Feather Artist Club Q's

[Goblin]

@Goblin, a person whom I've recently learned to trust, swears by them. On his praise, I have some ready to plug into my trusty Feather DX as soon as the current blade is past its prime.

Well, we are all different - I hope they live up to my hype!

I haven't gotten around to more shaves with the Kai Captain yet. I had 3 AC blades loaded in different razors and am finishing them one at a time, also mixing up with other formats. Having initially shaved with a fresh Kai, fresh Schick (and then a Feather Pro) back to back I still think the Schick is smoother and the Kai is a little sharper.

Sharpness: Kai > Schick > Feather Pro
Smoothness: Schick > Kai > Feather Pro

Feather Pro Super was a disaster for me (although I will try it again as I still have 18 left) and I don't like guarded blades.

I reserve the right to change my mind with no prior warning.

In reply to @Dimitri, it definitely will take time to develop the technique enough to get a shave that will rival your DE, but it can be done. Do keep practicing and join the SABRE and shavette SOTD threads for help and encouragement.

 

[Dimitri]

@Goblin, a person whom I've recently learned to trust, swears by them. On his praise, I have some ready to plug into my trusty Feather DX as soon as the current blade is past its prime.

I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on these as well. Can I ask where you bought yours? Other than eBay I'm only finding them available from BullGoose shaving, and the ones on eBay seem to all ship from Japan. Would prefer to purchase from a U.S. source, but there are some other supplies I want that BG doesn't carry. Trying to order everything from one place.

 

[Dimitri]

In reply to @Dimitri, it definitely will take time to develop the technique enough to get a shave that will rival your DE, but it can be done. Do keep practicing and join the SABRE and shavette SOTD threads for help and encouragement.

I agree 100%. I shaved with the Kai's yesterday and it was a close and smooth shave. Night and day difference. While my technique still needs work for sure, it's nowhere near as bad as I thought. The way the Feather blades were abrading my face I thought it was all because of me. I was being contientious about holding the blade at shallow/30° angle, and it it still felt rough. My face just doesnt like those blades. By far though my neckline always fares worse. It looked almost like I had hickies lol.

 

[Ravenonrock]

My journey with the Feather AC SS didn’t last long. I used Pro Guard blades and while the shaves were close, I just didn’t take to it. I moved on to straights right from there exclusively and didn’t look back. Just not my thing and since I already owned 2 straights I just got on to using it them and figuring things out.

 

[GoodShave]

I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on these as well. Can I ask where you bought yours? Other than eBay I'm only finding them available from BullGoose shaving, and the ones on eBay seem to all ship from Japan. Would prefer to purchase from a U.S. source, but there are some other supplies I want that BG doesn't carry. Trying to order everything from one place.

I bought my Schick P-30 blades from ShearWorld.com in New York.

 

[JimmyJoeMeeker]

I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on these as well. Can I ask where you bought yours? Other than eBay I'm only finding them available from BullGoose shaving, and the ones on eBay seem to all ship from Japan. Would prefer to purchase from a U.S. source, but there are some other supplies I want that BG doesn't carry. Trying to order everything from one place.

My searching yielded the same results as yours, and I bought them from BullGoose as a one-item order. Not ideal, but the shipping was reasonably-priced and fast.

 

[JimmyJoeMeeker]

By far though my neckline always fares worse.

Yeah, it's always that infernal neck. If it weren't for irritation on my neck, I'd still be shaving with cartridges and canned goo. They worked fine for a decade, but when my whiskers started coarsening up in my 20s, I phased out goo and cartridges.

To this day, keeping neck irritation away is one of the primary drivers of most all of my shaving choices.

 

[lilbump406]

Well I hit the lottery with Amazon. I wanted to try the Kai protouch MG blades for my Feather SR. I ordered 1 pack and received a whole box of 10 packs(150 blades). I won't be needing any blades for awhile. The Kai's are smoother than the Feather pro-guards but I think they slightly less aggressive. I'm still evaluating.

