Old Sarge Introduction

[Jayaruh]

I have palm stropped, but now I belly strop on my ribbed A-shirt.

[Old Sarge]

In my research I've stumbled across palm stropping for SE blades. I guess the theory is that for initial use of a blade it could take out some of the harshness. While for a blade with a number of shaves, it could extend the life of the blade. 

Has anyone tried this with any success? And if so, what type of blade were you using, is there anything to note about the technique used and how many times would you strop each side? My concern would be that palm stropping could detract from the overall life of a blade, to include limiting the effectiveness of any coating.

I know some people palm strop. I used to run the edge of the blade just barely into a cork or a Styrofoam packing peanut to take down the harshness a little. Now if I want to reduce the harshness of a new blade I just use it in a particularly mild razor for the first shave or two. A Gem featherweight is an excellent option for this. I prefer the first Gen Featherweight to the second Gen. The differences are small though. I believe all Featherweight Deluxes were 1st Gen. In case you aren't familiar the Deluxe is the one with the Gold endcap on the handle. This makes them super easy to ID. I Can't remember if the discussion was on here about the difference between first Gen. And second Gen. It may have been on Tost2 if you or anyone else is interested I can dig up pictures and post it here somewhere.

I'd appreciate it if you dig up the info on the differences between the 1st/2nd Gen. I've seen comments on the inter webs that these are good shavers. I did know that there was one version with a gold cap on the handle, but didn't know any further details. I remember handling a couple when I first started hitting the antique stores, but at that time I knew nothing about SE razors and just kept on moving.

I had also saw a post, I think by Mantic59, about corking blades. I like your idea of using a mild razor to mitigate the harshness!

[Old Sarge]

I have palm stropped, but now I belly strop on my ribbed A-shirt.

It takes both a brave and a bold man to allow his belly to star on YouTube! Informative and subtly humorous at the same time. Is this a regular routine for you, the stropping I mean and not your belly staring on the inter webs? 

[Old Sarge]

Not for posting as a SOTD in my eyes, but I did use my Gem Junior w/ baton handle with a Treet blade this afternoon. This was my first ever SE shave. It went well and I had no issues with three passes (WTG, XTG, ATG) on my cheeks and neck. I used an unmentionable on for the rest of the shave.

It was a great experience! Much more audio feedback and blade feel than I'm used to. I took it really slow, focused hard on keeping a good shallow angle and made sure to use a light touch. I had gone a few days since last shaving and my beard is pretty coarse, so on the first pass I found the whiskers were clogging up between the blade and the bottom of the base plate. This was not an issue on the next two passes. The only minor quibble I had was when going ATG on my cheeks it wasn't knocking down the whiskers as efficiently. This is not a new thing for me, particularly with mild razors. The light weight of this razor my have played a role in this as well.

As I continue to build confidence with the SE, I'll add in the other areas to shave. Onwards and upwards!

[Dave in KY]

Not for posting as a SOTD in my eyes, but I did use my Gem Junior w/ baton handle with a Treet blade this afternoon. This was my first ever SE shave. It went well and I had no issues with three passes (WTG, XTG, ATG) on my cheeks and neck. I used an unmentionable on for the rest of the shave.

It was a great experience! Much more audio feedback and blade feel than I'm used to. I took it really slow, focused hard on keeping a good shallow angle and made sure to use a light touch. I had gone a few days since last shaving and my beard is pretty coarse, so on the first pass I found the whiskers were clogging up between the blade and the bottom of the base plate. This was not an issue on the next two passes. The only minor quibble I had was when going ATG on my cheeks it wasn't knocking down the whiskers as efficiently. This is not a new thing for me, particularly with mild razors. The light weight of this razor my have played a role in this as well.

As I continue to build confidence with the SE, I'll add in the other areas to shave. Onwards and upwards!

Great job and looks like a NICE SOTD worthy post to me !

[GAW9576]

I know some people palm strop. I used to run the edge of the blade just barely into a cork or a Styrofoam packing peanut to take down the harshness a little. Now if I want to reduce the harshness of a new blade I just use it in a particularly mild razor for the first shave or two. A Gem featherweight is an excellent option for this. I prefer the first Gen Featherweight to the second Gen. The differences are small though. I believe all Featherweight Deluxes were 1st Gen. In case you aren't familiar the Deluxe is the one with the Gold endcap on the handle. This makes them super easy to ID. I Can't remember if the discussion was on here about the difference between first Gen. And second Gen. It may have been on Tost2 if you or anyone else is interested I can dig up pictures and post it here somewhere.

