Of course, I will definitely give feedback.It is beautiful, but it shaves even better. Let us know.
Yowza, that’s gorgeous!Lambda Athena | Stirling's Synthetic 26mm Shave Brush | Gillette Platinum | Stirling Unscented with Beeswax | Stirling Glacial PS Balm | Speick AFL
Fantastic three pass shave today. Super efficient with no cleanup necessary.
Could be, but I haven't found myself there. Personally, I looked to early reviews stating to LISTEN. And by listening I believe I've found the Athena's sweet spot. For me it's a bit steep, but not awkwardly so. YMMV.View attachment 1830204
The more I use this, the better it gets. I've noticed it gets a bit sticky when riding the cap, though. Anybody else notice that?
Yep I noticed that sticky a little bit when you get on that top cap some. I noticed this with a razor or two besides this one, I can't remember which ones at the moment, but they weren't known for it.View attachment 1830204
The more I use this, the better it gets. I've noticed it gets a bit sticky when riding the cap, though. Anybody else notice that?
That has been my experience too. I ride the cap ATG and it has to do with lubrication. It’s a signal for me that I need to rinse the razor.The more I use this, the better it gets. I've noticed it gets a bit sticky when riding the cap, though. Anybody else notice that?
View attachment 1830204
The more I use this, the better it gets. I've noticed it gets a bit sticky when riding the cap, though. Anybody else notice that?
I'm assuming that you lift your razor after each stroke, and before starting a new stroke. Personally, I leave the blade in contact with my skin at all times (mostly)... so the backstroke always refreshes the lather a little. Give it a shot.
I see a lot of comments about razors being sticky - mostly the bead blasted variety, however. This is a first, with a polished cap.That has been my experience too. I ride the cap ATG and it has to do with lubrication. It’s a signal for me that I need to rinse the razor.
Guido
Interestingly enough it happens to my Ti95 as well on occasion.This is a first, with a polished cap.
And I think this is my culprit as well. It’sa sign of me going too long without relathering.that it's drying out and needs a refresh.
That's odd. I would have thought the opposite. I'll have to see if I get the same results.I know this was mentioned as “not the cause”, but if my lather looks like Greek yogurt, that’s when I experienced it. I use thinner lather now and I haven’t had the cap/razor stall out since.
I do have to add a couple sprays of water to the bowl for the second pass sometimes and almost always have to add it as I whip the lather back up for the final pass.
If you face lather, I would guess you have to do something similar.
I think you never know until you mess around with soap mix. And different soaps have different qualities, I mean like slickness & cushion to different degrees and whatnot.That's odd. I would have thought the opposite. I'll have to see if I get the same results.
I see a lot of comments about razors being sticky - mostly the bead blasted variety, however. This is a first, with a polished cap.
Frankly, I don't think the finish has anything to do with it.
I'm with you @Guido75, and it's also a signal (at least to me) that I either didn't dial in my lather well, or that it's drying out and needs a refresh.
I've played around with hydration levels quite a bit, and this doesn't seem to be the issue. Best I can tell, it's the low humidity here in Colorado. I'm curious as to other dwellers of dry climes and their experiences in this regard.
... Thom
Fascinating. I need to observe how much lather my Athena leaves behind. I'm not in an Athena cycle at the moment. I've been using Haslingers Schafmilch which leaves quite a bit of lubricity behind, even when you don't see any on your face.I can only share my experiences, but I’ve tried quite a few razors over the years and the Athena is the only one I’ve experienced the “sticky” sensation with. And just to be clear, the stickiness was only noticed during overlapping passes, not during the first pass. Meaning, with most razors I can slightly overlap passes with no issue; that’s not the case with the Athena. If I overlap passes at all with it I get the sticky sensation like the razor isn’t gliding smoothly but is instead moving through syrup.
I don’t think it’s a lather hydration issue either. I use MdC most of the time and it’s become very easy for me to get the lather I’m looking for. I start out dry and add water to my bowl as necessary. It’s essentially identical from shave to shave, and I’ve never experienced that stickiness with any other razor, regardless of price or era or how much I overlap passes.
The only thing I can figure is that part of what makes the Athena shave so close also causes it to remove practically all the lather on your face so that even slightly overlapping passes aren’t possible without feeling sticky. Although, as mentioned previously, Cal’s suggestion to leave the razor in contact with the skin during the backstroke does alleviate the stickiness quite a bit, which further indicates that the Athena removes more lather from the face during a pass than most razors do.
To be clear, the removal of all lather is certainly not a negative against the Athena, it just requires a slight adjustment to the technique that I’ve become used to.