Participation PIF - The Mysterious KAI Blades

[fast shaver]

Kai Blade #5 Shave #3
Another smooth close shave this A.M. Three passes + touch up with the Kai blade.
The Lupo razor did really great during the shave.
No nicks or irritation noted.
Weapons used: Lupo Razor & Arko soap

 

[Grundi]

Mysterious KAI Blade #4(1)

TL;DR - Trying a @Demolition shave, super close smooth shave, with some irritation on my neck

Equipment: Fatip Lo Storto Testina Originale (from the Passaround) with Volabra Shave Stick

Background: while waiting for my turn with the Fatip Lo Storto Testina Originale, I used a Timor blade (1st time using one), and then a Dorco Prime (for me, rates at the very top of the middle tier blades) until the razor arrived. I think my skin reverted back to pre-KAI times, so that the irritation I experienced was prelude to getting back into KAI condition.

Results: just to see what @Demolition was experiencing and because it was my turn with the Fatip Lo Storto Testina Originale, I paired my 4th Mysterious KAI Blade with this drop-dead gorgeous razor. Having not used a slant style razor before, I was very careful to start. As I shaved, I realized that my usual technique would suffice. I got a very close, smooth shave from the Fatip/KAI combination. The Volabra lather was a little thin (first time using Volabra and not dialed in yet) but did not impact my shave. I did have a bit of irritation on my lower neck (which has lasted quite a while) and a few weepers. The irritation lasted for quite a while, but I attribute this to having used other blades between KAI blades.

Surprise Note: I found that the Fatip shaved around my nostrils closer than my daily shaver which was quite a nice surprise.

 

[JAHE]

Razor: Gillette Super Adjustable

Blade #1 / Shave #8.
A pleasant shave with the KAI attached to the Black Beauty. Three passes, almost bbs on the entire face. Minor blade feel. Nice.

 

[HarleyDChevrolet]

OK guys, three days ago my '59 Fat Boy got the call. Today's shave was compliments of my '62 Slim and just like before, I went for broke and opened it up to 9 for the sake of science. The shave was again what I've come to expect from these blades, BBS with no drama even when given every opportunity to bite. The Slim seems to talk a little more and have more blade feel than the Fat Boy, but not in a bad way. I'm still impressed with the Mystery Blades and in about three days my Super 109 will get the call and I'll report back. After that I think I'll circle back around to the T-Rex and dial it up a bit to see what happens.

 

[Mike M]

Blade#1 Shave#8

Feeling brave today I decided to use the Yaqi slant mounted on a Parker 26C handle and even after 7 shaves the blade/razor combination gave me an easy BBS shave. No cuts, weepers or even irritation, the next time I use a Kai I will try it in this razor much sooner.
I am really impressed with these blades and it seems to me they are what Feathers should be.

 

[Chard52142]

Tue 9th SOTD Blade#2 Shave#3
Soap Stirling Haverford
Brush Yaqi 24mm Sagrada Familia
Razor Karve Brass SB-D
Blade KAI 3rd
Post & Aftershaves Ice Water + Thayers + Hyaluronic + PAA Cavendish
Excellent soap qualities. Thickly creamy and slick with a super aromatic scent!! Love this soap!
Shave with razor paired with the blade was really nice. Smooth and comfortable for 3passes without any issues for a mostly bbs result. The aftershave is excellent. Very enjoyable shave session. Rating 10/10!

 

[Demolition]

Eighteenth shave with the Mysterious Kai blade #2

Razor: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Fine Classic 20mm Angel Hair
Soap: RazoRock Gold Label

The Fine Classic is a lather machine, so only a few swirls of RR Gold Label were needed to produce enough lather for at least half a dozen passes. I like a slightly wetter lather, but I added a touch too much water, today. It enhanced the slickness, but at the cost of cushioning. This resulted in slightly increased blade-feel, but nothing like what I felt with the first Kai blade.

Otherwise, my usual three passes were smooth and comfortable. There was no post-shave irritation, so I was able to forgo the ASB again.

