Feather artist club first time

[kohalajohn]

Well, that was very nice indeed. I've been thinking about getting an SS every since B&B proclaimed it as the year's straight, back oh, five or six years ago.

I had already shaved with my fili 14 this morning, so I didn't "need" a shave this afternoon.

But the blades finally arrived. The feather SS arrived weeks ago, so I've been dying waiting for the blades to arrive. Today the Feather Professional 20 pack showed up.

My first time using an injector. Loading was intuitive and easy. During the shave I kept it flat and with a light touch. WTG and ATG.

That was a very close and very smooth shave. My first time holding a kamisori style, and it went fine. Changed hands and that was ok too, the same moves as with a standard straight with scales. I really liked the sticky rubber on the handle.

I've never liked shavettes. Tried and tried, but nope. I like straights and I like some open comb DEs. But this was very different. This was a "shavette" that I liked. It felt like a straight, but with a very sharp edge. Like a diamond balsa edge that I had spent a long time working on.

I guess my only question is blades. Seems part of the cost is the fancy metal box with injector machinery. Seems a waste to throw these out every time. I would be fine dropping the blades in myself. Is there an affordable way to just buy the blades without buying the metal box every time?


Photo below. The soap that is grated into the scuttle is pre de provence 63.

 

[EspressoAndAftershave]

I just ordered 200 Feather Pros... I don't know of a vendor that sells generic "loosies" besides AliExpress, etc., but imo, those blades are nowhere near the Feathers. Every authentic Feather blade that I have ever seen has come in an injector.

 

[McBlade]

I picked up an SS (folding) copy recently. Effortless, close shaves. Sometimes bits of my face are BBS in one pass.

The blades will last a lot longer than a DE so they're less expensive than they seem at first. So far I've only tried two different types.

Feather Pro Super were a little too sharp at first but settled down after a few shaves. 19 in total before I binned it.

Schick Proline felt a bit milder straight out the packet. I'm up to shave 8 and counting. Too many new things to try right now inc new straights and a Fatip Piccolo

Kai Captain Mild sound right up my street. Next on my list.

 

[StillShaving]

...
I guess my only question is blades. Seems part of the cost is the fancy metal box with injector machinery. Seems a waste to throw these out every time. I would be fine dropping the blades in myself. Is there an affordable way to just buy the blades without buying the metal box every time?
...

On Aliexpress there are some generic blades that come individually wrapped, but they were not as sharp or smooth.

All Feather AC blades come loaded in those plastic/metal dispensers. I also do not like the packaging. A few of my dispensers have become slightly bent or otherwise jammed requiring that I bend metal around the exit point, so the feeder guide pin is no longer aligned for loading. I wish they came packed 5 in a box like DE blades, so that one could better see how many blades are left. I do not mind loading them by hand.

 

[kohalajohn]

Yeah, my focus here is to get these excellent Feather Professional blades, so I'll stay with those. Really, the excellent blades seem to be the point of all of this. Thanks for the tip about Aliexpress.

About the SS, I'm thinking it would be very good for travelling. It's small, and you get something near to a straight experience without having to pack strops and paddles.

 

[global_dev]

Its definitely a phenomenal setup.

 

[Biltong & Boerewors]

Yeah, my focus here is to get these excellent Feather Professional blades, so I'll stay with those.

Agree!

I ordered 50 of the Aliexpress blades, and can honestly say it ruins a perfect set-up. As I mentioned before, I like to get value for money (some may call it tight) and are not overly fussy as long as it does the job, but they are in my opinion unusable. Each to his own, but considering you can get in the order of 20 shaves out of a Feather Pro blade, it's not really worth struggling with blades that are sub-par.

 

[kohalajohn]

With my first two shaves, I kept my technique very gentle and conservative. I had heard how extremely sharp these edges are.

This morning I decided to try a more aggressive shave, and three passes, and see if any weepers came up. I had a two day growth.

And nope, no weepers at all. And that was very interesting. I used a more aggressive angle and I did three passes. I ended up with bbs of course.

But not a single weeper. Using an aggressive technique like that with a straight would have resulted in a weeper. Or at least a fiery aftershave. But nope, neither happened.

It sliced through a two day beard much more easily than a normal straight would. I think that's due to the extreme sharpness, plus also disposables can have coatings put on them. The coatings make it smoother. Coatings wear off of course, but it's a disposable so you can do that.

It must be because that rounded nub at the end prevents the blade from sinking in too deep. As we know, with straights, the edge can dig in as far as we want to push, which can result in aggressive exfoliation, weepers and a fiery aftershave.

It's strange to be handling something as if it was a straight, but with a little bit of protection. It's like the DE levels are closed bar, and then it opens up with the open comb design. This is like the next level of DE, where there aren't even any combs, the whole edge is exposed, like a shavette, except it's long and flexible, so doesn't cut you like the rigid corners of an english shavette will.

I'm convinced now that a DE blade should just be used in the DE that it was initially designed for. Put it in an open comb Fatip and enjoy it that way.

And the Feather AC Professional blade is sharper than DE blades. I'm convinced of that now.

This is the setup that modern day barbers should be using.

