Holding my ruler up to the screen, can't get the program to work, I am getting an effective gap of about 1.5mm. Technically that's the guard span, but this came up in the discussion about how a negative razor can be so efficient.
Lambda Lovers
- Thread starter Big_T
- Start date
I used the photo below to estimate the size of the largest opening between the edge of the guard and the edge of the blade on my Athena (marked by the green line). The green disc in the photo is 1.53 mm thick using my micrometer. Using that for scale and GIMP's measurement tool, I measure this gap as 1.84 mm, which seems very large. I can't wait to try this beauty tomorrow morning.
So, for guys that have both, which design would you recommend as the starting point if overall efficiency was the main goal?
Debut outing w Ares V2. Dropped in fresh Nacet - what a terrific shave! Very comfortable and close, definitely a touch more efficient than the Athena with a touch more blade feel.
Wonderful shaver
Wonderful shaver
If efficiency is your priority then get the Ares v2.
Sascoman, That is one beautiful razor you have there!!! May I ask what is the length of that handle?Debut outing w Ares V2. Dropped in fresh Nacet - what a terrific shave! Very comfortable and close, definitely a touch more efficient than the Athena with a touch more blade feel.
Wonderful shaver
View attachment 1595801
Thanks for that! I'm also looking at adding an OC razor ro my collection, so that the Ares would hit both marks. But the pictures of water squirting out the ends of the Athena head!!
Very good point. Get both.
Or seriously, they are both efficient and both very gentle to your skin. You could buy either and I think you’d be satisfied. If you like it a lot you can sign up for the other one. The main differences are that the Ares is higher efficiency and has a different feel because of the open comb, and the Ares feels more aggressive (italics because the Ares isn’t aggressive, it just feels like it is, a bit). The Athena seems more smooth because of the closed comb, and it shoots water.
Last edited:
I could see the squirting Athena putting me in an extended early morning trance.
It doesn’t get old. Gives me a kick every time. I know that’s superficial but if it makes you smile it’s got to be a good thing. It also makes the rinsing super-efficient. The Ares doesn’t need it because of the open comb.
Posted this in the DE section, but thought I'd share it here as well....new Athena has arrived. So looking forward to tomorrow's shave. This was my shave sabbatical exception so now that it's here, no more shave gear coming this year.
Outing #2 - this time with a third use Gillette Platinum New blade to see the affect of a slightly less sharp blade …. Still a brilliantly close and comfortable shave … Impressed
Last edited:
I cannot clearly say that one is more efficient than the other by looking and touching my face. Sometimes I think it is Ares, but it could just be a psychological effect from other people's opinion. But I don't shave against the grain so I guess that could play an important role for my view
I don't know if anyone else has noticed it, but it seems that I can throw any kind of blade in Ares and Athena and have great results. I am now depleting the stock I created of various blades I used while I had been trying to find what works in my other razors and that were not satisfactory for any of them.
It is my feeling too, so far, that the design of the Lambda razors makes blade differences less of a factor. I can still detect differences in the blade edge feel but the Lambda seems to eliminate other differences and make them all shave well.
I should try a Bic Chrome Platinum in a Lambda next shave to test this because it is a blade that could be wonderfully smooth for me if it didn’t chatter against-the-grain at the base of my stubble. It would be great if the high curvature and close clamping from the Lambda heads made the Bic CP usable for me. I will report back.
Potentially, if we are correct, this means that blades we have discounted before might be wonderful in these razors. Perhaps smooth blades that aren’t normally sharp / efficient enough might work and give us more opportunities for smoother shaves than we’ve had. It’s an interesting possibility that we might be able to explore, so I hope some of us can experiment and post any revelations, or comfirm that these blades still don’t work well for us.
Last edited:
I can’t always be sure either. But on the whole, over time, I do think the Ares v2 cuts closer with fewer strokes than the Athena. They are both efficient, though. I’ve also had a couple of shaves with the Ares v2 that lasted longer than any other razor I’ve used, which I haven’t quite matched with the Athena so far, but I can’t manage this every time. Always learning, never certain of anything.
Last edited:
I have a theory that razors hold blades very rigidly can make a larger range of blades slightly more usable. They won't make a blade that doesn't work for you be great, but just a bit less bad. I get this feeling from using Hensons, which have a high bend and strong clamping. Likewise a great blades get a bit better too, so I still don't want to use bad blades.
YMMV, IMHO, etc.
YMMV, IMHO, etc.
Some razors also give me the confidence to use blades longer as well. Not that I’m worried about the cost of a blade, but it is certainly convenient if you can change blades less frequently or not have to keep track of the number of uses.
In my Blade Journey thread, I'm going to be using my Athena to try a wide variety of blades I received in a very generous PIF (@lasta 
). But, many of the blades are pretty obscure with about half a dozen types made in China that will demonstrate whether I have any masochistic tendencies and whether brother @lasta is really a friend 
(all in the name of science of course). The first "new" blade that I try will be a vintage English Wilkinson Sword "diagonal" blade from 1974-2000--not exactly commonly available.
). But, many of the blades are pretty obscure with about half a dozen types made in China that will demonstrate whether I have any masochistic tendencies and whether brother @lasta is really a friend (all in the name of science of course). The first "new" blade that I try will be a vintage English Wilkinson Sword "diagonal" blade from 1974-2000--not exactly commonly available.Similar threads