Results: just to see what @Demolition was experiencing and because it was my turn with the Fatip Lo Storto Testina Originale, I paired my 4th Mysterious KAI Blade with this drop-dead gorgeous razor. Having not used a slant style razor before, I was very careful to start. As I shaved, I realized that my usual technique would suffice. I got a very close, smooth shave from the Fatip/KAI combination. The Volabra lather was a little thin (first time using Volabra and not dialed in yet) but did not impact my shave. I did have a bit of irritation on my lower neck (which has lasted quite a while) and a few weepers. The irritation lasted for quite a while, but I attribute this to having used other blades between KAI blades.

If you aren't already using a steep angle, then that might be worth a try. Over in the *Fatip Slant* thread, the common wisdom is that a steep angle not only provides a much smoother shave, but also keeps efficiency very high.

I admit that the idea of riding the guard (or, more correctly, the teeth) of a slant sounds like a recipe for disaster. I was already a steep angle shaver (by the way, join us!: Steep Angle Shavers Alliance ), so it was second nature to me. But, for anybody who is hesitating, I assure you that it's the way to go! (...with the FOCS, anyway...)

 

[Weean]

Mysterious Kai blade 2, edge 2, shave 2. Souplex Bakelite razor, Stirling Frankincense and Myrrh, Frank Shaving 20mm Best Badger brush.

I was rather unkind about this razor last time out, and it's true that I still don't enjoy using it particularly, but you can't argue with the results. My perception of inefficiency was probably based on my single wtg pass on my neck, which wasn't as smooth as I've become accustomed to from most of my other razors. But the areas of my face that received atg/xtg passes were beautifully smooth, and subsequent regrowth was both later and softer than I'm used to.

I'll have to see how much of that is thanks to the Kai blade, but I'm inclined to leave it in there for now.

 

[fast shaver]

Kai Blade #5 Shave #4
The Kai blade gave a close shave this A.M.
No nicks or irritation noted.
The Lupo Razor & PdP soap were used.

 

[JAHE]

Razor: Gillette Ballend Tech


Blade #1 / Shave #9.
I did not have much stubble to shave today (only 18 hours of growth), however, the KAI being attached to the mild Tech provided another drama free and comfy shave.

I'm going to enter the two digits numbers of shave on Wednesday. It'll be interesting to see how long the blade will last...

 

[woodwzrd]

Blade 1 Shave 12

Pre Shave: Hot shower and Neutrogena face wash
Razor: WCS Toothsome head
Blade: Kai (12)
Brush: Maggard Synthetic
Soap: Stirling Ozark Mountain
AS Balm: Nivea
AS: PAA Doppelganger Gray Label
Beard Oil: Stirling Executive Man

Another pretty good shave with the first Kai blade. I had a couple of tiny pimples on my neck and when I went over them one ended up becoming a little weeper and was a little uncomfortable. I initially thought it was tugging until I realized where I was shaving. I had to work a little more on cleaning up a couple areas after the third pass on my neck but no irritation and very little bite from the alum block. I'll just keep marching on with this blade as long as I can.

 

[Grundi]

Mysterious KAI Blade #4(2)

TL;DR - Another @Demolition shave, another super close shave, some but less irritation on my neck

Equipment: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (gold tone from the Passaround) with MEM Olive Cream

Results: Like yesterday's shave, I was able to achieve a DFS+/Near BBS shave, but still had some skin irritation and a couple of weepers. Maybe my neck was still healing from yesterday, but I noticed a little bit more blade exposure than usual.

Technique Change: Tomorrow, based on some really good insider advise (I'm looking at you, @Demolition), I'm going to try a steep angle (comb riding) instead of my usual shallower angle (not really cap riding but favoring an angle toward the cap).

 

[Mike M]

Blade#1 Shave#9

Received the Yaqi razor today and decided to give it a try. It is a very attractive razor and has a brass handle making it quite heavy. When I loaded it with the Kai there were no alignment problems so i lathered up the Proraso blue with a cheap Chinese badger (it's a bit scritchy, but it needs breaking in) the razor, although mild was very smooth and for the price I was impressed with the results even though I had to do pickups on my neck to achieve a BBS.

 

[geneaut]

OK. I took a long break from the Kai but came back today since I feel like that's the spirit of this PIF.

