabearis. I'm going to have to echo jmudrick's thoughts on the razor. Definitely not for me either. Really the only things I like about it are the handle and the end results of the shave. Actually shaving with it was not very enjoyable, tbh. The way its designed with the handle all the way at the back of the head forces you to use a very awkward angle to get it to cut. Too shallow and it just drags on the top cap, too steep and it scrapes the lather off of your face without cutting any whiskers. I think a lot of this has to do with the virtually non-existent blade gap and exposure. The OC was a little better providing feedback, but they both provided about the same efficiency. I did end up with very good shaves out of the 4 times I used it. No blood or irritation or anything, it just wasn't enjoyable. I also noticed the sharp corners would dig into the hollows of my neck too if I wasn't careful. Awkward is the best word I can come up with. I'd much rather use my vintage GEMs if I want to use that type of blade. I didn't really like the Sabre either, FWIW.

Regarding the soap, the scent is light and pleasant, but I'm not really into cologne-like scents so it was just OK in that regard. The performance was really very good, but it required adjusting my loading and lathering technique quite a bit. All you need to do is load with a wet brush for like 5-10 seconds and you should have more than enough for 3 passes. My first go with it I loaded like normal for about 20-30 seconds and I just could not put enough water into it to get it the right consistency. When I pulled the remaining lather out of the brush, there was enough for like 5 more passes! After I made the adjustment, my lathers came out fine and it checked all the boxes. Slick, protective, good post shave feeling, etc. I just don't think it's enough for me to say that it's better than any tallow based soap out there. Is it better than some? Yes, but there are others that I think are better.

All in all, it was a fun experience and thanks to everyone involved in making this pass around possible. It's always fun to try new things!