Karve CB brass. First shave

[Joelh]

I've been wet shaving for about 6 weeks with a Viking chieftain that I bought off amazon with very little research. Things have gone fine but decided to up my game a bit.

I ordered a Karve 3.5 in C plate from WCS and it made it to me today. I was a bit concerned that the C plate would be a bit aggressive for me, but decided to give it a go. Chucked in a super-max platinum and used TOOBS Eaton College collection soap. Took a few stokes to figure out the cutting angle. It was a good deal steeper than the Viking.

Did a 3 pass shave and got excellent results. Shave under my nose was easy and with a bit of buffing, got that area under my chin BBS.

I have a B plate coming from a forum member. It will be interesting to compare the two. Really like this razor. It now resides in my razor stand and the Viking has moved to my travel kit

 

[Leverspro]

Glad you like it. I also really like Karve, particularly the Open Comb B.

 

[BigJ]

Congratulations!!

 

[McNutt]

Try out their open combs too. I started with a B OC and D OC and have since added a C SB and F SB. I love the variety.

 

[AQU]

Try out their open combs too. I started with a B OC and D OC and have since added a C SB and F SB. I love the variety.

How does the F SB compare to the D OC? Curious incase I buy in SS...

 

[McNutt]

F is a little more aggressive and requires a bit more care. D OC can provide BBS without much more effort, so it's a solid plate.

 

[boilerphan]

The CB Brass Karve is a nice piece of kit! I started with the exact same rig with my Karve and have had great results. I recently bought a B plate second hand, but haven't gotten around to trying it yet.

 

[ackvil]

I have the C and D plates and like them both. It is a very nice razor - one of my favorites.

 

[sscob1]

It is a nice razor, I like my brass 3/D OC.

 

[Cleanface]

Nice to hear. I ordered two weeks ago and no word. I'm afraid it will be a while before I can share my experience.

 

[Bakker1964]

How does the F SB compare to the D OC? Curious incase I buy in SS...

I found the SB "F" to be too much for me. Right now my choices are the OC "B" plate or the SB "C". I have two plates "up" in both types, so I really do not need anything else. Not that it matters.

I currently have a SS razor on order with an OC "B" and SS SB "C" plate.

 

[Joelh]

I was fortunate that West Coast had the one I wanted in stock!

 

[Joelh]

Having shaved with this for about a week, I can say that I am beyond pleased with this razor. I have a fairly light beard and the B plate is fine for every day shaving. Skipping a day means the C plate is called for. A bit more aggressive but not bad and much more efficient. I think I will order an OCB. Seems like an easy way to try open comb shaving.

I know the stainless release has been a disaster, but this is a seriously good razor.

 

[Leverspro]

the open comb B is definitely worth trying. I've unwatched threads here that are very sour on karve,and it does appear that the release went very poorly, but I'm pretty sure I'll buy the ss when it settles down.

 

[Cleanface]

Received my Brass OC D-plate Thursday. Tried it out today first time with a Rapira PL. Smoothest shave I have ever had. Remarkable. Worth the wait and the $$.

 

[Leverspro]

Received my Brass OC D-plate Thursday. Tried it out today first time with a Rapira PL. Smoothest shave I have ever had. Remarkable. Worth the wait and the $$.

Well done!

 

[AJSharp]

It's a great affordable razor. I started with the D SB plate (0.98 mm gap with 13 mm positive exposure) which was a fine daily shaver but when the F SB plate (1.23 mm gap and 0.22 mm positive exposure) became available it took my shave up several notches in efficiency with the same acceptable smoothness. As I discovered neither plate nor the Karve in general is as smooth as others such as the GameChanger but you can't go wrong with the brass Karve.

I did try the F plate OC and found it of equal efficiency compared to the SB as for me it was not any more efficient but YMMV of course. For me, who likes efficient razors, the less popular G plate (Karve initially made 5 brass plates available and I assume some more in SS) really brings up the efficiency to that of those super expensive high end razors. Again I can appreciate that a G plate (1.36 mm gap with 0.25 mm positive exposure) is not for everyone and Karve does not sell that many as most people prefer the C or D gaps (as I recall Chris once reported that somewhere).

Enjoy your Karve