Best disposable SE for head shaving

[Seraphim]

My suitcase made it to Osaka three days after I did, so I had to improvise until my dopp kit showed up....

Gatsby shave gel (made by MANDOM corp...)
MG5--awesome Japanese AS splash
And a wild card pick: a pack of 10 disposable KAI single edge razors, 258yen ($3.48)

The razor looks extremely dodgey- the body is stamped metal of some sort, really not inspiring confidence....(I also picked up a pack of Schick Extreme 3's as backup....)

Lathered up....er, smeared up my head with the Gatsby gel in the shower and had at the Dome with the KAI.....Hmmm, feels pretty good, real good actually. I finished up side one WTG, then did the other side with the Schick as a comparison: not nearly as nice, felt alot more scratchy. So, I abandoned the Schick and got down to seeing what this KAI cheapo was all about.

I must say it felt really very smooth on the head. I wasn't so jazzed shaving my face with it for some reason, but up top it gave me the best headshave of any razor yet. Less passes, much improved comfort, zero weepers or irritation. Held up well to seek and destroy BBS buffing missions as well.

I think the secret of this little gem is twofold: number one is that it is just a single blade, just how we like it around these parts....

Also of note: The body is stamped metal, but the blade is precision molded into a plastic unit which is clamped into the metal handle.

Secondly is that it seems to have an extremely low angle of incidence. The blade can lay almost flat against your face as you are shaving

I think the low angle is of particular significance.

In summary:
Incredibly surprising find! Don't judge a book by it's cover!

 

[HoosierTrooper]

Interesting. That design is very similar to the Wilkinson Bonded system from the 70's, which I find to be outstanding.

 

[sychodelix]

In general Kai makes pretty good stuff. Looks like an awesome travel razor. I want!

 

[JDTTO]

I love the simplicity of the handle.

Unfortunately things for the japanese market have a bit of a difficulty to find it's way to Europe and the US. Maybe WCS is willing to cary it as they do with the Gillette Guard.

Just looked around on the web but no luck.

I did find this:
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/261082-Review-Kai-Gold-S-disposable

http://badgerandblade.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=86014&title=-kai-gold-s-stainless&cat=44

 

[Member357]

Interesting! I've seen those a lot here but never fancied trying them out. Might have to pick some up now purely on the basis of your review (plus I like buying myself new stuff from time to time!)

How many shaves do you think you could get out of one blade?

 

[burntraven]

Interesting. That design is very similar to the Wilkinson Bonded system from the 70's, which I find to be outstanding.

+1
Really interesting in how long these last you. Neat little razor

 

[tomjr]

very interesting little razor. i wonder if they are available in the U S.

 

[Seraphim]

Interesting! I've seen those a lot here but never fancied trying them out. Might have to pick some up now purely on the basis of your review (plus I like buying myself new stuff from time to time!)

How many shaves do you think you could get out of one blade?

C'mon, you got 258 yen jangling around in your pocket right now. Go down to the local supermarket, get a Sapporo beer and a pack of KAIs. Your head will be loving you.


My suitcase and Futur showed up yesterday, but the shave was alot more work and effort with the Futur than the KAI. Tomorrow I'm back with the KAI.

 

[Member357]

C'mon, you got 258 yen jangling around in your pocket right now. Go down to the local supermarket, get a Sapporo beer and a pack of KAIs. Your head will be loving you.


My suitcase and Futur showed up yesterday, but the shave was alot more work and effort with the Futur than the KAI. Tomorrow I'm back with the KAI.

Already bought a pack (248 yen!) and tried it last night. Even with Headslick (which i'm really not a fan of) it gave an ultra smooth shave. I'll be interested in how many shaves I get out of it. I hadn't realised quite how small and light it was, but it works fantastically well (I only did head with it)

 

[Seraphim]

Already bought a pack (248 yen!) and tried it last night. Even with Headslick (which i'm really not a fan of) it gave an ultra smooth shave. I'll be interested in how many shaves I get out of it. I hadn't realised quite how small and light it was, but it works fantastically well (I only did head with it)

10 yen change? Dude, don't spend it all in one place!


I've used it for 3 shaves so far, no issues. I would imagine a standard DE lifetime of 5-6 shaves is what we'll get out of these.

I'm also starting to like the small grip for headshaving with these, you have some different flexibility of how to hold it.

Used it with Gatsby shave gel:nice,

tried it with I Colonial shave soap:nice.

Did a comparrison shave with my Futur this morning, and the KAI Gold won easily.



I'm filling up my suitcase with these before heading back to Boston next week....

 

[Seraphim]

After 3 shaves (head and face) it seemed to be cutting as smooth as usual, but the BBS didn't last as long. So, I gave a new one a go this morning.

The odd thing was that I got a few weepers, and it didn't feel as awesome as the first one. Gave me a really close shave, but caused some damage as well.

Hmmm....

Upon closer inspection after the shave I saw that the plastic insert was a bit cockeyed in the metal holder, which was likely the cause of it's blood thirstiness. I'll try it again tomorrow to see if my theory holds water.

 

[Seraphim]

Hi Guys.

Perhaps I haven't properly introduced myself. I'm Seraphim, and I like to screw around with shave related stuff. Mostly that has taken the form of straight razor mods as seen here.

However, why limit myself?

This KAI disposable is about as cheap as they get, right? 25 yen a piece (about 35 cents), use it and throw it out, right?


Oh no, it's not as cheap as they get.....I am as cheap as they get!

Combine a thrifty yet disturbed mind, jet lag, some spare DE blades and a Leatherman Skeletool (don't leave home without it!) and you get the following monstrosity:




The Feather loaded KAI reusable!

