Shaving notes of the MaineYooper

I used the Golden 500 this morning and have a minor concern: it seems to me the head "wobbles" just a little. At first, I thought it was the Hydro-magic lever, but now I don't think so. The head is mounted on a long Type J handle. Do you have any recommendations for a fix? I don't think it affected the shave at all, which was very close and comfy. It has just a wee bit more blade feel, so I know it may bite if I get carefree with it. Part of me says leave well enough alone, and part says what if there is any easy solution?

Thanks for your thoughts!

Not a lot of time this morning Eric. On quick look of it it looks like you have a pin going through the side and a rivet through the front. They probably both stabilize it and not sure what's failed on yours. Leaving well enough alone maybe the best bet unless you can use some super glue or gorilla glue that will not show. I really have no good professional advice in that area. Sorry

I decided to try the method Dave mentioned above, and had good results! No more wobbly razor head! Before leaving work yesterday, I bought a small bottle of Gorilla Glue. I used a wooden tooth pick and carefully placed a small drop of glue under the metal head, between the head and the handle. That glue set fast, and there is no wobble. However, a small amount of glue got on the top of the head. While I was able to remove it promptly, it slightly discolored the metal there. You have to look to see it and as other areas are worn differently I don't think it is noticeable. More noticeable is the residue on the plastic, making the plastic look a little rough. Again, not noticeable if you aren't looking for it. But it shaves as good if not better than yesterday! So for twenty bucks for the razor, I am very pleased!

Second shave on the Schick blade, my Frankensoap #13 Z (3/4 Black Tie #13, 1/4 House of Mammoth Z) for a wonderfully creamy lather. I used the 24mm Independent fan knot in the Trotter Supernova handle. Wow, I am stunned! I love that knot already and wish I had the bulb version instead of the UHD version I have.  The UHD doesn't splay as much as I like, so I am going to sell it soon.

Way to go Eric! Seems like you did very well. A quick search says that razor usually retails much higher than you got it for (over double?!). If a drop of glue makes it work well, that's a win in my book.

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I wanted to record some thoughts that I shared with a friend via email, and so I am pasting the pertinent paragraph here.

As for my shave this morning, I switched things up. Different soap and a different brush. The 500 with 4th use of a Schick blade performed admirably. I woke up wanting to use Mystic Water's Sensitive Skin and I had set a new 24mm APSCo MiG synthetic in a handle yesterday and wanted to try it. So I did! Great results all around and very pleased with the bigger MiG's performance. I have a 22mm set in a restored Erskine handle and it is good, but just good. Not mind blowing like those similar sized badgers! I am still amazed at how big badger brushes bloom. I had about 3-4 months of a single badger brush before I ruined it (super smelly soap scent that I could not get rid of). I went all synthetic in by Spring of 2016, just adding back boars in 2021 and badgers last fall. So I am a novice to the badger. Anyhow, the point was that I did not have high hopes for the MiG and had a SynBad as back up. But the larger knot size was perfect. For me, I hypothesize that I shouldn't go below 24mm for a synthetic, as they don't act like badger fibers.

Here is the knot, in my very special Fluffy Industries 86S copper handle. Ken even placed my username on the handle. I have had a variety of knots in this handle, and thought I'd found the right one with a 24mm APSCo Cashmere, but I had this brand-new APSCo MiG. Frankly, I liked the look better in that handle. And I am so happy I swapped it out!


yeah, that is a lot of silicone showing, but the MiG knots have a metal ring on the bottom of the glue. I found that both the 22mm and 24mm had room to spare in the handles that measured to their respective sizes, so I purposefully loaded more silicone into the socket to hold the knot better. And really, when it's full of lather, you can't see it! 

I have been enjoying the Vector this week, and as Marko is making the plunge into Vector goodness, it prompted me to write some thoughts I've had so far this week. For several years now I have been picking a set up and trying to stick with it for a week. This week it was the Vector's turn. I have the titanium Vector in its standard finish (not polished). Last year, Shane Blackland Razors wrote a blog post about titanium. I had had a 5 month on again off again relationship with the stainless steel Vector and had concluded that as much as I loved the results, it wasn't for me. This blog post had me ready to try again, but with a titanium Vector. I could not have made a better decision! Within a few weeks, my Hawk and Colonial The General were on their way to new homes, as this Vector was a joy to use and I couldn't see the need for other AC-style razors if this one was checking all my boxes!

