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GIVEAWAY! Challenge PIF - In The Footsteps Of Legends

Twenty-second shave, fifth Kai (3)
RazoRock Game Changer .68 w/bamboo handle, Maggard's Timberwolf Travel brush, Tabac

Went for a simpler two pass shave today; don't need to be ultra smooth for the weekend. Left some whiskers behind here and there, but the shave was very comfortable. Lots of life left in this blade, that's for sure.
 
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Twenty-fourth shave with the Legendary Feather Hi-Stainless blade #1

Razor
: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Fine Accoutrements Stout 24mm Angel Hair
Soap: Tabac Shaving Soap Stick (Tallow)

Okay, so what the hell is going on here?

A couple of days ago, I received a performance from this blade that can only be described as mediocre. Nothing about that shave stood out; neither smoothness, efficiency, nor comfort. Therefore, I was convinced that this blade was headed for the bin.

However, I decided to give it one more try, just to make sure, and... lo and behold... I received a surprisingly good shave! It was much smoother and more comfortable than the previous shave and the efficiency was far better. I managed a fairly easy DFS after some light buffing.

Actually, that last part was the real surprise. Buffing with this blade normally results in a lot of irritation, but I had no issues, today. Go figure.

But, despite today's good outcome, I will say that this blade has been extremely frustrating to use because I don't know what I'm going to get from shave to shave. This inconsistency is the reason that the Kai (which has been extremely consistent) easily wins this Challenge.

Having said that, I'm foolishly going to give this Feather one more try just to see which way it will go. (Stupid is as stupid does, I guess. 🤪)
 
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Twenty-fourth shave with the Mysterous Kai Stainless blade #1

Razor
: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Yaqi Purple 24mm Mink
Soap: RazoRock Blue Label

A quick, trouble-free shave.

I had to shave very quickly this morning due to an early appointment, so I didn't really pay attention to what I was doing. Luckily, I was using the Kai blade which doesn't require you to monitor every single stroke like a hawk.

All three passes were smooth and comfortable. I barely felt the blade gliding over my skin, yet I ended up with another extremely close shave; I'll rate it a BBS- because I didn't have time to buff.

Despite the hubbub, it was a great start to the day.
 
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Twenty-fifth shave with the Legendary Feather Hi-Stainless blade #1

Razor
: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Maggard 18mm Timber Wolf, Travel-Size
Soap: Pré de Provence No. 63

The end of the line.

As expected, this blade has reached the end of its useful life. The half-decent shave that I experienced on January 15 appears to have been an anomaly because today's shave saw a huge drop in overall quality.

The WTG and XTG passes were quite rough. Efficiency is still fairly good, but the comfort level was very low, so I didn't push beyond a SAS. Oddly, the ATG pass was surprisingly smooth. There was no roughness or tugging, at all. However, that's not enough to keep this blade out of the bin.

So, that's it for the Feather blade. It lasted far longer than I thought it would; the most I'd gotten from Feathers in the past was around 5-6 uses. However, out of the 25 shaves that I got from this blade, less than half were what I'd call good. The rest were either average or lower.

Therefore, I have no hesitation in declaring the Kai as my champion for this Challenge. :thumbup1:
 
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Twenty-fifth shave with the Mysterous Kai Stainless blade #1

Razor
: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Yaqi Black Marble 24mm Silvertip Badger
Soap: RazoRock Gold Label

As expected, the FOCS/Kai pairing delivered another lovely shave.

I enjoyed three quick, smooth passes with no roughness or irritation. The comfort level remains high.

As I've noted before, I have trouble spots all over my face, but the section on the left side of my face from mid-cheek to the corner of my mouth extending down below my jawline is particularly problematic. However, the Kai handles this area with aplomb. It's very calming when you're able to shave so effortlessly and efficiently.

The same can't be said for the Yaqi Black Marble Silvertip/RR Gold Label combo, though. This pairing infuriated me, today. I barely got one pass out of the brush before I had to re-load it with soap. I also had to do that for the following two passes, then yet again to buff.

This brush has alternately been an annoying lather hog and a terrible lather killer for most of the time I've owned it. It feels fantastic on the face, but that's not a good enough reason to tolerate its faults. I'll give it a good soaking with my homemade cleaning solution, then offer it a final chance to redeem itself! :mad:


I recently revisited the Feather and got 131 shaves with it.

My mind is boggled. :blink: All hail the Feather King! :ouch1:
 
I’ve now had a chance to do five shaves with both blades. The Kai and Feather blades both performed excellent. I can definitely see why they are both so popular.

If you forced me to pick a winner I’d say so far Kai has a slight edge over Feather. My experience was that the Feather blade performed a little worse than the Kai on my neck which for me is a sensitive area.
 
Twenty-third shave, fifth Kai (4)
RazoRock Game Changer .68 w/bamboo handle, Maggard's Timberwolf Travel brush, Tabac

Went for 4 passes today, to get nice and cleaned up. Kai going real strong, no issues to speak of. Not much to say about it either, heh.
 
