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Good Day! King C. Gillette combo set

Greetings from Hong Kong! Subject matter. I got 3 King C. Gillette box set + 6 boxes of blades for just HK$90 (US$11.5).

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Now the long story. Before the Mach 3 launched, I was using Braun electric shaver. Tried Sensor or things like that 2-3 times. The feeling is terrible and lethal for a teenager. Wounds of course. Years later the overwhelming TV advertisements of Mach 3 made me try it. Since then I’d used the Gillette cartridge razors (mach3, fusion, proglide) until last week. The reason I switch to DE because guys talk about expensive cartridge in a local news chatroom. Then someone mentioned DE safety razor. This is the first time some people including myself to know safety razor. I think I saw this thing before. May be in a movie? But we are sure that this thing is old like our grandpa. I started to study it mainly watching YT like GFB and RE. I was kind of fall in the first sight to the DE razors. I shave every day and the proglide serves me well as I don’t have much beard like most Asian. My beard grown probably less than average HK men. However I still want to change and I believe I will change it forever.

I feel very excited and ask some friends if any of them are using safety razor. Especially guys with lots of beard or even hairy body all over arms and legs. Most HK people are just (we think ourselves) fast, efficient, lack of passion… always want the fastest straight forward answer. 90% of guys I asked are using electric. Only 1 uses proglide every day and only another 1 uses electric and proglide occasionally.

Just before checking out my amz shopping cart for the Merkur 34C, I watched a video mentioned a Futur clone. Talking about clone, it’s much easier for us to get from mainland China. So I decided to start by the Ming Shi first. I didn’t stop there and keep learning from videos. Everything about wet shaving. Then I found this seller on the most popular buy/sell site in HK. He was selling the box set (razor with 5 blades, transparent gel, and a box of 10 blades) for hk$30(originally starting at hk$35. But can’t sell them for a month). I approached him and he offered if I take all 3 boxes for hk$90, he would give me extra 5 boxes of 10 blades. I checked amz it costs US$25 for the razor alone. So we met and completed the trade. I was wondering how he got these stuff. He said these are the excess gifts for his company’s customers during the Valentine’s Day promotion.

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Now I shave with both the clone Futur and KCG (both with ming shi blade. Very likely will change to KCG blade soon) every morning. Similar to those youtubers for vs comparison. Not difficult to manage. Just need more patients, more control and more gentle. I don’t like the clone for its bulky head and size. The feeling of blade position and exposure are bad. Feedback from the face is very limited too. I used minimum to 2.5 range. “no communication”. Of course this is only my case. For experienced users that is another thing. On the other hand, the KCG is totally different and it’s something I’m expecting. Very primitive and raw feelings. “lots of communication”. And I got my first ever closed and clean shave of my life that day. I don’t know if it’s BBS but definitely DFS. Although not the whole face but in some areas. The feeling is amazing which I’ve never experienced. I will still buy the 34C later as I think shorter handle is easier for flexible twist actions. I may wait for holiday discount for the Merkur. The next purchase will be the Proraso cream to replace to proglide 2+1 gel. A brush and bowl too. Mild to medium razors fit me. I think I don’t need any aggressive or even open comb. During this period I will try these sample blade packs from amz to find the right one I need.

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The safety razor market is extremely small in my city. May be just around 5 specialized stores? Not sure. Lack of discussion too. Only 2-3 topics from different forums and all of the last updates are a month ago. I’m glad I get here when I was looking for more information about the KCG and google brought me here. Thanks for reading.
 
Welcome to B&B. I think this is a fantastic razor for both beginners and more experienced shavers too.
The small blade gap and near neutral blade exposure are, imo, essential for beginners, who, try as they may, will almost always use too much pressure and need time to figure out the "manual" angle change compare to the pivoting of cartridge razors.
I agree that the handle is a bit long. I hold mine very close to the head, right at the top of the grippy part on the handle, it makes it more maneuverable.

Good luck and enjoy the shaving.
 

Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker

Likes a fat handle in his hand
Greetings from Hong Kong! Subject matter. I got 3 King C. Gillette box set + 6 boxes of blades for just HK$90 (US$11.5).

