Kai BEST carbon steel blade results

[captnronfl]

Well I have over 20 shaves on the Kai carbon blade in my Valet VC-1.
It has really been an eye opener.
I don't know how many shaves I have left on it but I'm retiring it for a while while I go through all the others that I have neglected.
I'll keep sneaking it in but I wonder if I will ever get to the Feather carbon blade that I got from Feather-man.
This blade is off the hook.
It has caused a problem though as now that I know I can get so many shaves with one blade.
I don't know what I'm going to do with all the other razors I have and haven't even tried out yet.
I have been using the Focus Dynamic SE razor along with the Rocnel SE-P while sneaking in shaves with my old Valet.
I still think that the old razors are cool but this Focus is amazing.
It's fast becoming my go to razor.

 

[snowman]

Glad I stumbled on this thread. A buddy of mine has a OB Genesis V1. He has a box of both Kai BEST blades, the .15 and .25. He is sending me a few of each size to try In my Genesis V2.

I get great shaves from the Feather FHS blades but always like to try new blades. I tried modified Gems, but the shave wasn't better than the FHS and wasn't worth the Hassle of modifying them.

Looking forward to the experiment. Will report back here in a couple weeks as to the results.

Cheers!

 

[snowman]

I'm finally getting around to my blade test. Over the next couple weeks I'll use both Kia BEST blades and compare them to the Feather in my OBG2.

 

[Theodore]

Keen to see your report, Snowman

 

[captnronfl]

I too will be shifting blades.
I'm going from the Kai Best to the Feather carbon blade thanks to Feather-man.
I have to say that I have enjoyed all my shaves with it.
I have over 15 shaves that have been all good.
I'm not sure how many shaves the Kai has left in it as it still is cutting smoothly.
Now I will see how the Feather matches up with the Kai in my Valet VC-1.
I have heard good things about the Kai DE blade and I'm thinking about giving them a try in my Focus Dynamic.
I agree about the modified Gems.
In fact I have not had a good shave with the Gem blades...
Well the old blades from 80+ years ago work well.
Ron

 

[cyberdog]

With the OB Core (V2), the Kai Best wasn't ideal, it just added blade feel without any apparently increase in efficiency for me. I tried the thicker of the two Kai blades, which were about the same thickness as the Feathers, so not sure if the thinner 0.15 blades would have been better in the Core. - I've since returned my Core, as I never got quite as smooth as with just about any DE I own, regardless of the blade used. (Feather, Kai, or Gem - Feather's worked the best for me btw).

I did grab a cheap Valet VC1 (I think) off eBay in Jul or August, and have been meaning to give it a run with both the Kai and stack of Gem blades I have. If I don't like it, the razor and blades will end up on the BST Forum.

Ron, were those 15 shaves with the 0.25 or 0.15 thick blades? And if you've tried both, how'd they compare in the Valet?

Thanks

 

[captnronfl]

I'm not sure which one.
Feather-man gave it to me to try out along with a Feather carbon blade.
He may know what the thickness is.
I did not know that there were two thicknesses for the Kai Best blade.
I really like my Valets.
I have one that you have to modify the blade to fit it.
So far the VC-1 has been the winner in the valet group.

Ron

 

[Feather-man]

Ron, that was the .15 Kai Best blade I sent.

 

[captnronfl]

Thanks Feather-man
I did not know that they had a thicker blade.
I thought that there was only one size.
How would you know when you go to buy them?
Ron

 

[snowman]

Well, my test is over. That was fast! I tried the Kai BEST .15 blade and it just flopped around in the Genesis v2 head. Unusable. So I tried the BEST .25 blade which looks similar in thickness to the Feather, but it feels much stiffer. That stiffness also makes it an unlikely choice for the gen2. It took far more force to get the blade inserted all the way than I was comfortable with. Although I did get it in finally, I tried a quick shave and it felt rougher than the Feather. Removing the Kai .25 proved to be problematic as well.

I tried cleaning my head thinking built up glue might have contributed to loading difficulty and it made no difference.

So for me and my Gen2 it's back to the Feathers, which is fine with me because they give me great shaves, and now my curiosity is satisfied.

 

[captnronfl]

I like the Feathers the best too.
However I also like the Kai.
Just not as well as the Feather.

 

[Theodore]

Based on these reports I think I might give the Kais a miss for my OB. Thanks for investigating, fellas.

 

[crist-y]

Is there anyone with a Valet AutoStrop razor who uses the strop and would like to try this carbon blade? Is there anyone with a OneBlade who has enjoyed carbon blades in other razors and would like to try the Kai BEST blade? If either applies to you PM me and I'll send out a blade free of charge. Will ship worldwide.

Hi mate, is your offer still up to date?

 

[Feather-man]

Hi mate, is your offer still up to date?

Yes. PM me your mailing address and it will sent to you right away.

 

[captnronfl]

I used one that Feather-man gave me
It was amazing
I got so many shaves out of it I was getting bored.
It's still in my Valet
When I get back from my stay in Australia I will revisit it again
I still have another carbon blade from Feather-man to try out too.
Ron

 

[crist-y]

Just wanted to thank Feather-man for sending a blade to France, very gracious of him.
The test was quite conclusive in that the blade is too sharply uncomfortable for me, I had to stop the first pass and went with to a GEM blade in my OneBlade, I used the KAI for the second pass, which was less painful, my face stinged right after the shave but not long enough to feel the sting of the AS or the alum block and no weepers, which is what usually happens when I use aggressive razors/blades.
So for me, I'll try for the science to see how many times can I use the blade in the last finishing pass, but I won't iterate.
Once again many thanks to Feather-man for being a gracious person and to those of you that share your experiences.