I bought one and I 'll get it soon. The first version is beautiful.
But I would also like a longer pen and a polished mirror.
But I would also like a longer pen and a polished mirror.
Mine is still in transit to Dubai
surprised that no one has put a 1st shave review up yet?
surprised that no one has put a 1st shave review up yet?
I received my V2 General and have used it 4x. It shaves fantastic using a Feather Pro Super blade. The grip is better then any other razor I have owned and that goes back decades. I don't own a Vector but I am sure it is a good razor. Anybody who purchases a V2 General will not be sorry. Incidentally I owned the original Cobra Classic and it was a pain to load a blade. That was 8 years ago and it cost $125.
Great - thanks for that - I am looking forward to getting mine - I was also looking at the cobra classic but couldn’t find one
Would love to see some photos with it next to the Vector.
Looking forward to the first review from someone with the V1 vs V2, I wonder if it’ll come from me haha
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
I love my General (which cost me not much more than $60 new). I also love my ATT set.
But, for me, the SS DLC Hawk might be the best of the lot. Mine was NOS off the BST. It kinda blew my mind; it's that good.
I really only shave (now, not necessarily forever) with the straight razors, but I can't imagine better AC platform razors than the ones I already own. Not that I couldn't be wrong and not that this new General won't prove me wrong, but I doubt I'll buy it or any other new AC safety razor.
If I were looking for another AC safety razor it would be a nice brass General. I'm sorry I missed that one.
All that said, I'm excitedly looking forward to reviews on the V2 General.
Happy shaves,
Jim
I agree with all that you say, likewise as regards the SS Hawk. Nice pics too.
Presently I am trying to master the Feather DX Kamisori which is rather distracting me from the SE Safety razors.
the General v2 has landed in Dubai this morning.
will shave with it later this evening if I have time
Initial thoughts are that it is well made, looks great, and as my second SE, I am looking forward to shaving with it
below are some pics that I took of it next to my Paradigm SE - as you can see, it’s got smaller dimensions than the paradigm
will shave with it later this evening if I have time
Initial thoughts are that it is well made, looks great, and as my second SE, I am looking forward to shaving with it
below are some pics that I took of it next to my Paradigm SE - as you can see, it’s got smaller dimensions than the paradigm
The $185 price makes it a non-starter for me. Glad I have the Brass General v.1.
1st shave with the general v2 yesterday
I’ve not a shaving expert, nor am I a SE razor expert - so take my review with that in mind as I still need to fine tune my technique
premise
my background was that I started with straights, couldn’t get round the honing and upkeep of a straight edge, so went into DE.
Was happy with my DE collection, but couldn’t get an burn-free shave on my head and neck. Used to dread getting the alum block out
got a Paradigm SE last year and haven’t looked back!! BBS always, no nicks, no burn (most of the time)
wanted to get a rotation razor so was excited to get a general v2 after reading reviews on the v1
Box opening
this has been mentioned before, but the delivery was a simple non-branded box with a bubble wrapped razor - nothing special. The razor was well protected coming from the states and arriving in dubai. I donmt have any issues with this, but my timeless, dovo straights, Blackbird, Karve, and paradigm razors all came with a nice foam filled box. Now that I exclusivelyuse my Paradigm, the delivery boxes for the other razors have all served as excellent storage places for until I pass them to my son - I do use the DE’s once and a while
not a deal breaker, but a nice box would have been ....... well, nice
fit and finish
I really liked the pics of the v1. And thought that it looked like a great razor. When the pics of the v2 came out, I was thinking “why not use the handle from the v1”.
that being said, I like the look of the razor and have no problem with the handle.
the razor is made very well and fits together nicely. There were no scratches or marks or dents
this is the first razor that I have (apart from the karve) that isn’t polished. I would rather a polished option
putting a blade in the razor is easy and no issues. However it is a 3 piece razor (like the DEs) and I have been really spoilt by the 2 price design of the paradigm. I was initially confused disorientated at having to deal with 3 pieces !!