 

[GoodShave]

Well I hit the lottery with Amazon. I wanted to try the Kai protouch MG blades for my Feather SR. I ordered 1 pack and received a whole box of 10 packs(150 blades). I won't be needing any blades for awhile. The Kai's are smoother than the Feather pro-guards but I think they slightly less aggressive. I'm still evaluating.

I find the Kai ProTouch MG blades are smoother/sharper/more efficient than the Feather Pro Guards. I think that the Kai ProTouch MG blades are the the Kai Captain Blades with a guard applied. Kai Captain Blades (not to be confused with Kai Captain Titan Mild blades) are sharper/smoother/more efficient than Feather Pro blades for me. Feather Pro Guard blades are Feather Pro blades with guards applied from my experience.

 

[musicman1951]

New SE shaver here-Alpha Spirit. I purchased a couple of Feather sample blades (proguard, pro and super). No problems with proguard, but not close enough shave. Pros are better and I haven't tried the Supers yet.

I use a PolSilver/Wizamet in my DE, would you recommend the Kai Captain or the KC mild? I'll also be adding the Pro-line to the order.

 

[GoodShave]

New SE shaver here-Alpha Spirit. I purchased a couple of Feather sample blades (proguard, pro and super). No problems with proguard, but not close enough shave. Pros are better and I haven't tried the Supers yet.

I use a PolSilver/Wizamet in my DE, would you recommend the Kai Captain or the KC mild? I'll also be adding the Pro-line to the order.

It depends on how close of a shave you want. The Kai Captain will give you a closer shave than the Kai Captain Titan Mild, but depending on the razor, you may not want as much sharpness or efficiency. The Schick P-30 blades are also sharp/efficient (though the variation of the holes in the blade make it challenging to use with some safety razors). You may want to order a few individual blades from RazorBladesClub.com to see what you like before buying a whole pack of them.

 

[JimmyJoeMeeker]

It depends on how close of a shave you want. The Kai Captain will give you a closer shave than the Kai Captain Titan Mild, but depending on the razor, you may not want as much sharpness or efficiency. The Schick P-30 blades are also sharp/efficient (though the variation of the holes in the blade make it challenging to use with some safety razors). You may want to order a few individual blades from RazorBladesClub.com to see what you like before buying a whole pack of them.

I've recently tried the P-30s, and have found them to be interesting blades. While I don't find them to be as sharp as Kai Captains or Feather Pro Supers, I do find them to be fairly sharp and non-irritation causing.

I'm only two shaves into to my first Schick blade, but my weeper count for those two shaves is basically zero, which is highly unusual for my shaving profile... i.e., insanely coarse whiskers on an at least averagely textured face.

 

[Goblin]

I've recently tried the P-30s, and have found them to be interesting blades. While I don't find them to be as sharp as Kai Captains or Feather Pro Supers, I do find them to be fairly sharp and non-irritation causing.

That's exactly my view. I have a few more comparison shaves on them now and I still maintain that the Schicks are sharper and smoother than regular Feather Pros.

The Kai Captains are not as smooth as Schicks, but still smoother than the Feather Pros. However, at first I thought that maybe they were only a little sharper than the Schicks. I have revised that now, and think that they are actually quite a bit sharper.

So, the Schicks and Captains are the blades I choose as favourites. Schicks for smoothness and Captains for sharpness.

That's all based on using them in shavettes. I find less differences in blades when I stick them in my Shield AC razor.

 

[JimmyJoeMeeker]

That's exactly my view. I have a few more comparison shaves on them now and I still maintain that the Schicks are sharper and smoother than regular Feather Pros.

The Kai Captains are not as smooth as Schicks, but still smoother than the Feather Pros. However, at first I thought that maybe they were only a little sharper than the Schicks. I have revised that now, and think that they are actually quite a bit sharper.

So, the Schicks and Captains are the blades I choose as favourites. Schicks for smoothness and Captains for sharpness.

That's all based on using them in shavettes. I find less differences in blades when I stick them in my Shield AC razor.

