I just received mine today so this is just an initial review. Let me start by saying I used the 2019 Diamondback sold by WCS and this 2020 is a totally different razor.
The razor ships in a simple black box with foam cutout a step up from the early days. When I opened the box I was shocked to see a brilliant mirror polished finish, I will post some comparison shots next to my Gold standard, Wolfman mirror polished WR1 and dare I say this Paradigm matches it.
The blade tabs are completely covered and the fit in loading the blade is perfect. The handle has deep enough knurling for a good grip even wet and the design is Classic Paradigm.
For my first shave I used Ethos Lavender soap and skin food which did not disappoint giving an excellent lather and slickness. PolSilver first use blade and my Simpson Polo 14 brush.
With 2 days beard growth, based on my previous experience with the previous released Diamondback I was planning on a 3 pass shave with touchup I couldn’t have been more wrong.
1st Pass WTG. The razor is well balanced with minimal blade feel at approximately 30 degrees angle but I had excellent audio feedback, not too loud, letting me know I was cutting down those whiskers. I was enjoying the smooth nearly mindless, shave. Cold rinse and feel. I was DFS and could have stopped. Since the first pass took down so much I changed my plan and:
2nd Pass ATG. This again was very smooth with minimal blade feel and was again nearly mindless. Cold water rinse and I was BBS. Through on some Thayers followed by Ethos Skin food and as I was cleaning my gear thought to myself that this new Diamondback was everything Andy said it would be in his initial review of the Diamondback. The fit and finish is at the highest level and the shave delivered as promised Extremely smooth shave with an efficiency matching many of my High gap or blade forward razors. I will need to do some daily shaves for a week or so to see if this smoothness and efficiency continues but this first shave surprises me as much as when I first tried the 17-4. Now for some pics:
The razor ships in a simple black box with foam cutout a step up from the early days. When I opened the box I was shocked to see a brilliant mirror polished finish, I will post some comparison shots next to my Gold standard, Wolfman mirror polished WR1 and dare I say this Paradigm matches it.
The blade tabs are completely covered and the fit in loading the blade is perfect. The handle has deep enough knurling for a good grip even wet and the design is Classic Paradigm.
For my first shave I used Ethos Lavender soap and skin food which did not disappoint giving an excellent lather and slickness. PolSilver first use blade and my Simpson Polo 14 brush.
With 2 days beard growth, based on my previous experience with the previous released Diamondback I was planning on a 3 pass shave with touchup I couldn’t have been more wrong.
1st Pass WTG. The razor is well balanced with minimal blade feel at approximately 30 degrees angle but I had excellent audio feedback, not too loud, letting me know I was cutting down those whiskers. I was enjoying the smooth nearly mindless, shave. Cold rinse and feel. I was DFS and could have stopped. Since the first pass took down so much I changed my plan and:
2nd Pass ATG. This again was very smooth with minimal blade feel and was again nearly mindless. Cold water rinse and I was BBS. Through on some Thayers followed by Ethos Skin food and as I was cleaning my gear thought to myself that this new Diamondback was everything Andy said it would be in his initial review of the Diamondback. The fit and finish is at the highest level and the shave delivered as promised Extremely smooth shave with an efficiency matching many of my High gap or blade forward razors. I will need to do some daily shaves for a week or so to see if this smoothness and efficiency continues but this first shave surprises me as much as when I first tried the 17-4. Now for some pics:
