Did I just Buy The Feather AS-D2 Razor? Ooooo, I Think I Did! :D

[Old School TSD]

Is your Feather in the 1xxxxx series? There is a serial number on the instructions insert.

Where?
I don't see a sn on my instructions, but do have a sticker that was never peeled off its backing inside the instructions.
Wonder if it was supposed to be put on the box or outer sleeve. I keep everything... this one must be rare and valuable then lol!

 

[Rtfm]

Hmmmm. Should be on that sheet. I wonder if they included one with the AS-D2S?

 

[Old School TSD]

Hmmmm. Should be on that sheet. I wonder if they included one with the AS-D2S?

Must be a rare prototype then.

 

[Rhody]

Curious as to how subsequent shaves are going. Did the brush sort out in terms of smell and that yellow water?

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

Curious as to how subsequent shaves are going. Did the brush sort out in terms of smell and that yellow water?

Hello Rhody, I hope you are having an awesome day!

After many hours after the shave, I assume the brush is quite dry by now, especially since I shook the heck out of it getting the water out. I took a sniff of the brush on my counter, and it just smells like Tabac now.

Also, I think the brush stopped making yellow water after the first soak. I am guessing it was treated chemicals or something on the hairs, that needed rinsed out. Either way, seems like the brush has already completed phaze 1 of being broken in.

The next phazes of brush breakin, will involve the hair bristles softening further as I understand it. Its amazing how much wider the hairs spread out, as you are lathering on your face. Suddenly I find myself with Tabac soap on the end of my nose, and on my ears. lol

I tell ya, parts of this hobby are really fun, and hilarious.

 

[Rhody]

Hello Rhody, I hope you are having an awesome day!

After many hours after the shave, I assume the brush is quite dry by now, especially since I shook the heck out of it getting the water out. I took a sniff of the brush on my counter, and it just smells like Tabac now.

Also, I think the brush stopped making yellow water after the first soak. I am guessing it was treated chemicals or something on the hairs, that needed rinsed out. Either way, seems like the brush has already completed phaze 1 of being broken in.

The next phazes of brush breakin, will involve the hair bristles softening further as I understand it. Its amazing how much wider the hairs spread out, as you are lathering on your face. Suddenly I find myself with Tabac soap on the end of my nose, and on my ears. lol

I tell ya, parts of this hobby are really fun, and hilarious.

Excellent. Glad it’s all going well. You’ve definitely done your research. It’s sounds like you are creating some great lather.

 

[linty1]

Hello, and glad to hear you are off to a good start. Lovely beginner razor, I have one too and it's great. I noticed you didn't get the base for the AS-D2, if you are looking to pick up a -very- similar looking one have a look at this one from maggards:

Traditional Shaving Accessories, Brush and Razor Stands, Travel Bags

Shaving and Grooming Accessories, Travel Bags and Dopp Kits

maggardrazors.com

It's basically the same one without the name on it, and will fit (I have this exact one and can confirm it fits). And if you already have a comfy space for it, all the better.

Welcome!

 

[santamariasteve]

I'm surprised (and perhaps skeptical) that some persons are claiming blade alignment problems on their Feather AS-D2 razor.

That is not expected or normal on an expensive razor. Feather has a solid reputation for close tolerances and fine machining.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I'm surprised (and perhaps skeptical) that some persons are claiming blade alignment problems on their Feather AS-D2 razor.

That is not expected or normal on an expensive razor. Feather has a solid reputation for close tolerances and fine machining.

Me, too, Steve.

The instructions (see above) are very clear about how to install the blade. (Put a towel on the counter top under the top of the cap.)

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Old School TSD]

I'm surprised (and perhaps skeptical) that some persons are claiming blade alignment problems on their Feather AS-D2 razor.

That is not expected or normal on an expensive razor. Feather has a solid reputation for close tolerances and fine machining.

Agreed. In fact, I'd argue it's an impossibility given their process technology is MIM (metal injection molding). There is ZERO room for error.
I lean towards the adage "a poor carpenter blames their tools". Short of putting the blade in sideways and trying to tighten it down, I don't see how there could be any problems.

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

Excellent share on the razor stand, and thats a good price for it too. As long as shipping costs arn't too high on it, would make a good value. I saw that MRB was selling a few stands for more money, but no way of knowing weather any of those would work. So looks like another site I will have to make an account on lol.

And for the record guys, I never once blamed my weeper on the razor, I never said it was the razors fault. I know its beginner error. And when I looked back later, in greater detail of what I did, I then discovered I had a tiny mole at that spot, and that was probably most likely what I actually knicked so bad to cause a weeper, I just didn't realize it before while I was bleeding in that spot lol.

And keep in mind guys, the blade itself could be a bit faulty. I would never just assume that the blades that are mass produced, would be made at the same quality as the razor. Unless a blade can go dull after a single shave, then you can look at the picture of my used blade on the piece of paper towel, does the blade look perfect to you on both edges?

Well to me it doesn't. I swear it looks different between sides. But that could just be that maybe its getting already dull after a single shave. But again, I am new to DE shaving, so I don't really know how many uses you can get out of a single blade. Either way, my trick of installation kept the blade straight that was acceptable to my OCD lol.

But ya, again, as I said, I never once blamed the shave mistake on the razor. As I am a beginner I am learning here as I go, and I am going to make mistakes. Now, what I do find interesting is, why does my instruction manual for my AS-D2 have the serial number at the bottom right above Made In Japan, but the other guys AS-D2S does not?

Is it simply because he has the model with stand that they did not print the serial number on the instruction manual? Or, did he end up buying a feather close alike fake? There is a reason why I don't order expensive stuff on Amazon or Ebay, I can't trust sellers, as they are always selling look alike fakes. I bought my razor from a reputable site MRB.

 

[ERS4]

Barcode stickers are not serial numbers.
It is only used for warehouse management and is usually affixed to the outer envelope.
If the barcode is not posted, it may be because your razor was sent directly to the supplier by feather, and some small suppliers do not use barcodes for management.

The serial number should be like my "821091", stamped on the top of the instruction manual after the fact.

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

So I had another shave with my razor today, and so I had a chance to take some new pictures. This is the first blade, from the original black label razor blade box, that comes with the Feather AS-D2. These pictures are of the blade after two shaves.

Here is what the blade looks like, if I just simply hold the head at the sides, and tighten down the handle, notice something strange?

Now, look at the blade after I have applied my little trick to hold the cap, so that it won't move, thereby keeping the blade straight, while I tighten down the handle.

Now onto the next topic, notice the gap distance on this side? Now look at the gap distance on the other side.

OK, now I tried to also get a straight top down shot on it. I know these cell phone shots arn't the best, but its what I could do on a short notice.

If you guys don't see any differences, then thats up to you, but my eyes, do notice a difference. Is this necessarily a bad thing? Heck I don't know, I am no DE shaving expert. I just simply state a fact, that there is a difference. I could grab my mechanics workshop caliper if you want and measure the darn thing, straight down by the MM. But I am not going to do that, cause I am not that crazy lol.

Moving on..............

I followed your guys advice about not fully submerging my brush. So I took a new picture to show my brush with only the hairs submerged, and not the handle. Also notice that the water is still clear this time. And guess what else? The brush hairs are already softer now, YAY!

OK, so how did my shave go today, and what kind of shave did I give myself? OK, today I decided to not do XTG. Today I did WTG, and ATG. Ya I know, you guys recommended to just do WTG for 7-days, but dang it, I like that smooth shave! HAHA

So, I did notice that I didn't get as good of a shave since I didn't go XTG, I now know the results of that if not done. Having said that however, I have more good news and bad news. The bad news is, I nicked myself in a few spots in the moostash area doing ATG, I still have a problem in that area.

However, I have lots of good news though. I take longer then all of you guys, cause I am going slow, taking my time. And in doing so, I did a much better job of controlling my angle, I just took my time. No weepers this time guys! Aint that amazing?

I did a great job of controlling not just my angle, keeping it a constant, but I also did a great job of applying no pressure. I also did a better job of working my lather. At first I put a little too much water in, got a bit sudsy. But I kept working the lather, swirling around over and over, until I got the lather just right more or less.

The point is it had enough moisture in it to do the job now effectively. I did forget to bloom the Tabac soap though, sorry guys, I can't remember everything. I realized as I was shaving that I had forgotten to do that. So I may have gotten better performance still from the lather if I had done the blooming first, but I still made it work.

Considering that I had no weepers this time, I consider this a better shave experience, even though I gave myself a few nicks in the moostash area bellow the nose. But you know what I achieved though? Because of my diligence, I had no unmowed line bellow the nose, I got all of my hairs there, nicked myself to do it, but gosh darnnit, I nailed it!

So you see, a better shave still, especially with 0-weepers. I consider that a better job. I would have done a better job still if I went XTG, but I do find doing the side angle trickier. And the neck is always difficult, especially around the adams apple. But rest assured, I am learning and improving.

So even though the shave wasn't perfect, I am still happy with todays shave. Anyways, that was my experience.

 

[Phoenixkh]

on your photo from above, it looks like the blade exposure is different side to side but it isn't exactly directly overhead as you can see the side bar more on one side than the other... when you looked at it... is the blad exposure the same on both sides?

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

on your photo from above, it looks like the blade exposure is different side to side but it isn't exactly directly overhead as you can see the side bar more on one side than the other... when you looked at it... is the blad exposure the same on both sides?

I agree, that is exactly how I see it with my own eyes, just as you see it from the camera's eye, in regards to the blade exposure. I've been using the larger gap side for the first two shaves. I am thinking about using the narrower gap side for my third shave, and see how it goes.

Ohhhh, and this time I didn't do the rinse razor in cold water to get the gunk out, I just kept using the warm water. Just to try something different, use a little less water lol.

 

[Rhody]

It’s hard to follow the blade issue. I can’t really tell from the pics. My first question which I’m sure is addressed is how tight are you screwing the handle down? Also is there no serial number?
And what site is mrb?

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

It’s hard to follow the blade issue. I can’t really tell from the pics. My first question which I’m sure is addressed is how tight are you screwing the handle down? Also is there no serial number?
And what site is mrb? (If it’s the site I think I found I’m not sure I’d be buying there)

I am following the recommendation of many, tighten the handle till it stops, then tighten a little more till snug. Oh, I have a serial number on the instruction manual, just above the "Made In Japan" bit. The above member doesn't have a serial number on his instruction manual, but mine does.

MRB is Mens Room Barbershop. They impressed the heck out of me, with their super fast processing and shipping policies, they had it shipped within an hour same day, after purchase, and got it to me earlier then expected. They are also proud supporters of Badger & Blade.

 

[Rhody]

I am following the recommendation of many, tighten the handle till it stops, then tighten a little more till snug. Oh, I have a serial number on the instruction manual, just above the "Made In Japan" bit. The above member doesn't have a serial number on his instruction manual, but mine does.

MRB is Mens Room Barbershop. They impressed the heck out of me, with their super fast processing and shipping policies, they had it shipped within an hour same day, after purchase, and got it to me earlier then expected. They are also proud supporters of Badger & Blade.

Thanks for the clarification. I guess I wasn’t following all this. So what’s the conclusion on the blade issue? Is there a problem or defect of some kind? I remember one video presenter who used to inspect the razor and blade alignment. I did that for a while but with modern razors once I get the blade clamped in there’s never been an issue with that so I basically gave up checking.

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

Thanks for the clarification. I guess I wasn’t following all this. So what’s the conclusion on the blade issue? Is there a problem or defect of some kind? I remember one video presenter who used to inspect the razor and blade alignment. I did that for a while but with modern razors once I get the blade clamped in there’s never been an issue with that so I basically gave up checking.

Our shaving hobby is a lot like life, a great ball of confusion

I don't know enough about DE razors to know if this would be considered defective. I mean, it still shaves my face, although I don't get the perfection that others claim. But they are more experienced DE shavers then I am, I am a first timer.

As long as I apply my little trick to straighten up the blade, its fine. I'd sure love to see detailed pictures of other people's Feather AS-D2's with the blades installed, so I can have a look at them for comparison. I figure the problems I am having is probably all just my technique, and my darn sensitive skin.

Either way its a learning experience for me.

 

[Phoenixkh]

I'd call them and ask... it sure sounds and looks like you got a defective razor. I'm sure they'll take care of you. That's a heck of a price to pay for something that doesn't clamp the DE blade in symmetrically.