It is smaller than the Paradigm in every way
I am happy with the fit and finish of the razor
1st shave
Head and neck shave
New feather pro blade
WSP rustic citrus soap
WTG, XTG, ATG
It was easy to work out the optimal shaving angle for the razor because it doesn't have a very wide sweet spot. I found it very close to riding the cap and when I got it wrong, the cap would just ride accords my head. I would need a few shaves to dial this in.
When getting the right angle though, I found this to be an efficient razor after a week of head growth, on the initial WTG 1st pass
4th pass to buffer areas - I normally get a BBS with the paradigm after 3 passes, but this being my 1st shave with a new razor, I did go carefully and as such Ineeded a lot of buffering to get my BBS
neck -again about 7 days growth - no issues with efficiency
Manoverability and weight and balance of the razor was fine
post shave - this is a biiiiiig test with the alum block - on my head, I did not get any razor burn and there were no nicks or cuts along the way - but my neck was always a problem area and there was alum burn (no nicks) on my neck. I get this with every razor including the paradigm so this must be down to technique and not the razor
Summary
a good razor that will like to get used to over the next month (Approx 4-8 shaves)
the paradigm is truly a special razor and I honestly think that no razor can beat it (in my limited experience)
I am happy with the general, but is it going to be a Paradigm replacement? Time will tell
but it will be good to put it in rotation With the paradigm
for both of these razors, I really want to get the feather supers as I think that these would really benefit from the more aggressive blade (from what I have read)
note: this is not a review to deter someone from buying the v2 general, or endorse it. Just my 2 fils and of course, YMMV. It is unfair to compare it with the paradigm as they are different razors, but these are the only 2 SEs I have. I am happy that I bought the general v2. I don’t think I need to buy another razor (but you never know) unless someone makes a Titanium SE that can compete with the paradigm (but I still want a Titanium Wolfman DE)
I’ve not a shaving expert, nor am I a SE razor expert - so take my review with that in mind as I still need to fine tune my technique
premise
my background was that I started with straights, couldn’t get round the honing and upkeep of a straight edge, so went into DE.
Was happy with my DE collection, but couldn’t get an burn-free shave on my head and neck. Used to dread getting the alum block out
got a Paradigm SE last year and haven’t looked back!! BBS always, no nicks, no burn (most of the time)
wanted to get a rotation razor so was excited to get a general v2 after reading reviews on the v1
Box opening
this has been mentioned before, but the delivery was a simple non-branded box with a bubble wrapped razor - nothing special. The razor was well protected coming from the states and arriving in dubai. I donmt have any issues with this, but my timeless, dovo straights, Blackbird, Karve, and paradigm razors all came with a nice foam filled box. Now that I exclusivelyuse my Paradigm, the delivery boxes for the other razors have all served as excellent storage places for until I pass them to my son - I do use the DE’s once and a while
not a deal breaker, but a nice box would have been ....... well, nice
fit and finish
I really liked the pics of the v1. And thought that it looked like a great razor. When the pics of the v2 came out, I was thinking “why not use the handle from the v1”.
that being said, I like the look of the razor and have no problem with the handle.
the razor is made very well and fits together nicely. There were no scratches or marks or dents
this is the first razor that I have (apart from the karve) that isn’t polished. I would rather a polished option
putting a blade in the razor is easy and no issues. However it is a 3 piece razor (like the DEs) and I have been really spoilt by the 2 price design of the paradigm. I was initially confused disorientated at having to deal with 3 pieces !!
It is smaller than the Paradigm in every way
I am happy with the fit and finish of the razor
1st shave
Head and neck shave
New feather pro blade
WSP rustic citrus soap
WTG, XTG, ATG
It was easy to work out the optimal shaving angle for the razor because it doesn't have a very wide sweet spot. I found it very close to riding the cap and when I got it wrong, the cap would just ride accords my head. I would need a few shaves to dial this in.
