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Feather blade 1; shave 2

Razor: EJ DE89
Soap: WSP Barbershop

Today was a terrible shave! Several weepers and my neck is irritated and red. I'm surprised for several reasons--the first shave with this blade was great, but maybe the thicker stubble wore it down faster than normal? Even the setup is the same that I've used for all the Kai and previous Feather shaves.

Despite Feather winning on first impressions, I will be tossing that blade early and round 1 goes to Kai.
 
KAI Blade #1 - Shave #3

Equipment:
Merkur 20C, Legendary KAI (3), WCS Duck Fat Cologne Soap

The Results: Shave #3 was another smooth and close shave, DFS+, but without the weepers. So far, for me, the Blade has been consistent, with each same very similar. I didn't scoop enough soap from the WCS Duck Fat sample, so the lather was a bit thin, however, it did not affect my shave.

Shave #3: Although the KAI is performing at an excellent, consistent level, Shave #3 goes to the Feather. I had a wow shave with the Feather (it did require 2 shaves to get there).

Longevity: I pushed...pushed...the Feather Blade to 6 shaves, but this KAI blade isn't showing any signs of slowing down. Even though I'm only 3 shaves in for the KAI, it's tracking very similar to the KAI Blades I used in the other PIF.
 
Feather #1, Shave #3

Razor: Rockwell 6C plate 3
Blade: Feather (3)
Brush: Omega 10049
Bowl: Captain’s Choice Copper
Lather: Cooper & French Santa’s Workshop
Aftershave: Bootlegger’s Lime Bay Rum
Balm: Cooper & French Santa’s Workshop

It seems as if on the 3rd shave the sharpness is falling off. Given all of the 2 shaves and done comments I’ve read, I’m not sure whether the Feather is really losing sharpness or if what I think is being influenced by what I’ve read. I’ll give it another try tomorrow.
 
Feather: Blade Two, Shave One
Gillette Super Speed Red Tip

On to the second Feather, which I've put in a milder shave than my Old Type to tame it a bit. Or, depending on how you look at it, to make the Red Tip shave a little closer. And it worked! Had an impressively smooth three-pass shave. Just rubbed my hand across the residual slickness to feel the BBS. Felt so nice, and barely any feedback from the aftershave splash, which is unusual for a Feather.

I did four passes in the mustache area, and could tell I was risking weepers by continuing, but I took the risk. I got a couple tiny nicks in my upper mustache that nevertheless bled for awhile. It's a bit of an adjustment moving from a small Old Type head to a fat Super Speed, so I'll chalk it up to that. I had maybe a couple nicks elsewhere during the course of the shave that closed up almost immediately.

A few hours later, the stubble has started to return along the corner of my jawline, behind below my ears. I didn't give special attention to this area, but the jawline is a spot the Red Tip has struggled to get BBS for me in the past. I'll hit it harder next shave. Also, the stubble is just starting to break through under my lip, which I expected. Few blade/razor combos allow me to really attack this area without a lot of cuts. BBS for a few hours is a decent tradeoff.

In all, a great shave, smoother than any I got with the Old Type. Jury's out on longevity, whether I make it through the work day tomorrow without needing a touchup.
 
Kai edge 1 shave 3. Wilkinson Sword Classic (plastic) razor, Captain's Choice Venture soap, YaQi Sagrada Familia 24mm Tuxedo.

This is what shaving should be about. It wasn't the perfect shave, there was a little roughness in places, but this was definitely the pick of the shaves from this particular set. And it feels like this edge still has more to give, unless the Feather that was checking out at this stage.

It would be the Kai's turn again next in any case, I think I'm just going to keep it going until it's had enough.
 
Kai Stainless, Blade 1, First use
  • Razor: No idea, some kind of EJ clone I would guess. I got it from a mystery box.
  • Brush: Same as above. It has markings on the handle that are mostly worn off. It's an older brush that has been weighted and has a new knot.
  • Lather: Stirling Gentleman
  • After shave: Stirling Gentleman
I've never used several of the items for this shave, including the razor and blade. I thought it would be a great test of whether or not I was able to use the blade effectively by using tools that I haven't before. I could be thinking about this the wrong way but I figured it would make it too easy for the blade to slide past even if it wasn't all that great if I was too comfortable.

