Participation PIF - The Mysterious KAI Blades

[Grundi]

Mysterious KAI Blade #4(3)

TL;DR - Changed technique to a steep angle, DFS+ shave, less irritation

Equipment: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (gold tone from the Passaround) with Wild West Kokak soap

Results: Changed my angle of attack, tried using a steep angle (riding the comb) and it seemed to reduce the irritation but keep the blade feel. I had to resist switching back to my usual shallower angle. I did notice on the ATG pass that my angle was naturally steep. Hmmm. Anyway, Shave #3 on Mysterious KAI Blade #4 resulted in a wonderful, DFS+ shave with a wee bit of irritation and 2 weepers. The scent and performance of Wild West Kokak soap is excellent and lingers for a while after the final rinse.

 

[Mike M]

Blade#1 Shave#11

Much as I dislike the smell of Arko today's shave uses Arko crushed into a dip bowl and is dedicated to @FarmerTan
Today's razor is the Yaqi closed comb which I was so impressed with yesterday. Arko lathered with the Omega professional boar despite being slick it still smells like urinal cake. The face shave was excellent, however the neck was difficult and I ended up having to do pickups on my neck. Which I never normally do. The blade is still shaving well but I will have to work out what is wrong with my neck pass.

 

[Chard52142]

Thu 11th SOTD Blade#2 Shave#4
Cream MacaRoot & Aloe
Brush Yaqi 24mm Aqua Tuxedo
Razor Fatip OC Slant on Grande handle
Blade KAI 4th (Mysterious KAI Blades PIF Participation)
Post & Aftershaves Ice Water + Thayers + Hyaluronic + MacaRoot & Aloe Gel
Really nice lather from the cream. Good pleasant scent and performance.
Shave with razor paired with the blade was a good combination. Smooth and comfortable for 3passes without any issues for a between bbs to dfs result. Rating 9.7/10

 

[xiletero]

Kai 4 #5?
Gillette 195 G2 (6-7)
Semogue Mistura
wholly kaw non tallow
Speick AS
2+ passes, this mix is the best for me, gives me a good close shave and really not much irritation.

 

[Tanuki]

Kai B1 Shave 13

Brass Karve OC-D, superior @Rosseforp custom handle
Ogallala Bay Rum Lime & Peppercorns stick
Opal vintage re-knot scrubby boar
Richard's Rub then Pinaud Lime Sec

Easy evening shave, close and comfortable. No prep, I really scrubbed in the lather. When will this blade fail to deliver? Lucky 13!

 

[Demolition]

Twentieth shave with the Mysterious Kai blade #2

Razor: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Yaqi Blue Marble 26mm Timber Wolf
Soap: Vitos Classic Eucalyptus and Lanolin

Another great shave; basically a repeat of yesterday's outing.

The Yaqi 26mm Timber Wolf/Vitos pairing made a rich, slick lather with fantastic cushioning and the FOCS/KAI duo responded with another "autopilot" performance. After a few strokes, I started to daydream and, before I knew it, I had completed my three usual passes.

There was no post-shave irritation or sensitivity, so I was able to forgo the ASB again. All in all, a smooth, comfortable, and refreshing shave.

Results: Changed my angle of attack, tried using a steep angle (riding the comb) and it seemed to reduce the irritation but keep the blade feel. I had to resist switching back to my usual shallower angle. I did notice on the ATG pass that my angle was naturally steep. Hmmm. Anyway, Shave #3 on Mysterious KAI Blade #4 resulted in a wonderful, DFS+ shave with a wee bit of irritation and 2 weepers. The scent and performance of Wild West Kokak soap is excellent and lingers for a while after the final rinse.

I'm glad to hear that the steep angle trick is working. Several folks in the "Fatip Slant" thread found that a shallow angle results in irritation and lower efficiency. It seems counter-intuitive, but if it works then go with it, right? Like they say, never let a gift horse loose in your house.... or something.