When getting the right angle though, I found this to be an efficient razor after a week of head growth, on the initial WTG 1st pass
4th pass to buffer areas - I normally get a BBS with the paradigm after 3 passes, but this being my 1st shave with a new razor, I did go carefully and as such Ineeded a lot of buffering to get my BBS
neck -again about 7 days growth - no issues with efficiency
Manoverability and weight and balance of the razor was fine
post shave - this is a biiiiiig test with the alum block - on my head, I did not get any razor burn and there were no nicks or cuts along the way - but my neck was always a problem area and there was alum burn (no nicks) on my neck. I get this with every razor including the paradigm so this must be down to technique and not the razor
Summary
a good razor that will like to get used to over the next month (Approx 4-8 shaves)
the paradigm is truly a special razor and I honestly think that no razor can beat it (in my limited experience)
I am happy with the general, but is it going to be a Paradigm replacement? Time will tell
but it will be good to put it in rotation With the paradigm
for both of these razors, I really want to get the feather supers as I think that these would really benefit from the more aggressive blade (from what I have read)
note: this is not a review to deter someone from buying the v2 general, or endorse it. Just my 2 fils and of course, YMMV. It is unfair to compare it with the paradigm as they are different razors, but these are the only 2 SEs I have. I am happy that I bought the general v2. I don’t think I need to buy another razor (but you never know) unless someone makes a Titanium SE that can compete with the paradigm (but I still want a Titanium Wolfman DE)
Sorry guys, didnmt realise that the post was sooooo long - I’m not amazing at writing reviews
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
Do try a steep angle. It works for me.
If it works for you you can be this...
I've already claimed these two...
I think the General and my other AC safety razors work best for me at a steep angle or maybe the design angle (neutral angle). Not at a shallow angle! For me!
Happy shaves,
Jim
I have an aluminum General. It's a nice, intuitive razor that shaves well.
I purchased a brass General, but I sold it. I didn't think it offered anything over the aluminum; if anything, I thought the extra weight actually made it slightly worse.
The new SS General looks nice. I'm sure it shaves great. I'm not going to spend that much money on another holder for the fantastic AC blades. Currently using a Feather SS shavette, which used to be expensive but are now available for $59 on amazon.
I purchased a brass General, but I sold it. I didn't think it offered anything over the aluminum; if anything, I thought the extra weight actually made it slightly worse.
The new SS General looks nice. I'm sure it shaves great. I'm not going to spend that much money on another holder for the fantastic AC blades. Currently using a Feather SS shavette, which used to be expensive but are now available for $59 on amazon.
I've been using my v2 General for about two weeks now. It's an improvement over the highly competent original. The reason I ignored the price and went all in was because I figured since the original works so well, I wanted to show my loyalty to the brand. The excellent performance was a bonus, and I doubt any other razor I've ever tried has worked better for me. I couldn't be more satisfied with this razor. I use Schick Proline and Kai Captain Original blades exclusively for a full month before I change the blade.
Great review... I had at one time, both, the Aluminum and V1 Stainless Generals but like all other razors I've had, my Timeless Ti95DC made them obsolete as the shave has just been superior with that razor. I will say that the V2 General is one razor that really has me thinking I might be able to sustain a 2nd razor in my cabinet. I do at times, (not often though), feel bad I let the V1 go and sometimes wish I still had it as I did have some really great shaves with it and it was a very intuitive razor to use. I may have to really re-think this one... I think the V2 design is sexy as .....!!
I hope I get a second version this week. The first version is a very good razor.
Can anyone speak to the weight and dimension difference of the V1 vs. V2 head? I have the V1 in SS & find it very heavy.
Thanks for any info.
Thanks for any info.
I can't speak to the weight but I seem to remember the V1 was over 100g and the V2 comes in at 89.5g now so it is lighter. As far as the rest of the differences, Colonial has them listed on they're site...
Improvements from the Original Design (2016-2018):
- 27% reduction in head size made possible by a keyway cutout in the threaded rod. The modified threaded rod could not be broken or even budged when we tried snapping it in half with our hands during R&D.
- Significant reduction in blade reveal (i.e., the blade protrusion from the top cap). This has increased the rigidity and efficiency of the razor by preventing blade chatter and flex.
- Improved blade pinch. This has improved the rigidity and efficiency of the shave by preventing blade chatter and flex.
- Wider lather slot.
- Longer threaded rod to increase the thread engagement with the handle.
- Improved symmetry and balance.
Designed in-house in Birdsboro, PA and machined in the USA.
