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Back in August I Kicked a Twig down the road...

I own also the 3-blade Leaf razor and the Supply single edge. So far been really satisfied with the Twig - to the point I am almost having to start wondering where my Supply razor goes now, ouch.

What I wanted to bring up is I randomly came across people enquiring on the Kickstarter comment board about the "aggressive" version. Since I almost never use anything else other than the closest plate of the Supply I figured I would request that too. (Another thing - they originally said they were only going to make aggressive plates only for the silver version I believe, though they never completely shut the door, and ended up notifying me that they would make aggressive plates for the Mercury version too)

This is the picture of it. Is it actually any different to any of you "normal plate" folks'?

Cheers!

Photo 03-03-2021, 18 10 01.jpg
 
I still have not received my Twig, 14 days after the order. And it hasn't moved from the Acceptance Pending status at the Postal Service. I emailed Leaf customer service and they said they would send me another one. I am pleased with their customer service, but it still has been a little bit of a hassle.

eric

The Leaf grip I ordered on 2/18 was finally delivered to Portland OR today.
 
I had my first shave with the Twig razor loaded with a Shark Super Stainless blade. Snapped in half of course. I was very impressed with the Twig. It provided a close, comfortable shave. It also is very forgiving of angle which I have come to appreciate in my razors. I will have to get a few more shaves in with a variety of blades for a final judgement, but it seems that the Leaf shaving company has designed another very good razor. The Leaf razor excels at head shaving, and will eventually try it with the Twig as it would be nice to have one razor that meets both needs. Especially for travel.

eric.
 
I wasn’t going to shave today but @NathanK put me in a mind to use my Twig and write down some thoughts.

Caveats/additional info:

1. I’m a Leaf fanboy for headshaving. It would take something really special for the love to wear off.

2. I’ve been cycling through my DEs for the last week or so just to make sure my technique is still good and to make sure I don’t want to cull any razors from my hoard. The reason I was going to take a break today is I got a little too aggressive with my razor yesterday and thought I needed a break.

3. I do a three pass headshave 95% of the time. Back to front, front to back, from the outside to the middle of my head and a little touch up in my problem areas.

4. I’ve been using DEs or a Leaf to headshave since 2005 so I’m very comfortable with the hardware and technique.

5. I’ve used the Twig on my head maybe five or six times and haven’t had a bad shave yet.

Hardware:

» Twig
» Wizamet Super Iridium 1/2 (new)
» Zenith 508A aka B35 (boar)

Software (in order of use):

» PAA Black Bot CK-6
» alum block
» Dickinson’s unscented witch hazel
» PAA Black Bot AS
» PAA Black Bot EDC
» cotton ball

No preshave other then slapping a wet washcloth on my head. I soaked my brush for a few minutes then loaded it directly from the tub. I went ahead and lathered directly on my head (is head lather a term?) until I was happy with the look and feel.

First front to back pass was very smooth with no blade feel. There was no discomfort or blood. There was limited feedback from the razor but I could hear the cutting. The Twig reminds me a lot of using a Bic disposable on my head. A heavier Bic with a much better blade and more comfortable on the head but the general feeling is very reminiscent.

Second back to front pass was a carbon copy of the first pass just going a different direction and less cutting noise.

Third side to middle pass I reverted a little to Bic technique and did very short strokes since I couldn’t keep the angle proper for long strokes. There was almost no audio feedback.

I touched up my known problem areas where my skull has bumps and divots. These are the areas I usually get myself into trouble by being too aggressive.

I rinsed my head and ran the alum block over it. The only negative feedback I got was from my problem areas. They were already tender from yesterday’s shave so I’m not willing to throw the Twig under the bus for them. There was a reason I was planning on skipping a day.

I applied the witch hazel and AS. It gave me the same feedback for the problem areas the alum had already pointed out.

I waited 30 minutes then performed the cotton ball test which it passed except for one strip I managed to miss on my second pass. The strip I missed is still very close but not BBS. User error, no fault of the razor.

