Artists' Club

DocHoliday0831 · Feb 9, 2018

I seem to be getting the best results with the Feather Pro. Kai titan pink milds are second.

Viseguy · Feb 9, 2018

Tokyospike said:
Welcome aboard George @Peter's coin! Yes, the Pro Super will definitely give you some extra exposure!

Pro Supers are my favorites. I find them more forgiving than Pros, and more like a traditional straight than any of the other blades. (They're thicker as well as wider than other Artist Club blades.)

Peter's coin · Feb 9, 2018

Liked the Pro Super today in my Black Hawk V2. Fantastic shave and post-shave feel. The blade dials up the V2 in effectiveness. I posted elsewhere that the V2 seems slower across the face with the Pro Super, I guess because with the extra blade exposure I ride the cap more and the aluminum V2’s particular finish creates friction. One day I hope to try he AC in a slick stainless or brass razor.

mjclark · Feb 13, 2018

Another excellent shave with a Dorco AC blade in the Kai Captain:

I sometimes feel like I SHOULD prefer the Feather DX because it is so substantial and has such a formidable reputation but actually the Kai Captain is my favourite - I find it more manouverable and feels better in my hands.

Viseguy · Feb 13, 2018

mjclark said:
I sometimes feel like I SHOULD prefer the Feather DX because it is so substantial and has such a formidable reputation but actually the Kai Captain is my favourite - I find it more manouverable and feels better in my hands.

Same for me as between the DX and the Kai Captain Excelia (kamisori-style in both cases). Although... I had a great shave from the DX the other night; it's undoubtedly a first-class razor.

I'm excited because my Feather Pro Guard and Kai Captain ProTouch MG blade sampler arrived today from tryablade.com. I think my opening gambit will be the Pro Guard in my ATT SE2 (v1). I've been shying away from the SE2 lately unless I have several days' growth -- it's quite aggressive with a Feather Pro Super or even a Schick Proline, so I'm thinking that the Pro Guard may help "tame" it for more routine use. My fear is that the guard will make the blade feel dull, which I find frustrating. I'd rather feel the blade big-time and use fewer strokes, because fewer strokes = less irritation. BUT ... my mind is wide open. We shall see.....

Dngolden · Feb 14, 2018

Viseguy said:
I'm excited because my Feather Pro Guard and Kai Captain ProTouch MG blade sampler arrived today from tryablade.com. ....

The A/C style blades are really different from each other - not just in grind and sharpness like DE blades, but actual exposure, stiffness, and even some with guards. So YMMV really applies here. Thus, I'd really encourage the tyrablade suggestion. That being said, here is one person's opinion (and one with a fairly course, dense, quick growing facial hair). I’ve used all of these in SE safety razors and a Feather kamisori SS

1. Feather Pro-guards. A great starting place for those new two traditional shaving or who want to try the blades in a shavette. The blades really do offer significant protection. When I was learning to use a shavette, there were dozens of times I thought I cut myself, but didn't with these. That being said, I found it hard to get a super close shave and find them less smooth because of the guards.

Kai Milds (pink). Taking a different approach than the pro guards, the milds are more forgiving because they are not as wide and offer less bade exposure. Smooth and forgiving, but I find they do not shave close enough with my course beard

Feather Pros/Kai regular. There is very little difference between these blades. Fairly smooth, very sharp, but not insanely aggressive. A great choice for most beards

Schick Pro-Line. The same or similar dimensions as the Feather Pro/Kai but a bit smoother. These have become my go-to blade for everyday use. Note that are little hard to get out of the Atlas SE-1, but they do work.

Feather Super Pros. My favorite blade for the shavette and they turn up the aggressiveness of any SE by a notch or two. They are a tad wider and thicker than normal and thus increase blade exposure. Incredibly smooth, particularly when cutting through a few days of grown. They work best in razors that allow for very shallow angles. If you have a course beard, you should try these. I always have some on hand.

Kai Sharps. I can find no info an what makes these different than the regular Kai AC blades. But they do feel sharper and absolute glide through a course beard.

mjclark · Feb 14, 2018

Dngolden said:
The A/C style blades are really different from each other - not just in grind and sharpness like DE blades, but actual exposure, stiffness, and even some with guards. So YMMV really applies here. Thus, I'd really encourage the tyrablade suggestion. That being said, here is one person's opinion (and one with a fairly course, dense, quick growing facial hair). I’ve used all of these in SE safety razors and a Feather kamisori SS

1. Feather Pro-guards. A great starting place for those new two traditional shaving or who want to try the blades in a shavette. The blades really do offer significant protection. When I was learning to use a shavette, there were dozens of times I thought I cut myself, but didn't with these. That being said, I found it hard to get a super close shave and find them less smooth because of the guards.

Kai Milds (pink). Taking a different approach than the pro guards, the milds are more forgiving because they are not as wide and offer less bade exposure. Smooth and forgiving, but I find they do not shave close enough with my course beard

Feather Pros/Kai regular. There is very little difference between these blades. Fairly smooth, very sharp, but not insanely aggressive. A great choice for most beards

Schick Pro-Line. The same or similar dimensions as the Feather Pro/Kai but a bit smoother. These have become my go-to blade for everyday use. Note that are little hard to get out of the Atlas SE-1, but they do work.