Blade 3 Shave 1

I put it in my SLOC, whipped up a thick wet Arko lather, and took my time with a two pass shave. It was fairly uneventful, very comfortable, and decently efficient. I didn't push it very hard since that has led to my issues with this blade in the past.

So a good report so far. I may stick to the two pass shaves for a bit though. I don't value a BBS that highly so getting a good enough shave is fine with me.

 

[B_R_A_D]

Fourth shave with Mysterious Kai blade #2

Rating - 10/10 Fantastic shave!
Razor - Timeless .95 Titanium OC / Scalloped Top Cap
Blade - Kai Stainless Steel (4)
Brush - Chisel and Hound “Buffalo Valley” with 26mm V9 Fanchurian
Bowl - Timeless Lather Bowl
Lather - Murphy and McNeil Barbershop De Los Muertos 2 (Kodiak Base)
Post-Shave - Omega Alum Stick
- Murphy and McNeil Barbershop De Los Muertos 2 Aftershave Splash (Alcohol Free)
- Murphy and McNeil Barbershop De Los Muertos 2 Aftershave Balm

3 passes (WTG, XTG & ATG)
+ BBS
+ No cuts, weepers, irritation, redness or bumps / ingrowns
~ Minimal feedback with alum
- Still some tugging on ATG on chin, goatee and lip but not as bad as previous shaves with the Kai as I went both directions on the XTG pass on those 3 areas. The slickness of Kodiak is incredible, no issues going both directions without reapplying lather

This shave was one of the best with the Kai yet. Due to the coarseness of my beard, I’ve never been able to go beyond 4 shaves with any blades so this is unchartered waters for me. Usually by now, I get lots of tugging and weepers. I’m excited to see how far the Kai blade can take me.

 

[xiletero]

Kai 4 #3
Muhle DE89
AOS Neroli cream
Sagrada FAmilia
Speick AS
AOS AB
3 pass shave, I wanted a smooth effortless good shave....but got distracted while shaving under the chin and a lateral movement gave me a cut=bleed.
The rest of the shave close, except the chin as I avoided the area after the bleed.
Not sure what's next.

 

[Demolition]

Nineteenth shave with the Mysterious Kai blade #2

Razor: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Yaqi Sagrada Familia 24mm Fan-shaped Tuxedo
Soap: RazoRock Santa Maria del Fiore

Another excellent shave, overall.

A relatively light load of RR SMdF on the Yaqi Sagrada Tuxedo Fan resulted in enough rich, slick, extremely cushiony lather for six passes. The FOCS/Kai duo provided a quick and effortless shave, yet again. My three usual passes were smooth and comfortable. Due to the extra cushion from today's lather, the slightly enhanced blade-feel from yesterday's shave was not present.

There was no post-shave irritation, so no ASB was required.

On a side-note, I noticed that this blade has stayed much cleaner than the first Kai blade that I tried. Soap scum and stubble stuck to the old blade like crazy. After each shave, a strong stream of water wouldn't rinse it off, so I had to wipe it away with my fingertip.

Today, I got curious and took a look at the old blade. I was surprised to find some superficial corrosion ("tea stains") on both faces. I dunked it in some dilute phosphoric acid (AKA concrete/masonry cleaner), rubbed it with a bit of toilet paper, and it cleaned up pretty easy.

Anyway, it's odd that the old blade got rusty while sitting on the desk in my dehumidified office. Meanwhile, the new blade has stayed spotless while sitting on its wrapper on my reasonably humid bathroom counter.

 

[borwish]

SHAVE NO. 10
2 days growth

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

Another uneventful shave. I switched the aftershave to my personal favorite, Stirling Gentleman. 2 1/2 passes with the BBS from the jawline up result. This razor's 10th shave was smoother than some other brand's first or second shaves. I'm surprised that I haven't experienced any real tugging yet.

 

[fast shaver]

Kai Blade #5 Shave #5
Another smooth close shave this A.M.
The Kai blade is starting to slow down some but, its doing OK.
No nicks or irritation noted.
Weapons used: Lupo razor & Tabac Stick soap.

 

[JAHE]

Razor: Razorock SLOC

Blade #1 / Shave #10
Again, a very nice shave. Nothing to complain from my end, the blade still seems fine.

Three passes today - dfs +.