GIVEAWAY! Challenge PIF - In The Footsteps Of Legends

[T Bone]

Kai recap (blade #1, 5 shaves): ok, ok, good, excellent, and ok

Feather #1, shave #1
1.5 days growth
Preshave: shower
Cream: Cremo
Razor: Henson Al-13
Aftershave: alum, Nivea sensitive balm

While I'd never used Kai, I've used Feathers twice so far as part of a sampler I bought after the tuck of Astras that came with my Henson ran out. The first was back in September, the second was just before the In The Footsteps Of Legends challenge, and the results were mixed to say the least: 2 very good shaves, 1 outstanding one, and 3 bloodbaths.

This shave started out great. The Feather easily cut through my stubble, gliding across my skin like there was nothing there. I thought this would be the shave I was hoping for with this blade, but it wasn't to be. A couple of weepers XTG on the right jawline, then all over the mustache and chin ATG. Alum feedback was high on the mustache and chin, medium everywhere else. This was shaping up like the second Kai shave (lots of weepers and irritation, but super close shave), but it was even worse. Turned out I had a couple of nicks on my mustache that the alum didn't handle, and there's more rough areas left than after that Kai shave. This is user error no doubt, I can tell the Feather has great potential if I can wield it properly, but this shave was not a good experience.

 

[BigJ]

Kai Blade One, Shave #6

Razor: Wolfman WR1
Brush: Graydog palm wood 2-band
Soap: MWF
AS: La Toja

Rating: 9.5/10! This blade has quite a bit of life ahead!

 

[Mike M]

Feather shave#5

Razor: King C Gillette
Blade: Feather
Soap: MWF
Brush: Yaqi Moka-Express 26mm 2 band badger

Returning to the KCG was definitely the right call for me with both blades. After the previous shave with this blade I decided I needed to go back to something less aggressive to make it work. The Kai is happy no matter what razor I stick it in and, at least in the early stages bangs out consistent BBS shaves, the Feather seems a bit more finicky.
The first pass WTG went well again reducing the stubble and not causing any irritation. Passes 2 XTG and 3 ATG were better than with the Rockwell, however it seems that either side of my neck is a little rough with the Feather no matter how I change the angle, I am starting to wonder what I am doing wrong. The Kai has so far had no such problems and despite the fact that I have had my fifth shave with a Feather, the first time I have ever had 5 shaves from one. It's not that I'm surprised I have reached this number with this blade, well OK I am, but it is nice to get the chance to give this blade another chance thanks to @Grundi @AnimalCatcher and @Space_Cadet

 

[gvw755]

Shave 4 with the Feather blade. Tonight was the feather's turn to show me what it could do in the Karve Outlander.

WTG pass went exceptionally well. I easily found the angles I was fooling around with last night, although I also found that with the Feather blade, I was able to ride the cap a little more than last night. that put me in my comfort zone. ATG pass went well also being very smooth and efficient. I did find that there was a little more touch up to do after the ATG pass, but not enough to lather up for an XTG pass. Again, another two pass BBS.

Since I haven't loaded the blades in a vintage razor yet, tomorrow, the Kai blade is loaded in my Knockout razor, one of my best shaving vintage.

 

[Grundi]

KAI Blade #1 - Shave #8

Equipment: Merkur 20C, Legendary KAI (8), PdP Bergamot & Thyme

The Results: Shave #8 was definitely a repeat of Shave #7, which was a near repeat of Shave #6. These last 3 shaves have been consistent, smooth, close, with just a hint of tugginess, but not even close to giving up. PdP Bergamot & Thyme performance, thick and slick, may be aiding this blade's longevity. Generally speaking, I'm only able to get 4 - 6 shaves from a decent blade, and this KAI is impressive.

 

[Chard52142]

Wed 8 Feather vs Kai Challenge Rd 4 with the RR SLOC
KAI Blade #1 Shave #4
After 4 rounds with 4 different razors, the KAI blade won from 2nd onwards.
Soap Henri et Victoria Cognac & Cuban Cigars
Brush Spiffo 28mm Manchurian
Razor RazoRock SLOC
Blade KAI Stainless 4th
Aftershaves Stirling Witchhazel MitA + HeV-CCC Balm
The soap scent just stands out! So aromatic...whereas the lather is just acceptable...
A slightly better shave with the razor and blade combination compared to yesterday. Reasonably smooth in 3passes for a slight efficiency edge. In this razor, both the feather & kai blade on the 4th use felt noticeably less efficient & comfortable...strange...
The matching aftershave balm was just awesome!!

 

[cwright]

Kai #1 Shave 2
RR BBS AS, Stirling soap, Proraso Red pre shave, Captains Choice Bay Rum, Stirling Splash, Stirling Balm.
Another excellent no drama BBS 3 pass shave. Very comfortable especially in my problem areas. Kai 2nd use closer and more comfortable than the Feather.