 

[Weean]

Mysterious Kai blade 2 edge 2 shave 3. Souplex Bakelite razor, Pheonix & Beau Sanskrit soap, YaQi Sagrada Familia 24mm tuxedo

Of course, after singing the praises of this razor last time I jinxed the shave and regrowth happened just as quickly as usual, if not quicker. My bristles were still relatively soft - I wonder if this blade/razor combo cuts the hair more perpendicularly than most.

One thing I did right with the first Souplex/Kai shave was to have a pre-shave shower, and I repeated that variable this morning. So far I'm very happy, we'll see how soon regrowth comes in. I am getting a bit more comfortable with the razor, too, and have (finally) decided it's a keeper.

 

[fast shaver]

Kai Blade #5 Shave #6
Got a fairly close shave this A.M. The Kai is really slowing down. Three passes plus two touchups but I think it will give me one more shave.
One small weeper & no irritation.
Weapons used: Lupo Aluminum Razor & Colonel Conk Lime soap.

 

[geneaut]

Kai Blade 3 Shave 2

Took it slow with my SLOC and a thick, wet lather of Stirling Pharaoh's Creamsicle. I pushed my shave to 95% of my full routine omitting one procedure in a place the Kai has bitten me before ( the sharp edge of the jawline ). All went well and I got a great result minus the one trouble spot I altered my routine on. My AS splash set off no alarms.

I think, for me, the Kai is just a blade that exposes poor technique or cavalier attitude. My fondness for smoother versus sharper blades has left me a little sloppy at times. When I slow down and use a gentle hand coupled with an adequate lather and face prep it delivers.

 

[JAHE]

Razor: Mühle R41 Twist

Blade #1 / Shave #11

Blade feel time!

As you all are likely aware the R41 provides quite some blade feel with almost every blade. Bottom line of today's shave is there was quite some blade feel with the KAI, too, but the blade feel wasn't worse than with any other blade. Needless to say that the shave result with this combo was nothing but exceptional. My skin feels airy and smooth as silk. No wheepers, no nicks - just a GREAT and fairly easy shave.

Tamed the beast! Onward!

 

[Ron R]

Kai B1 Shave 13

Brass Karve OC-D, superior @Rosseforp custom handle
Ogallala Bay Rum Lime & Peppercorns stick
Opal vintage re-knot scrubby boar
Richard's Rub then Pinaud Lime Sec
View attachment 1235043
Easy evening shave, close and comfortable. No prep, I really scrubbed in the lather. When will this blade fail to deliver? Lucky 13!

Hello @Tanuki Different handle on your Karve razor, looks nice & good grip.

 

[Ron R]

DE SOTD, Thurs, Mar 11th 2021, Mostly Razorock shave today with a big smile for being spoiled.

Razor: Razorock all Stainless steel Game changer.84- MFG 2018>, excellent <mid range, very smooth, I like a Kai blade in this razor for excellent shaves.
Blade: Kai SS (8) Excellent blade, Sharp & smooth with good longevity, wider than standard Gillette blade by .009 thousands of a inch or .00045" per side for more blade feel, nice in razors that are milder and will give a nice boost in blade exposure if desired.
Soap: Razorock "The Dead Sea", great scent, excellent lather qualities with good post shave feel.
Brush: Razorock Plissoft 24mm, excellent lather generator, soft tips with excellent scrub & excellent lather painter, Oldest synthetic I have in my collection of synthetics with years of service with no let downs.
Pre shave: Brush wash whole face with CeraVe hand bar cleanser + a dollop of clear Aloe Vera gel on the cleaned beard area.
Prep: Cold water rinse after each pass of 2 + pickups. WTG + ATG + pickups.
Post shave: Razorock "The Dead Sea" after shave with witch hazel + a dollop of Nivea balm.
Results: CCS,DFS,BBs + no irritation + no weepers = excellent shave with my RR GC.84 with a excellent Kai SS blade.

