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After using Kai I wonder if I want a more aggressive razor?

(This is not a razor or blade review, I am not seeking recommendations for blades or other razor brands or models.)
I shave daily. I do a three pass shave with no cleanup. I get good shaves.
I have been using a Henson AL13 Medium since shortly after it was introduced. I switched to the V.2 update when it came out. I liked the original, I like the new one even better. I plan on getting the Ti22 next year some time. I am a sucker for titanium. As something I use EVERY DAY I feel it is worth the expense. The V.2 will go to my DOP kit and the original will go from my DOP kit to my son. I get consistently great shaves with the AL13 in Medium. My preferred blades are Wizamet. I still like trying other blades though.
I do not really like the Kai blades. The shave is not smooth, clean or comfortable. It is however a CLOSE shave. Especially on my neck.
I ascribe this to the slight increase in blade exposure. It is dare I say more efficient? Having used a couple Kai blades it has me thinking...
So I wonder... maybe I want a more aggressive razor? (I will be sticking with Henson and I will not keep using Kai)

Any thoughts? Am I on the right track?
I do get nice close, comfortable, easy shaves with the AL13 Medium.
 
I get exactly the same level of efficiency with Kai and Wizamets; I love Kai for the additional blade feel, not a closer shave.

Having said that, you could always try an adjustable to experiment with different levels of aggression to see what works best. With my Slim, I tend to leave it on one setting for the shave, but some people dial it up or down for passes, or even parts of the shave (eg., the neck in your case).
 

Phoenixkh

I shaved a fortune
I don't have a Henson but I do have an AC ESC Claymore Evolution. It's a mild but efficient razor so think that would compare favorably to the Henson as far as face feel.

Do you need something more efficient? I don't know the answer to that but this past couple months I acquired several razors that are a half step up from the Claymore and I'm really enjoying that extra bump of efficiency. I'm guessing, at this point, it would be "want" over "need" since you are already getting great shaves.

Our youngest son is getting me a Merkur Progress for Christmas... though we're celebrating with him and his wife over New Year's due to scheduling issues. I got him a Merkur 38C with a different handle than the one he loves. I haven't used an adjustable yet, though I do have the Pearl Flexi in my testing queue. I'm slowly working my way through the razors I've accumulated this past couple months.

I still haven't figured out my Overlander completely, but I did use a Kai blade in it the other day and that gave me a good shave. The next time I use it, I'm going to go back to a traditional dimension blade like the USA Personna Lab blue or a Wizamet and see if my technique had improved enough that I'll get a successful run.
 
It doesn't hurt to try a R41. Not expensive, easy to find. You'll get the aggressive experience and see if you like it. I can tell you I do.

Sometimes you can replace that 3 passes with 2 more efficient passes. Less passes, less irritation. Works for me.

But I also love mild razors. They all have their place in my rotation.

Oh, a fatip would also work. Cheap and easy.
 
It’s hard to advise because we all seem to experience blades differently. I use Kai blades in all my razors, including the most aggressive ones, because for me Kai blades always feel very smooth and are effective on my stubble. I like Personna Israeli and Lab Blue blades too, but for me they have more ‘bite’ to them than the Kais - a bit more aggression - but still a feel and a level of effectiveness that I enjoy. Most other blades feel a bit harsh to me in comparison, or they don’t cut well enough on my hair. In my opinion people read too much into the idea that Kai blades are a tiny bit wider - I’m not sure it makes a difference, and I definitely do not think you can say shavers in general will find Kai blades more aggressive due to this difference in exposure.

But clearly the OP experiences a different feeling than I do when using Kais, and of course he isn’t the only one.

Somehow the way we perceive smoothness and sharpness must depend a lot on our hair and skin characteristics, and probably also the different pre-shave routines we follow. So I think all you can do is try different blades until you find one that feels good and works well for you. Nobody else’s recommendations are going to help, apart from telling you the names of other blades you could try.
 
