I tried this for the first time last night. CNC machined solid aluminium. Reading about it, it seems that many balked at the price so they perhaps didn't sell all that many. I got it at a discounted clearance price. (Review below image).
The first thing I noticed is the weight, which is fine because I am used to aluminium razors. Installing a blade, it tightened down with perfectly even exposure on both sides with no manual intervention required. None of my other slants do so. It is designed, engineered and manufactured with such tight tolerances that you can't manually align the blade. I checked just to be sure as, unlike my other slants, the blade isn't aligned even closely with the base plate or cap - the blade is not just slanted but at a noticeable angle as well.
In use, it feels like my black tip Super Speed and Rocket LD - mild and precise with lots of feedback and that "singing" sound that only aluminium razors deliver. I like aluminium as it looks and feels like space-age metal, although it can feel strange shaving with something that feels so light that it could be plastic. However, this razor is also efficient - so much so that it is at least as effective as my Merkur 37C, RR German 37 and FOCS.
There was a bit of blade chatter but not necessarily any more than from my FOCS and it didn't stop it from doing its work. I expect that will go away once the coating wears off the Gillette Silver Blue I used but it might be better to use a blade that is sharper from the start like a Feather, Bic or Gillette 365.
All in all, an excellent shave with no irritation. This isn't just a razor I can use daily - I expect I could use it twice a day if I wished.
The Fine Slant isn't going to be for everyone, whether it is the material or the price. However, there's no denying how well designed and manufactured it is. It works better than it seems to have any right to and deserves to be a collector's item in due course.
The first thing I noticed is the weight, which is fine because I am used to aluminium razors. Installing a blade, it tightened down with perfectly even exposure on both sides with no manual intervention required. None of my other slants do so. It is designed, engineered and manufactured with such tight tolerances that you can't manually align the blade. I checked just to be sure as, unlike my other slants, the blade isn't aligned even closely with the base plate or cap - the blade is not just slanted but at a noticeable angle as well.
In use, it feels like my black tip Super Speed and Rocket LD - mild and precise with lots of feedback and that "singing" sound that only aluminium razors deliver. I like aluminium as it looks and feels like space-age metal, although it can feel strange shaving with something that feels so light that it could be plastic. However, this razor is also efficient - so much so that it is at least as effective as my Merkur 37C, RR German 37 and FOCS.
There was a bit of blade chatter but not necessarily any more than from my FOCS and it didn't stop it from doing its work. I expect that will go away once the coating wears off the Gillette Silver Blue I used but it might be better to use a blade that is sharper from the start like a Feather, Bic or Gillette 365.
All in all, an excellent shave with no irritation. This isn't just a razor I can use daily - I expect I could use it twice a day if I wished.
The Fine Slant isn't going to be for everyone, whether it is the material or the price. However, there's no denying how well designed and manufactured it is. It works better than it seems to have any right to and deserves to be a collector's item in due course.
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