This is a community of enthusiasts, hobbyists and artisans who enjoy a traditional wet shave: brush, soap, and safety or straight razor. We are a part of the WetShaving community found on Reddit, Discord, and IRC.
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December 18th, 2025
The 34C is great, and Stirling + a boar brush is my happy place.
Christmas Eve++
Stirling + a boar brush is my happy place
A totally dependable pairing
December 18, 2025
2 passes. Face lather. Good shave.
This was a test shave for the Jnat edge that I put on this Henckels 50. From testing, I know that the edge is very sharp and consistent on this razor, but my results were different than expected. I strongly suspect that I did not adapt to the 9/16 width properly, so I'll try another test shave to form a better opinion on this edge.
December 18th, 2025: Blade Comparison
A blind comparison of a Personna Lab Blue and a Personna GEM Platinum Diamond Glide DE blades, both on shave #5, both in one of my two Baili BR171 razors.
My wife loaded each blade without me looking, so I didn't know which blade was on the left side of my face vs. the right.
During the shave I struggled to discern any difference. Both blades felt the same, so I would hope for one side to stand out while rinsing between passes, but shave quality was also equal.
I kept trying to make myself pick a "winner" throughout the shave, but I couldn't.
I did this same test a couple of weeks ago, but with each blade on the 1st use. I also knew which razor had which blade, and I didn't stick to one side of my face for each razor. My initial impression during that shave matches my results today -- these are likely the same blade.
Each blade has the manufacturing date laser etched on it. The Lab Blue was made in 2020, and the GEM Platinum Diamond Glide in 2025. Assuming they were made on the same machine, I imagine it has gone through numerous adjustments, maintenance, parts replacements, etc. so the consistency is that much more impressive! Nice job, Edgewell!
I just bought the Accuforge super stainless thinking they are the replacement to the Lab Blue. Haven't tried one yet.
I think those are the direct replacements ๐. When they first came out all of the vendors were working overtime to educate the public that they were the same, but I haven't heard anything about the GEM Platinum Diamond Glide (then again I don't pay much attention to things these days).
That was my understanding about the Accuforge blades. I hope they are. The Lab Blue, is one of my favorites.
Indoctrination status: [OO..]
This is easily the weirdest soap I've ever encountered. It's not a cream or croap. It's goo. And sticky. I had to use a bit of gymnastics to get it off my scoop and get it attached to the bowl. I was worried it would attach to my brush, but it worked out. It made a good amount of pillowy lather. I guess the lanolin base gives it some of these properties (lotion soap, a loap?)
The scent was odd too. It's in the Old Spice neighborhood, but it kept changing as I worked it into a lather. By the end of the shave, the scent largely dissipated. I randomly chose Eleven Apollo, a nice non-alcoholic aftershave.
This day's satchel had a few goodies: a Spearhead Shaving lather logbook, a box of Personna Platinum blades, Nacet blades, and two samples of Summer Break Woodshop soap.
Have a good one!