The Kai blade is somewhat aggressive, similar to a Feather blade. I like both of 'em fine.

But if the Kai blades were not performing well for you, I would experiment with several different soaps and different razors, before writing off the Kai.
 
To reiterate. I am not looking for other razor brands or models.

I like the Kai much better than the Feather. But I do not like the Kai much. It is, for me, comparable to most of the Personna blades. They are a rough shave. As in, feels rough when cutting through my hair. I find the sensation unpleasant and it leaves jagged uneven "snaggy" stubble. That to me is as irritating as razor burn.
I would rank these blades good to bad: Med Prep, Kai, Israeli and German Red, Lab Blue, Feather. None are on my "keeper" list.
Plus Kai is expensive and not as easy to find.
Wizamet is my preferred blade but there are others that are similar in balancing smoothness and sharpness. Wizamet wins out because I can consistently get 7 great shaves out of one blade. Thus, one blade a week.

Back to my razor question.
The center of my throat from top to bottom and maybe 2 inches on either side is the only area that COULD use a clean up pass after my 3 pass shave. It is still good and short and once my hair dries out is nearly BBS.
I do not clean up though because it is to much for my skin for daily shaving.
The Kai blade gets it pretty close to "clean up short" in my 3 pass. It also leaves rough "snaggy" stubble and my whole face feeling rough and irritated. Add in the sensation of tearing rather than slicing through my hair and, no good for me.
So that got me thinking a little more blade exposure might suit me.
I think maybe I should just stick with the Medium aggression Henson. With Wizamet and similar blades, I can get 90% of BBS every single consecutive day with no irritation or difficulty. That ain't bad. Especially since my thick, course beard is all back and stubbly in a couple hours either way.

Wizamet works for me with this razor. There are some other favorites but none give me the same longevity.
Basically, I bought a ton of different 5 counts of recommended blades and tried at least a couple of each. Then I bought 1000 Wizamet at 16 cents a piece. After using those for awhile I am revisiting all the others with a little more perspective.
When I am done I will post a review and comparisons.
 
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Phoenixkh

I shaved a fortune
To reiterate. I am not looking for other razor brands or models.

I like the Kai much better than the Feather. But I do not like the Kai much. It is, for me, comparable to most of the Personna blades. They are a rough shave. As in, feels rough when cutting through my hair. I find the sensation unpleasant and it leaves jagged uneven "snaggy" stubble. That to me is as irritating as razor burn.
I would rank these blades good to bad: Med Prep, Kai, Israeli and German Red, Lab Blue, Feather. None are on my "keeper" list.
Plus Kai is expensive and not as easy to find.
Wizamet is my preferred blade but there are others that are similar in balancing smoothness and sharpness. Wizamet wins out because I can consistently get 7 great shaves out of one blade. Thus, one blade a week.

Back to my razor question.
The center of my throat from top to bottom and maybe 2 inches on either side is the only area that COULD use a clean up pass after my 3 pass shave. It is still good and short and once my hair dries out is nearly BBS.
I do not clean up though because it is to much for my skin for daily shaving.
The Kai blade gets it pretty close to "clean up short" in my 3 pass. It also leaves rough "snaggy" stubble and my whole face feeling rough and irritated. Add in the sensation of tearing rather than slicing through my hair and, no good for me.
So that got me thinking a little more blade exposure might suit me.
I think maybe I should just stick with the Medium aggression Henson. With Wizamet and similar blades, I can get 90% of BBS every single consecutive day with no irritation or difficulty. That ain't bad. Especially since my thick, course beard is all back and stubbly in a couple hours either way.