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Twenty-sixth shave with the Mysterous Kai Stainless blade #1

Razor
: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Simpson Special S1 18mm Best Badger
Soap: Pré de Provence Bergamot & Thyme

Still going strong.

The FOCS/Kai duo remains very smooth and comfortable on all passes. Efficiency is slowly declining, however, as I find that I need to buff more as the number of uses pile up. I'm still getting a fairly easy BBS with every outing, though.

The little Simpson Special Best Badger brush pairs extremely well with the PdP Bergamot & Thyme soap. The short, somewhat stiff knot provides the perfect amount of scrub without any prickliness. The performance of the soap is phenomenal. The lightly herbaceous scent is refreshing and very calming, as well.

All in all, a great shave. :thumbup1:
 
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Feather #2, shave #1
2 days growth
Razor: Henson Al-13
Brush: PAA Starcraft (24mm synthetic)
Preshave: shower
Soap: La Toja stick
Aftershave: alum, Nivea sensitive balm

I'm glad to see that @Yuritau and @Demolition are still going strong! I didn't want to be the only one posting here when I started back up again, but I didn't want to restart prematurely either. I'd resisted using a brush but finally decided to give one a try, ordered just after Christmas, and it came just after the new year. But it wouldn't be fair to the first blade to start with a brush for the first time, so I got a couple of practice shaves in with both a cream and a stick. I'm still kinda learning the ropes, but it's time to do this. Kai went first for round 1, so Feather is up first for round 2. Let's go!

In the first round of this challenge and with 2 previous Feathers, I've gotten some good close shaves, but with varying amounts of bloodshed. I was hoping the Starcraft and La Toja stick are to this blade's liking. As best I could, I applied zero pressure and let the Legendary Feather do what it does best.

WTG and XTG were easy. Even ATG, the Feather cut through my whiskers like a hot knife through butter. I had decided ahead of time that I wasn't going to do any buffing or cleanup in order to minimize the weepers, but rinsing after the third pass, my neck around my adam's apple was still particularly rough, so I risked a little cleanup there. In the end, I did have 2 weepers, but on the mustache, not the neck. For me, that's a fantastic result with any blade, let alone one as sharp as the Feather! Alum feedback was stronger than I expected given how little blood I drew, but it wasn't terrible either.

However, there's a lot more rough patches than I usually leave - left jawline, the right side of my neck didn't clean up as well as the left, even a bit to the right of my chin that's not usually troublesome that I probably should have tried to clean up. So I'm not sure I can say this was any better than CCS territory. Still, a positive start for Feather #2!
 
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Twenty-seventh shave with the Mysterous Kai Stainless blade #1

Razor
: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Yaqi Moka Express 26mm Two-Band Badger
Soap: RazoRock Santa Maria del Fiore

A top-notch shave from a top-notch blade.

The FOCS/Kai duo is still performing as well as can be expected. My three usual passes were quick and trouble-free. The ATG and XTG passes were both extremely smooth.

Efficiency is still very good. I only needed to buff lightly on both sides of my Adam's apple to achieve another nice, close shave; I'll call today's shave a BBS-.

Meanwhile, the Yaqi Moka Express Two-Band Badger/RR SMdF combo performed like a champ. I wasn't paying attention and loaded way too heavy, so I ended up with enough lather for fifteen passes. I had so much lather piled on my face that I looked like Santa Claus. :santa:

Overall, another great shave. :thumbup1:
 
It has been a while since I posted here, but today I loaded one of the Feather blades in my recently acquired Karve CB with SB-C plate. A great combination again (as is almost every blade in this razor). But I must stick to my conclusion, that while a Feather blade does a good job of getting rid of stubble, there are better blades for my face, who do it more comfortable while having the same smooth result. But hey, always good to experiment, right?

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It has been a while since I posted here, but today I loaded one of the Feather blades in my recently acquired Karve CB with SB-C plate. A great combination again (as is almost every blade in this razor). But I must stick to my conclusion, that while a Feather blade does a good job of getting rid of stubble, there are better blades for my face, who do it more comfortable while having the same smooth result. But hey, always good to experiment, right?

full
That's one of the great things about having so many choices and combinations...you keep the Wet Shaving Adventure fresh and you might discover a really amazing combination along the way!!
 
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Twenty-eighth shave with the Mysterous Kai Stainless blade #1

Razor
: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Omega 10005 24mm Boar
Soap: Vitos Classic Eucalyptus and Lanolin

A thoroughly enjoyable shave.

Like yesterday, all three of my usual passes were quick and trouble-free. The ATG and XTG passes remain smooth and comfortable.

Efficiency may have gone down a little as I found that I had to buff more than normal to achieve a BBS. Due to the forgiving nature of the FOCS, this extra attention didn't result in any lingering sensitivity.

In the end, I received a very satisfying shave with no post-shave irritation.
 
