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DS Cosmetics & their Brass V92 twin cap.

I think that brass v92 and stainless S9 are the same head. Only blade holds differently - V92 with slots and S9 with pins.


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The Yaqi Brass handle arrived (very fast in two days) and it's quite the looker. Thanks @Halfbeard for the inspiration. I tried this handle today with the parallel cap. The handle is nice an heavy, quite grippy but shorter than the original.

The shave wasn't too bad today, just a DFS-. It seems that I get subjectively better shaves with the scalloped cap than with the parallel. After four shaves with the scalloped cap (DFS, CCS, DFS, BBS) and four shaves with the parallel cap (DFS++, CCS, DFS, DFS-) results seem to be almost evenly distributed among the total of eight shaves and surprisingly with slightly better results with the parallel. Nevertheless, the scalloped cap feels just a tad better. Of course, these observations need to be taken with a grain of salt since many variables come into play and the definitions of CCS, DFS and BBS are so very subjective, although I do submit to the B&B definitions of those abbreviations where BBS is no stubble felt with circular motions on skin for example. I recorded only 11 BBS shaves out of 71 shaves since the beginning of this year and most of these were BBS on face and minimum DFS+ on the neck; I count these as BBS shaves for me. I stopped ATG passes completely and only shave WTG with two passes.

Interestingly many of these BBS shaves have been achieved just recently with large gap DSC razors.
 

Iridian

Cool and slimy
@m949 I like to use the stainless steel version of this handle with my Lupo heads. The Lupo .95 OC ID something you should try. Just like the Game Changer was a clone of the Wolfman Guerilla, the Lupo is a near clone of the Wolfman WR1. I heard same gaps behave quite differently compared to the original.

There is also the Yaqi Vostok, but at least the 1.05 DC version I have feels quite different to my Lupo .95 OC. Hard zu describe, they are very similar but the lower support/clamping from above and a higher gap make the Vostok still feel different to my Lupos. The Lupo .95 OC is preferred by many over the Game Changers. The preferences are quite evenly split, but both are highly popular for very good reasons.
 
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The Yaqi Brass handle arrived (very fast in two days) and it's quite the looker.
Indeed! The lenght is 80 or 82 mm, right?

Would you mind sharing the specs of the original ("Karve inspired") handle (lenght/diameter)? Sorry if the specs have been shared here already...
@m949 I like to use the stainless steel version of this handle with my Lupo heads. The Lupo .95 OC ID something you should try. Just like the Game Changer was a clone of the Wolfman Guerilla, the Lupo is a near clone of the Wolfman WR1. I heard same gaps behave quite differently compared to the original.

There is also the Yaqi Vostok, but at least the 1.05 DC version I have feels quite different to my Lupo .95 OC. Hard zu describe, they are very similar but the lower support/clamping from above and a higher gap make the Vostok still feel different to my Lupos. The Lupo .95 OC is preferred by many over the Game Changers.
+1. The Lupo .95 SB and OC is a heck of a razor. Definitely loving both of them.

Now I wonder how the V .95 with scallopped top cap attached does compare to the Lupo .95 SB @GlazedBoker
What about a shave off? ☺️
#hint hint 😎
 
Seriously? I'm far too pretty to take these kinds of risks!

Indeed! The lenght is 80 or 82 mm, right?

Would you mind sharing the specs of the original ("Karve inspired") handle (lenght/diameter)? Sorry if the specs have been shared here already...

+1. The Lupo .95 SB and OC is a heck of a razor. Definitely loving both of them.

Now I wonder how the V .95 with scallopped top cap attached does compare to the Lupo .95 SB @GlazedBoker
What about a shave off? ☺️
#hint hint 😎

Hmmm….

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I think that brass v92 and stainless S9 are the same head. Only blade holds differently - V92 with slots and S9 with pins.

And the S9 seems to have the same dimensions as the Game Changer 84p
I owned both the S9 with the scalloped cap and GC 84 & 68. Parts where interchangeable and both shaved identical. Very close shaves but left my face raw and irritated. Got the same results with the Lupo 95. Ended up selling or trading them all off. Now about a year or so later with the V92 I get great shaves, just as close but without the irritation. Now knowing they are basically the same I kinda regret getting rid of them. My skills must have improved over time.
 
