Yet more on the three razor method

Firstly a quick recap. Like many I shave with three passes, with the three razor method I select a razor for each pass that is optimised for the job. This, quite obviously really, gives a quicker and better shave and the few people who have tried it agree.

This is very definitely not the same as using an adjustable razor and turning it down between each pass. There is far more to how a razor works than just mere blade exposure. So by selecting a different razor for each pass you get to use a whole pile of characteristics that are optimised for what you are doing.

One feature of the three razor method is that the blades last a very long time because they are only being asked to do a third of the work, it is only now that I have needed to change my blades again, so I have decided to try a different set of razors as well.

The right tool for each job

The first time I tried the 3 razor method I used the following combination:
1) Merkur 39C Slant Sledgehammer with Iridium blade.
2) Edwin Jagger DE89L with Iridium blade.
3) Weishi with Iridium blade.

Next it was time to experiment with the blade as well as the razor:
1) Mergress opened out to 5+ with a Feather New High-Stainless blade.
2) Eclipse Red Ring with an Iridium Super blade.
3) Wilkinson Sword Classic with a Personna Platinum blade.

This was interesting, there is definitely some merit in using different blades as well as different razors. The disappointment here was the Eclipse Red Ring which for the second pass, reducing, job was not as good as the Edwin Jagger DE89L. The revelation was the Wilkinson Sword Classic, Personna combination which could buff and polish away with gay abandon. And the Mergress was just brilliant, but then so was the 39C, both relentlessly despatching lots of stubble in very short order indeed.

So now it is time to experiment with vintage Gillette razors with the following combination:
1) Gillette long handled Super Adjustable turned up to 9 with a Kai blade. The Super Adjustable has a far wider range of adjustment than the earlier Fat Boy and Slim models and it is one of my favourite all round razors. The Kai blade is extremely sharp and in this razor it is free to do what it does best. A powerful combination.
2) Gillette red tipped Super Speed with an Astra Superior Stainless blade. The red tip is the most aggressive Super Speed but compared with the first pass razors that I have been using it is still fairly mild. The Astra is a Petersburg Products International blade so is both smooth and sharp, it could very well just be an Iridium in a different wrapper. This combination has to be very effective for a reducing second pass.
3) 1930s fat handled Gillette Tech (with the triangular cut outs) and a Super Max blade. These early Techs are not quite so mild as the later ones but they are still very benign. The Super Max blade is also not so aggressive, so this should be a good buffing and polishing combination.

After a couple of shaves this is working very well indeed, the red tipped Super Speed/Astra combination standing out in the reducing, second pass, role. This is all very interesting and great fun. Obviously my experiences and opinions are personal to me. Different combinations and methods may well work better for you. This is part of the joy of traditional shaving, we have near infinite choice to use what is best just for ourselves.