Yeah, I think we're on the exact same page. I think it was @Flanders who first brought it to my attention, but those Kai Captains seem about as sharp as it gets. And they seem, to my mind and face, better deburred than Feather Pro Supers. Kai Captains are probably going to turn out to be my favorite blades, but there is a sense when I'm shaving with them that they're waiting to bite me if I lose focus for a few milliseconds.

If I think of it before my next blade change, I'm going to get out the green Rizla cigarette papers and test Captains, Pro Supers, and Prolines for sharpness.

The Schicks are plenty sharp enough, at least when only two shaves in, but I can do a blitz shave with them with little concern of drawing blood. They're actually a nice change of pace. I've been using "mental sharp" for so long that I'd forgotten what it's like to shave with plenty sharp enough.

 

[Goblin]

...they seem, to my mind and face, better deburred than Feather Pro Supers.

We really are on the same page. That was my instinct too. Pro Supers feel like if you put them under a microscope you would see spots that looked like a fine hacksaw blade.

I used to think that Schicks were top of the tree for sharpness (compared to Protouch, Proguard, Feather Pro) but having tried the Captains I also now characterise them as "sharp enough".

If I didn't already have 100-odd Schicks in my den I would probably be looking to lay down some stocks of Captains too. I may still do that.

 

[House Boy]

Is there reference like the post TSENG posted on this thread on the KAI blades and schick, i.e. thickness and width.

 

[Climb14er]

Fifteen years with the ProGuard blades in my RG and DX and I still use ‘em and have a lot for going forward. I like the ProSuper blades too but have found them wickedly super sharp.

 

[JimmyJoeMeeker]

Is there reference like the post TSENG posted on this thread on the KAI blades and schick, i.e. thickness and width.

Not to my knowledge.

If it helps you out any, my n=1 experience is that the Schicks "act" thicker than the Kai Captains. Those Schicks are a very comfortable blade that feel very low-risk when using. They "feel" very forgiving and very safe. At the same time, they're getting the job done.

Like Feather Pro Supers, it seems like there's an element of danger in pulling off a shave with a Kai Captain... maybe moreso. That's not to say that anyone can't do it. They certainly can.

But I think almost everyone will feel from the first swipe that the Captain is ready and waiting to let blood. Whereas the Schick feels like a trusted mentor who's ready to be leaned on.

 

[JimmyJoeMeeker]

I like the ProSuper blades too but have found them wickedly super sharp.

They certainly demand a body's respect and attention. I love their rigidity, but I can't help feeling that Feather could deburr their blades better.

 

[Dimitri]

My searching yielded the same results as yours, and I bought them from BullGoose as a one-item order. Not ideal, but the shipping was reasonably-priced and fast.

I've recently tried the P-30s, and have found them to be interesting blades. While I don't find them to be as sharp as Kai Captains or Feather Pro Supers, I do find them to be fairly sharp and non-irritation causing.

I'm only two shaves into to my first Schick blade, but my weeper count for those two shaves is basically zero, which is highly unusual for my shaving profile... i.e., insanely coarse whiskers on an at least averagely textured face.

I ended up getting them from BullGoose as well. My experience has been similar to yours. I'm 4 or 5 shaves into my first Schick blade and it's a helluva lot smoother than any of the Feather blades I've tried. Pro Supers are the only one's I haven't tried and I don't think I will bother. I find the Schicks to be the smoothest so far. I feel like the Kai's are smooth as well, but like you, a bit sharper than the Schicks. At this point though, I feel like the Schicks hold an edge better. As I mentioned, I'm on my 4th or 5th shave with the Shick Proline and the blade feels like it's still going strong. The Kai Captains felt to me like they were pretty much done by that point. That said, I was for sure using too much angle when using Kai's because I didn't feel like it was cutting because I wasn't really getting any feedback, which I'm reading is normal for these types of blades since they are so rigid compared to a DE blade, so I will have to revisit the Kai blades again.