Well another Shave with the sailor only this time on setting A+ and also I did a Shave Off using my Ikon Tech. This was one of the Shave Offs I planned on doing while I have time with the Sailor which is on loan to me from one of the members.
: I’ve had only 2 shaves with the Sailor. One on setting M and the next on setting A and both shaves were very enjoyable. In comparison I’ve had many shaves with the Ikon over the last few years. I thought I’d make that known. The weight of the Sailor is heavier than the Ikon but with the Bulldog handle on the Tech I won’t call it a lightweight. So the weight difference had no bearing on this Shave Off. As usual I divided my face into 4 sections as my whole right side of my face is more difficult and challenging to get a good shave than my left side which has textbook N to S and E to W beard growth and much easier to get a good shave o than my right side so each razor gets one section on each side to make things fair.
With that being noted I don’t want to bore anyone with a long post that you need to put aside 20 minutes to read which I’ve been known to do with some of my side stories. Lol
I’ll also note that the Ikon has been the most efficient razor in my den but there’s still two razors I’ve yet to put it up against and those are my WR2 Ti DC 1.45/1.55 obviously using the 1.55 side and a prototype one of a kind razor named NFB which has a 1.85 gap which the designer told me was a hybrid as his inspiration came from the WR2 and the Raw Shaving RS 10. So the Ikon has a some challenges in front of it to retain the efficiency crown. Moving on to the Sailor I’ve been told and have read that this razor has more untapped ponies under the hood than I’ve used so not knowing much about the razor and it’s limits which I’d like to hear more about from some of the seasoned owners of the razor on here as I’m seriously thinking of getting the 2020 as I really like the looks of the razor and so far the shaves I’ve gotten even though I haven’t explored the medium settings which is probably the settings I’d probably use more often. The Sailor also would be what I was hoping to get from the Janus but that’s another story. I’m also impressed that I messaged Murat and he responded within minutes and based on our conversation it seems like the 2020 is the Sailor I was hoping to get when I got the 2017 which honestly was a good razor but didn’t knock my socks off.
So Gear used was 2 fresh Feather blades hand stropped, my Wolf Whiskers brush and MDC’s Vetiver shave soap which is my personal favorite Vetiver scented soap. I will say though for these two efficiency powerhouses it lacked cushion and slickness that I would have liked more of in a shave like this one. It’s fine when using less efficient razor and when I’m on only 1 or 2 days growth and not 3 plus like I had for this Shave Off.
I only did 2 passes going WTG and ATG. The WTG pass with both the razors disposed of probably 85% of my growth effortlessly with not one bit of blade chatter. I’ve learned from experience using the Ikon and my brief time with the Sailor to take my time, Skin Stretch aggressively and take short strokes to achieve optimum results in two passes with no irritation. That worked with both these razors as I only got one little weeper which was totally my fault as I got a little cute with the Sailor on my right side neck on my nasty cowlick when I did my usual J Hook on one side of it which I would not do with the Ikon knowing it could easily bite me and the Sailor also showed me it deserved the same respect! It was a very tiny one and alum took care of it quickly after the Shave. On the ATG pass both razors sent what was left over from the WTG pass deep beneath my skins surface that resulted in a Level 2 iBBS in some areas and Level 3 BBS in other areas in the two passes. Something I’m used to with the Ikon and was pleased to see the Sailor match. It’s been 14 hrs after the this Shave Off and at this time ( before going to bed both sides remain BBS smooth so maybe when I wake up in the morning one razor will emerge the winner of this Shave Off with the longer lasting BBS but for now it was a tie ballgame. The Sailor keeps impressing me and I’m learning more about its nuances as I use it and I’m sure there’s more.
Only negative thing about using razors of this efficiency and effectiveness level is I have to wait 3 days or so for the beard to grow to a length to give razors like this somewhat of a challenge.
So another great shave experience!