View attachment 1436941

Now the long story. Before the Mach 3 launched, I was using Braun electric shaver. Tried Sensor or things like that 2-3 times. The feeling is terrible and lethal for a teenager. Wounds of course. Years later the overwhelming TV advertisements of Mach 3 made me try it. Since then I’d used the Gillette cartridge razors (mach3, fusion, proglide) until last week. The reason I switch to DE because guys talk about expensive cartridge in a local news chatroom. Then someone mentioned DE safety razor. This is the first time some people including myself to know safety razor. I think I saw this thing before. May be in a movie? But we are sure that this thing is old like our grandpa. I started to study it mainly watching YT like GFB and RE. I was kind of fall in the first sight to the DE razors. I shave every day and the proglide serves me well as I don’t have much beard like most Asian. My beard grown probably less than average HK men. However I still want to change and I believe I will change it forever.

I feel very excited and ask some friends if any of them are using safety razor. Especially guys with lots of beard or even hairy body all over arms and legs. Most HK people are just (we think ourselves) fast, efficient, lack of passion… always want the fastest straight forward answer. 90% of guys I asked are using electric. Only 1 uses proglide every day and only another 1 uses electric and proglide occasionally.

Just before checking out my amz shopping cart for the Merkur 34C, I watched a video mentioned a Futur clone. Talking about clone, it’s much easier for us to get from mainland China. So I decided to start by the Ming Shi first. I didn’t stop there and keep learning from videos. Everything about wet shaving. Then I found this seller on the most popular buy/sell site in HK. He was selling the box set (razor with 5 blades, transparent gel, and a box of 10 blades) for hk$30(originally starting at hk$35. But can’t sell them for a month). I approached him and he offered if I take all 3 boxes for hk$90, he would give me extra 5 boxes of 10 blades. I checked amz it costs US$25 for the razor alone. So we met and completed the trade. I was wondering how he got these stuff. He said these are the excess gifts for his company’s customers during the Valentine’s Day promotion.

View attachment 1436959

View attachment 1436960

Now I shave with both the clone Futur and KCG (both with ming shi blade. Very likely will change to KCG blade soon) every morning. Similar to those youtubers for vs comparison. Not difficult to manage. Just need more patients, more control and more gentle. I don’t like the clone for its bulky head and size. The feeling of blade position and exposure are bad. Feedback from the face is very limited too. I used minimum to 2.5 range. “no communication”. Of course this is only my case. For experienced users that is another thing. On the other hand, the KCG is totally different and it’s something I’m expecting. Very primitive and raw feelings. “lots of communication”. And I got my first ever closed and clean shave of my life that day. I don’t know if it’s BBS but definitely DFS. Although not the whole face but in some areas. The feeling is amazing which I’ve never experienced. I will still buy the 34C later as I think shorter handle is easier for flexible twist actions. I may wait for holiday discount for the Merkur. The next purchase will be the Proraso cream to replace to proglide 2+1 gel. A brush and bowl too. Mild to medium razors fit me. I think I don’t need any aggressive or even open comb. During this period I will try these sample blade packs from amz to find the right one I need.

View attachment 1436966

View attachment 1436958

The safety razor market is extremely small in my city. May be just around 5 specialized stores? Not sure. Lack of discussion too. Only 2-3 topics from different forums and all of the last updates are a month ago. I’m glad I get here when I was looking for more information about the KCG and google brought me here. Thanks for reading.

Welcome to Badger & Blade! :)

You sure started off full bore on your journey. I am impressed with how much you've learned and applied, in your purchases. You are doing excellent! At this point, you just need to try out different types of soaps, and see what soaps you like best.

You have plenty of blades to start out with, and you have a couple razors. So try out all those blades, see which ones you like best. Try out some more soaps. Now I have to ask, what about brushes and bowls?

Do you have plans to continue face lathering? Or would you like to step it up to a good brush and lather bowl? I will say, its a lovely experience lathering up ones face from a good soap and brush. And a good bowl makes all the difference in whipping up a good lather.

The creams will be easier for now, quicker, easier to apply. Like I said, I am really impressed with how quickly you've taken off with this. It took me several weeks to get where I am now. Solid trade deal too BTW, very nice.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
@RAYDUM, I also have a Ming Shi 2000S and KCG "safety" razors. I bought these two razors only after I switched from carts directly to straight razors.