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Absolutely outstanding shave today with the V92 - scalloped cap. Effortless BBS in two WTG passes with two-day stubble. I am amazed how good this razor is. I can't say much about the performance of higher end razors, as I haven't had the pleasure, but I can't imagine that there will be much of a difference in shaving performance. Better materials...yes, better quality control...yes, better shaves... maybe.

After a couple of shaves with the parallel cap and the scalloped cap, I can confidently say that the scalloped cap gives me slightly better results. Today's BBS lasted about 4 hours, now I can feel slight stubble ATG - still DFS though. The V92 with the right blade is a revelation. The ease of use is astonishing, never do I feel that I don't know what the razor is doing.
 
The Rubies are my favorite blade. I test all new razors with a new Rubie. I rarely use a used blade when testing new razors since I want conditions to be optimal.

It seems crazy to me how some of you guys get great shaves with 30-50 shaves per blade. I usually ditch the Rubies after 4 shaves since I start to notice a decline but have pushed them to 6 which is the furthest I’ve pushed any DE blade. I’m sure I could get twice that many shaves out of them if I had to but they wouldn’t be as pleasant.

I’m contemplating the order of a V95 head. I don’t really need it since I have the S9 and GameChangers. I think I’ll just grab the Sentinel in 1.35 since DS doesn’t have their SS heads in stock yet and I LOVE my AX-SE. I could see it replacing my GC 84p as favorite razor. I had an amazing shave with the 1.35 head tonight.
 
The Rubies are my favorite blade. I test all new razors with a new Rubie. I rarely use a used blade when testing new razors since I want conditions to be optimal.

It seems crazy to me how some of you guys get great shaves with 30-50 shaves per blade. I usually ditch the Rubies after 4 shaves since I start to notice a decline but have pushed them to 6 which is the furthest I’ve pushed any DE blade. I’m sure I could get twice that many shaves out of them if I had to but they wouldn’t be as pleasant.

I’m contemplating the order of a V95 head. I don’t really need it since I have the S9 and GameChangers. I think I’ll just grab the Sentinel in 1.35 since DS doesn’t have their SS heads in stock yet and I LOVE my AX-SE. I could see it replacing my GC 84p as favorite razor. I had an amazing shave with the 1.35 head tonight.
I can only encourage you to try the V95. As @GlazedBoker stated before, there isn't much of a difference between V92 and V95. If I would be in the market again I would go for the V95. If you are looking at the V95 with just one cap, I'd recommend the scalloped over the parallel. I feel that the scalloped cap is a bit smoother and more efficient shaver than the parallel cap. It's also easier to maintain since the smooth surfaces on the parallel cap are a bit harder to bring to a nice shine.

Since the V95 is all brass, you'll have to dry the razor after each shave and give it a short polish with a microfiber cloth. If you don't, you'll have uneven waterspots which will discolor the razor unevenly over time.

The brass KVT handle from DSC is quite nice. It's heavy and quite well polished, but the knurling is a bit superficial. If you are only getting the V95 head without a handle, I can recommend the Yaqi brass handle which @Halfbeard got and which I liked so much that I placed an order as soon as I saw it. Note that the polishing won't be matching 100%, the V95 has a shiny polish and the Yaqi brass handle is matte. It's still looking quite nice.

Finally, if you're looking for a brass razor stand, Yintal should have one where both the DSC brass handle and the Yaqi handle will fit in. I added some pictures with both caps, handles, and the stand.
 

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I would definitely go with the V95 to have more gap over the S9/V92. It would probably end up an ugly duckling because I only use my RazoRock BarberPole and RadioKnob handles on every single head I have since they just feel right to me. But the Yaqi handle looks great on the V95 head.

I love the look and weight of brass but have a couple old brass Gillettes and a Karve CB and don’t care for how the smell lingers on my hands after using them. Back then I never thought to just use a SS handle but that would take care of most of my issues. I figure polished brass would have less smell then matte brass but I’m not sure. Im surprised it even bothered me since I’m usually not that picky about stuff.

Anyways with the sale and coupons on Ali I decided to order both SS Sentinel heads and another AX-SE with smooth cap this time. And an Excalibur head in hopes of it being more efficient then my Romulus since it was cheap. I had the V95 head in my cart with a couple other items but ended up not buying them since the coupon codes for more money spent were used up and I was trying to get the biggest discount possible.
 
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