A thing of beauty - As-D1

Plenty of things to do over here mate! depending on the age of your girls. Nice beaches, Sandown Shanklin Ryde and with you staying in Merstone which is at what we call the back of the Island, Compton bay will be your closest. For the kids there is Blackgang chine (small rides and features like dinosaurs and such) Robin Hill where the Bestival is held also does similar attractions. As all tourist areas Sandown and Shanklin are a bit tacky but a must do. Merstone is a bit out the way but it is a really pretty area with some great walks and history. The best thing about the Island is the small villages that are timeless and incredibly pretty like Godshill (you must have a meal in the Taverners at Godshill, best steak pie you will ever taste)
And not forgetting 3 lovely Prisons! I work at Parkhurst.
You will have a great time mate I can assure you of that.
 
SpeedyBabylon5 said:
Plenty of things to do over here mate! depending on the age of your girls. Nice beaches, Sandown Shanklin Ryde and with you staying in Merstone which is at what we call the back of the Island, Compton bay will be your closest. For the kids there is Blackgang chine (small rides and features like dinosaurs and such) Robin Hill where the Bestival is held also does similar attractions. As all tourist areas Sandown and Shanklin are a bit tacky but a must do. Merstone is a bit out the way but it is a really pretty area with some great walks and history. The best thing about the Island is the small villages that are timeless and incredibly pretty like Godshill (you must have a meal in the Taverners at Godshill, best steak pie you will ever taste)
And not forgetting 3 lovely Prisons! I work at Parkhurst.
You will have a great time mate I can assure you of that.
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Fantastic - thanks for that. The girls are 5 and 2 (or will be come the summer) so I think Blackgang chine sounds about right. Also, I am a pie man so will absolutely follow up on your recommendation for the Taverners!

As for the prisons, do they take temporary residents? It's been years since the wife and I had some quiet time, so if I could drop the kids off for a day or two that would be perfect :)
 
ajc347 said:
Great choice on going for a Feather, Bechet.

It is my favourite razor by far and I don't regret spending the money I spent on it one little bit. :)
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Absolutely. I too just love my Feather AS DE ... and use it nowadays 95% of the time. Superby made, superb quality. Superb shaving tool.

Rod
 
Tim B said:
If you're going to the Isle Of Wight, look up mattandcat.co.uk for recommended places to eat out at. My sister and her partner produce this guide.
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Great site! Use it quite often.

To be honest I was thinking of selling off most of my vintage razors to fund the purchase of the Feather. Will see how good the Weber is first as that may be a RAD killer.
 
I thought I recognised your face, Babylon5 - must have seen you in Cowes or Newport!

Chopper - the mosy important thing to take to the Island is a car! Life without one is all but impossible - unless you enjoy standing endlessly at bus-stops, waiting for buses that stopped running an hour ago, or yesterday.

Ahem! As-D1. What can I say - I'm afraid to say it after reading the posts here since I logged off last night - but - the Emporer has no clothes! He's bollock naked, bare arsed and nude! What a complete and utter let down and disappointment!

I used my standard test rig - a Fido silver tip to ensure good lather and a green 7 o'clock because I know how my face at it get on. The only variable is the razor. The As-D1 shaved as smoothly as smoothly can possibly be; need to be precise with angle but no surprise as the razor is a precise piece of kit. 1st Pass WTG no problem though I thought it had left a bit much stubble still attached. Oh! had to rinse and dry my hand to get good grip on the handle - slippy with just a tad of soap and wetness. 2nd pass XTG as smooth as smooth but having to consciously resist the powerful temptation to press in order to get closer. Way too much stubble still attached! but ever onward. 3rd Pass ATG easy and smooth again but now we have the result - a hopelessly poor shave, no cuts, nicks, weepers , soreness - none of those problems at all, it had been smoothness itself throughout. Just plain not a close shave.

Thoughts of Feathers are made for one blade only - so we'll give it a go (note the shave was so irritation free that I could contemplate a second 3rd Pass ATG). My only previous experience with a Feather blade was a bloody affair so I loaded one with some trepidation! Much better - immediately I could feel and hear it cutting whiskers so I went right around, whole face. This was a vast improvement but still did not give a result good enough to put anywhere near a woman's face! The razor absolutely tamed the blade, though - nothing at all to fear and still no irritation even after a second ATG Pass. I'd happily hand this razor loaded with a Feather blade to my Grandson, just learning to shave.

So we'll try again tomorrow, Featherblade all the way, and see if I get a better result. I can't help remembering my first shave with a Pils - and comparing - it just gave me a perfect shave right out. The Weber was not as good but still fantastic. The Feather? Well - will it ever be able to climb out of the hole it's in just now? A long, steep climb!!