The only downside I had was when I finished up my pack of Schick Proline P-30s and started a new pack purchased as a brick of 300 blades in 2021. The new Prolines didn't fit easily! Man, I was bummed. But, Shane recommended Feather Professional blades, and I found them to be great, along with some Kai blades I had previously purchased. 

So this week, on days off when I don't need a long lasting shave, I have been using the Kai Captain Titan Mild blade, and on work days, the Kai Captain blade. The Milds are just a smidge milder (less blade feel?) but the shave lasts almost as long! I notice it most when my face hits my pillow when I roll on my side at night: not nearly as much whisker poking! 

Other notes: I stayed with my Frankensoap again this week. Maybe I'll keep it going next week, too, or maybe I'll be ready to change it up. But this soap is 3/4 of the last of my Sir Henry's Black Tie #13 and 1/4 House of Mammoth Z. And that's how they are positioned in the tub, sort of looking like a pie chart! What a lather I get! Even with all the new soaps I bought last year, I am having some great lathers with this combo and didn't see the need to change this week.

Random thoughts complete. Have a good Wednesday, you all!

Nice read Eric !

I have been enjoying the Vector this week, and as Marko is making the plunge into Vector goodness, it prompted me to write some thoughts I've had so far this week. For several years now I have been picking a set up and trying to stick with it for a week. This week it was the Vector's turn. I have the titanium Vector in its standard finish (not polished). Last year, Shane Blackland Razors wrote a blog post about titanium. I had had a 5 month on again off again relationship with the stainless steel Vector and had concluded that as much as I loved the results, it wasn't for me. This blog post had me ready to try again, but with a titanium Vector. I could not have made a better decision! Within a few weeks, my Hawk and Colonial The General were on their way to new homes, as this Vector was a joy to use and I couldn't see the need for other AC-style razors if this one was checking all my boxes!

The only downside I had was when I finished up my pack of Schick Proline P-30s and started a new pack purchased as a brick of 300 blades in 2021. The new Prolines didn't fit easily! Man, I was bummed. But, Shane recommended Feather Professional blades, and I found them to be great, along with some Kai blades I had previously purchased. 

So this week, on days off when I don't need a long lasting shave, I have been using the Kai Captain Titan Mild blade, and on work days, the Kai Captain blade. The Milds are just a smidge milder (less blade feel?) but the shave lasts almost as long! I notice it most when my face hits my pillow when I roll on my side at night: not nearly as much whisker poking! 

Other notes: I stayed with my Frankensoap again this week. Maybe I'll keep it going next week, too, or maybe I'll be ready to change it up. But this soap is 3/4 of the last of my Sir Henry's Black Tie #13 and 1/4 House of Mammoth Z. And that's how they are positioned in the tub, sort of looking like a pie chart! What a lather I get! Even with all the new soaps I bought last year, I am having some great lathers with this combo and didn't see the need to change this week.

Random thoughts complete. Have a good Wednesday, you all!

Eric, I have you to thank (blame?) for this acquisition at least in part.  I've read through the Vector thread and after reading your post on your SS vs Ti experience and how you had read Shane's blog post on the difference between the two I got thinking about Ti.  Without that post and Shane's article there is no way I would have bought the Ti version.  I'd have gone SS if at all and who knows, after your experience with it that might have been enough to scare me off?    I'm not kidding when I said this is the most costly shaving purchase I've ever made.  My Wolfman WR1 that I bought in I think maybe 2015 (just before he closed his original waiting list system) cost me CDN$200.  This one with stand and a pack of each of the 3 blades comes in over CDN$500. I'll be eating lentils for a while.  I guess if youre going to fall off the Restraint wagon you may as well fall hard.

Do you prefer the Kai Captain blades to the Feathers?  What is your source?

Eric, I have you to thank (blame?) for this acquisition at least in part.  

Do you prefer the Kai Captain blades to the Feathers?  What is your source?

All kidding aside, I hear you on the big outlay of cash. It was my biggest purchase  as well, and I have to remind myself of that when I start thinking about other AC-style razors! As for blades, don't buy any Schick Proline P-30s, as they may or may not fit. If I had some left, I'd send them your way. As for the Kai Captains, I found that Maggard Razors had them. I find them on par with the Feather Professionals. I have tried the Feather Professionals, Kai Captains, Kai Captain Titan Mild, and the Kai Captain Titan Protouch MG (a guarded blade). I bought the guarded blades based on other users experience and on pictures of the Protouch MG and the Feather Proguard blades. The Feather Proguards looked uncomfortable to my eye!