 

[Balthier]

Blade: Kai #1 shave 3
Razor: Razorock SLOC
Brush: Turn 'n shave Ghost
Soap: Blackship Grooming Cap'n Darkside
Aftershave: Stirling Campania
Nice increased efficiency on the SLOC. A little tuggy for my liking compared to gliding with the feather. Was smooth enough and a little less intimidating on multiple shaves compared to feather which seems to go downhill fast.

 

[bartje-p]

Feather blade 1, shave #3 (8 dec)
Gillette Rocket HD 500 UK, 1956
Truefitt & Hill Apsley shaving cream
Omega boar brush 10049
2 passes (with touch ups if needed)

Third shave with this blade. To be short: nowhere near as comfortable as the first 2 shaves with this blade. Quite some sting with the old spice aftershave, and I can still feel some light stubble here and there. This is not my definition of a nice shave at all.

Conclusion: uncomfortable 3rd shave with this blade, too much sting and 1 little dot of blood (and some redness) in my neck. Blade binned. So actually 2 comfortable shaves with the Feather blade. And that is sub par in my opinion.

Will continue with the Kai blade. Once that is done too, will do a new comparison between the two.

 

[Grundi]

KAI Blade #1 - Shave #9

Equipment: Merkur 20C, Legendary KAI (9), PdP Bergamot & Thyme

The Results: Shave #9?!? For me, when a blade gives me more than 6 shaves, it's an amazing blade! Shave #9 was a slight step down in performance, still very good and better than many of the middle-of-the-pack blades, and the results were a DFS shave. I did need to go over a couple of problem spots a couple of times. I love PdP soap and the PdP Bergamot & Thyme is giving me thick and slick lather, and plenty of it.

Longevity: I'm going to shave with the KAI one more time and then bin the blade. It definitely has at least 1 more shave, and 10 shaves in an excellent milestone for any blade I use.

 

[fast shaver]

Kai Blade #1 Shave #9
Tools: Ikon Tek Razor & #63 Soap
Got a nice two pass shave with touch up this A.M.
The Kai is holding up good so far.

 

[BigJ]

Kai Blade One, Shave #7

Razor: Wolfman WR1
Brush: Shavemac beagle 2-band (bulb)
Soap: Fine santal absolut
AS: Floid vigoroso

Rating: 9/10. Lots of life left in this blade!!

 

[Seelector]

Kai Blade #1 Shave #3
Razor: Karve CB with safety bar B plate
Brush: Omega boar
Soap: Bartigan and Stark Timberyard
ASB: Henri et Victoria unscented balm

I stepped down from open comb to safety bar on the Karve because I was feeling some irritation with the last shave. This definitely helped and gave me a 10/10 BBS shave! Smooth and sharp with no irritation. I did my standard 3-pass and this blade is still going strong with no sign of getting dull.

I usually do 3 shaves max per blade, so I’m going to switch to Feather for my next shave. I’m going to save this Kai and come back to it later on though.

 

[Ted A]

Kai Blade #1, Shave #2

I was in not sufficiently awake this morning and got two tiny wounds. They closed up between the second and third pass though. This razor and blade combination has given me a nice close shave both days.

Razor: Rockwell 6C, R3
Blade: Legendary Kai (2)
Brush: Cremo horsehair
Lather: Mama Bears Christmas Forest
Balm: Proraso White
Aftershave: Bootleggers Bay Rum

 

[slimshavy]

Kai, Blade Two, Shave One
Gillette Super Speed Red Tip

First try at taming the Kai in a milder razor worked well. My experience from the first Kai told me that it starts out tuggy to trick you into thinking it's going to be a dull blade and then it sharpens up abruptly. So I treated it like a sharp blade out of the gate.

I tried to ride the cap and I suppose I did. As a contrast, when I shave with a shallow angle in my Old Type, it's quite an adjustment from my usual steep angle. For the Red Tip, you can only adjust the angle a little bit; it just won't shave if you go too shallow or too steep.

I had seamless WTG and XTG passes. ATG was mostly uneventful as well. Cautious detail work and buffing in mustache and soul patch and then repeated cleanup passes on the chin and jaw (spots the Red Tip struggles to get BBS). Finished with a few tiny surface nicks that healed quickly, some irritation but mostly a comfortable BBS.

Despite my good results, I feel like I've picked the wrong tool for the job I've assigned it. The Red Tip is a beautiful machine for giving a fast, enjoyable DFS shave. Sure, I can make it do all this detail work and force its fat head into sharp places on my face, but it kind of feels beneath it. Similarly, putting restraints on the Kai is probably a good idea, but I can feel it crying out when I shave my jaw to free it from those restraints.

