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December 23, 2023
- Brush: Summer Break Soaps w/Maggard 28mm Silvertip Badger
- Razor: MMOC Gen 2
- Razor: MMCF (Clog-Pruf) Gen 1
- Blade: Personna GEM PTFE (2)
- Blade: Personna GEM PTFE (2)
- Lather: Noble Otter - Hamami - Soap
- Post Shave: Noble Otter - Hamami - Aftershave
- Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Mood Indigo - Balm
- Post Shave: L de L - Retinol Men - Facial Serum
- Fragrance: Noble Otter - Hamami - EdP
Another GEM showdown. The Clog-Pruf was initially sold to me as being milder than the open comb Micromatics, but as it turns out... not so much. The MMOC Gen 2 felt almost identical, and maybe even a tad milder, than the Clog-Pruf.
Great shaves on both sides of my face.
So, I've been having good shaves with these aggressive, dangerous, unforgiving, "for experts only" razors, which begs the question -- how come the last time I used the Clog-Pruf it was a difficult shave, and now it's better?
My next experiment will be with "corking". For the last few days, I've been corking the blades on the paperboard wrappers that they come in (paperboarding?). I've also been removing the blades from the razors between shaves, because I had one rust on me.
So, I'll cork one fresh blade, and not the other, and see how that feels tomorrow.
how come the last time I used the Clog-Pruf it was a difficult shave, and now it’s better?
Between the razor, blade, and you, the only part of that system that can improve with time is you :)
Hey, leave me out of this!
No really though, I've never known technique to make a razor tuggy. I understand getting weepers and irritation from poor technique, but severe tugging? Like, really bad, unusable tugging? I need to know what the reason is!
I'm sure you'll get to the bottom of it. I'll offer that those Personna GEM blade edges are great if handled with some care, but are quite sensitive to mishandling. Make sure the blade is seated under the tabs and that it doesn't shift when the razor door comes down and slides on it.
I looked at @djundjila's 100-use blade and my 31-use blade under the microscope after last year's Austere August and was surprised that while shaving wear on both blades was pretty much the same, the 100-use blade showed more damage from handling at the ends. This is where you would expect it, but I have been much more careful in handling GEM blades since I looked at those.
Maybe the lather excelled that second time? If a blade feels tuggy one day and not the next, my money is on the lather being slicker that second time around