You just made one of the best decisions in your Wet Shaving saga.That is good to know, thank you! I just placed an order for the athena, will see how it does.
You just made one of the best decisions in your Wet Shaving saga.That is good to know, thank you! I just placed an order for the athena, will see how it does.
I completely agree with your statement about all the help @Mr. Shavington , @never-stop-learning and you about being helpful in giving advice and help freely.I feel fortunate to say.... I like each one of them. The Blutt BR-1 1.20 was the first DE that made me believe I would continue to explore DE shaving, instead of just saying with an AC razor or razors. The Athena came next for me.... What a lovely looking and amazing shaving razor for me. I got the Elite not too long after that and I still love the way it shaves. I bought too many DE razors early on.... but I sold all most all of them to fund the Wolfman WR2 0.95. I don't regret that for a minute.... The WR2 is all it's cracked up to be... but is it better than the other three we are discussing?... not to me. I rate them all equal....
I know that isn't helpful.... I'm not sure this factors in, but I also have the ATT Windsor SSRH... and it might be a little bit more efficient than I need. Mine isn't for sale... but I haven't mastered it yet. I'm waiting to see what Blackland does with the line... If they rerelease the Windsor, I'll order the SSMR (mild/regular) base plate and see if that suits me better.
I have 12 razors on my top razor list... 13 if you count the second Atelier Durdan La Faulx that showed up at our place yesterday. As much as I love the other razors on my top list, the La Faulx might be the best razor I've ever used.... but it's an AC razor, as you know... and you want a DE that works as well for you as the Vector. I think your least expensive option... and easiest to obtain, would be the Blackbird Lite plate... to see if that works.
One person here who loves the Vector better than any of his other razors would be @never-stop-learning . His Blackbird is his favorite DE razor..... You might PM him and see if he has some suggestions on shaving techniques that might help you enjoy yours more, if you still have it, that is. The other person you might PM would be @Mr. Shavington . He lead me to most of my top razors. He has lots of experience with various razors, including all the ones mentioned. Both of these guys are extremely helpful and enjoy helping others along their journey. In addition to their expertise... they are two incredibly nice human beings.
Self edit: I hadn't read your latest posts before I started this one. All 4 of the razors I own that are holding your interest have amazing quality control, at least, mine do. Flawless machining.... I don't have the Blutt polished.. mine is the matte finish.... but the quality is outstanding... The other three I have are all polished... and were done so brilliantly.