The Lambda Ares V2, it arrived in the tropics after a long journey from Greece. What an amazing work of art. Thank you Theodoros for such an amazing razor.
I have wanted an Ares since I saw it last year but it took quite a while to finally be able to purchase one. More than a full year of watching and waiting and pestering Theodoros and finally, it has landed. What a thing of beauty. Wonderfully polished surfaces with amazingly tight manufacturing tolerances.
Don't let the specifications fool you. Neutral exposure, 0.3 gap. This is one superbly efficient shaving machine. The razor head and handle comes in at a combined weight of 99 grams with a handle length of 95mm. The balance point of the razor is 1/3 the length of the handle from the head.
The handle is beautifully shaped like a column from a Greek temple. The grooves are deep and well defined, and it looks absolutely perfect with no scratches or scuffs. The only slight negative to this razor is that while the handle looks really good, and is perfectly balanced (for me), the straight but polished grooves can make it slightly slippery when soapy.
The shave is excellent. It feels almost closer to a Tatara Nodachi, but that's just the way it feels. The actual shave itself the teeth are present but not at all scratchy. You CAN feel the blade but it's not in any way or form dangerous.
The feedback from the razor is present but not loud, due to the high clamping of the blade. The whole shave is excellent for me, WTG/ATG and pickups around the adams apple and under the jawline.
The net result? BBS! What joy! I can buff slightly without irritation. With this razor, you can feel distinctly that it is open comb, without any scratch or irritation, kinda like rubbing a good horn or plastic comb over your skin.
The results of the shave have surprising longevity as well. 24 hours on a lesser razor would have yielded stubble long enough to pick with my nails, but with the Ares, it's present, but short... I feel this could be a 30 hour shaver.
All in all, I love this razor. It's well built, shaves amazingly and looks absolutely gorgeous. Thanks once again Theo for this amazing production.