That said, I had an excellent three pass shave that ended up as BBS-. The reason for it not being a full BBS is because I didn't want to push it too far so I have a tiny bit of stubble in one area. It actually did a really great job of dealing with my trouble spots with minimal effort, much less so than I usually need to with most other blades. The proof of it being a great shave was shaving last night and waking up this morning touched my face and it was still very smooth.

I'm planning to switch off blades, shave with one and then the other for the next shave. I think this will give me the best opportunity to really compare them shave by shave. That means next shave will be with a feather blade which I have not yet had a good shave with.

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Kai Blade One, Shave #1

Razor:
Wolfman WR1 SB
Brush: Simpsons classic 2 best badger
Soap: Fine platinum
AS: Fine Platinum

Rating: 9.5/10.

Discussion: Very interesting contrast with the Feather. Shave #1 with each blade rated very well. However, the Kai was much more comfortable. In contrast the Feather was definitely sharper.

Now, the question is longevity.
 
My second shave with the first Feather blade.

Set-up is rather similar to the first shave with the exception of the brush since I am also in Decemboar now;

Proraso pre (white), TFS Italian Fern, Omega 10066 boar, Lord L6, Feather (2) and Hâttric AS.

The shave started just fine on the initial WTG pass which seemed as good as last shave. The second (ATG) pass however was disappointing; a bit rough and not very effective either.
To my standards the result was subpar and I wonder if the blade isn't as good as a Feather usually is. Especially on two spots in my neck (with hair growing in every direction) the blade couldn't cope with my beard.
This actually needed a third pass for a decent shave but the blade felt too rough to even try that. I probably would have fared better with an XTG pass in between but I never do that with any of the (much, much cheaper) blades that I normally use.

From memory Feathers produce one great and one OK shave (the 3rd is always a mistake) but this particular blade doesn't even come to that. Blade goes out and I will try a KAI before returning to a second Feather.
 

Mike M

...but this one IS cracked.
Kai shave#3
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Razor: Rockwell 6C
Blade: Kai
Soap: RR Don Marco
Brush: Yaqi Timberwolf

Don Marco is not the slickest of soaps and doesn't have the best post shave feeling, but it earns its place in my den on scent alone. The scent of oranges is so great that one of my son's who insisted on never using anything but Proraso has taken to using it regularly.
Now to the shave, it smelt great. More than that, what can I say other than the Kai seems to make effortless BBS shaves it's business particularly in the early stages of use. The third pass was almost superfluous, but as I enjoy it I did it anyway. It is still incredibly comfortable, but the post shave wasn't quite as good as with SV Opuntia, but as I said Don Marco doesn't have as great a post shave.

Feather tomorrow
 
Shave 2 with the Kai blade. Tonight it was loaded in my Feather AS-D2, and I was not expecting the shave to be something to write about, especially with the As-D2 being a known mild shaver and the Kai blade taking three passes in a slant to get a close shave. I have to admit that I was completely surprised.

The shave started out as my first shave with the Kai was, and that was for the first couple of strokes on my WTG pass being slightly rough until I adjusted the angle. Perhaps it just takes a couple of shaves to settle in. The rest of the WTG pass went extremely well. This was one of those times where it felt like I forgot to load a blade in the razor, but I did, and most stubble was removed. I did my ATG pass and dis some minor buffing in my usual problem areas, but I did not have to lather up for a third pass, not even a partial pass along my jaw line and under my chin.

So tonight's shave with a mild blade in a mild razor turned out to be a two pass BBS.

Tomorrow's shave will be the Feather blade loaded in my AS-D2. The Kai is already loaded in my brass CG lvl 1 OC for the start of the weekend shave.

This is starting to get interesting.
 
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Second shave with the Legendary Feather Hi-Stainless blade #1

Razor
: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Fine Accoutrements Stout 24mm Angel Hair
Soap: Vitos Classic Eucalyptus and Lanolin

A much better performance from the Feather blade, today.