My curiousity now is about one of these with scales. My hand is not used to the kamisora hold. I'm glad I tried it, but I like the way my finger presses against the upraised scale and helps me control the angle. I may buy one of these with folding scales, and put this little baby in my travel bag.

aloha

 

[haggis]

I do OK with the kamisori style handle — for me it was excellent for AGT on the soul patch area and upper lip, but virtually everywhere else I enjoy and prefer the flexibility and many grip options available to the western folding style.

I rotate my razor-of-the-day from my den to the bathroom but I have been keeping the kamisori style feather on a shelf in the bathroom in case I feel compelled to do an AGT upper lip pass and my straight edge (or my ability) are not up to it that day. I tend to prefer guarded blades in them because I am still a klutz.

There is a razor for every person and every occasion but I do think that an AC blade in a Feather (or clone) is a certain sort of perfection.

 

[EspressoAndAftershave]

Check out the one I posted here:

Highly recommended.

 

[Ravenonrock]

Sublime shave today with my Feather AC folding razor. My only experience so far is with the Feather Proguard blades and I find them exceptional. A good reminder to throw my Feather AC into the rotation more often.

 

[StillShaving]

With my first two shaves, I kept my technique very gentle and conservative. I had heard how extremely sharp these edges are.

This morning I decided to try a more aggressive shave, and three passes, and see if any weepers came up. I had a two day growth.

And nope, no weepers at all. And that was very interesting. I used a more aggressive angle and I did three passes. I ended up with bbs of course.

But not a single weeper. Using an aggressive technique like that with a straight would have resulted in a weeper. Or at least a fiery aftershave. But nope, neither happened.

It sliced through a two day beard much more easily than a normal straight would. I think that's due to the extreme sharpness, plus also disposables can have coatings put on them. The coatings make it smoother. Coatings wear off of course, but it's a disposable so you can do that.

It must be because that rounded nub at the end prevents the blade from sinking in too deep. As we know, with straights, the edge can dig in as far as we want to push, which can result in aggressive exfoliation, weepers and a fiery aftershave.

It's strange to be handling something as if it was a straight, but with a little bit of protection. It's like the DE levels are closed bar, and then it opens up with the open comb design. This is like the next level of DE, where there aren't even any combs, the whole edge is exposed, like a shavette, except it's long and flexible, so doesn't cut you like the rigid corners of an english shavette will.

I'm convinced now that a DE blade should just be used in the DE that it was initially designed for. Put it in an open comb Fatip and enjoy it that way.

And the Feather AC Professional blade is sharper than DE blades. I'm convinced of that now.

This is the setup that modern day barbers should be using.

My curiousity now is about one of these with scales. My hand is not used to the kamisora hold. I'm glad I tried it, but I like the way my finger presses against the upraised scale and helps me control the angle. I may buy one of these with folding scales, and put this little baby in my travel bag.

aloha

I think it is the lip of the SS, functioning much like the top cap of a DE, but even better. I would be interested to try a DE shavette constructed in a similar way, to understand how much of it is the blade and how much is due to the lip.

I more often shave with my Feather DX and DE shavettes but I like the SS a lot. I do not ever remember getting a weeper with the SS. I have tried to shave quickly with it, moving much faster than normal trying to find the limit (within reason) and still did not get cut. In my estimation it is at least an order of magnitude safer than the DX or DE shavette at avoiding cuts. I have even come to think of it as being milder than a DE razor (at least an aggressive DE that is not used very often).

 

[McBlade]

About the SS, I'm thinking it would be very good for travelling. It's small, and you get something near to a straight experience without having to pack strops and paddles.

Very much so. Different types of straight from wedge to full-hollow all feel different. IMO this is definitely in the same ball park.

 

[McBlade]

I have even come to think of it as being milder than a DE razor (at least an aggressive DE that is not used very often).

I've got an SS copy. I'm not sure how closely it compares to the Feather but there is something magical about the geometry which makes it very easy to use (especially with a mild blade) while still giving a very close shave.

This is the best end-view picture I could take to show the bumps. They're very subtle on this model, barely even there.

 

[kohalajohn]

Sublime shave today with my Feather AC folding razor. My only experience so far is with the Feather Proguard blades and I find them exceptional. A good reminder to throw my Feather AC into the rotation more often.View attachment 1190134

Nice photo raven.

I see the bottle of beloved clubman. I recently moved mine to glass. I used a small empty whisky bottle. You have the advantage in that the kind of plastic bottle you have, has a paper label. Empty the plastic one into the glass one then boil water in a kettle. let it cool a few minutes and pour it into the plastic bottle. when the plastic bottle is cool enough to touch, you can peel off the label and there's still enough glue to attach it to the glass bottle.

 

[SterFry]

I love my SS... especially with Proline blades which, together, make for a shaving platform that, I believe, approaches perfection.

 

[kohalajohn]

SterFry, can you recommend a good place to buy Prolines? I have been hearing good things about them.

 

[abj]

Amazon Japan, 300 for ± ¥9800

 

[Frank Shaves]

The Feather AC is a great system. I really like my SS and I like the Feather Professional blades. And I agree about the blade packaging being wasteful.

 

[saj]

i got a copy version of the feather kamisori like the one in OP,
but it takes single edge razors and you pinch it at the top to replace and insert blades,,
havent used it to shave my head yet but im really looking forward to it tbh