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Blade review: Personna
Okay... this one I like. First, a better name. Second, a better shave. What's not to like?
I must admit I went into this slightly biased by other reviews I've read - this is a very popular blade. Given that, I decided to toss the Dorco early (I've been trying to give blades a week) and go with the new one. It helped that I was in a hurry...
Short ( Read more... ) -
Blade review: Dorco
What's in a name? Dorks, obviously ( Read more... ) -
Blade review: Crystal ("Israeli") razor blades
This is actually the third blade I've tried, but the first where I started keeping notes. Hence the misordering.
The Crystal blades come in a small plastic package much like other razor blades. They're not labelled Crystal anywhere I can see; instead, there is a blue label that says "made in Israel". Okay, then.
I found that this blade shaved much ( Read more... ) -
Razor reviews
One of the things that surprised me about going to a safety razor is that not all razor blades are created equal. Also, sharper does not equal better; there is a wide range of sharpness, blade angle, metallurgy...
In short, the advice commonly given is to buy what is called a "blade sampler" and give them a whirl. And so I am, and I'm going to put ( Read more... ) -
A word on technique
A brief note on technique.
A razor is, in effect, a line. Possibly several parallel lines forming a plane, but when you get down to it, a line. We also, for simplicity, approximate a face and neck as a cube.
Yeah, right.
Your face is not a cube. It's a collection of compound curved surfaces. To make matters worse, beards have a distinct grain - a ( Read more... ) -
Preparing your face
Despite what the modern manufacturers of canned shaving cream would have you believe, preparing to shave should be a gradual process of nigh-courting behavior. The result will be a closer and more comfortable shave, as well as an enjoyable daily ritual ( Read more... ) -
The classic safety razor
First (from my perspective) there was the Gillette Sensor. Mailed free to every male of age (or so I remember), this little two-blade razor did a pretty good job of scraping the growth from my chin. Truth be told, it didn't have a lot of work to do. But hey.
Then, in college, there was the Gillette Mach 3. A third blade (and a moisturizing strip ( Read more... ) -
A wonderful weekend
And man am I tired ( Read more... ) -
Bike repair
I rode my bike to work almost every day over this past winter, until it got ridiculously icy and dangerous ( Read more... ) -
I made fire!
There is something very viscerally satisfying about fixing a gasoline engine. It's right up there with lighting a bonfire with a match and, well, several gallons of gasoline. With a small amount of oil mixed in ( Read more... )