My two "safety" razors get very little use. I have a fear of shaving with a razor where I can't see the blade's edge on my skin.

I miss HK, use to visit there a few times each year until the pandemic hit.
 
Welcome to Badger & Blade! :)

You sure started off full bore on your journey. I am impressed with how much you've learned and applied, in your purchases. You are doing excellent! At this point, you just need to try out different types of soaps, and see what soaps you like best.

You have plenty of blades to start out with, and you have a couple razors. So try out all those blades, see which ones you like best. Try out some more soaps. Now I have to ask, what about brushes and bowls?

Do you have plans to continue face lathering? Or would you like to step it up to a good brush and lather bowl? I will say, its a lovely experience lathering up ones face from a good soap and brush. And a good bowl makes all the difference in whipping up a good lather.

The creams will be easier for now, quicker, easier to apply. Like I said, I am really impressed with how quickly you've taken off with this. It took me several weeks to get where I am now. Solid trade deal too BTW, very nice.
Will start with cheap synthetic brush and a random bowl (with wife's permission :) ). After some learning and studying more users feedback then i will try some soap and get a better brush. I found that brush is very personal like the razor. So i need more time to study, narrow down to something fit me.
 
歡迎光臨!

From what I've heard, the KCG razor head is similar the Muhle R89 razor head. I've tried The Art of Shaving's R89 clone razors (it's rumored that TAOS had Muhle make the R89 clone heads). It worked well, but required three passes (plus touchups) for me to get a BBS (我是個華僑). Last year, I switched to a Fatip Grande and absolutely love it. I get a BBS with a two pass (plus touchups) shave. If you're interested in getting a more efficient razor, I would highly recommend getting a Fatip Grande or Piccolo.
 
歡迎光臨!

From what I've heard, the KCG razor head is similar the Muhle R89 razor head. I've tried The Art of Shaving's R89 clone razors (it's rumored that TAOS had Muhle make the R89 clone heads). It worked well, but required three passes (plus touchups) for me to get a BBS (我是個華僑). Last year, I switched to a Fatip Grande and absolutely love it. I get a BBS with a two pass (plus touchups) shave. If you're interested in getting a more efficient razor, I would highly recommend getting a Fatip Grande or Piccolo.

I have also read comments about the KCG being similar to the DE/R89, this is not true.
My DE 89 was my only razor for 10 years, and surprisingly, despite the zamak is still in perfectly serviceable condition. My KCG was in use for the last year and a bit. Side by side, the differences are immediately noticeable, and in use, they shave completely differently. The DE89 has a visible larger blade gap, noticeably more blade exposure and frustratingly more blade chatter. Obviously, if these three characteristics are on someone's must have feature list, then, good news, the 89 is for you, if not, then look elsewhere.
 
I have also read comments about the KCG being similar to the DE/R89, this is not true.
My DE 89 was my only razor for 10 years, and surprisingly, despite the zamak is still in perfectly serviceable condition. My KCG was in use for the last year and a bit. Side by side, the differences are immediately noticeable, and in use, they shave completely differently. The DE89 has a visible larger blade gap, noticeably more blade exposure and frustratingly more blade chatter. Obviously, if these three characteristics are on someone's must have feature list, then, good news, the 89 is for you, if not, then look elsewhere.
Whoa! I didn't know there was such a discrepancy between the two! Thank you for pointing that out.

That said, I wonder if you received an aberrant razor. I'm not sure I've heard anyone else mention blade chatter and (great?) blade exposure with the R89. It's been a while since I used my TAOS R89, but I don't remember noticing much blade exposure or blade chatter.

Still, that's even more reason to switch over to a Fatip OC Grande or Piccolo. 😁
 
Whoa! I didn't know there was such a discrepancy between the two! Thank you for pointing that out.

That said, I wonder if you received an aberrant razor. I'm not sure I've heard anyone else mention blade chatter and (great?) blade exposure with the R89. It's been a while since I used my TAOS R89, but I don't remember noticing much blade exposure or blade chatter.

Still, that's even more reason to switch over to a Fatip OC Grande or Piccolo. 😁
@ShavingByTheNumbers confirmed my feelings in his detailed photo analysis.
I came so close to going the FaTip route, but caved and went Karve CB stainless.
 