I'd appreciate it if you dig up the info on the differences between the 1st/2nd Gen. I've seen comments on the inter webs that these are good shavers. I did know that there was one version with a gold cap on the handle, but didn't know any further details. I remember handling a couple when I first started hitting the antique stores, but at that time I knew nothing about SE razors and just kept on moving.

I had also saw a post, I think by Mantic59, about corking blades. I like your idea of using a mild razor to mitigate the harshness!

I'll look for those pictures tonight. I have A LOT of pictures on my phone so no guarantees I'll find them tonight. Once I do I'll post here or somewhere appropriate and tag you.

[GAW9576]

Not for posting as a SOTD in my eyes, but I did use my Gem Junior w/ baton handle with a Treet blade this afternoon. This was my first ever SE shave. It went well and I had no issues with three passes (WTG, XTG, ATG) on my cheeks and neck. I used an unmentionable on for the rest of the shave.

It was a great experience! Much more audio feedback and blade feel than I'm used to. I took it really slow, focused hard on keeping a good shallow angle and made sure to use a light touch. I had gone a few days since last shaving and my beard is pretty coarse, so on the first pass I found the whiskers were clogging up between the blade and the bottom of the base plate. This was not an issue on the next two passes. The only minor quibble I had was when going ATG on my cheeks it wasn't knocking down the whiskers as efficiently. This is not a new thing for me, particularly with mild razors. The light weight of this razor my have played a role in this as well.

As I continue to build confidence with the SE, I'll add in the other areas to shave. Onwards and upwards!

Great job and looks like a NICE SOTD worthy post to me !

I second that.

[GAW9576]

OK. The search and rescue team found the pictures in my archives much faster that I had thought possible. But I'm tired so I'm not searching for a more proper place to post pictures pointing out possible peculiarities per my observations of perfectly pretty razors positioned to point out said peculiarities to people. So if anyone knows of a more proper spot to post this please inform me and I will repost there also.

So here they are. The first Gen. Is a deluxe in this case with glod head and end cap on the handle. The second Gen would then be the silver head and brown handled one. If you look at the 1st picture the most obvious and easiest to spot difference is the thumb tab differences. It's a bit harder to see differences in the second picture but in the third you can see the difference in the head profiles and how much further forward the side of the top cap of the second Gen. comes. These are the main differences that I have noticed. I can't say unequivocally that the first Gen is a better shaver in any rock solid fashion but I do prefer the first Gen. I eventually plan on getting a standard fist Gen. but if I were to only have one featherweight I would definitely want it to be a Deluxe. 

           

[Old Sarge]

OK. The search and rescue team found the pictures in my archives much faster that I had thought possible. But I'm tired so I'm not searching for a more proper place to post pictures pointing out possible peculiarities per my observations of perfectly pretty razors positioned to point out said peculiarities to people. So if anyone knows of a more proper spot to post this please inform me and I will repost there also.

So here they are. The first Gen. Is a deluxe in this case with glod head and end cap on the handle. The second Gen would then be the silver head and brown handled one. If you look at the 1st picture the most obvious and easiest to spot difference is the thumb tab differences. It's a bit harder to see differences in the second picture but in the third you can see the difference in the head profiles and how much further forward the side of the top cap of the second Gen. comes. These are the main differences that I have noticed. I can't say unequivocally that the first Gen is a better shaver in any rock solid fashion but I do prefer the first Gen. I eventually plan on getting a standard fist Gen. but if I were to only have one featherweight I would definitely want it to be a Deluxe. 

That's some kind of search and rescue team you have there! It's late, at least where I am, so I can appreciate you are tired and I'm grateful for your efforts! There are a lot of "P" words in your first "P"aragraph...I'll have to give that one another read tomorrow. Kind of has a Dr. Seuss sing-songy way about it! 

Nice razors! Is it an optical illusion, or is the Gen II head shorter from front to back than the Gen I...looks that way in picture 3, but not in pictures 1 & 2. It's interesting that Gen II has a crease on the top cap that slants away both to the front and the rear. It looks like it would change the shaving angle compared to Gen I, as the crease would push the razor away from your face. Because of this I would think they've got to shave a bit differently. I guess in a way this is comparable to the 1912s and how they have heads that are slightly different, with some being flat and some being curved.

I'll look again tomorrow after I'm up and got coffee in me. Really great photos! That Gen II is a real looker! The combination of the kind of matte grey plating and the brown handle is nice! The styling of the tab with the grooves gives it a modern look.

Again, much appreciated!!! Wish there were a thumbs up emoji option because this is where it would be!

[TobyC]

I have a gold one with the little cap on the handle, I thought it looked like lipstick on a pig to be honest. It's light, so if I have more than one day's growth it can be a little bouncy on my face like an injector. Just hold more firmly and all is good however. Never had a plain one.