Good morning, and a quick report. I just picked up my new Feather Stainless from the post office, paid the taxes, and brought it home for an inaugural shave before heading off to work.
There are a number of excellent photos of this one on the net, and given time restraints, no photos from me this morning, perhaps later.
Overall:
1. Packaging is nice, nothing outlandish. A very simple wooden box wrapped oragami style in folded cardstock. Inside, the matte-finish Feather Stainless, with a pack of Feather black pack blades.
2. Solid, good heft, with a knurled handle. I have 2 DE razors without knurled handles, and I really prefer the knurled, there's more grip in the water and soap. Unscrew the handle from the head, a simple affair, to put the razor in.
3. Put down some Trumper's pre-shave oil, worked up a nice lather with my new Rudy Vey Beehive badger brush, with MWF.
4. Having read other posts, I went with no pressure, and steady, even short strokes, working WTG on the first go-around.
5. The razor moved very nicely on the face, there was very little sensation that it was cutting. I have read this from other posts, and can only conclude that the folks at Feather got the blade angle in this non-adjustable razor as close to perfect as is possible.
6. Did a second lather up, this time cutting XTG, rinsing with cold water, alum block, and finishing with Speik after shave. Final moistuizer with Clinique.
The result? Not one nick, cut or weeper. Nothing. No irritation as of yet. I would put the finished result at just south of BBS, not the absolute closest shave I've ever had, but a DFS and certainly more than acceptable, especially given the complete absence of irritation or nick/cuts/weepers, which doesn't always happen with me but isn't uncommon either.
So, is it worth it? That's up to you. I paid $160 from Classic Shaving, and I imagine that I will still be using this DE razor in 40 years, God willing. It has no laminate or plating to peel off, its really stainless steel (hold a magnet to it and it won't even remotely stick, a good sign of the low ferrous content of the metal) so it won't rust. It provides a remarkably close shave with no irritation without really trying.
Time will tell of course, but I only see my shaves getting better as I develop technique with this specific DE razor. Hey, if the first shave out of the box was as remarkable as this morning's was, well, then you decide for yourself if a lifetime DE that shaves extremely close without irritation is worth the price to you.
My final word? If you're on the fence, I predict you will not be sorry if you pull the trigger. Just my 2 cents, YMMV.
Best,
Chris
There are a number of excellent photos of this one on the net, and given time restraints, no photos from me this morning, perhaps later.
Overall:
**I admit, we often wait until we've used the product a number of times, but I'm writing a quick review after first use, so there it is**
1. Packaging is nice, nothing outlandish. A very simple wooden box wrapped oragami style in folded cardstock. Inside, the matte-finish Feather Stainless, with a pack of Feather black pack blades.
2. Solid, good heft, with a knurled handle. I have 2 DE razors without knurled handles, and I really prefer the knurled, there's more grip in the water and soap. Unscrew the handle from the head, a simple affair, to put the razor in.
3. Put down some Trumper's pre-shave oil, worked up a nice lather with my new Rudy Vey Beehive badger brush, with MWF.
4. Having read other posts, I went with no pressure, and steady, even short strokes, working WTG on the first go-around.
5. The razor moved very nicely on the face, there was very little sensation that it was cutting. I have read this from other posts, and can only conclude that the folks at Feather got the blade angle in this non-adjustable razor as close to perfect as is possible.
6. Did a second lather up, this time cutting XTG, rinsing with cold water, alum block, and finishing with Speik after shave. Final moistuizer with Clinique.
The result? Not one nick, cut or weeper. Nothing. No irritation as of yet. I would put the finished result at just south of BBS, not the absolute closest shave I've ever had, but a DFS and certainly more than acceptable, especially given the complete absence of irritation or nick/cuts/weepers, which doesn't always happen with me but isn't uncommon either.
So, is it worth it? That's up to you. I paid $160 from Classic Shaving, and I imagine that I will still be using this DE razor in 40 years, God willing. It has no laminate or plating to peel off, its really stainless steel (hold a magnet to it and it won't even remotely stick, a good sign of the low ferrous content of the metal) so it won't rust. It provides a remarkably close shave with no irritation without really trying.
Time will tell of course, but I only see my shaves getting better as I develop technique with this specific DE razor. Hey, if the first shave out of the box was as remarkable as this morning's was, well, then you decide for yourself if a lifetime DE that shaves extremely close without irritation is worth the price to you.
My final word? If you're on the fence, I predict you will not be sorry if you pull the trigger. Just my 2 cents, YMMV.
Best,
Chris