Feather Super Pros. My favorite blade for the shavette and they turn up the aggressiveness of any SE by a notch or two. They are a tad wider and thicker than normal and thus increase blade exposure. Incredibly smooth, particularly when cutting through a few days of grown. They work best in razors that allow for very shallow angles. If you have a course beard, you should try these. I always have some on hand.

Kai Sharps. I can find no info an what makes these different than the regular Kai AC blades. But they do feel sharper and absolute glide through a course beard.

Very useful comparisons.
But I’m pretty sure the Kai Milds are the same width as the Feather Pros, a standard 8.00mm
“Mild” here means smooth rather than less aggressive and the Mild blades show the same exposure as the Feather Pros.

Chan Eil Whiskers · Feb 14, 2018

Dngolden said:
The A/C style blades are really different from each other - not just in grind and sharpness like DE blades, but actual exposure, stiffness, and even some with guards. So YMMV really applies here. Thus, I'd really encourage the tyrablade suggestion. That being said, here is one person's opinion (and one with a fairly course, dense, quick growing facial hair). I’ve used all of these in SE safety razors and a Feather kamisori SS

1. Feather Pro-guards. A great starting place for those new two traditional shaving or who want to try the blades in a shavette. The blades really do offer significant protection. When I was learning to use a shavette, there were dozens of times I thought I cut myself, but didn't with these. That being said, I found it hard to get a super close shave and find them less smooth because of the guards.

Kai Milds (pink). Taking a different approach than the pro guards, the milds are more forgiving because they are not as wide and offer less bade exposure. Smooth and forgiving, but I find they do not shave close enough with my course beard

Feather Pros/Kai regular. There is very little difference between these blades. Fairly smooth, very sharp, but not insanely aggressive. A great choice for most beards

Schick Pro-Line. The same or similar dimensions as the Feather Pro/Kai but a bit smoother. These have become my go-to blade for everyday use. Note that are little hard to get out of the Atlas SE-1, but they do work.

Feather Super Pros. My favorite blade for the shavette and they turn up the aggressiveness of any SE by a notch or two. They are a tad wider and thicker than normal and thus increase blade exposure. Incredibly smooth, particularly when cutting through a few days of grown. They work best in razors that allow for very shallow angles. If you have a course beard, you should try these. I always have some on hand.

Kai Sharps. I can find no info an what makes these different than the regular Kai AC blades. But they do feel sharper and absolute glide through a course beard.

Very useful review. Much appreciated.

Happy shaves,

Jim

Viseguy · Feb 14, 2018

Dngolden said:
... here is one person's opinion (and one with a fairly course, dense, quick growing facial hair). I’ve used all of these in SE safety razors and a Feather kamisori SS ...

Thanks, and these generally track my own impressions with regard to the AC blades I've tried (Pro, Pro Super, Mild, Proline).

Last night I had shave #1 with the Pro Guard in the SE2. I was duly impressed, though the shave was probably atypical as it threw off a profusion of weepers that I find sometimes occurs with a fresh AC blade. With guard or without, these puppies are sharp! The Pro Guard definitely felt sharp, but also somehow protective, no doubt due to the guards. I'll have a better idea of how it performs after I get a few shaves in.

Tokyospike · Feb 14, 2018

I am seriously considering getting a KAI Captain. Reasonable or not, I think it might be a version of a straight razor I could actually learn from . . .

Viseguy · Feb 14, 2018

Speaking of blade width and thickness, I made this reference chart, using information from this catalogue on the Feather website:

Viseguy · Feb 15, 2018

This morning I moved the Pro Guard with one shave on it to the Ikon MR-SE. Two passes easily brought me to CCS, and with a few added strokes with a Pro Super in the Excelia, DFS. Tentative conclusion: Pro Guard in a reasonably tame razor = carefree shave, at some cost in closeness. A trade-off for sure, but a welcome arrow in the quiver. A single pass would easily yield a(n) SAS. On to the Kai Captain ProTouch MG!

Tokyospike · Feb 16, 2018

Viseguy said:
welcome arrow in the quiver

I like your way of thinking. Also, thanks for the chart!

Fenwayfan77 · Feb 16, 2018

I really don’t find the guarded blades limit “closeness” or reduce efficiency. To me, they simply smooth out the shave, making it less likely that small nicks/weepers show up. Big ol’ fan of the Kai Captain Protouch MG’s for this reason.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Dngolden · Feb 16, 2018

Viseguy said:
Speaking of blade width and thickness, I made this reference chart, using information from this catalogue on the Feather website:

Thanks for the chart. I never realized the fairly significant difference in exposure on the DX (which I don't have) v the SS. I wonder if the pro's in a DX feel like the Supers in an SS

Viseguy · Feb 16, 2018

Dngolden said:
... I never realized the fairly significant difference in exposure on the DX (which I don't have) v the SS. I wonder if the pro's in a DX feel like the Supers in an SS

I can't directly answer your question, but I've used Pro Supers in both the SS and the DX, and the DX is somewhat more efficient. I wasn't aware of the blade-exposure difference between the SS and the DX until I put together that chart.