Oh, the humanity!

KAI is known for some well respected blades around the forum, but the pinnacle of sharpness is usually reserved for Feather, is it not? So I removed the KAI no-name blade, removed the mounting nub from the plastic holder (I utilized the removed KAI blade for this surgery...), then snipped off the unneeded tabs from a halved Feather DE blade, and popped it in there. Snug as can be.

As I said in my OP, the beauty of this razor is the extreme low angle of attack the blade has. Now I'll also be able to experiment with different kinds of blades in there! I have a bunch of halved Sharks I got with a Parker shavette that are gathering dust in my medicine cabinet (the Parker was confiscated at the airport in my carry-on stuff), now they have new purpose! Not to mention the 100 pack of Sharks I recently purchased at 16 cents a piece (WCS). Since I'll get two blades each by snapping them in half, that's down to 8 cents a piece....That 35 cent disposable razor now seems like highway robbery!

I may eat crow tomorrow morning if I peel off the top of my scalp with this dastardly KAI/Feather abomination. Or I may bask in the glory of pseudo-injector-esque innovation, my bald dome glowing with the closest BBS in the Far East...


In the meantime, here's a pic of my razor surgery, and a couple pics showing how small this little beauty really is.

 

[Slash McCoy]

What is needed here is a non-disposable handle to slip on and lock onto the little guy. Something with some length and heft and that is a little head-heavy to give good balance to the whole assembly.

 

[Seraphim]

What is needed here is a non-disposable handle to slip on and lock onto the little guy. Something with some length and heft and that is a little head-heavy to give good balance to the whole assembly.

I'm working on it....

This worked for a Sensor handle. I'll make one for the KAI next, when I get back to my dungeon of doom.

 

[Slash McCoy]

After 3 shaves (head and face) it seemed to be cutting as smooth as usual, but the BBS didn't last as long. So, I gave a new one a go this morning.

The odd thing was that I got a few weepers, and it didn't feel as awesome as the first one. Gave me a really close shave, but caused some damage as well.

Hmmm....

Upon closer inspection after the shave I saw that the plastic insert was a bit cockeyed in the metal holder, which was likely the cause of it's blood thirstiness. I'll try it again tomorrow to see if my theory holds water.

It's a slant. They are known to be more aggro.

 

[Member357]

Second shave for me was a bloodbath. More cuts than I've had in total in 17+ years of shaving. SWMBO was a little shocked when I emerged from the shower looking like an animal had chewed on my head.

 

[Arved]

What is needed here is a non-disposable handle to slip on and lock onto the little guy. Something with some length and heft and that is a little head-heavy to give good balance to the whole assembly.

Something with enough heft to let the head do the cutting (I don't see how that's possible with the KAI that started this thread), yet small enough to maneuver around the ears and under the nose. I think Seraphim might be on to something, but I can't help but think that knurling would improve that design. Heck, I'm even finding my Progress to be a bit slippery in my hands lately.

But to do all this for a razor who's blades aren't available in the US seems to be madness. Breaking a DE blade and inserting it into a holder (that's also non-existent on this side of the Pacific Rim) doesn't seem like a wise thing, either. How about one of the Feather "No Sharpen" single edge blades? Maybe draw up a plastic holder in Google Sketchup and have it 3D printed at Shapeways?

 

[Seraphim]

Second shave for me was a bloodbath. More cuts than I've had in total in 17+ years of shaving. SWMBO was a little shocked when I emerged from the shower looking like an animal had chewed on my head.

Check the head of the razor that it isn't cockeyed like mine was...

 

[Member357]

Check the head of the razor that it isn't cockeyed like mine was...

I checked that before and after after seeing your post. That wasn't the problem.

 

[Seraphim]

Hi Guys.

Perhaps I haven't properly introduced myself. I'm Seraphim, and I like to screw around with shave related stuff. Mostly that has taken the form of straight razor mods as seen here.

However, why limit myself?

This KAI disposable is about as cheap as they get, right? 25 yen a piece (about 35 cents), use it and throw it out, right?


Oh no, it's not as cheap as they get.....I am as cheap as they get!

Combine a thrifty yet disturbed mind, jet lag, some spare DE blades and a Leatherman Skeletool (don't leave home without it!) and you get the following monstrosity:




The Feather loaded KAI reusable!

Oh, the humanity!

KAI is known for some well respected blades around the forum, but the pinnacle of sharpness is usually reserved for Feather, is it not? So I removed the KAI no-name blade, removed the mounting nub from the plastic holder (I utilized the removed KAI blade for this surgery...), then snipped off the unneeded tabs from a halved Feather DE blade, and popped it in there. Snug as can be.

As I said in my OP, the beauty of this razor is the extreme low angle of attack the blade has. Now I'll also be able to experiment with different kinds of blades in there! I have a bunch of halved Sharks I got with a Parker shavette that are gathering dust in my medicine cabinet (the Parker was confiscated at the airport in my carry-on stuff), now they have new purpose! Not to mention the 100 pack of Sharks I recently purchased at 16 cents a piece (WCS). Since I'll get two blades each by snapping them in half, that's down to 8 cents a piece....That 35 cent disposable razor now seems like highway robbery!

I may eat crow tomorrow morning if I peel off the top of my scalp with this dastardly KAI/Feather abomination. Or I may bask in the glory of pseudo-injector-esque innovation, my bald dome glowing with the closest BBS in the Far East...


In the meantime, here's a pic of my razor surgery, and a couple pics showing how small this little beauty really is.

I'll give the Feather loaded KAI a "meh" as far as a review goes. Felt a bit scritchy. I went back to the regular KAI to finish up. I may try a halved Shark if I feel like it tomorrow.