Some additional thoughts on SB vs OC... I used the SB plate for 2 shaves last week on consecutive days (Thurs & Fri, spoiled myself with the Ti Blackbird on Saturday), and again on Mon & Tues of this week after taking Sunday off. I went back to the OC plate this morning (Wednesday) to see if I could notice any big difference, having used the SB for the previous 4 Vector shaves.
I find this a bit surprising personally, since I have always favored OC razors, but my preference right now with the Vector is the SB plate. I find it to be a bit smoother feeling and not quite as finicky with angle. We are literally splitting hairs between the two baseplates, both work great but for me the slight advantage goes to the SB. My current impression is that is shaves equally as close, but with a slight advantage in comfort. Obviously this may change as time goes on, but that's where I am currently after several weeks of fairly consistent shaves with the Vector.
I've pretty much settled on Kai Captain Milds for my blade of choice with the Vector, I may go back and revisit the Prolines down the road a bit but my 2nd attempt with one on Monday morning forced me to swap out the blade almost immediately for a Kai. Both Prolines I tried were from Try A Blade and I've heard others also have bad experiences due to the shipping/packaging dulling the blade in transit. I haven't found a good place to order a full pack of Prolines other than Italian Barber so if anyone knows of a good US vendor please let me know.
The Vector is quickly becoming my new favorite daily-use razor. I didn't think I'd be able to get consecutive shaves out of it because most razors that shave so close end up causing irritation after multiple uses. So far that's not been the case with the Vector at all. I have a Sabre on the way currently, so I'm going to finish out this week with the Vector and then give the Sabre a first go on Saturday most likely. I'm interested to see how they compare.
Awesome summary. I did my 30th consecutive Vector SB shave this morning and am finding Kai Captain Titan Milds are also my favorite. Kai ProTouch are good, too. All three Feather variants (Pro, Pro Super, ProGuard) for me have been a little problematic, as has the Schick Proline. FWIW, all my blades came from Tryablade except for the Feather ProGuard. I still have a Kai Original to try, and then I hope to do a fuller summary of my thoughts on this excellent razor. I haven't decided if I will try the OC plate yet.
I'm really interested to hear your thoughts on the Sabre. I really want to try Gem style in some form or another . . .