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Best 3 DE razors of the last 5 years

The Acension is a DOC, see the description:

Well folks, FINALLY we deliver on our promise to someday build a Stainless Steel DOC...and what a DOC it is, The Ascension! This my friends is one beast of a razor; great weight, great feel, great look, very sleek and beautifully buffed up taboot. So yeah, I, like you, am REALLY EXCITED to finally get this piece of awesome out there and into your hands!
 
I've tried to be objective with the razors I have tried, did factor in shave quality & price/performance ratio. The latter is why Timeless didn't make the cut, great shaver but steep price. All the three mentioned below are outstanding efficient daily shavers that punch way above their price point and I could highly recommend them to any new shaver or experienced shaver who might want a stainless razor but is on a budget. Plus points also for the Razorock razors who have covered blade tabs.

Razorock Gamechanger .84
Razorock Lupo SS DLC (not aluminum)
Rockwell 6s (sold mine actually, didn't like the weight which is very subjective, but the shaves were great)

I would have included the ASD2 by Feather, but that razor is older than 5 years IIRC.
 
The last years we've seen a great number of DE razors hitting the market. Which are the best 3 you've tried and why?

1) Aluminum Karve -

Simply the finest DE I have used in 20 years wet shaving. Not the Stainless or Brass. Aluminum. Light & nimble allowing for pressure resulting in the smoothest, closest shaves available.

2) Wolfman TI WR2 .95 -

Wonderful smooth daily shaver.

3) Paradigm 17-4 -

Classic DE that delivers a great shave every time.
 
Timeless Titanium and Gamechanger. No question. If Ihave to pick a blade gap than I’d say 0.68 for Timeless in open and sb and gamechanger 0.98 in sb.

Both are the height of what modern machine tools can make.

Obviously there are nicer razors, but they are hand finished to such a degree that I discount them down slightly. Mass production is to be admired.


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The Acension is a DOC, see the description:

Well folks, FINALLY we deliver on our promise to someday build a Stainless Steel DOC...and what a DOC it is, The Ascension! This my friends is one beast of a razor; great weight, great feel, great look, very sleek and beautifully buffed up taboot. So yeah, I, like you, am REALLY EXCITED to finally get this piece of awesome out there and into your hands!

The combed cap aspect of the Ascension seems secondary to me, compared to the big bend the Ascensions put in the blade. I don’t own a Shave King, but from photos it seems that the first PAA DOC (which I own) is a close copy. My aluminum Ascension is quite different from my nickel DOC.

Is there another DE razor in production that bends the blade like an Ascension?
 
ATT S2.

Open comb, stainless, helical slant. It's the only DE I use now. I've had a similar though less comprehensive narrowing of focus on SE razors.

Looking back over several volumes of daily shave journals I am amused that with the S2 I do not write paragraphs about what worked and what didn't. I've come down to simply noting the particulars and adding the comment "AGS:" Another Great Shave.

O.H.
Is the head shave with S2 smooth and efficient nothing to worry about. How it compare to a head shave with the SE2? Thanks in advance. O.H.
 
Yes, everyone knows that. However the Ascension is adjustable.

Just to clarify you are the one who said:

"Not to be a "hair shirt" but almost all of these copy well known and previously invented designs with the exception of the aforementioned PAA Ascension. High $$ artisans really bring new anything new to the table aside from modern materials and close tolerances. These are not radical & novel "breakthroughs" by any measure. "

I'll ask you directly then.

Why is the PAA Ascension not a copy of a well known and previously invented design?

Everyone knows it's is.
 
I’ve only bought three new (not vintage) razors in the last 5 years:

1. Karve OC F plate. Brass & Stainless.
2. Parker Variant

The Karve is a great shave, but the companies policies are so poor, I’ll always have a bad taste in my mouth because of my dealings with them. And my Stainless stains :(. So... My Parker is crazy fun and gives excellent shaves. I’ll use it more when I’m done testing blades in my other razors
 

Old Hippie

Somewhere between 61 and dead
Is the head shave with S2 smooth and efficient nothing to worry about. How it compare to a head shave with the SE2? Thanks in advance. O.H.

They are two dramatically different razors. Never more so than for head-shavers.

The S2 is...well, the best word is "efficient." I had a two-pass shave this morning (WTG + ATG) and the S2 with an Astra SP (4) was just like buttering toast. Smooth, clean, no tugging. I think it's the absolute best DE I've ever used (which isn't too comprehensive, but still). I get better, closer shaves out of OC razors.

The SE2 is, for me, one seriously scary razor. I have a Wardonia, with massive glittering blade exposure and ginormous blade gap, so I have some basis for comparison. I find using the SE2 to be more like elective self-surgery with a Schick Proline blade. With a Feather Pro it's still scary but not too "edgy." I've even cut myself going WTG with the SE2, which doesn't happen with any of my other razors.

I had problems with both the SE1 and SE2 -- I thought I could tame the SE1, but going blind on the back of my head was always rough, and more so with the SE2 even with a less-intense blade. Because I really had nothing to lose from it, I tried the SE2 as a steep-angle shaver and it worked a lot better for me. But the angle kills the blades faster, and considering the AC blades are the most expensive ones I buy that's not economical.

But it let me actually get a shave from the SE2. I've still got it because nobody seems to want it, but I'd happily sell off the head for a reasonable price (or trade for something of comparable value). The SE1 head got traded away for the S2 head -- probably the best deal I've ever made.

Considering they're essentially the same price, my personal recommendation is to pick up an S2.

Cheers,

O.H.
 
Game Changer 0.68 - mild, efficient, affordable stainless, covered tabs. Excellent without any problems.

Mamba 70 - almost as nice as the game changer; smoother, a little tougher to get a really close shave

Baili mild Tech clone - pretty good, great for the price

Everything else is over 5 years old that I recall. Mostly with vintage currently
 
I don't think the high-end razors perform any better than the cheapies, and that we're just paying for their build quality. I have 15 razors and I can get good close shaves from all of them, but I prefer the mild ones. My cheap plastic razors like my Wilkinson Sword Classic and my Feather Popular work as well as anything else I use, but owning and using them doesn't give me the pleasure I get from my Timeless bronze.

It takes experimentation to find the blade that pairs best with each razor we own. I think evaluating a razor's performance before shaving with it a couple times with each type of blade we use is rushing things.
 
1) Aluminum Karve -

Simply the finest DE I have used in 20 years wet shaving. Not the Stainless or Brass. Aluminum. Light & nimble allowing for pressure resulting in the smoothest, closest shaves available.

2) Wolfman TI WR2 .95 -

Wonderful smooth daily shaver.

3) Paradigm 17-4 -

Classic DE that delivers a great shave every time.

Is this the Christopher Bradley Karve? What baseplate do you use on it? I am looking at the Karve aluminum as a possible r41 equivalent
 
1. Timeless Stainless - the 1st really beautiful stainless razor at a mid-level price. I own the .68 OC
2. Game Changer .84 and OC - i could live with the OC as my only razor, if I had to.

I have to include the Asylum RX in my best razors of the past 5 years, although it is an SE. it really gives a straight razor quality shave, with more control than a SR. Beautiful design as well.
 
1. Timeless Ti 0.68 SB - smoothest DE razor I own. And gets the job done for me.
2. Tatara Masamune - smooth and easy to maneuver, a beautifully made razor, perfectly weighted.
3. RR Gamechanger 0.68. Doesn’t scream quality like them Tatara, but great head design, covered tabs, and wonderful shaves.
 
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