As predicted, the Feather improved markedly on its second use. The WTG pass was smoother and there was no sign of the tugging that I experienced during its last use.

The ATG pass still felt a bit tuggy, but not nearly as bad as previously. This time, I was able to complete the pass very efficiently and without any irritation.

The XTG pass felt about the same as last time; reasonably trouble-free with no tugging or irritation. However, after completing the pass, I noticed that the sides of my neck and under my chin felt slightly sensitive. After rinsing, I noticed a few stubbly patches. The same thing happened during the Feather's previous use and, like last time, I did not buff for fear of irritating these areas even more.

In the end, though, this was a much better shave than the one that I got two days ago. Although efficiency was about the same, the comfort level was much higher and the overall shave quality was significantly higher.

Is this as good as it gets or is the best yet to come? We'll see how the Feather performs on its third use on Saturday. (Back to the Kai, tomorrow.)

On a side note, the Fine Stout/Vitos Classic pairing was superb. A very rich lather, as always, with extraordinary slickness. Any blame for a substandard shave can't be placed at the feet of this excellent brush/soap combo.
 
Fri 3rd Feather vs KAI Challenge Rd 3 won by KAI again!
KAI Blade#1 Shave #3 with the RazoRock GC.84 SB
Soap
Yaqi Hypnotic Blue - New & 1st Use
Brush DS Cosmetics 26mm Badger
Aftershaves Stirling Witchhazel MitA + Yaqi Hypnotic Blue Splash New & 1st Use
I really like these Yaqi Soap & AS samples. Good size too and at USD$1 each delivered... wow! The lather is easy with good qualities. It was creamy, slick & a nice post-shave feel... the scent is nice but a bit mild...
The razor and blade pairing gives a very smooth, crisply efficient, and comfortable shave. 3passes for a bbs finish. Must admit this KAI blade is better than Feather...after 3 rounds...the gap difference is very noticeable.
The AS has a stronger scent...and very nice...even my SO commented which is a huge plus...So good to be able to test the soap & splash at a super cool price.
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Feather #1 Shave 5
RR BBS AS, Stirling soap, Proraso Red pre shave, Stirling Vanilla Sandalwood, Stirling Splash, Stirling Balm.
3 pass, no pressure (beard reduction), no weepers, Ok shave. Time to retire the Feather, feels like loosing 6-8 hours especially in the neck, jaw area. Time to compare a Kai.....
 
Feather #1
Razor: Rockwell 6C (R3)
Pre-Shave: Proraso Blue
Soap: Captain's Choice Venture
Aftershave: Old Spice

It's my first time using a feather so I was so cautious and went very slow and it was so sharp so I didn't really enjoy my shave as much perhaps cause of my technique or the hesitance due to the sharpness of the blade. I expect to have a better 2nd shave with the blade. Will give an update soon
 
KAI Blade #1 - Shave #4

Equipment:
Merkur 20C, Legendary KAI (4), CTS Mr. Pepper Soap

The Results: Shave #4 was another smooth and close shave, DFS+; however, there was a slight dip in performance (ie, sharpness). The blade did a wonderful job but I did have some buffing in an one area that I usually need to buff. The blade is starting to slow down, but not

Shave #4: goes to the KAI. Although both have exhibited slowing down at this point, the Feather was giving out quicker than the KAI seems to be.

Longevity: I pushed...pushed...the Feather Blade to 6 shaves, but this KAI blade isn't showing any signs of slowing down. Even though I'm only 3 shaves in for the KAI, it's tracking very similar to the KAI Blades I used in the other PIF.
 
Feather #1, Shave #4

Razor: Rockwell 6C, R3
Pre-shave: Proraso White
Soap: Mama Bear’s Sleigh Ride
Balm: Proraso White
Aftershave: Pinaud Clubman

Yesterday’s shave was a bit rough, but I wasn’t sure if I should blame the blade or my technique.
Today’s shave was quite pleasant. The blade is a bit less sharp than for the first shave. It did give me a DFS+ in 3 passes and a bit of buffing under the chin.
 
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