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Participation PIF - The Mysterious KAI Blades

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Razor: Merkur Progress

Blade #1 / shave #4
Shave #4 was pleasant and smooth with 3 passes and no touch ups. Again, almost bbs (there is some minor remaining stubble on the jawline of my face's left side, which I obviously did not shave properly enough atg).

FWIW, setting was on #2, my Progress aligns properly on the "+".
 
Blade 3
Shave 4
Soap Essence of Scotland - Sweet Gale

This morning was only 24 hour growth. I was much rewarded for my consistency, as I had no pulling or tugging. I did a 2 pass shave due to time constraints so I do have a spot here and there that would have gotten a quick touch up.

As for the blade, it is still a champ. It made quick work of even the most stubborn hair. I had no issues with the blade and no nicks.

10/10
 
SHAVE NO. 8
2 days growth

Preshave: Warm shower with Palmolive bath bar
Razor: 1964 Super Speed
Blade: Kai
Soap: Stirling Sharp Dressed Man
Brush: Stirling Pro Handle Synthetic
After: Stirling Sharp Dressed Man splash

Still not as smooth as earlier, but the SS is not as good of a shaver on my face as the others. It took a little extra effort to get BBS excepting the troubled area. 2 1/2 passes with no drama. A closer shave than the techs and not too far behind the KCG or SLOC on it's troubled area performance. It's at the point where I'd normally consider tossing the blade, but will see how much longer it will go in the SLOC.
 

Mike M

...but this one IS cracked.
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Blade#1 Shave#4

Ok, starting to feel confident with the Kai blade so I kicked it up a notch with the Fatip piccolo, possibly my favourite razor. There are few razors that always give a great shave with almost any blade, but this is mine.
The blade is very smooth in this razor and gives an extremely close shave. Don't get me wrong even now on shave#4 the blade still feels sharp, so much so that on my ATG pass I had to ride the top cap, and managed to finish without irritation, but with a BBS finish.
 
Still Kai 1, now on shave/use 10, living and loving life in the Copper Ascension:

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The Kai is still shaving me close. The Carre SR did pass 1, the Ascension/Kai followed effortlessly to the finish. I did open the 'twist adjustable' Ascension's throttle 1/8 turn for final touch up. Not sure it made any difference, just playing with the controls.

Custom soap, custom boar, just grateful for the gift of a great shave. Thanks again guys, for this participation PIF that is opening my eyes to the many facets of Kais!
 
Fourteenth shave with the Mysterious Kai blade #2

Razor
: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Simpson S1 Special Best Badger
Soap: Vitos Classic Eucalyptus and Lanolin

A fantastic performance by the FOCS/Kai duo more than compensated for an average performance from the Simpson S1 Special/Vitos Classic pairing.

Despite a moderate amount of cream (perhaps 1 cc), I was only able to generate enough lather for one good pass (rich and cushiony) and one mediocre pass (slick, but thin and slightly airy). I'm not sure what caused the lather to dissipate between passes like that. I had to dip into my lather remnant mug (Williams puck on the bottom and excess lather squeezed out of my brushes from previous shaves on top) to make enough lather to finish the second and third passes.

However, as noted, all three passes with the FOCS and Kai were fantastic; truly effortless and trouble-free. As I've said before, this is a major change from the performance of the previous Kai. That blade was cursed (as in, I cursed whenever I used it :001_tongu ).

Afterwards, my face felt very smooth and refreshed, so no ASB was required. Looking forward to the next shave with anticipation!
 
Mysterious Kai blade 2, edge 1, shave 4. Wilkinson Sword Sticky; Haslinger Seaweed (tallow) soap; YaQi Giotto 24mm synth.

I got a tiny 10g sample of this soap I don't know how long ago, and it just will not die, although it does take a bit more work to get enough lather nowadays. The lather it does produce is lovely, slick and cushioning. Even so, the enhanced blade feel of the Kai is noticeable, and I'm prepared to draw a line under this edge. This despite an excellent close shave with no residual irritation - I'll quit while I'm ahead.
 
On my 3rd blade (2nd week) and used it in my Slim this week. I do have to say, as predicted in my previous post I have gotten consistent 2 pass shaves that are close and comfortable. These blades in the slim shave effortlessly and the blade feel is quite minimal as I have the setting in the middle of the road at 5. I will say this, the Slim is the clear winner for these blades. If I was to do the same in the Fatboy I would get weepers everywhere and you really feel the blade as you shave. Of course YMMV BUT, I would definitely use these blades in my Open Combs, Aristocrat, and my Slim. I would definitely avoid these blades in my Fatboy.

Larry
 
On my 3rd blade (2nd week) and used it in my Slim this week. I do have to say, as predicted in my previous post I have gotten consistent 2 pass shaves that are close and comfortable. These blades in the slim shave effortlessly and the blade feel is quite minimal as I have the setting in the middle of the road at 5. I will say this, the Slim is the clear winner for these blades. If I was to do the same in the Fatboy I would get weepers everywhere and you really feel the blade as you shave. Of course YMMV BUT, I would definitely use these blades in my Open Combs, Aristocrat, and my Slim. I would definitely avoid these blades in my Fatboy.