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Feather #2, shave #2
2 days growth
Preshave: shower
Razor: Henson Al-13
Brush: PAA Starcraft (24mm synthetic)
Cream: Speick
Aftershave: alum, Nivea sensitive balm

First pass today was easy again. Then XTG, in a brief moment of inattention, I felt something at the corner of my mouth, and sure enough, a few seconds later, I saw blood. Hopefully it wouldn't be bad. ATG, I got a matching weeper on the other corner, but that was all - nothing above the lip!

For shave #1, I wanted to escape without drawing any blood if possible, and came close, but ended up with just a CCS. Today I was willing to do a little more buffing and cleanup for a closer shave. I was just about done, but got greedy and on the last swipe, got a couple more weepers on the right side of my neck. Stupid! At least the alum stopped any remaining bleeding. And the feedback was less than the other day, which tells me my technique was better. Without a couple of careless errors, I would have had just the one ATG weeper.

Still a couple of spots that I didn't quite get on cleanup, but much less area than the other day. All in all, I'm very happy with this - I think this is what they refer to as a DFS! 😎
 
Twenty-fourth shave, fifth Kai (5)
RazoRock Game Changer .68 w/bamboo handle, Maggard's Timberwolf Travel brush, Tabac

Everything the same as the last shave, except that I got much better results. It's actually a closer and cleaner shave than any of the other 4 on this blade. I think I'm getting more accustomed to the blade angle this razor likes best.

I also ordered 3 other base plates for the Game Changer (68 OC, 84 SB, and 84 OC), so I can play around with it. I won't be doing this challenge with each plate though, as all my other blades have begun to feel very neglected!
 
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Twenty-eighth shave with the Mysterous Kai Stainless blade #1

Razor: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Omega 10005 24mm Boar
Soap: Vitos Classic Eucalyptus and Lanolin

Another routine outing with the FOCS/Kai duo.

The Kai's performance remains excellent despite the number of uses it has seen. Like previous shaves, there were no significant issues with my three usual passes. All were smooth and comfortable.

Today's shave was also very quick because I didn't have to shave as closely as normal. Therefore, I decided to refrain from any buffing or touchups. The result was a relaxing DFS with no post-shave irritation. :thumbup1:
 
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Thirtieth shave with the Mysterous Kai Stainless blade #1

Razor
: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Fine Accoutrements Classic 20mm Angel Hair
Soap: Tabac Shaving Soap (Non-Tallow)

A splendid Sunday shave.

I had originally planned to have a quick, relaxing, not-too-close shave on this lazy Sunday morning, but things suddenly got serious as I completed my XTG pass. I realized that I had just experienced a legitimate auto-pilot shave where the passes just flew by almost subconsciously.

Not wanting to waste the opportunity, I spent a fair amount of time buffing and touching up my usual trouble spots until I had a genuine BBS. The buffing process has been taking longer as this blade's uses pile up, but it hasn't resulted in any irritation during or after the shave, yet. Very impressive, overall.

Meanwhile, the Fine Classic/Tabac (Non-Tallow) duo was top-notch. I made it a little bit drier than normal, but the slickness was still phenomenal.

All in all, everything added up to a really great shave. :thumbup1:
 
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Feather #2, shave #3
2 days growth
Preshave: shower
Brush: PAA Starcraft (24mm synthetic)
Cream: Speick
Razor: Henson Al-13
Aftershave: alum, Nivea sensitive balm

This was a challenge due to some external factors: my 14 year old daughter must have taken a really long shower this evening since I was running out of hot water by the end of mine. Then I couldn’t seem to get the Speick to lather quite right, first too dry, then too watery. And I rushed a bit, as I’m kinda ready to be done for the day.

Even with all that, the Legendary Feather performed very well. A couple of weepers above the lip ATG, some irritation on the right side of the neck just on the verge of drawing blood. And a bit more missed stubble than last time. Mostly mild alum feedback though. Given the difficulties, I really can’t complain, and I’ll surely give this blade another go.
 

FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
View attachment 1398457
Feather #2, shave #3
2 days growth
Preshave: shower
Brush: PAA Starcraft (24mm synthetic)
Cream: Speick
Razor: Henson Al-13
Aftershave: alum, Nivea sensitive balm

This was a challenge due to some external factors: my 14 year old daughter must have taken a really long shower this evening since I was running out of hot water by the end of mine. Then I couldn’t seem to get the Speick to lather quite right, first too dry, then too watery. And I rushed a bit, as I’m kinda ready to be done for the day.

Even with all that, the Legendary Feather performed very well. A couple of weepers above the lip ATG, some irritation on the right side of the neck just on the verge of drawing blood. And a bit more missed stubble than last time. Mostly mild alum feedback though. Given the difficulties, I really can’t complain, and I’ll surely give this blade another go.
As soon as I read "14 year old daughter" I knew you were in trouble friend. I just saw my 21 year old man child a minute ago. I miss him, but he bought the house next door and me and the Missus have so MUCH more hot water now! This empty nest is quiet. Can you believe sometimes I pick a fight with the War Department just to hear something? True story, doggone!
 
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