Have some excellent shaves! Stay & think safe in these times!

 

[borwish]

SHAVE NO. 11
2 days growth

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

I decided to follow @Mike M lead since we are both at shave 11 on the first blade. I don't have that brush, so I used my go to brush. This is my first time using this razor since it just arrived this week. I'm not fond of Arko's scent, but it's not as bad as some make it out to be.

Being my first time, I did get one small nick. This razor and blade are definitely a little more aggressive than I'm used to. Things still went smoothly. 2 1/2 passes that gave a BBS shave except for the usual trouble area above the Adam's apple. Not bad for a $7 razor.

 

[Mike M]

Sorry @borwish today is shave#11 I should have put shave#10 yesterday, but thanks for the mention.

Blade#1 Shave#11

Today to get a better result on my neck I have switched to the R41. Soap was TFS Rasozero barbacco lathered with the Yaqi purple haze. The shave was excellent and the R41 took no prisoners leading to a BBS even on my neck without pickups. The blade is still performing well and I will definitely get a few more shaves from it.

Enjoying the PIF thanks to @Grundi and @AnimalCatcher

 

[HarleyDChevrolet]

Well gentlemen, the Fat Boy and Slim were compared in back to back shaves so tonight I pulled out my '69 Super 109. I loaded up a fresh KAI and dialed it up to 9, the same as it's older brothers, and used the same setup as the others. As expected, the shave was drama free and my three day growth melted away. By comparison, the Fat Boy had the least blade feel of the three and the 109 had the most which I feel is a function of the razors more than the blade. I can't over emphasize how much I like these blades. I have given them every opportunity to do harm to my face. Nothing. Thank you Grundi.

 

[Demolition]

Twenty-first shave with the Mysterious Kai blade #2

Razor: Fatip Lo Storto Originale (aka FOCS)
Brush: Fine Stout 24mm Angel Hair
Soap: RazorRock Black Label

A slick, cushiony lather generated by the Fine Stout/RR Black Label combo perfectly complemented another fine performance from the FOCS/Kai duo.

There was a bit of extra blade-feel on the XTG pass, today, although all three passes were still quick and trouble-free, overall. Whether this means that the blade is dulling or just "going through a phase" is up for debate. It's likely that it'll smooth out on its own as it did on the tenth use following a short period of increased blade-feel. (How's that for confidence, eh? )

As usual, there was no post-shave-irritation, so no ASB was required. Frankly, I haven't needed ASB in so long that I can't remember what the damn stuff smells like anymore!

 

[xiletero]

Kai 4 #6
HollyKaw non tallow
Yaqi 24mm bager
RR Lupo 72oc nd 95 bar
Speick AS
2+ pass
a bit of blade feel but not bad. One weeper (probably the blade?). Close shave, moderate irritation.

 

[fast shaver]

Kai Blade #5 Shave #7
I made it to shave #7 !
Three passes & multiple touchups were needed though.
No nicks or irritation noted.
Weapons used: Lupo Razor & Tabac Stick soap.
I want to Thank @Grundi & @AnimalCatcher For holding this event!
It was fun to try these blades out.

 

[JAHE]

Razor: Fatip Open Comb Slant

Blade #1 / Shave #12
Had a bit of tugging in the ATG pass today, which is from rather uncommon from my experience, but not too bad. Otherwise, nothing to report but a pleasant and relaxing shave (3 passes, almost bbs).
If the tugging doesn't get worse I'm going to stick with this blade for some more shaves...

 

[Mike M]

Blade#1 Shave#12

Sticking with the R41 for tonight's shave after yesterday's good showing. Went with Stirling Sharp Dressed Man lathered with the Yaqi Evil Zebra because I just love that scent. The Kai blade continues to give good shaves despite having lost some of it's sharpness. The aggressiveness of the R41 seems to make up for it and makes a great combination. The blade still shows no sign of giving ipso I'll go with the R41 tomorrow too.