I have a small collection of barber razors that use the AC style blades and bought several different blades from TryABlade.com in order to see what I liked.
Before I found TryABlade, I bought a pack of the Feather Pro Guard blades as many said they were good blades when starting with barber razors. They really did not work for me. I tried them in a Hawk V3 with the different plates and thought I was going to PIF them when I picked up an Occam's O.R.E.N. razor. With the three-dot top cap, the Pro Guard blade will give me a DFS+ shave. I am glad I did not get rid of those blades now that I found a razor that works well with them. I doubt I would buy more of those blades when I exhaust my set since they are expensive for the number of blades you get (if I remember correctly). I also have a lot of other blades to work through.

I now plan to try other blades that did not work for me in my other razors and use them with the O.R.E.N. Of course it would have been cheaper to throw away those blades than buy the Hawk and the O.R.E.N but I bought both razors used (and at different times) and each one makes good use of blades I have not enjoyed.

The Hawk V3 with the 'A' plate and the handle from my Muhle R89 makes a great combination. The light handle makes the razor head heavy which leads to less pressure when shaving.

Jatai International sometimes has good deals on their AC style blades and razors (especially their Black Friday deals for AC razors).

For several years now, I have been doing a "fixed four" for a week. This made my mornings easier and allowed me to really focus on technique and consistency by not changing stuff all the time. But since November, I have been changing brushes and razors quite frequently and suffered no ill effects!

But I want to settle in to a routine again, so I am going to do a Fixed Four Schick Shave for March. Now another place does it for the whole month, but I, having enjoyed changing things up, am going to do it for 5 days in a row, and thereby use all my wonderful Schick injectors for the month of March!

Since I have too many injectors to "fit" into March, I am going to start early and begin this Friday.

The Octuple Fixed Four Schick Shaving Show

Part 1: The Type E (E2 by Appleby, 2nd variant by BBS in Dummies Guide), on the left below.



The Type E came with movable springs and fixed springs, and were made from the mid-1930s to the mid-1940s. The movable spring had 2 versions, a square spring (Appleby's E1) and a rounded spring with flaps. Above is the rounded spring on the left. On the right is Canadian E3. Appleby's E3 is distinguished by having channels in the guard plate, which is absent in E1 and E2.

Canadian on right, E2 on left. Later versions with fixed springs had more pronounced striations to help with skin stretching as the razor shaved. As shown in the ad in the preceding post, Schick focused a lot on the science behind their razors, which I find fascinating!



(for more interesting work on distinguishing Schick razors and for dating them, see the wonderful resource https://razors.click/index.html. The Dummies Guides by BBS as well as Appleby's system have links located on the left side of the home page.)



For the next five shaves, this will be the set up. The brush is an Ever Ready 836 A, refurbished by Freddiep318ti with a Shave Forge 22mm high mountain white badger knot.
This morning's shave was wonderful! Stirling always makes a great lather, the brush was outstanding, and the shave efficient. I found the E2 to have slightly more blade feel than I am used to, but it was not off-putting to me. Blade is a Schick Proline B-20, 3rd use.

Thanks for reading, and let's have a good weekend!

The Octuple Fixed Four Schick Shaving Show

Part 1: The Type E (E2 by Appleby, 2nd variant by BBS in Dummies Guide), on the left below.



The Type E came with movable springs and fixed springs. The movable spring had 2 versions, a square spring (Appleby's E1) and a rounded spring with flaps. Above is the rounded spring on the left. On the right is Canadian E3. Appleby's E3 is distinguished by having channels in the guard plate, which is absent in E1 and E2.

Canadian on right, E2 on left. Later versions with fixed springs had more pronounced striations to help with skin stretching as the razor shaved. As shown in the ad in the preceding post, Schick focused a lot on the science behind their razors, which I find fascinating!



(for more interesting work on distinguishing Schick razors and for dating them, see the wonderful resource https://razors.click/index.html. The Dummies Guides by BBS as well as Appleby's system have links located on the left side of the home page.)



For the next five shaves, this will be the set up. The brush is an Ever Ready 836 A, refurbished by Freddiep318ti with a Shave Forge 22mm high mountain white badger knot.
This morning's shave was wonderful! Stirling always makes a great lather, the brush was outstanding, and the shave efficient. I found the E2 to have slightly more blade feel than I am used to, but it was not off-putting to me.

Thanks for reading, and let's have a good weekend!

That's another stunning refurbished brush, Eric. You are not helping me cut back on shopping. Lol.

Great looking shave setup. Enjoy!

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