The brush is one of Maggard Razors 24mm synthetics, and for $12 it’s a great bargain (as is the 22mm for $10). I thought the 24mm would feel a bit too large on my face, but again expectations were contradicted by experience: it felt fine, though indeed a bit larger than the 22mm. The handle is comfortable as well as distinctive, and the lather from Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Otra was really excellent.
When I reversed the baseplate from the shave, going from the R5 side of yesterday’s shave to the R6 size I used today, I was stunned to see that the blade was a Feather. I has used a Feather blade the for the R2 and the R1 tests, to compare those Rockwell plates to the Feather AS-D2, in which I always use a Feather blade. I had forgotten that it held a Feather, so just used the same blade when I switched to the R5 baseplate.
I was surprised because my experience has been that, though the Feather blade works well for me in some (mild) razors, making them quite efficient—razors like the Gillette Tech, the Wilkinson Sticky, and the Feather AS-D1/2—in most razors I have found a Feather blade leads to a certain number of nicks. That was not true with the R5 and it was again untrue for the R6. Either my skills have improved, or the Rockwell head is very well-designed—or both, I suppose, though I’m inclined to credit the Rockwell design for taming the Feather. (This also shows that I can get at least 4 good shaves from a single Feather blade.)
Three passes, zero problems, zero nicks, and a BBS finish: who could ask for more?
A splash of the sample of Chatillon Lux’s La Quatrième Ville (vetiver, cypress, violet leaf, nagarmotha and incense), which will become available on their site on 5 March. I had thought this was an aftershave, but as it turns out, it’s not: it’s a toner—an aftershave toner, it’s true, but Chatillon Lux uses “aftershave” to refer only to one of their three aftershave formulations (splash, toner, and salve), even though in the ordinary sense they are all aftershaves (or “post-shaves,” the phrase Chatillon Lux prefers).
A great shave, an interesting discovery, and my esteem for the Rockwell system increases even further.
Filed under: Shaving
