Mamba number... 3?

[BubblesUK]

I'm a huge fan of the Mamba's as daily drivers already, so it only made sense that I'd be interested in the DsCosmetic clone - first razor I've had with the scalloped cap (convenient excuse!) but as the first shave hasn't been had yet I can't say whether it'll make any difference (can't imagine it'd be much?).

Have many people here tried the T7 that have the Mamba 70 to compare to?

For the price the T7 looks very well built and the KVT handle feels good in the hand (slightly grippier than it looks, but nowhere near as aggressive as a heavily knurled handle).

Looking forward to shaving with it and seeing how the pretender stacks up to the real deal!

 

[kingfisher]

Didn't know DSCosmetics made a Mamba clone. Looks nice. I suspect it will shave exactly the same as the original. The scalloping of the cap is interesting and looks good, but I doubt it will make much of a discernible difference in the shave.
I suspect the idea is to reduce drag because of less surface area actually contacting your face, but the difference should be negligible.

 

[BubblesUK]

I doubt it will make much of a discernible difference in the shave.

Not expecting any noticeable difference, but it made for an excuse to try it

I thought the idea was mostly cosmetic, to be honest, but should be fun nonetheless!

 

[BubblesUK]

Blade loaded up and compared to Mamba 70 (Treet Platinum Stainless in both - only because it's what I've used most recently in the Mamba 70 so should provide a more relevant set of observations; I prefer the black beauty and DuraSharp to the Platinum Stainless in both Mamba's but the Platinum Stainless remains a significantly above average blade for me).

Blade gap appears a smidge less on the DsCosmetics T7 than the Mamba 70 (somewhere in between the 70 and 53) - perhaps more noticeable in person than in the photo below, I'm not sure how well it shows it, I work in electronics engineering so my eye is quite keen to fine detail.

Shave coming up shortly...
Will share first impressions afterwards (using aforementioned Treet Platinum Stainless, MWF and an Oumo synthetic knot on homemade handle)

(Note to self.. must get around to turning a replacement lid for the fat dish, dropped and smashed the ceramic one!)

 

[BubblesUK]

Well, well, well!

It's distinctly Mamba in its DNA, but it has its own subtle differences...
So, long story short, this isn't a clone, it really is Mamba number 3.

Firstly - the shave was excellent.
Exceptionally smooth and every bit as close as I'd get from the Mamba 70 on a daily basis (ie: 2 pass DFS+).

But it's not quite the same as my Mamba 70...

The T7 definitely has less blade feel.
Not that the Mamba 70 is a tiger by anyone's reckoning, but the T7 feels noticeably milder.

It's a strange one, it feels more like the 53 in use but the result was effortlessly close like I get from the Mamba 70, where the 53 will sometimes take a little more attention and the odd touch up afterwards (perhaps I just got lucky here??).

The KVT handle I chose (not that many were available, but probably would've anyway) is a bit lighter than the Ti Halo on my 70... The T7 head plays nicely with the lighter handle, and I'll definitely be trying this handle on the Razorock heads too.


So... Having noticed that the shave is definitely (subtly) different, I had a closer look at the T7 and Mamba 70 heads together.
There's a slight difference in the profile of the top caps - I'll have to crack out the verniers at the weekend but I'd swear the T7 cap is a smidgen wider, the shape is slightly different too (similar in height, but the T7 cap doesn't slope down quite as severely, as below)

Long story short, this is definitely a Mamba style razor, but it's a variation on the Razorocks... it's not an exact copy of either of them.

If the first shave is anything to go by, this would make a superb daily driver (or for someone like me that shaves daily, part of a rotation of daily drivers)... And if it shaves as well as this consistently, it might even unseat the Mamba 70 as my #1 favourite.

Will update this thread again when I've had a couple more shaves with it.

 

[BubblesUK]

So, whipped out the verniers to measure a few points...

Cap width:
Ds Cosmetics T7 - 18.38mm
Mamba 70 - 18.30mm

Both have the same cap height and baseplate height but the Ds Cosmetics cap is just a fraction wider.

As noted before, the cap is just a smidge less acute on the T7 also (ie: a fraction taller at the edge).

I would think these two points taken together could explain why the blade feel is less than my Mamba 70?

Both great razors and really enjoying the Ds Cosmetics T7 - no regrets, it performs just as well as the Mamba 70 but with less blade feel again, both great razors.

 

[kingfisher]

Nice work. I do think the slightly wider cap would make it possibly slightly less aggressive.

Sounds like you found yourself a really nice razor.

 

[BubblesUK]

Nice work. I do think the slightly wider cap would make it possibly slightly less aggressive.

Sounds like you found yourself a really nice razor.

Thanks

Indeed - I already loved both Mamba's and I like having variations on a theme, so having another variation is great!

I would've thought both cap differences would work towards less aggression?
I'm going to have to try the T7 cap on the Mamba 70 (and/or vice versa) to confirm this at some point, but I think it's the cap that's the difference here.

 

[BubblesUK]

So tonight's shave is the last one before FFFMM which I've signed on for to get a solid month of experience on the T7 without the temptation of making A-B comparisons...

So I'm going for the mix-and-match shave tonight as it's the last chance I've got for a month.. just to test the supposition I made above.

So...

Razor: Ds Cosmetics T7 cap, RazoRock Mamba 70 baseplate, Razorock Ti-Halo handle (which I've always used on the Mamba 70).

Blade: Treet DuraSharp Blue (2)

Soap: MWF

Brush: Oumo synthetic knot, DIY handle.


It must be said that the scalloped cap looks particularly good with this handle!

 

[BubblesUK]

So... Shave done, very enjoyable too.

If it's not 100% the cap, then it's a big enough proportion as to be indistinguishable - with the T7 cap, the Mamba 70 feels exactly like the T7 (albeit with extra heft in the handle in my case).

Switched the caps half way through to confirm I hadn't imagined things and I'm convinced.

Now looking forward to a full month exclusively with the T7

 

[kingfisher]

Nice. It does look great with that handle; like it was made for it. Enjoy your month of shaving with it.

 

[BubblesUK]

Nice. It does look great with that handle; like it was made for it. Enjoy your month of shaving with it.

Thanks, will do!

 

[MyOldKentuckyHome]

Personally I've always preferred the Number 5

 

[BubblesUK]

Personally I've always preferred the Number 5

Haha, that's where I was going with the title!

Now if only there were two more Mamba's out there...