I noticed your comment got glanced over by Stan... lol, not the most communicative guy I've come across, good product but the communication needs work. I hate waiting days for an answer.
Above The Tie - slant - design change?
- Thread starter Peter_A
- Start date
I noticed your comment got glanced over by Stan... lol, not the most communicative guy I've come across, good product but the communication needs work. I hate waiting days for an answer.
You know what I hate, I hate waiting to be seated at a restaurant. I hate waiting in line at amusement parks, etc. I wonder sometimes if we as people forget that there's an order/priority before we are addressed. Stan being a small business owner probably is tied up with actually designing products, and then gets around to replying.
The problem lies with the internet. Everyone expects something. Expects Stan to be on B&B. Expects him to reply to each post. You really can't win as a business owner. Apparently the customer is always right even in cases where the customer is unaware of their sense of entitlement.
Anyways, back to the topic, I recently purchased the Slant combo pack from ATT and received one without the new design change, which I am pleased about. I personally think the new design looks odd. I'd imagine the older design will become a hot commodity in the future.
And then there is the matter of the servers. Don't get me started!
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...having-Forum-You-re-a-Jerk?highlight=springs1
- Thread starter
- #24
Having the blade parallel to the cap looks odd? I'm not sure why that would be. That's how most DE razors (including most slants) are. "Odd" to me is the exception, not the rule. This says nothing of the shave, of course, but the old version looks odd to me.
A very generous B&B member has offered to send me his older S2 head, and I look forward to being able to compare them. I'm curious to see for myself if I find the shave to be the same. I'll certainly share my thoughts here.
- Thread starter
- #25
And then there is the matter of the servers. Don't get me started!
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...having-Forum-You-re-a-Jerk?highlight=springs1
The Springs1 thread! Always an excellent read...
Kinda sounds like you need a vacation dude... Way to many things are bothering you.
I'll explain, in an abridged version the world (of Razor Blades) through my eyes. You see, there are many options, options for low budget, mid budget, high budget, and then you get to a point of Luxury budget. This is a point you reach where not only are you paying for the quality of the goods, but the packaging, service, and after service. When I buy a $10, razor, I don't expect much. When I spend, oh I don't know, $60, I expect good packing, with good service. When I spend say $120, I want great quality, fancy packaging, good service, and decent back end service... when I spend $200 I want all of the previously said, with a bit more "Yes sir". When you go to a fine tailor shop, or any fine goods store, you get treated well, why is that? Because they know you can just go someplace a buy good quality stuff at a good price. You spend more, you expect good service is all I am saying, this is not a rule I just made up, it is our economics. I would think as a business owner, in a nich market, selling a very high price luxury, you would WANT to engage you customers and make them feel like the extra money they spent was worth it. I get the same quality shave from my Gillette Slim for $25.00 bucks, so if I'm asked to pay $175, the absolutely least I ask for is an email reply within 48 hours... I think that's fair?
With that said, I still bought one, and I am happy enough that I would buy another one, I just reduced my expectations, and try REALLY hard not to have any questions simply because you don't wait 48 hours for an impulse buy...
Not trying to put anyone down or anything, we all have our own life to live and may not fully understand what someone else is going through, I can understand that. Stan did communicate with me, a little longer turn around time than I like when spending so much on a luxury item, but no big deal, his product was good enough to off set that.
My comments were said tongue in cheek. But the point is, to cite your post that a B&B supporting vendor, 'communication needs work,' because he didn't reply to your email within 48 hours for an impulse buy is a sad indictment about people's expectations of supposed customer service. You did receive an email reply, what more did you expect? By the way, appreciate your abridged version of the world. Now I understand economics (said tongue in cheek).
- Thread starter
- #29
It's probably also worth noting that Stan has a day job. "Above The Tie" is a side-business and a hobby, for him. I'd bet that he's a busy man.
Obviously the point was missed...
Not worth continuing on, clearly you're not wanting to understand.
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Peter_A, I am sure Stan is a busy guy, and a good man at that. My comment had nothing to do with him, I enjoy his product.
All I was trying to communicate was that when someone spends a large sum of money on a luxury good it comes with some expectation. People don't just buy a Mercedes because they are great cars, the service is right there along with it. I sincerely hope that Above The Tie will become profitable enough for Stan to do it as a living and will one day be able to provide that service.
I wasn't trying to "knock" Stan.
I'm eagerly anticipating Peter's comparison between the 2014 S2 and the 2015 S2. Assuming that the cap is the only part that he changed, I'm thinking about asking Stan to sell me a 2015 cap, just so I can try both myself ...
- Thread starter
- #32
Here are my thoughts, after comparing the original S2 slant (let's call it "v1") and the new S2 slant (let's call it "v2"):
I've done 8 shaves total, using both razors during each shave, one for each half of my face, alternating which razor to use on which side, each day (to account for differences in technique and topology, between the sides of my face).
So, from my testing, I can definitely say that the 2 razors shave differently, and to me, the differences were fairly substantial. That being said, I'm still not sure which one I actually prefer. They're both very good razors, and I'd be happy with either, to be honest. I think that over a longer period of time a preference would likely emerge, but after the 8 shaves, it would be difficult for me to state which I prefer. Here are my impressions:
1. The v1 feels more aggressive/efficient
2. The v1 can be used at a steeper angle (like my other OC ATTs, the H2 and R2)
3. The v1 feels more like my other OC ATT razors (likely due to #2)
Similar to what's stated above:
4. The v2 feels milder and maybe a bit smoother
5. The v2 seems to require a shallower angle
6. The v2 feels less like my other OC ATT razors (likely due to #5). I will qualify this one by saying that I haven't used my H2 or R2 at a shallower angle, so I'm not sure if the v2 feels like the H2 or R2, at such an angle. Maybe it does.
