Today was supposed to be the opening of the flea market, but the combination of rain and wind is more than my little red canopy can stand. Even so, I customarily shave with the razors I sell on flea market day, and took it as an opportunity to review the Yingjili 8206-M, a cheaper competitor to the Weishi 9306. Steel doors and aluminum handle adorn a simplified construction with cast components.
The cutting head isn't as well-finished as the Weishi, with a thicker lip on the top cap that limits blade exposure pretty severely. Like the Weishi, it is relatively flat on top, compared to my Super Speed. You still only get one effective pitch angle, but it isn't because of any faceting! I wondered how these factors would impact the shave, with my decidedly tired Baili blade: more Super Speed like, or more Tech-like?
Neither, but the Weishi again came to mind. Also the Merkur OC, as WTG proceeded without skin contact. Quite a bit more easily than with the Super Speed, actually, which is certainly a new spin on a quality I previously despised. XTG, on the other hand, was simply less effective, whether due to the blade or the razor I couldn't say for sure. Because I took off one of the safety bars, I was beating one edge only. ATG probably would have been fine, because there was still plenty of stubble when I got to it, and it didn't bite me.
What redeemed the shave was pushing skin toward the blade, which was an entire fourth or fifth pass -- I lost count trying to do two XTGs. Rolling skin up ahead of the blade made it catch hair just like bulfrogging the neck. It worked best on flat areas, and particularly the jaw corners, whereas curved jawline and chin responded best to the usual method of applying higher tension behind the blade.
I couldn't quite figure out the sulcuses at the time, but I'm pretty sure this is where you'd want to pinch the flesh to make it pop up, in the barber approach. I stuck to the familiar method of pressing severely on another, skewed WTG stroke.
That was a lot of work, but it's a close shave, with many areas smooth ATG, and all nice and velvety. Alum test passed more convincingly than the Super Speed... but I used a more protective preparation of witch hazel solution, oil and Arko. There is no good reason not to flip the blade and do it again tomorrow, and I want to see if I can advance to the skin pushing on pass 2.
But after that, this blade is done. Twelve shaves is above standard, for a smooth blade.
EXFOLIATION FINISH -- There was something to see, after all: the little "spot" where the keratosis was, now a bit of distressed, red pulp. Texture elsewhere not spectacular, but okay with a good nighttime soap wash. Not as bad as the low-angle kind of stress and exfoliation...
ReplyDeleteWith the other edge, I skipped XTG as planned, and that was fine, but not close enough for my liking. Just out of curiosity, I went to the Rimei for a third pass. It caught more hair, and didn't seem to cause any damage.
Traction control! Starting with that razor would have been a different story, no doubt.