Extremely smooth result today—but first the brushes. I loaded the Satin Tip in the usual way with a shave stick—rubbing the stick against the grain all over my wet, washed beard, then brush my soaped beard briskly with a damp brush to create the lather and load the brush. I had just given the Satin Dip a splash of water under the faucet and it was too dry, but adding a driblet of water fixed that easily, and the lather came up quite nicely.
The Plisson angel-hair I wetted more carefully and then brushed the top of the stick (as you see in the movie The Dam Busters) to load the brush with soap directly from the soap.
I alternated brushes in each pass, using them both through the first two passes. My take: for me, the Plisson clearly feels better on the face. The Satin Tip is not nearly so soft and yielding—it has more backbone, as it were, and to my face it feels as though the loft were just a little short: it’s just a little too stiff, particularly as compared to the Plisson. This is doubtless person preference. Almightywhacko told me that he prefers the Satin Tip to his angel-hair synthetics, undoubtedly because he likes a firmer brush. But for me, the angel-hair synthetics are softer and more pleasant on my face. Relatively speaking, the Satin Tip feels more like I’m poking my face—or at least is more in that direction—while the Plisson felt like warm fluff filled with lather. I prefer the latter sensation.
The Fatip is for me not a comfortable razor, but let us start with the virtues. It looks good and it feels good: hefty and comfortable in the hand. Part of that is because it’s made of brass rather than a zinc alloy, and that also makes it sturdier and promises a longer life. And it is indeed efficient: I got a BBS result easily in three passes.
And it did not nick me, but it felt as if it wanted to. It felt more in the direction of “harsh” than in the direction of “comfortable.” Certainly with good technique it causes no problems and does a fine job—and it’s priced well for a solid brass razor. But I do like my comfort (see brush comments above).
A splash of Tabac aftershave—full disclosure: that is not a travel bottle—and I’m ready for the day.
Filed under: Shaving
