Makes me want one even more. Haha.
PAA Artifact Razor
- Thread starter romo10
- Start date
So I want to buy, but I'm sure that it will be a great razor for experimentation. What marketers just don’t come up with to push us to impulsive purchases.
I think this razor needs the back of a comic book ad treatment. Place the ad right next to the x-ray vision glasses and the sea monkeys.
Yes! That’s exactly it. That’s why I want one. You’ve hit the nail on the head.
Thinking about it, that describes pretty much everything PAA sells.
Sounds like you pretty much talked yourself into. What are you waiting for?
Ah, who says I’m waiting?
Report the result.Ah, who says I’m waiting?
Ordered one, but it seems to be stuck in some kind of loop... Thanks USPS.
Yeah. Mine is in the same loop since the 11th. No point worrying about it. Eventually somebody who knows what they’re doing is bound to turn up for work and our stuff will move again.
Can someone finally write how this razor shaves? Should I take it as a toy or as a work option?
I’ve seen that razor prominently on YouTube and despite the praises I think it is hideous. And that’s probably too nice a word. Weird choice of a razor to celebrate their anniversary.
My “The Artifact” 10th anniversary novelty plastic Bazooka Joe toy razor arrived yesterday and I just used it for the first time.
To my surprise it is a perfectly acceptable shaver and you can use it just like a real razor. It gives a mildish shave, is pleasantly light, and the plastic comb feels soft on the face. There is enough blade feel and gap, though, to feel you’re getting a shave, and you wouldn’t want to overshave too much with it or apply weight - it would still give you irritation if you don’t treat it like a real razor.
The razor is very light (31g with a blade). The head is about 2/3 of the total weight but it doesn’t feel unbalanced to me, probably because it is all so light. The brass top cap is small and thin, and the balance point is where you would expect to hold it - on the sculpted nub at the top of the handle. Despite the low weight I didn’t experience any skipping, so perhaps the weight bias toward the head helps. The smooth handle can get a little bit slippery when wet, but with a razor this light it doesn’t matter. I didn’t have any problems with blade alignment - you can wobble the blade on the posts slightly if you try to, but it’s always aligned well enough.
The (bakelite) plastic feels nice to me. The handle is plain brown or rust coloured, depending on the light, and is a comfortable length and shape for my hand. The base plate is cream with swirls, and is thick enough to feel solid. The top of the handle has a brass insert where the top cap screws in, which is a nice detail and suggests that somebody wanted the razor to be more than just a cheap, throwaway thing. Overall it feels nice enough quality for a plastic razor.
I enjoyed it, honestly. It felt pleasant and light on my skin, was easy to feel the angle and shave with, it’s not the last word in efficiency but it’s fine, easy to shave with, and I had no difficulty getting a satisfyingly smooth shave. Unfortunately I’m not really a Gillette guy so I can’t tell you exactly how it compares to a Tech or something like that, which would seem the most natural kind of comparison.
It comes in a zippered case, which is nice if you want a zippered case for it, but it seems rather too large for what you might want for travel. There are three tucks of pretend blades included, which I assume are generic Chinese blades branded for PAA and might mess your face up if you actually use them - I will just assume they’re dreadful and leave them in the boxes. You get a sticker for some reason, but Blackland does that too, and you get a piece of paper that probably says something on it but I can’t be bothered to unfold it. It’s probably a ‘certificate’ or something, but if somebody does look at it and it’s a cheque for $1 million then please post to let me know before I lose it. Oh, and there’s a small cloth in case your nose is running, but it wouldn’t be large enough to deal with a bout of diarrhoea.
So overall it’s a novelty razor that I think will actually give you a decent and pleasant shave, and you could enjoy using it. I’m sure the $50 price is more than it should be but if you’re reading this you probably don’t care as long as you think it looks kinda cool and it performs decently, which it does. Yeah, it’s worth the $50 to me, and I’m quite happy to use it.
That’s way too serious a review for something like this, I know.
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Great review! I am on the fence yet, but you managed to answer my questions. Thanks for the well written review!
Thanks fpr the serious review. Now for somthing silly.
Wouldn't it be cool if this razor could double a a kazoo!
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It would. Everyone loves a kazoo and there’s really no reason why the razor handle couldn’t have been designed that way. Missed opportunity for sure.
@Mr. Shavington Maybe consider donating the PAA blades to the great B&B blade exchange.
IMO this is the ugliest razor I've ever seen. Everything about it is just downright ugly. The creators of this razor should be given an award for ugliest razor ever created...I'm no PAA hater, and think most of his razors are cool..But this razor is from planet of the ugly.
Arrived today. Not a lot of weight, but the balance is very nice. Tolerances on the plate need a bit of work maybe, because the top plate sticks to the base plate on one side and needs a slight bit of pulling to separate.
I paired it with a Personna Platinum (newest version) and the shave was very nice. I would put it just slightly below a Rocca in terms of efficiency. There is a bit of positive blade exposure so I had to be mindful of the angle, but even with a steeper angle it wasn't terrible on my skin so I didn't have any issues. There was definitely noticeable blade contact with a steeper angle though so it will probably depend on what blade you use.
With a consistently shallow angle it's a very smooth shave. I think it's good for the price.
Thanks for the review, SomeGuy! I really dig the look of the top cap, but I spent a bit on Black Friday so I think I'd best stop buying for me right now!
Is this the prototype of this razor?