Whisky

ATF. I use all three.
Staff member
Welcome to B&B. It’s great to have you here. When you get a chance head over to the Hall of Fame and tell us a little about yourself.

 
Greetings from Hong Kong! Subject matter. I got 3 King C. Gillette box set + 6 boxes of blades for just HK$90 (US$11.5).

View attachment 1436941

Now the long story. Before the Mach 3 launched, I was using Braun electric shaver. Tried Sensor or things like that 2-3 times. The feeling is terrible and lethal for a teenager. Wounds of course. Years later the overwhelming TV advertisements of Mach 3 made me try it. Since then I’d used the Gillette cartridge razors (mach3, fusion, proglide) until last week. The reason I switch to DE because guys talk about expensive cartridge in a local news chatroom. Then someone mentioned DE safety razor. This is the first time some people including myself to know safety razor. I think I saw this thing before. May be in a movie? But we are sure that this thing is old like our grandpa. I started to study it mainly watching YT like GFB and RE. I was kind of fall in the first sight to the DE razors. I shave every day and the proglide serves me well as I don’t have much beard like most Asian. My beard grown probably less than average HK men. However I still want to change and I believe I will change it forever.

I feel very excited and ask some friends if any of them are using safety razor. Especially guys with lots of beard or even hairy body all over arms and legs. Most HK people are just (we think ourselves) fast, efficient, lack of passion… always want the fastest straight forward answer. 90% of guys I asked are using electric. Only 1 uses proglide every day and only another 1 uses electric and proglide occasionally.

Just before checking out my amz shopping cart for the Merkur 34C, I watched a video mentioned a Futur clone. Talking about clone, it’s much easier for us to get from mainland China. So I decided to start by the Ming Shi first. I didn’t stop there and keep learning from videos. Everything about wet shaving. Then I found this seller on the most popular buy/sell site in HK. He was selling the box set (razor with 5 blades, transparent gel, and a box of 10 blades) for hk$30(originally starting at hk$35. But can’t sell them for a month). I approached him and he offered if I take all 3 boxes for hk$90, he would give me extra 5 boxes of 10 blades. I checked amz it costs US$25 for the razor alone. So we met and completed the trade. I was wondering how he got these stuff. He said these are the excess gifts for his company’s customers during the Valentine’s Day promotion.

View attachment 1436959

View attachment 1436960

Now I shave with both the clone Futur and KCG (both with ming shi blade. Very likely will change to KCG blade soon) every morning. Similar to those youtubers for vs comparison. Not difficult to manage. Just need more patients, more control and more gentle. I don’t like the clone for its bulky head and size. The feeling of blade position and exposure are bad. Feedback from the face is very limited too. I used minimum to 2.5 range. “no communication”. Of course this is only my case. For experienced users that is another thing. On the other hand, the KCG is totally different and it’s something I’m expecting. Very primitive and raw feelings. “lots of communication”. And I got my first ever closed and clean shave of my life that day. I don’t know if it’s BBS but definitely DFS. Although not the whole face but in some areas. The feeling is amazing which I’ve never experienced. I will still buy the 34C later as I think shorter handle is easier for flexible twist actions. I may wait for holiday discount for the Merkur. The next purchase will be the Proraso cream to replace to proglide 2+1 gel. A brush and bowl too. Mild to medium razors fit me. I think I don’t need any aggressive or even open comb. During this period I will try these sample blade packs from amz to find the right one I need.

View attachment 1436966

View attachment 1436958

The safety razor market is extremely small in my city. May be just around 5 specialized stores? Not sure. Lack of discussion too. Only 2-3 topics from different forums and all of the last updates are a month ago. I’m glad I get here when I was looking for more information about the KCG and google brought me here. Thanks for reading.
5 out of those 6 blade types are the exact ones I chose to buy in my first sample pack, which I chose after endless hours of reading on here. The Astra seem to be very good for me.

If you’re still looking for a lather bowl, the collapsible silicone bowls are great and relatively inexpensive. Soap and cream explodes into great lather in them and I think you should be able to get one in your area. They were originally sold as travel dog water bowls.
 
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