Still Loving the LORD! (lp1822l)

I had one of these razors - and fucking loved it. So much in fact, that I set it free - and mailed it to a comrade I was trying to help out. I figured the inherent user-friendliness of the LORD would be ideal for purposes of conversion. I included a smattering of nice Egyptian, Russian, and Turkish blades. Well, it's been the better part of a year and the motherfucker still hasn't found the stones to even try the fucking thing. Are you kidding? So I was missing it, so much that I had to get a new one! Price is up a couple of bucks, but you get a pack of 5 Blue Bird blades as a bonus, so BFD!

It's pretty much my favorite DE because it works so well, and is super intuitive and safe - you can really go nuts, if you have some confidence! Additional plus and this is a big on for me is the sound - the LORD has awesome audible feedback which for me at least contributes greatly to the overall satisfaction and enjoyment of the shave. You will get the best deal (if you are CONUS) if you order from here:

http://www.ioffer.com/i/lord-premium-safety-razor-model-lp1822l+-bluebird-bonus-99354252

I started a new job recently so have really been doing just a quickie shave in the morning, and believe it - this is the razor you want in your hands, so light, nimble and forgiving. The Gillette TTOs are heavy and crampy in comparison. The tolerances are great on the LORD - you just put a blade in and screw it together - no fiddling.

GEM Blue Star Blade

DO NOT read this post if you are any kind of 'germ freak' you will LOSE IT!

For everybody else, I hope that you will find this post to be of interest. Some time ago I purchased a GEM 1912 on Ebay because the price was a joke and it had the handle that I was 'missing' and is my favorite, along with the 'ornate' handle:

Nice deal, right? Well yes ... but sometimes when you buy 'used', you get more than you bargained for. Have a look at what was inside when I lifted the lid:

Still with me? USE CAUTION when you receive a used razor! Plenty are shipped with blades inside, but this fucker is on an entirely more horrific level. Top was pretty nasty, right? try the BOTTOM:

HAHAHAHA!

Well, I swapped out that handle that I wanted, and gave the razor to a comrade (Jesus, YES I cleaned the HELL out of it first). The GEM Blue Star blade I kept... I knew it would be an incredible challenge to get it shave ready, but what an achievement! I do believe that I get to say that the EXTREMITY of my CHEAPNESS cannot be questioned, just based on the rehab of this blade.

I have a 'stropping handle' scavenged from a Damaskene boxed set. The razor, although very shiny and gorgeous was fucked because it had a SHA-VE-ZEE blade in it for 90+ years, and because those blades are longer, that spring never had a chance. Thing about the stropping handle though, if you protect the contact area with electrical tape, you can actually use it to HONE SE blades as well. Modern SE blades require 2 pieces of tape for a tight fit in the handle, blades like this Blue Star or the Shamrock one piece, and obviously ER Radio or GEM Damaskeene blades require no tape on the spine to fit tightly in the handle.

Once the blade is honed, it requires only stropping on leather before the shave to produce a couple dozen incredibly satisfying, top quality, off the grid shaves before you will need to touch up. There is very little love out on the boards for the GEM Blue Star, and I agree that out of the box, they, and basically ALL SE blades kind of suck. The good news is you can pretty much hone and strop ANY SE blade to a level of sharpness that makes for awesome shaves!

DE Blade Hack for Shovelhead

Some of you may recall the DE blade hack for the GEM 1912 - I made a few of the things and damned if the way the spring is set up in the 1912 makes wearing it out pretty inevitable. The good news is that the way the spring and head are set up on the ER 1924 will NOT wear out your holder, and the resulting shave is pretty sick! Even if you have the pre-snapped 'saloon blades', you will still need to snap off the little tabs at the ends - in the interest of safety: "if you would a DE blade be snapping, it is wise to leave on the wrapping."

"IRRITATION"

Comrades, we need to begin an exploration of the issue of irritation. Let's get some comments rocking on this post, all you lurker MFs!

Way back when, when I was a hell of a lot younger and dumber, I hated to shave. The excuse? It was "irritating", sometimes so bad that it took a couple of days just to heal. Dumb? Rick Perry dumb. I was one of the fools that believed I had "sensitive" skin. Turns out that the irritation that I and countless millions of other fools out there experienced was entirely self-inflicted! Preventable!

The first problem that you have to deal with is your tools. If your tools are shitty, what do you expect your shaves to be?

I'm of the mind that the chemical goo in a can is also responsible for 'sensitizing' the skin - what a pantload!

YOU CAN experience a kick-ass DAILY SHAVE with ZERO irritation - it really does just boil down to a few very controllable factors:

1) Learn to fucking drive a razor - I recommend spending some time with a 'scary' one that will MAKE you learn.

2) Use REAL soap and a brush. Build the lather on your face, not in a phaggy bowl!

3) It should go without saying, but your blades need to be SHARP. Figure out how many good shaves you get out of a given DE blade, and PITCH the fucker one shave before that number! Many decent DE blades cost but a nickel! If you become a vintage SE blade geek, keep your shit honed and stropped! STOP using dull blades on your face and see what a difference it makes.

TRAGEDY!!!

What a fucking BUMMER!!! My favorite vintage SE blade, the Sha-Ve-Zee that came inside my visually mint Damaskeene and destroyed its spring for all other blades (the Sha-Ve-Zee is larger than 'normal' SE blades) snapped when I loaded it into an Ever-Ready 1914 - the spring is way too strong, the fucker closes like a bear trap - WTF was I thinking?!? Before this tragedy occurred however, I enjoyed DOZENS of incredible faceturbation shaves from this blade. I still have 3 E-R blades (one pictured in the shovelhead) and I'm going to keep them well away from that bastard of a 1914 razor (shouldn't be hard, I like the 1924 a hell of a lot better anyway).

Mach 3 = bullshit

So I went down to Cali for New Year's and didn't want to check a bag so I didn't bring any blades - figured I could pick up a pack of DE blades at some drugstore. Problem was, we didn't stop any other place but TJs on the way to Bodega Bay.

There just happened to be a Mach-3 handle and one fresh cart in the bathroom drawer. I used this 'system', my very first experience with more than 2 blades, for 4 shaves. Did it work? Well, yes it did. The Cach-3 excels on the flats, for example it really did great on the upper lip. Jawline and below the lower lip it pretty much sucks ass, and does not perform as well as, for example a Super Speed, which is pretty silly, considering that a 'fancy' DE blade, like a Permasharp costs about $0.20

Poor Man's Strop Kit

If you intend to get off of the shaving sucker grid for good, there are only a few ways to go.

First is the obvious manly solution - the straight razor. Way down the manly scale but still pretty butch are vintage/reclaimed SE blade in a pre-Micromatic ASR razor. Either way, you are going to need and want a leather strop to keep that edge in line.

May I suggest, to beginners and/or cheapskates alike: the Poor Man's Strop Kit from Whipped Dog Razors.

For a mere $19 delivered CONUS, you get a hell of a lot of value. The leather strop looks as cheap as it is but it works great. The major bonus is the pasted balsa strop with included extra baggies of Chromium/Iron powder to recharge... I can personally testify that one can get an incredibly wicked edge on straight blades as well as SE blades using the PMSK. The kit was recommended to me by a gracious SRP member and it was great advice! Oh, and delivery is FAST. Get over there and order one today!
Poor Man's Strop Kit