Though I stated that the v1 feels more aggressive/efficient, I can't say that I detect a difference in the closeness of the shave after the same number of passes (either right after the shave or several hours later).
It's a mixed bag, I guess. I like that the v2 feels "more different" than my H2 and R2, while the v1 feels very similar to my H2 and R2. At the same time, though, my H2 is my favorite razor, and the R2 is up there, as well, so it's certainly not a bad thing that the v1 feels like them.
Has anyone else tried both razors? I'd certainly be interested to hear others' opinions.
I've done 8 shaves total, using both razors during each shave, one for each half of my face, alternating which razor to use on which side, each day (to account for differences in technique and topology, between the sides of my face).
So, from my testing, I can definitely say that the 2 razors shave differently, and to me, the differences were fairly substantial. That being said, I'm still not sure which one I actually prefer. They're both very good razors, and I'd be happy with either, to be honest. I think that over a longer period of time a preference would likely emerge, but after the 8 shaves, it would be difficult for me to state which I prefer. Here are my impressions:
1. The v1 feels more aggressive/efficient
2. The v1 can be used at a steeper angle (like my other OC ATTs, the H2 and R2)
3. The v1 feels more like my other OC ATT razors (likely due to #2)
Similar to what's stated above:
4. The v2 feels milder and maybe a bit smoother
5. The v2 seems to require a shallower angle
6. The v2 feels less like my other OC ATT razors (likely due to #5). I will qualify this one by saying that I haven't used my H2 or R2 at a shallower angle, so I'm not sure if the v2 feels like the H2 or R2, at such an angle. Maybe it does.
Though I stated that the v1 feels more aggressive/efficient, I can't say that I detect a difference in the closeness of the shave after the same number of passes (either right after the shave or several hours later).
It's a mixed bag, I guess. I like that the v2 feels "more different" than my H2 and R2, while the v1 feels very similar to my H2 and R2. At the same time, though, my H2 is my favorite razor, and the R2 is up there, as well, so it's certainly not a bad thing that the v1 feels like them.
Has anyone else tried both razors? I'd certainly be interested to hear others' opinions.
Excellent review. I've only tried v1, but I'd like to try them both!
Thanks to Peter, I plan to do an in-depth comparison between the S2 v1 and v2. I own v1 and am borrowing v2 from Peter.
Unfortunately, my comparison will have to wait a week.
In the meantime, I have some preliminary observations.
Both caps fit both baseplates. I haven't shaved with either of the mismatched configurations, but I plan to do so.
The only difference between the top caps appears to be the placement of the centering pins. They are offset on v1 by about 1.1mm. The v2 pins are still offset, but only by about 0.3mm. You can see that the blade is not perfectly parallel to the cap, but it is pretty close.
If you look very closely at Peter's second picture in this post, you can see that the blade is not 100% parallel.
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...Tie-slant-design-change?p=7542583#post7542583
In the picture below, there are wax smudges on v1 (on the right). That is intentional. I wanted to be able to tell the difference between the two caps easily. I knew that I could easily wash off the wax, so it was the best way to tag the v1 cap.
I can't see any differences between the caps other than the pin placement, but my eyesight is not great.
FWIW, my initial impression after one v2 shave is exactly the same as Peter's evaluation. Although the difference is subtle, the v2 shave is definitely not the same as v1. More later ...
![$IMG_0968[1].jpg](https://xfdata.badgerandblade.com/attachments/362/362285-3c824c54c8f79b58a363353e23180bfd.jpg "$IMG_0968[1].jpg")
Unfortunately, my comparison will have to wait a week.
In the meantime, I have some preliminary observations.
Both caps fit both baseplates. I haven't shaved with either of the mismatched configurations, but I plan to do so.
The only difference between the top caps appears to be the placement of the centering pins. They are offset on v1 by about 1.1mm. The v2 pins are still offset, but only by about 0.3mm. You can see that the blade is not perfectly parallel to the cap, but it is pretty close.
If you look very closely at Peter's second picture in this post, you can see that the blade is not 100% parallel.
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...Tie-slant-design-change?p=7542583#post7542583
In the picture below, there are wax smudges on v1 (on the right). That is intentional. I wanted to be able to tell the difference between the two caps easily. I knew that I could easily wash off the wax, so it was the best way to tag the v1 cap.
I can't see any differences between the caps other than the pin placement, but my eyesight is not great.
FWIW, my initial impression after one v2 shave is exactly the same as Peter's evaluation. Although the difference is subtle, the v2 shave is definitely not the same as v1. More later ...
Very interesting… I"m really looking forward to reading your full review of differences, Doc. 
Thank you very much for the info, Stan. I have an S2 (old version) and would like to know if the "new" S1 head will fit the "Old" Slant Cap. Just would like to know, so I dont spent money on the S1 Plate, if it will no longer fit my Cap.
Regards,
the change is on the top cap only not the baseplate from what i was told. so either one will fit the baseplates.
That would be awesome! Did you get that info from stan?
someone on another forum said this is what stan told them directly via email i have the older top cap and just ordered the slant set with the newer head so when i get it i can let you know 100%
