Not that much of a bump. The C is a bit smoother but both are great. I use one plate until I change the blade and then use the other. I could go with either one.
Noob shaver, Karve review
- Thread starter Steinmetzify
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- #22
Good deal. Once I get this down I might grab the D, but if the C is smoother I might not bother.
Appreciate it!
That's such a good idea, to change plates on the same blade after several uses. I assume you start with c and then d.
You misunderstood. I put a blade in the razor and shave with it until I am going to toss the blade. Then I change plates and put in a new, unused blade.
I know this question wasn't for me but my experience is the C plate couldn't give me a BBS so I got the D plate and it's slightly higher on the aggression but even higher on the efficiency.
I would have sold my Karve if C was the highest but the D is absolutely perfect for me! Shaves like butter, and leaves the face like dolphin skin!!
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- #26
Interesting. One for and one against.
Buddy is waiting on a C plate and loves the D, he’ll be the tiebreaker to decide.
FWIW I’ve gotten the best shaves since I started doing this 5 months ago using this razor. Dolphin skin indeed!
You mentioned the angle a few times but not specifically what angle that is.
Is the optimum angle:
- steep (ride the bar),
- neutral (cap and bar touch), or
- shallow (ride the cap)
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Thanks for the reply.
Yes, I would absolutely revisit the Piccolo. That head is my current favorite in all of Shavedom. I don't find it particularly aggressive, but rather I find it moderately aggressive. I'd give it a '5', in terms of aggression. But it is very smooth, and very efficient. With it, I also find I don't need to take any more care than usual, but I suppose I should predicate that by saying my Piccolo is my usual (shaver)!
Since I've been DE wetshaving, I've gotten in the habit of shaving every other day. But I could easily shave everyday with my Piccolo.
But I must admit I do very much like my SLOC for those easygoing quick shaves, or also if my face is tender or irritated from a poorly executes shave. For example, after my recent R41/Ikon Tech/Feather-blade exploits!
I use Feathers in both my SLOC & Piccolo. Anything less than a Feather in the SLOC, and I feel it's less efficient than I prefer. The Piccolo, on the other hand, is nicely efficient with a variety of sharper blades, like Yellows, GSB, Nacet, even Astra SP. But as with the SLOC, I do prefer Feathers in it. Though unlike the SLOC, I also like it with the other blades I mentioned.
In my Piccolo, Yellows are comfortable, GSB are sharp and amazingly smooth (initially), and Nacet is surgically sharp - bordering on Feather sharp. In fact with a Nacet in my Piccolo, I do find myself taking a little more care than with the Yellows, GSB, or Polsilver. As to Polsilver, they give a very smooth and comfortable shave in my Piccolo, while sacrificing a bit of efficiency over Nacet or my usual Feathers. Polsilver makes my Piccolo a bit more casual of a shave, which can be enjoyable if I don't want to step all the way down to the SLOC.
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- #29
Seems to be pretty neutral to me. Right in the middle for my face, I get this gnarly loud feedback that lets me know I’m doing it right and as long as I stay right there it just slays my beard. This is the closest, longest lasting shave I’ve ever had.
I’ll go back to the Piccolo after I’m over the Karve fascination, I’m sure. I DO shave every day and find that it feels a little aggressive for that; I’ve gotten some slight irritation using it daily. I haven’t tried newer Gillettes in there which I’m a big fan of lately.
Agreed on the SLOC feeling less efficient than I prefer, however that’s one of the reasons I feel so comfortable using it if I’m in a hurry. I should try a newer Gillette in there as well, safety plus efficiency would be fantastic for that.
After around 24 hours with the Karve I’m at about a 5-6/10 on a smoothness scale and that’s about 8 hours after a SLOC shave. I do really like that razor and it being less than efficient means I for sure get to shave again the next day though lol
This happened to me yesterday. I had a great shave. But afterwards the alum, stung and later on I noticed some redness on my lower neck and cheeks. I used an D OC after 4 days of growth with a personna comfort coated(4). Maybe it was too much or I need to try a different blade, don’t know. But my shave was one of the best I’ve had, except for the irritation afterwards.
Yah, that should help you to decide.
BTW for the scar, have you tried vitamin E oil? My father got rid of a nasty scar on his neck with vitamin E oil used twice a day for a couple of months.
You can also alternate it with tamanu oil, which is known to heal scars.
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- #32
Hmm. Haven’t had mine long enough to use a blade longer than 2-3 days, wonder if that was it or if your beard was just too much.
It’s really not that big a deal, it’ll just get slightly inflamed once in a while and I’ll grab it with a wrong angle or sharp blade. I guess I could try that stuff, thanks for the rec!
I have C SB and recently got D OC with 3 inch handle. I really like D OC, it is more efficient and smoother than C SB, and yes 7 o'clock Black works best with Karve.
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- #34
Interesting, 2 for and 1 against!
Agreed on the 7 O’Clock Blacks tho, this thing loves that blade.
Agreed on the 7 O’Clock Blacks tho, this thing loves that blade.
I’ll have to give these a try. I also need to try and astra sp and a shark/lord chrome in my karve. I liked them in my ej89 and Gillette adjustable
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- #37
Good stuff. Let us know what you think!
Karve day 5: 2 pass BBS. Slight buffing needed on rough spots on my jawline, but other than that damn good shave. I’m thinking the Gillette Black might be a 2 and done; I usually skip on Saturdays and do it early Sunday morning. I’ll see what happens with that shave and report back.
Super impressed with this razor, really glad it’s working for me.
Personna comfort coated are the same as the Personna "Lab Blues". Not to be confused with Personna Med Preps.
Thanks for the explanation
I heard about both you naming but had no chance to try them yet
I just used the Karve F plate for seven days in a row while on the road. Amazingly easy to use, reliably efficient, yet smooth without irritation or blood. I used a Feather blade, but I'm rather agnostic about blades (except Voskhod and Merkur, which just don't work for me). I'm increasingly impressed with the Karve, and the 3-inch handle is perhaps my favorite handle in the den.
