My journey with the Feather AC SS (Kamisori non-folding)

[nicked78]

Back to the Kamisori for shave #21 after ten shaves away with some DE's. Gave myself a nice cut on my upper lip trying to get fancy and really work the very edge of the lip on the WTG pass. I think I forgot what I was doing. If I concentrate too much of the blade in one specific place, it does tend to bite. Luckily the thing healed up quickly. I was left thinking how glad I am that I'm still using guarded blades.

I didn't really go for a super close shave today but it turned out alright. My lather was on point today, so I'll chalk that up as a bigger success than the razor handling.

 

[dfs]

Enjoying your commentary very much. I have done 4 feather ss shaves so far and it has been fairly miserable. I average 2 cuts per day. Today I decided on a rest and had an awesome DE shave, my first close shave all week! I also have tons of trouble so far with chin and neck. I am asking myself if it's worth the steep learning curve. My goal is not BBS, but rather DFS, and DE shaving gets me there easily. I like the asthetic concept of SE shaving but just not sure if I want to lose all that blood in the process

 

[nicked78]

Enjoying your commentary very much. I have done 4 feather ss shaves so far and it has been fairly miserable. I average 2 cuts per day. Today I decided on a rest and had an awesome DE shave, my first close shave all week! I also have tons of trouble so far with chin and neck. I am asking myself if it's worth the steep learning curve. My goal is not BBS, but rather DFS, and DE shaving gets me there easily. I like the asthetic concept of SE shaving but just not sure if I want to lose all that blood in the process

Welcome to B&B, and thanks so much for reading my thread and for your feedback, @dfs! This razor is not easy to learn. I recently benched it myself in favor of a DE holiday.

Why? A couple new vintage Gillette's showed up, and I had just made some real progress in DE shaving, too, achieving really close shaves without irritation consistently. The Kamisori was taking just a little too long for my liking as well.

As to your struggle with cuts, ouch! They are really discouraging, and when they happen early in the shave, they sort of doom the rest of the shave in that area. But cuts will eventually just become nicks, and nicks will just be little weepers, and soon enough you'll be getting through a full shave without drawing the attention of every phlebotomist you meet.

One of my best improvements in both Kamisori and DE shaving has been discovering Tabac soap. Ever tried it? I find it so easy to lather, and it's just crazy slick. I buy it in stick form, and then grate it into shavings and press them into an empty puck.

Only you can decide "if it's worth it." I made the learning curve easier for me by quickly finishing the rough parts of each shave with a DE until I didn't need to anymore. This kept me going with less discouragement. Some would say it makes the learning process longer. I just want to have a good, close shave every day. All the best!

 

[nicked78]

I fell behind adding my shaves to this thread, so here's the last three (none of which were anything to write home about):

#22 featured a cut on my chin during the first pass, which only made that area even harder to navigate. Styptic pencil was needed ultimately to close it up. Nevertheless, I noted this was a "pretty good shave." (Why?)

#23 found me focusing on a shallower angle and lighter pressure to avoid a repeat performance of the cut from the day before. I got a result that featured less aftershave burn and happier skin overall, but which was also a lot less close. My chin was especially rough--maybe more so than any other shave previously. Might have been my reluctance to accidentally re-open that cut.

#24 was a frustrating shave, taking far too long and just not getting the results I'd like after putting in the effort. I decided to cut my losses and finish with my FOCS and an old Wilkinson blade I had used a few times before, which only made me want to take a break from the Kamisori and work on my DE technique again. So I am! I just had the feeling I was trying too hard with this and not enjoying it at the moment. That's not a good frame of mind to be in while wielding such a sharp implement around in the morning.

I do like this razor and I'll come back to it when it feels right--when I'm ready to commit to using it daily for at least a couple weeks straight again.

 

[xiletero]

Chin area is hard. If the blade starts to jump/skip; I have learnt to quit and avoid any accidents....I'll finish with whatever I have handy.....yes it's not very manly to quit....but I don't like unnecessary face cuts.... I do bleed a lot and don't heal well.

 

[dfs]

Funny, I used Tabac this morning and it was my first bloodless straight shave. Not a particularly good shave but adequate. So,
at least for today, not giving up. Even decent chin shave, just by being a little bolder.

 

[nicked78]

Chin area is hard. If the blade starts to jump/skip; I have learnt to quit and avoid any accidents....I'll finish with whatever I have handy.....yes it's not very manly to quit....but I don't like unnecessary face cuts.... I do bleed a lot and don't heal well.

Maybe it's not so much quitting but . . . for example, whenever I'm fixing something or working on some project, if a certain tool (or my knowledge of how to use it) proves to be lacking, I switch to something that works better! That seems rational. Keeps me out of the E.R. (*knocks on wood*)

 

[nicked78]

just by being a little bolder.

This! With this shavette, it didn't help me to be too timid. I started out so carefully and nervous that I was probably more like stabbing/dabbing at my skin, instead of taking confident strokes. Once I started to believe the razor wasn't that likely to cut me unless I messed up, things started to go much better. I think there is something to be said for having a little momentum in each stroke.

I'm glad Tabac played a role in your first bloodless shave!