OP
- Joined
- Monday February 9, 2015
- Location
- California
- Thread Starter
- #17
I had a very close shave yesterday with a vintage Swing razor so my stubble this morning wasn't too thick.
What I will do (to try the razor out with varying degrees of 'scruff') - is three shave reports;
#1 (today): One day's worth of stubble,
#2 (Thursday): Two days's worth of growth
#3 (Sunday/Monday): Three-four days of growth (timed nicely as I can use the weekend to caveman it a bit).
I'll make a more thorough summary of my thoughts on it next week after gone through the shave reports above.
That, brings us to;
Picked out a new Rapira blade for this morning's shave as I've use them in most razors and they're a pretty good, consistent baseline blade.
The blade sits securely and evenly in the head and displays a rather healthy bit of edge.
Another angle of the razor with a loaded blade:
From the side showing the curve of the blade
I'm still rather intrigued by the OC design in that it's an OC-SB hybrid.
The closest I can think of, top of my head and not having any of my razors near me, is caged head designs like you found on some Famex and Le Coq razors back in the days. It also reminds me a bit about the vintage Bohin DE razor but inverted.
If someone can refresh my memory about what modern razors sports a similar base plate design I'd like to hear as I can't think of one but I'm thinking there are some that I can't recall.
Before I forget it, here's a finger-balance photo attempting to show how the weight is distributed with the original handle
Anywho, off to the den I went.
Soaked my brush, picked out Tabac as my soap du jour, showered and got on with the shave.
Remember this is a shave with just one days's worth of beard growth and I'd say I'm a "mid-density yet rather coarse" grower.
First pass (WTG):
Right away I like the audible feedback from the razor. Maybe it's the design that allows the sound to 'echo' a bit behind the curved up teeth. First impressions is that it's a very, very efficient razor. There's no doubt that it's an OC base plate in how it allows the lather to pass through.
The demi-cage design (in lack of better word) removes the sometimes 'harsh' feeling that you can sometimes have when using traditional OC razors where you have pronounced teeth ends against your face.
Second pass (ATG):
It's a rather aggressive razor. Not anywhere near say a King Cobra razor but it's a razor that feels as if the bark could turn into a bite if you're careless. Probably around a 7-8 on a Gillette Slim.
The handle did, in use, feel a bit too short for me. I would have loved an additional 15mm on it. Next I'll try the head on a somewhat longer handle.
After two passes I was dolphin smooth. No nicks or cuts. A very close and smooth shave.
Shown in some earlier photos are the a bit oversized 'drain holes' (I really need to work on my terminology) in the base plates and I thought it would be fun to show what they do while shaving;
As you can see they actually allow quite a bit of lather to go through them.
I'm not sure yet if it dramatically reduced the number of times I rinsed the razor while shaving but I thought it was a fun photo and I'll make a note of checking for that in subsequent shaves.
Summary
Performance is the hardest thing to describe in any review. It's easy to show photos of design and features but performance is so subjective that I sometimes wonder if it makes any sense to even try. But, I would summarize my this shave report like this;
I have a mid-density, coarse beard growth and am not prone to having overly sensitive skin when shaving.
The razor felt very efficient (meaning it took down a noticeable amount of stubble with each stroke), audible (good feedback) and somewhat on the aggressive side (meaning 75% towards a bite instead of a bark) but stayed well under control and delivered a very smooth shave without any cuts.
I hope that makes sense.
(I did btw notice that they have now enabled ordering on their site again but due order volume there appears to be a week's leadtime on fullfillment).
What I will do (to try the razor out with varying degrees of 'scruff') - is three shave reports;
#1 (today): One day's worth of stubble,
#2 (Thursday): Two days's worth of growth
#3 (Sunday/Monday): Three-four days of growth (timed nicely as I can use the weekend to caveman it a bit).
I'll make a more thorough summary of my thoughts on it next week after gone through the shave reports above.
That, brings us to;
SHAVE REPORT #1
Picked out a new Rapira blade for this morning's shave as I've use them in most razors and they're a pretty good, consistent baseline blade.
The blade sits securely and evenly in the head and displays a rather healthy bit of edge.
Another angle of the razor with a loaded blade:
From the side showing the curve of the blade
I'm still rather intrigued by the OC design in that it's an OC-SB hybrid.
The closest I can think of, top of my head and not having any of my razors near me, is caged head designs like you found on some Famex and Le Coq razors back in the days. It also reminds me a bit about the vintage Bohin DE razor but inverted.
If someone can refresh my memory about what modern razors sports a similar base plate design I'd like to hear as I can't think of one but I'm thinking there are some that I can't recall.
Before I forget it, here's a finger-balance photo attempting to show how the weight is distributed with the original handle
Anywho, off to the den I went.
Soaked my brush, picked out Tabac as my soap du jour, showered and got on with the shave.
Remember this is a shave with just one days's worth of beard growth and I'd say I'm a "mid-density yet rather coarse" grower.
First pass (WTG):
Right away I like the audible feedback from the razor. Maybe it's the design that allows the sound to 'echo' a bit behind the curved up teeth. First impressions is that it's a very, very efficient razor. There's no doubt that it's an OC base plate in how it allows the lather to pass through.
The demi-cage design (in lack of better word) removes the sometimes 'harsh' feeling that you can sometimes have when using traditional OC razors where you have pronounced teeth ends against your face.
Second pass (ATG):
It's a rather aggressive razor. Not anywhere near say a King Cobra razor but it's a razor that feels as if the bark could turn into a bite if you're careless. Probably around a 7-8 on a Gillette Slim.
The handle did, in use, feel a bit too short for me. I would have loved an additional 15mm on it. Next I'll try the head on a somewhat longer handle.
After two passes I was dolphin smooth. No nicks or cuts. A very close and smooth shave.
Shown in some earlier photos are the a bit oversized 'drain holes' (I really need to work on my terminology) in the base plates and I thought it would be fun to show what they do while shaving;
As you can see they actually allow quite a bit of lather to go through them.
I'm not sure yet if it dramatically reduced the number of times I rinsed the razor while shaving but I thought it was a fun photo and I'll make a note of checking for that in subsequent shaves.
Summary
Performance is the hardest thing to describe in any review. It's easy to show photos of design and features but performance is so subjective that I sometimes wonder if it makes any sense to even try. But, I would summarize my this shave report like this;
I have a mid-density, coarse beard growth and am not prone to having overly sensitive skin when shaving.
The razor felt very efficient (meaning it took down a noticeable amount of stubble with each stroke), audible (good feedback) and somewhat on the aggressive side (meaning 75% towards a bite instead of a bark) but stayed well under control and delivered a very smooth shave without any cuts.
I hope that makes sense.
(I did btw notice that they have now enabled ordering on their site again but due order volume there appears to be a week's leadtime on fullfillment).
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