Larry

Your post literally calls for a Fatboy shaving on setting 5. Just for scientific reason.:welcoming: So, I´m in.
Will report back on Saturday...
 
Blade #1, Shave #8

Karve with plate E
Soap is Arko

This blade is done for me. It was not a horrible shave, but the blade was just too dull to cut some of my whiskers on my neck. I got some irritation with that post shave raw feeling. The blade was still very smooth, it just wouldn't cut enough in certain places. I realized I was going over areas in my neck too many times to get the closeness I want. One hour later I have an acceptable shave; maybe I would rate it one slight level below DFS.

I am envious of those of you who continue to get good shaves well past 8. This particular blade peaked for me at shave #4, and really started going downhill at shave #6. So there it is.

I plan on continuing on with Blade #2 with a comparison method with one of my standard blades; Nacet, Perma-Sharp Super, and Gillette yellow. I haven't firmly decided exactly how, but I'm leaning toward shaving every three days and alternating the blades. I usually shave every 5 days. My thought would be to give a report on both shaves on the same day, so the report would come every 6 days. I would report on my perception of sharpness, smoothness, and the quality of shave I was left with. I will have to wait four days for my face to heal, so my next report will tentatively come in 10 days with the result of both shaves with a fresh Kai and whatever other blade I decide to go with.
 
Your post literally calls for a Fatboy shaving on setting 5. Just for scientific reason.:welcoming: So, I´m in.
Will report back on Saturday...

Already tried that on my face last week, I started out on setting 5 and got a huge blade feel and wound up with many weepers and irritation. When I dialed it down to a 3 there was a LOT of blade feel but not close enough to last the day with the usual 2 pass shave. I then dialed it up to a 4, still got a ton of blade feel and it was closer but wound up with a few weepers and mild irritation every time. I encourage anybody to try the Slim VS Fatboy with the Kai blade....it would be interesting to see what the results will be :a21:

Larry
 
I encourage anybody to try the Slim VS Fatboy with the Kai blade....it would be interesting to see what the results will be
What about doing a "KAI meets the Gillette Adjustables" weekend?

Saturday's shave shall take place with the Fat Boy. Sunday's shave will be dedicated to the Slim. In case you have access to both razors, use them on the same setting number (or a setting which appears to be equal on these two razors subject to your personal experience).

Who else is going to join in with the Fatboy and/or Slim?
 
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Mike M

...but this one IS cracked.
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Blade#1 Shave#5

As I haven't had a shave like my dad Friday since some time last month I thought I would give it a go tonight.
The razor is a Gillette slim twist, although mild it does not get on with every blade so using it with a new blade can sometimes be a little like russian roulette. That said I think they are now firm friends. The shave was good, close and enjoyable. This blade seems to get on with everything. It still feels sharp but smooth and there is no tugging although I have had to alter some of my angles to get the most out of the blade
Looking forward to shave#6
 
OK guys, tonight's shaving adventure involved my '59 Fat Boy loaded with a new Mysterious Meteor Metal blade and, throwing caution to the wind, I dialed it up to a 9. Using the same Stirling Baker Street soap and a Stirling synthetic brush, away we went.
The result was as expected given the positive result achieved with my 6S and T-Rex which were also configured in a similarly aggressive manor. This time there was blood. I got a little too close on the tender part of my neck and believe it to be caused by poor technique more than anything as I have grown accustomed to the weight of the modern stainless razors and, even though the Fat Boy appears heavy, it is a relative lightweight in comparison.
I've given these blades every reason to thrash my face but it's just not happening. I REALLY like these blades, so much so that they are now on my radar for a future purchase, many thanks to Grundi for the PIF. :thumbup:
 
Fifteenth shave with the Mysterious Kai blade #2

Razor
: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Yaqi Moka Express 26mm Two-Band Badger
Soap: Tabac

A superb performance from the Tabac/Yaqi Moka Two-Band pairing complemented an equally fine performance by the FOCS/Kai duo.

For the last two weeks, I've come to expect consistently trouble-free shaves from this razor/blade combination. Therefore, it was no surprise that today's three-pass shave was very smooth. The ATG pass went especially well; quick and effortless.

At this rate, I'll be able to get 20 uses from this blade or possibly more. We shall see!
 
Very German shave, blade 1, 11th use.

Vintage Merkur travel slant, new to me, arrived today
Kaiser blade (11) - best German blade I've experienced
Reine Borste boar
Tabac stick
Adidas Dynamic Pulse A/S

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This shave provides another data point on the @Slanterino Merkur slant/Kai blade issue. This vintage Merkur slant head presented the Kai blade with no dangerous exposed corners or other annoyances.

I got a close, fast, effortless shave. A few hours later, I am rating it a mid-range DFS.
 
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