Supply Provisions Single Edge Pass Around with PIF

Great review @nsavage !

I had noticed that rough area you mentioned in the earlier photos and it was irritating me then - now it is almost maddening! Why leave something like that when everything else is so well designed and executed. Sure it would cost more BUT ...

I'm also extremely paranoid about that screw now. I will gaffer tape over the floor waste in the en-suite before unpacking it I think ...
 
The first thing I noticed before today's shave is that based upon the 24 hour regrowth yesterday's shave was really close (despite all of the drama). Lathered up with the Shaver Heaven Drogon Noir (for some reason I got the Fougere Bug this weekend) and got a nice thick, creamy, slick lather going (didn't expect anything different though). Today I found the razor to be much better in terms of efficiency right from the start of the shave. The most aggressive plate is definitely the one for me. I noted without doubt that the razor certainly rewards you fro getting the angle just right which for me is a reasonably steep angle. I also noted that the razor also definitely rewards you for using a very light touch. I realise that this is fairly obvious and is definitely the case with most razor types. The interesting thing to note in regards to using a light touch with the Supply Provision Single Edge is that this is not easy due to the hefty weight of the razor. I certainly found that if i use the weight of the razor (like I do with my DE's) It simply imparts too much pressure for me and therefore I actually have to consciously adjust for that and take up some of the weight of the razor myself in order to achieve a nice light touch. I also noted today that due to the bulk of the top of the head I find it a little more difficult to get to the hair in the middle of my upper lip just under my nose. No big deal though I was able to adjust and get the job done.

Once again a couple of tiny weepers on the chin (problem area) and the alum block indicated the tiniest bit of irritation (although this could be simply due to the result form yesterday's shave). All in all a good result with a nice close shave. I definitely feel that this is a razor will benefit from a solid run and persistence in order to become fully accustomed to the sweet spot and could easily become a regular in the rotation.

I also did a little bit of research on blades and have read that a lot of people prefer the Chinese made Schick's over the Personna with many claiming the Schick's to be sharper. I personally prefer a sharper blade and I will be most interested to see what impressions people who have access to the Schick blades will give as the razor travels around the country.

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I always thought that the "Schicks" we're always of vintage origin. Are the Chinese (modern) Schicks cheaper than their American counterparts?!
 
The Chinese Schick are way more expensive than the US Personna, but most SE aficionados agree, that they are also sharper, smoother and last longer.

For me personally any razor that works only with ~1$ blades would be very hard to justify.

My current favorite DE blades are less than 10 cents delivered and give me 2 great shaves - that's less than 5 cents per shave. I would have to get ~15-20 shaves out of the 1$ blades...
 
I have and use some of the Chinese Schick blades and in "some" razors they "may" be better but I have found Personna blades equally good. The only draw back I find with the Personna is the pathetic injector case made of metal and plastic. I keep an all metal empty case to transfer blades to. I regularly get 7 shaves from a Personna blade and often change it just from boredom. @khun_diddy also uses them and I think gets at least that many shaves per blade.
 
So today was the day where it all really started coming together. I decided to give the razor a day off on Monday and see if that helped with the irritation that I was getting (recall that I suspected that the irritation on the second shave had carried over from the previous day). This morning I lathered up with Shaver Heaven's latest scent "Samael" in the V3 tallow formula. Clearly it goes without saying that all of @Anthony soaps create an outstanding lather and this was no different. As this is a review of the Supply Provisions Single Edge razor I will say no more except if you have not tried any of the Shaver Heaven soaps you really should get on over to the store and do yourself a massive favour.

The shave today was exceedingly good. I paid close attention to the angle I was using and also ensuring that there was very little pressure. I didn't get a super close shave but it was still very close, we are not talking about massive differences here. I actually decided not to try for a super close shave today and recalled when I started wet shaving that the aim was to get a good shave in on the basis that it would all eventually come together and fall in to place and the really close shaves would come. This is exactly where I felt I was at today. Primarily focusing on technique and not worrying about trying to get real close and in the end I notched up a fantastic result. With time I have little doubt that I would get a closer result but I needed to remind myself that an injector style razor is new to me and therefore something that I need to focus on getting right in terms of technique. The alum block indicated exactly what I expected with only the lightest hint of sting in a couple of the regularly offending areas.

A couple of small items that I have not mentioned about the razor but feel are worthwhile noting. The razor requires more regular rinsing than a DE but I do find that it rinses incredibly easy and perhaps quicker than a DE does. I also noted that in addition to the area under the nose being difficult because of the bulk of the razor head but also that I am compensating for this bulk in other areas as necessary. Again nothing serious here just something that I noted. I have also noted this evening that there is a little bit of tea staining on the razor blade where it meets the blade stops. Not sure if this is normal with these styles of razor but couldn't help but wonder if it is occurring due to the two metals being in close proximity there (probably way off but i am no chemistry expert LOL).

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Great review @nsavage (y)

That's why I recommend to loosen the screw half way after each shave, so the blade is not in such tight contact with the metal...
 
Well I am happy to say that I have had some awesome shaves with this razor!

Before I go on though, apologies for it being so long between posts or pictures. To be honest I had decided that I had written enough about the razor for a while and would simply finish with a round up on the last day of shaves (which is today). I did however intend to post SOTD pictures but unfortunately I have had an extremely busy few days and did not get around to posting the pictures, As a result you will find a few pictures below. Can I apologise also for my awful camera skills and the poor backgrounds etc. I am not the most creative person around and there are not a lot of places in our house that make for a good photo. I am strongly considering taking a leaf out of @alfredus book and finding some interesting settings outdoors for photos in the future,

Overall I have found that the razor is able to provide me with a nice smooth irritation free shave. It was relatively easy to learn to use. I do wonder if I perhaps found it a bit easier as I have not used a traditional SE before and therefore have not had to adjust for the extra weight. I am also amazed at how long the blades last in these things. After this initial experience I am now considering that I will need to add some sort of SE to the rotation in the neat future. As has been noted there are a few minor design flaws (screw, weight, larger head size) but as the first offering of it's type from Supply Provisions they have overall done an excellent job and I am sure that they will be able to improve on the design in the future. Additionally I for one found that the most aggressive plate was fine for me, that being said however it would probably be worthwhile if they removed the least efficient base plate form the line up and added a base plate that was more efficient that the one that is currently most efficient (what a tongue twister! Hope that made sense LOL).

@Psmith has decided to drop out of the pass around at this time and as such the razor will be making it's way to @Nightguard tomorrow. I hope everyone else in the pass around enjoys the razor and the experience as much as I have :). Once again a big shout out and special thanks to @alfredus for making this happen and also for his outstanding generosity to the community.

As promised some poor quality photos :ROFLMAO:

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Some excellent shave line ups there mate! You ought to post your SOTDs more often :whistle:
(BTW no issues with the backgrounds- I was just looking at the excellent shave products!!!)
 
Thanks for the great reviews @nsavage and very glad you liked the razor at the end!

Please bring those brushes along - they look great!
 
Fantastic - and if you want to see any thing yourself, please let me know...
 
Sure thing
 
Just checking in here guys - any idea where the razor is at the moment?
 
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