Anyway, I was feeling all glum and disappointed, flicking hot porridge at the cats when the postman brought me this and cheered me up no end .....

1162-forestflame-242b.jpg


1162-coin.jpg


Rod has set the sixpence under clear acrylic resin for me. The Forest Flame seems to be burning as the light falling on it shifts. So maybe a variation in the test rig for tommorrow's all Feather shave!
 
What a disappointment for you, and for all of us, we had such high hopes for this Prince of razors...Lets hope tomorrow's shave with a Feather becomes the ultimate de-whiskering experience.....Excellent review...Like the bit about flicking hot porridge at the cats.

Your new brush looks like a real gem....especially the detail of the sixpence inset in the base....There's something very special about those lovely old coins...............That nostalgia thing again..
 
Rod's brushes are gorgeous, been lusting over the olive wood extra silvertip but dare not spend any more money yet! As far as the feather goes it is a shame you didn't get a great first shave with it. Even more dissapointing if it only shaves well with feathers as we all have a stockpile of other makes!
 
And now you see the compensation we Cobra users have for our shaving equipment's not always appreciated appearance. When it comes to surgically sharp steel gliding across my throat I can only suscribe to the dictum that design follows function.

Although it'll be a real shame if you can't get that beauty to work for you m8.

JohnnyO. \:icon_razz:
 
Hmm! I've got things bigger than 50mm and I can handle them alright. Cobra or Artists' Club? Artists' Club or Cobra. My 'both...and' philosophy is getting expensive these days!!

No more buying razors till everything on order has been delivered! Hear and obey! Drat!! after that one, then!! No more!

I keep going into the bathroom to handle the Feather. It IS beautiful, precision made, caused no irritation whatsoever. It should shave perfectly!
 
Bechet45 said:
Hmm! I've got things bigger than 50mm and I can handle them alright. Cobra or Artists' Club? Artists' Club or Cobra. My 'both...and' philosophy is getting expensive these days!!

No more buying razors till everything on order has been delivered! Hear and obey! Drat!! after that one, then!! No more!

I keep going into the bathroom to handle the Feather. It IS beautiful, precision made, caused no irritation whatsoever. It should shave perfectly!
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Betchet this may help.....a reply I made this afternoon on another thread

The Feather Pro blade in the Cobra is a joy to shave with, it is a scalpel sharp blade as any one will tell you if they have used one in a Feather Artist Club razor. I have used a feather Artist Club but it becomes wearing to shave with as the slightest loss of concentration and you are cut, in the end I sold the razor. It did however give a superb shave, when the chance came to buy IanM s Cobra razor I could not resist trying it to see how the Feather Pro blade performed, all I could say after the first shave was Wow !!! It is a joy to shave with you can just enjoy the shave with ought feeling at any second the blade was going to bite you. The shave in my opinion was every bit as good as the Feather Artist Club but in an easy to use razor that by the way is the easiest razor I have used to shave under the nose....no odd hairs left under the base of the nose due to the very narrow head.
I have been using an O/C Gem Micromatic SE razor for the last 5 Months or so as my only razor, that is until using the Cobra which is now my go to razor, that I think sums up the Cobra for me.......unbeatable !!!!
Regards,
Pete

ps Thanks again Ian for parting with the Cobra

Regards,

Pete
 
You have me convinced, MoL! Executive Shaving have sold all theirs, fortunately or unfortunately, according.

This afternoon, I signed up for a Geo. F Trumper Shaving School straight razor lesson - £75 for two hours on the 8th May, 13.30 hrs- unless H needs me to shift it, of course. That's in Curzon Street.

I want to be able to get a decent shave from a straight so I can decide whether or not it is for me. The hassle of maintainance is off-putting (at the moment, it seems daunting as I've little to no idea but it seems wildly expensive). A Cobra gets around all that.

What are the shaving 'must visits' in that part of town, does anyone know?
 
I remember a post over in the Shave Den someone having a problem shaving with his As - D1 and almost selling it before he finally got round to finding the right angle, i would say mine certainly shaves at a different angle to my Merkur, it seems to me that there are many razors that could shave at a few angles without much affect, the Feather AS - D1 because it's a highly engineered tool it needs a more precise angle to work.

Jamie.
 
you can get it to work with the angle slightly off

but when you get it right it shaves like a dream

if you hold the cap directly to your face and the move it down slowly i found that as soon as it starts cutting you are at the optimum angle

it does take a while but i agree with those who say its not a case of being mild its a case of being incredibly efficent

and it looks the business aswell :)
 
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