Good afternoon, all! I'm here to review the Japanese Shaving knife that was so graciously PIFed to me by Mike. There was some speculation in the thread about how awful these may be; I can confirm from experience that they were justified. But, first, let me give you a rundown on my little experiment. Into the fray!
Initial Impressions: Upon first receiving this item (I'm somewhat on the fence as to what to call it), I was immediately struck by it's lightness. As a full-time shavette user, the lightest I have is my Parker SR1; this felt more lke a toothbrush. The handle appears to be made out of a lightweight plastic with a modified hair-shaper blade affixed to one end. There are some parallels with a both medical scalpel and a Kamisori razor. I have some (limited) experience with Kamis, so I was somewhat sure of how to hold it. Even though it was light and cheap-looking, I had high hopes for it; It's Japanese, Feathers are Japanese, how bad can it be? Oh, how naïve I was...
The battlefield:
I had about 24 hours of stubble grown out, so I figured it would be an easy test for a new razor. Granted, my beard is steel-cable-tough, and most razor blades can only go one round with it. My prep was a hot shower with a glycerin soap (Pears).
The Team:
VDH Pure Badger Brush, Speick soap (Grated and pressed into an old pomade tin), the PIFed razor (which I believe to be a Kai product), alum; my standard setup for testing new razors and/or blades. Soaked the brush and Speick while I showered.
Combat Reports: The Feel- Wow, did this thing pull! I've had pocket knives that didn't tug this much! Maybe because of the light plastic handle, I could literally feel as the blade came to each hair, which is considerably less pleasant than it sounds. I could only do one pass (WTG) with this razor before I had had enough; I relathered and finished (XTG) with my Weck and a Personna blade, always good to me.
The Sound- I'm a big audiophile, and that has carried over into shaving. If my face was completely anesthetized, I could identify different blades by their sound alone. Asco half-blades have that classic "ripping Velcro" sound, while halved Feathers have a smoother, softer sound, like a gently crackling campfire. My Weck- perhaps due to the greater blade length and exposure- gives a soft musical hum. This thing... I can only compare it to a maniac attacking a piano with an axe. crack-TWANG, crack-Twang, crack-TWANG! It was easily the strangest noise I have ever heard while shaving. I can only surmise that the cracking sound (like a small dry twig breaking) was the hair being cut, and the TWANG was the steel of the blade recoiling from pulling through the hair.
The Aftermath:
Yee-OUCH! I had quite a few nicks and weepers, which is highly unusual for me. The ends of the blade are not as rounded as even a DE blade, and it bit me a few times on my neck. A little redness is not unusual on my neck, but this actually hurt! And this picture is pre-alum! After the alum, there was wailing and gnashing of teeth, I can tell you. I finished it out with Aqua Velva Ice Blue (Holy Frozen Fornication, Batman!) and some Axe Chilled A/S gel (one of the mildest balm/gels I've ever found). It's about 5 hours later, and it still burns!
The Debriefing: Mike, I am incredibly grateful that you gave me the chance to try this. That being said, I will NOT be buying these or giving this one another go. I hope that you had better luck than I did! To all those who read this: I would heartily NOT recommend you try these, but to be fair, YMMV. Best of luck, gents, and happy shaving! Thanks again Mike!
Initial Impressions: Upon first receiving this item (I'm somewhat on the fence as to what to call it), I was immediately struck by it's lightness. As a full-time shavette user, the lightest I have is my Parker SR1; this felt more lke a toothbrush. The handle appears to be made out of a lightweight plastic with a modified hair-shaper blade affixed to one end. There are some parallels with a both medical scalpel and a Kamisori razor. I have some (limited) experience with Kamis, so I was somewhat sure of how to hold it. Even though it was light and cheap-looking, I had high hopes for it; It's Japanese, Feathers are Japanese, how bad can it be? Oh, how naïve I was...
The battlefield:
I had about 24 hours of stubble grown out, so I figured it would be an easy test for a new razor. Granted, my beard is steel-cable-tough, and most razor blades can only go one round with it. My prep was a hot shower with a glycerin soap (Pears).The Team:
VDH Pure Badger Brush, Speick soap (Grated and pressed into an old pomade tin), the PIFed razor (which I believe to be a Kai product), alum; my standard setup for testing new razors and/or blades. Soaked the brush and Speick while I showered.Combat Reports: The Feel- Wow, did this thing pull! I've had pocket knives that didn't tug this much! Maybe because of the light plastic handle, I could literally feel as the blade came to each hair, which is considerably less pleasant than it sounds. I could only do one pass (WTG) with this razor before I had had enough; I relathered and finished (XTG) with my Weck and a Personna blade, always good to me.
The Sound- I'm a big audiophile, and that has carried over into shaving. If my face was completely anesthetized, I could identify different blades by their sound alone. Asco half-blades have that classic "ripping Velcro" sound, while halved Feathers have a smoother, softer sound, like a gently crackling campfire. My Weck- perhaps due to the greater blade length and exposure- gives a soft musical hum. This thing... I can only compare it to a maniac attacking a piano with an axe. crack-TWANG, crack-Twang, crack-TWANG! It was easily the strangest noise I have ever heard while shaving. I can only surmise that the cracking sound (like a small dry twig breaking) was the hair being cut, and the TWANG was the steel of the blade recoiling from pulling through the hair.
The Aftermath:
Yee-OUCH! I had quite a few nicks and weepers, which is highly unusual for me. The ends of the blade are not as rounded as even a DE blade, and it bit me a few times on my neck. A little redness is not unusual on my neck, but this actually hurt! And this picture is pre-alum! After the alum, there was wailing and gnashing of teeth, I can tell you. I finished it out with Aqua Velva Ice Blue (Holy Frozen Fornication, Batman!) and some Axe Chilled A/S gel (one of the mildest balm/gels I've ever found). It's about 5 hours later, and it still burns!The Debriefing: Mike, I am incredibly grateful that you gave me the chance to try this. That being said, I will NOT be buying these or giving this one another go. I hope that you had better luck than I did! To all those who read this: I would heartily NOT recommend you try these, but to be fair, YMMV. Best of luck, gents, and happy shaving! Thanks again Mike!
