This Razor Is No More

SE Day 3

What have I gotten myself into, here? Four passes, including a steeply angled pass on water, and all I have to show for it is the equivalent of 2xWTG. Messrs. Dorco and Hannaford, let me inform you, I am not in this for the exfoliation! Even if I were, my skin is looking large-pored, which is to say, distressed. I think I am supposed to return to the store and give you a Norwegian Blue argument, but I have misplaced my satisfaction guarantee. And being so new to SE, I don't know if I would even be comfortable doing that.

So where does that leave me? Looking at the glint under an overhead light, I can see that the edge, such as it was, is still well-defined. It's only "dull" in the pragmatic sense, of not being able to shave; it looks like it could section slide specimens or scrape paint very well. Now I could sift through the paper recycling again, go to the bother of recovering my $3, and probably spend an additional $3 at CVS for the correct blade. Or, I can try my hand at honing again.

I guess I really ought to do both. It's not like I can un-use this blade that I've already tried. Maybe I can "satisfy" myself.

SE Day 4

No chance. Just as in my experiments in DE sharpening, I get an edge that makes it as far as my chin, and then, pfft. The odd thing about this razor though, is that I could still struggle through three passes without hurting myself, and the process was smoother than yesterday. But the result was totally unacceptable, equivalent to one careless WTG pass. I actually got out my #1 and went ATG to finish, not even caring if I missed anything. It was as clear a difference as "shaving," vs. not.

Opinion

Single-edge razors of the classic era are more closely descended from the original Kampfe safety razor design than Gillette's. A relatively inflexible blade, resembling a section of a frameback razor is clamped atop a baseplate, with a geometry and general function not entirely unlike the later double-edge.

But whereas DE razors are (mostly) optimized for moderate angles of pitch and close contact with the skin, and offer the user a wide range of control, the SE seems extremely biased toward the low angle, and zero skin impact. So much so, that the open blade technique of rolling the skin up loosely ahead of the edge, is inaccessible. While the shaves are invariably safe, and the results comfortable, this new kind of angular error results in distressed skin and a rough shave, that isn't very close either.

I'll reserve a personal "Conclusion" for when and if I can reasonably attain a more appropriate edge, and of course it must be recognized that lots of people are satisfied with SE razors. As far as I'm concerned, though, this thing was obsolete the day the Old Type was introduced, and I can say that having never even used an Old Type.