After the previous two shaves — one with a badger brush and one with a synthetic brush, using soaps with the same formulation — the score stood Badger 0, Synthetic 1. Today I used again a Strop Shoppe soap, and this time a different badger brush: the Rooney Victorian, a very fine brush.
The result was a very fine lather. It was not quite so impressive as the lather from the synthetic brush yesterday (Phoenix Artisan Solar Flare), but that may have been due to expectations differing from result. It occurs to me that the previous badger brush (pre-Vulfix Simpson Emperor 3 Super) might simply require cleaning. Although the water here is quite soft, the water in Monterey was, while not really hard, not quite so soft as here. So the next step is to clean the brush and replicate the shave. (It seems that there’s always a bit more to check and verify.)
So I was quite happy with the lather, but the focus for today’s shave was the slant head I ordered from the Woodturners Catalog. The head is sold separately, as you see at the link, but also sold as part of a kit now on closeout, so if you’re interested, act soon. The head is really made to fit on the core you fit into a handle you’ve turned (see instructions – PDF). The catalog entry for the slant head:
This retrofit kit lets you replace your standard Artisan safety razor head with our new Slant Bar safety razor head. The ideal razor style for those with a coarse beard or sensitive skin, a slant bar razor produces a shearing action for cleaner cutting with less pulling. Depending on your face and beard status, you can change heads as needed.
- Slant Bar razor head only
- Fits on any style safety razor handle
I imagine you can readily replace the standard Artisan safety razor head (from that manufacturer) with the slant head, but the claim “Fits on any style safety razor handle” is exaggerated. As noted in the comment thread on yesterday’s SOTD post, it did not fit SAE 10-32 (which I tried with the Rockwell handle, which is tapped for that thread — and I trust Rockwell’s hard-won QC awareness) nor the metric M10x-0.8 (which I tried with a stainless iKon handle and with the Parker Semi-Slant handle, the Semi-Slant striking me as noticeably better in fit and finish and (presumably) QC than previous Parker razors. (And BTW, that comment thread includes some photos of hand-turned razor handles.)
On the advice of a commenter, I tried a Fatip handle (presumably M10x-0.8) and a Baili handle (Chinese threading which may not be standard). The Fatip did not work, but the Baili handle worked fine, and that’s what I used and is pictured above.
It’s unclear whether this manufacturer was trying for proprietary threading, much as early blade manufacturers tried to ensure that their blades worked only with their razors, or whether the manufacturing tolerances were sloppy. I suspect that it’s the latter, given the statement “Fits on any style safety razor handle.” Given the price, I believe that the head was made without precision machining and rigorous QC. A product at this price point mandates cheap manufacturing, and the result is a certain amount of slop in (for example) threading.
So if you get this head, be warned that the threads may well not work with the handles you have, particularly if you have high-quality machined handles. That said, it fit the Baili handle (a very comfortable and attractive handle), and the Baili BR171 (that’s the handle shown) is just $6 from Groomatorium Inc. or Chiseled Face Groomatorium. That would be a good solution, especially since the BR171 head is quite good, so you’d end up with a good razor on hand.
So what’s the head of this “Artisan slant” like? It’s extremely comfortable — practically no blade feel at all. In fact, after the first stroke I thought that I had failed to load it with a blade, so I had to check — I was sure I remembered loading it. Sure enough, a blade was in place (an Astra Superior Platinum). So this is by no means a slant that feels frightening; it feels like a slant without a blade.
So far as efficiency, it is not so efficient (with this brand of blade) as my other slants, but I’m going to try it Monday on a two-day stubble and with a Gillette 7 O’Clock SharpEdge and see whether the efficiency moves up a notch.
I was, however, able to get a very smooth shave; it just required a bit more attention and polish than normal. Thus this might be an excellent slant for someone who wants to try a slant but finds the prospect intimidating. This one will not harm you and will feel good as you shave and will encourage you to try a more efficient slant, like the iKon 102 or iKon X3 or the Fine slant.
Three passes, a certain amount of blade buffing, and my face was perfectly smooth and ready for a splash of Booster’s June Clover aftershave (rushing the season somewhat, but the cherry blossoms are already in bloom here — Victoria is a big cherry-blossom city). Oolong tea this morning: very nice indeed.
The weekend begins! Long live the weekend! (The weekend was brought to you by organized labor and effective unions. Take a moment to thank them and to understand that conservatives have worked (successfully, for the most part) to destroy unions.