In short, I'm using my skill to bend both against their natures. Even when I succeed, I feel a little funny.

 

[lancre]

Feather Blade - Edge #2 - Shave #1

Equipment:
Razor: Gillette Rocket HD
Blade: Legendary Feather
Soaps: Stirling Scot's Pine Sheep
Brushes: Jayaruh #401 synth

The Results:

DFS+. Definitely rougher than with the Winning. Overall, a close, comfortable shave with no real drama. I did get one weeper high on my right cheek. Since Feathers, like many other blades, tend to improve after the first shave, I'm waiting to see what tomorrow's shave brings.

 

[RenoRichard]

Wednesday 12/8, three and 1/2 passes, BBS, a great shave with no problems.

Comments: My third use of the Kai; this time used in the Maxwell June twinned DE. Once loaded into the Maxwell June, which process snaps the blade in half, it will stay there for the rest of my testing of this blade.

The Kai has held up very well for the 11 passes so far on the blade with no appreciable loss of sharpness. From the start there has been more blade feel with the Kai than with the Feather blade. Each of my passes do represent multiple strokes. One of things I look for in soaps is the residual slickness that let's you continue to shave comfortably beyond the initial lather removal.

Initially, I thought the greater blade feel might be some tugging, but as I've used the Kai blade more, it is shaving close without any skipping or grabbing. So I suppose the best way to describe what I've felt, is that the Kai just has more "blade presence" in use. Also the Kai is a tad more audible when mowing down the whiskers. For reference, I get a similar blade feel from Personna Med Preps that I've used on and off for years.

On a scale of 10 being best, the Kai today was:

Smoothness: 9-
Sharpness: 9
Longevity: 9+, in comparison this Kai is easily outlasting the Feather, which was spent for me before 11 passes

Pre-shave: shower w/ goat's milk soap, and applied the bloom water from the soap to my face before lathering
Razor: Maxwell June twinned DE
Blade: Kai (3)
Soap: RR XXX- a very good softer soap with a very nice scent
Brush: Simpson Commodore X2 in Best- this brush is the closest to pure badger in a Simpson's best that I've had, it's breaking in nicely and makes an excellent lather
Post-shave: cool rinse, and then a nice splash of RR XXX AS, my face feels really nice

Have some great shaves!

 

[Demolition]

Fifth shave with the Legendary Feather Hi-Stainless blade #1

Razor: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Omega 10005 Boar
Soap: Pré de Provence No. 63

There was neither an improvement or a decline in performance over the previous shave. The FOCS/Feather duo is still providing an above average shave, but some minor issues remain.

The WTG and ATG passes are still fairly close and the comfort level is reasonable. The XTG pass is still exhibiting some slight roughness. Blade-feel is very pronounced, but not to the point of discomfort.

My skin is still a bit sensitive, though, which makes me wonder if it's due to some other factor (i.e. a reaction to the coating, etc.). Whatever the case, the performance is still satisfactory, so I'll continue to use this blade until the shave quality drops again.

As an aside, I received a nice, slick lather from the Omega 10005/PdP No. 63 pairing. The lather was definitely not part of today's problems.

 

[gvw755]

Shave 5 with the Kai blade. Tonight it was loaded in my vintage Knockout razor, which is the strangest design, but always gives me a great shave.

WTG pass went very well with no blade feel. After the pass though, I noticed that there was some stubble left over. ATG pass went better, but still not as clean as with the past razors. I had to finish with an XTG pass along the jaw line and under the chin to achieve my usual BBS. I am believing that it could be something as easy as this vintage razor preferring stiffer blades , or it could be that the Kai is beginning to fade. After all, it is nearing the time when a lot of blades start to lose sharpness (6-9 shaves). We shall see.

The Feather blade is loaded in the Knockout for tomorrow night.

 

[Mike M]

Kai shave#6

Razor: King C Gillette
Blade: Kai
Soap: Tabac
Brush: Yaqi Black Ferrari

Tonight I went for Tabac, as a soap I find it gives a good, thick, slick lather that gives very enjoyable shaves. The 'old ladies handbag" smell is the only thing that detracts from it and makes me use it probably less than I should.
I know the KCG razor is too mild for many, but I am loving it with these sharp blades.
Tonight's first pass WTG was like there was barely a blade loaded. I enjoy shaves like these, it just seems so effortless. The second XTG pass and third ATG pass were also effortless helped by the slickness of Tabac. However for the first time I didn't get a BBS with this blade, the sides of my neck were slightly rough, although not as rough as with the Feather. This is the first sign of a slowdown, but the blade is still performing and there is no reason to bin it yet, I should be able to get at least the same number of shaves again.

Tomorrow Feather