This is my first foray into shaving with a safety razor. I've used a mach 3 for about 10 years, and a shick quattro for a year. Becoming frustrated with the price of replacement cartridges, and the poor quality of shave, I decided to go old-school, and have found many helpful articles and reviews on safety razors. I didn't want to spend a whole lot of money on this project, since saving money was part of the goal. I found the Parker 96R on amazon, which looked to be a good balance of price, quality, and features.
The first shave was terrible, but I chocked it up to not adequately softening by beard. I nicked myself pretty badly and had terrible razor burn. But I had only prepared myself with a hot washcloth on my face. The next shave, I showered first and it was awesome! Smooth, no nicks, and no razorburn. Ha, I figured it out... So I shaved again two days later with good results. I thought it was settled, but the next shave was TERRIBLE again. Blood everywhere. Nicks and razor burn with not even that close of a shave.
What I discovered is that the blade sits unevenly in this razor. It is not wide enough, such that when the correct amount of blade is exposed on one side of the razor, there is too much exposed on the other side. You can try to correct this by shifting the blade over, but then there is too much exposed on the other side every time.
I like to shave with only one side of the razor, then go to the other side only for the next shave. I rotate sides, then flip the blade and rotate sides again to evenly use the blade. What I noticed is that I can consistently get good results on one side only, and started paying close attention as to how the blade sits on the holding mechanism. I discovered that it is badly machined, and has slop in how it fits the blade.
I am going to return this razor, and get something more precisely made. Getting a good shave requires more than this razor has to offer. I'm looking at a Vikings Blade. It is more simple.
On the Parker 96R I do, however, like the butterfly mechanism and the handle balance feels nice. I just wish it was made better.
Another Blog: Restoring Pure Raw Manliness with the Vikings Blade
The first shave was terrible, but I chocked it up to not adequately softening by beard. I nicked myself pretty badly and had terrible razor burn. But I had only prepared myself with a hot washcloth on my face. The next shave, I showered first and it was awesome! Smooth, no nicks, and no razorburn. Ha, I figured it out... So I shaved again two days later with good results. I thought it was settled, but the next shave was TERRIBLE again. Blood everywhere. Nicks and razor burn with not even that close of a shave.
What I discovered is that the blade sits unevenly in this razor. It is not wide enough, such that when the correct amount of blade is exposed on one side of the razor, there is too much exposed on the other side. You can try to correct this by shifting the blade over, but then there is too much exposed on the other side every time.
I like to shave with only one side of the razor, then go to the other side only for the next shave. I rotate sides, then flip the blade and rotate sides again to evenly use the blade. What I noticed is that I can consistently get good results on one side only, and started paying close attention as to how the blade sits on the holding mechanism. I discovered that it is badly machined, and has slop in how it fits the blade.
I am going to return this razor, and get something more precisely made. Getting a good shave requires more than this razor has to offer. I'm looking at a Vikings Blade. It is more simple.
On the Parker 96R I do, however, like the butterfly mechanism and the handle balance feels nice. I just wish it was made better.
Another Blog: Restoring Pure Raw Manliness with the Vikings Blade
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