Wizamet works for me with this razor. There are some other favorites but none give me the same longevity.
Basically, I bought a ton of different 5 counts of recommended blades and tried at least a couple of each. Then I bought 1000 Wizamet at 16 cents a piece. After using those for awhile I am revisiting all the others with a little more perspective.
When I am done I will post a review and comparisons.
The Wizamets work very well for me as well. I'm using them in all the testing I've been doing with various razors over the past few months. I'm also having good luck with the USA Personna Lab blues but I know this isn't the case with everyone. The Kai seems to work well in my Overlander but I haven't tried it in the razors at the top of the "mild but efficient category. That's where I seem to be at lately. Those razors just a half a step up from my ESC Claymore Evolution AC razor. I used it for over 5 months straight and it's the baseline for any razor I test.

I have a few other DE blades in house that I'll try eventually. I don't have huge quantities of any of them. Once I decide on one or two of my favorites, I'll buy enough for a few years. That isn't totally accurate. I did buy quite a few USA Personna Lab Blue blades because one of my "shaving buddies" here loves them so much and the only way to get the price down was to buy a few packs of 100. I had a good shave with one the other day so that anxiety that comes from buying something unproven personally faded into black, thankfully.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
Kai blades are a wider blade(9/1000 of a inch) then a standard Gillette blade so if folks did not know this they might find them rough because they are use to different blades. I use my Kai blades usually in my milder razors because over time my technique matured & I have concluded I like a little more blade feel.
I have over 100 shaves (2 tucks at 10 shaves per blade or more.) For me to get 10 shaves per blade consistently I have concluded they have to be sharp and the metallurgy properties are superior to other blades( or heat treatment?). Most other blades I'm usually get 5-7 good shaves and then tossed.
It takes a few shaves to dial them in and after that they are a nice blade to work the beard IMO and they just make my milder razors be used more often + enjoyable !
 
To reiterate. I am not looking for other razor brands or models.

I like the Kai much better than the Feather. But I do not like the Kai much. It is, for me, comparable to most of the Personna blades. They are a rough shave. As in, feels rough when cutting through my hair. I find the sensation unpleasant and it leaves jagged uneven "snaggy" stubble. That to me is as irritating as razor burn.
I would rank these blades good to bad: Med Prep, Kai, Israeli and German Red, Lab Blue, Feather. None are on my "keeper" list.
Plus Kai is expensive and not as easy to find.
Wizamet is my preferred blade but there are others that are similar in balancing smoothness and sharpness. Wizamet wins out because I can consistently get 7 great shaves out of one blade. Thus, one blade a week.

Back to my razor question.
The center of my throat from top to bottom and maybe 2 inches on either side is the only area that COULD use a clean up pass after my 3 pass shave. It is still good and short and once my hair dries out is nearly BBS.
I do not clean up though because it is to much for my skin for daily shaving.
The Kai blade gets it pretty close to "clean up short" in my 3 pass. It also leaves rough "snaggy" stubble and my whole face feeling rough and irritated. Add in the sensation of tearing rather than slicing through my hair and, no good for me.
So that got me thinking a little more blade exposure might suit me.
I think maybe I should just stick with the Medium aggression Henson. With Wizamet and similar blades, I can get 90% of BBS every single consecutive day with no irritation or difficulty. That ain't bad. Especially since my thick, course beard is all back and stubbly in a couple hours either way.

Wizamet works for me with this razor. There are some other favorites but none give me the same longevity.
Basically, I bought a ton of different 5 counts of recommended blades and tried at least a couple of each. Then I bought 1000 Wizamet at 16 cents a piece. After using those for awhile I am revisiting all the others with a little more perspective.
When I am done I will post a review and comparisons.
The Henson +++ is about the same gap as the medium with about double the blade exposure. You may like trying it before you go Ti22. I have owned both the ++ and +++ in Ti22. There is only one I kept for something similar to your reasoning. Good luck.
 
Less passes, less irritation.

This right here has been my experience 1000%.

Very mild razors, even with super sharp blades loaded, tend to make me 'push' the shave a little too far.

When I switched up to using more aggro heads I found that I was able get the shave I wanted within 1 to 1.5 passes, no anxious buffing or endless touch-ups needed.

For me, this has resulted in super comfy post-shave feel even when shaving daily.
 
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