In summary I think the Twig is a very viable razor for headshaving. It took me longer with the Twig then with my Leaf but it took me less time then my DEs.

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I had my second shave with the Twig razor the other day and I am sitting on the fence about it. It's not a bad razor but then it's not a particularly good razor either in my experience so far. It's mild and I found myself chasing after the cutting angle when I was shaving my neck so for me it has a rather narrow cutting angle. I compared it to a Schick Injector J Type that I have because the angle of the heads is very similar but the Schick Injector gave me no problems at all in finding the cutting angle and of course it is a more aggressive razor.

I'm not a fan of the handle of the Twig either. It seems to have been designed for looks rather than function. It's not a deal breaker but a more ergonomic handle would be better.

Another thing is I put the razor down on the bench fully opened while I grabbed a blade to load it with and found that the slight pressure had thrown the top part of the razor head a little out of alignment when I turned it back down on the blade. It was easy to manually readjust it but all the same I wasn't impressed. I very much doubt that the Twig will find a place in my rotation based on my experience with it so far.
 
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After using mine for a couple of weeks I am honestly not that impressed. The shave angle just seems... wrong. I will go back to my vintage Super Speed for daily driving. Kind of disappointed as I was looking forward to this.
 
Used my Twig today and it was fantastic! BBS, effortlessly.

To each his own, but this is a well engineered piece IMO.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
any update on the head shave with the Twig @glassmtn99 ?

I moved my Twig up in the rotation for a head shave today. It provides a very good head shave provided you like the preset shaving angle. I have read that some folks do no like this although it doesn't bother me. It is not as carefree of a head shave as the Leaf but nevertheless does a good job. If I were to chose between the Leaf and the Twig strictly for head shaving, I would pick the Leaf. Although the Leaf is not as manueverable as the Twig, the pivot on the Leaf makes for a generally bloodfree and quick shave. Personnally I do not think manueverability is as important with head shaving as face shaving. If you only could chose one of these for both head and face shaving probably the Twig would be the winner because of its ability for face shaving. But who would only choose one!

eric
 
Have been using a Twig for a couple weeks now. It does take a bit to adjust the angle compared to a typical DE but I like it. A lot. I used a merkur slant with feather blades almost exclusively for a decade so my expectations for a close shave are pretty high. The Twig delivers a DFS. I also think it would be very difficult to cut yourself with this one as compared to others Ive used. Also, there’s something kind of simple and Spartan about snapping a DE blade in half to shave with each morning to shave. Its a keeper.
 
I pulled the trigger and ordered not just the Twig, but also the Leaf, as it seems to be the holy grail amongst head shavers here. Man, I'm glad i did, that thing works wonderfully (using Astra platinums). I used the Twig for my face and it did a great job loaded with a Feather blade, it actually felt better going against the grain than when using my DE razors (maybe thats because of my technique). Also used the Twig to get around my ears, easy to get those tight spots. Twig is definitely worth the $60 and may be on my gift list in the future for family members whom I've been trying to get to switch from plastic carts but are afraid they're going to butcher their skin
 
that thing works wonderfully (using Astra platinums).
Not to hijack the thread but the Leaf was an epiphany for me. Holy Grail was an appropriate description. I might have heard an angels' choir during my first shave. I'll give you one piece of advice. Beware if you decide to try Kai blades in it. They're slightly bigger and very sharp. There's a gentleman on B&B that explains the dimension difference. I took a lot of skin off my head the first time I tried them. Pretty much the top of every bump on my head. Anyway, I've done my good deed for the day warning you.

The Twig really does a great job for around the ears. I really like it for beard edging and neck shaving. Head shavers don't tend to be so picky about large heads, myself included, but it's really nice to have a nimble little razor to get into a couple of tight spots and is easy to track for edging. I'm not sure I'm a lover of the handle but I'm also sure that's just me not liking change.
 
Anyone have any experience in how long it takes them to get finishes back in stock? I'm worried the silver will scratch up as they mentioned it's softer in the faq is there any reason to be worried about that? Looking forward to giving this a try on my head though, I only just found this today!
 
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