Review of the Fine Accoutrements SS New LC Homage Safety Razor
Yesterday I received the new SS Safety Razor from Fine Accoutrements. It arrived in a plain padded paper mailer with each of the three parts of the razor in its own plastic bag.
Initially, I was surprised by the basic nature of the packaging, but upon closer examination I noticed the fine Guilloche knurling on the handle along with the polish and evident quality of the build.
Since it was touted as mimicking the head geometry of the Gillette New LC, one of my favorite shaving safety razors, I looked for an open comb baseplate and instead found a safety bar baseplate reminiscent of the Muhle R41’s. Notice I said reminiscent, but with more distinctly rectangular lather channels that when viewed from the blade edge perspective did indeed bring to mind an open comb.
According to information later provided on the DFS forum, Todd, the owner of Fine Accoutrements explained that the packaging simplicity was all about attempting to control costs, while offering a SS razor designed to compete with SS razors from competing modern artisan safety razor providers, most of whose offerings are well north of $200 with some rare exceptions. As an admitted fanboy of Fine’s Marvel Safety Razor, I was eager to try this new offering. This new razor weighs in at 97.2 grams, and has a comfortable heft in hand.The guilloche knurling is remarkable, and much finer than that found on the Christopher Bradley razor handle from Karve Shaving. It almost seems to latch on to one’s fingers, providing an extremely secure, non-slip grip.
For this shave I selected the last blade from a tuck of Sharp Stars of which only 4 five blade tucks remain. These blades are quite sharp, but also unbelievably smooth shaving. Loading the blade was uneventful. It seated evenly with precision. Other parts of the shave included Mitchell’s Wool Fat shaving soap, the PAA Rabid Banana Preshave Cube, and my Viking Silvertip Badger Brush.Prior to my shower, I bloomed the MWF and soaked my shave brush in warm water. I began the shave with the usual cold water rinse and then scrubbed both mug and dome with the Rabid Banana Preshave Cube. The MWF delivered its usual yogurty, shiny and slick lather which was then applied to both face and head. I turned up my hearing aids and was rewarded with that delightful ‘buttering toast’ refrain as the Fine razor tore through the 24 hours of shave stubble in that first WTG pass. The second XTG pass continued the whisker reduction process to such an extent that I could have easily quit With a very respectable DFS++.
However, my friends at TSD who know me, know that I just can’t help but chase the baby! So, after lathering up for the third and final ATG pass I had at it and put the baby to bed. I feel refreshed, cool, clean and unbelievably velveteen! In summary this razor shaved every bit as well as my modern artisan offerings. It felt well-balanced in hand, and easily held its own and even out shaved some of my other SS modern artisan offerings $50 to $100 or more. I like this new razor and would recommend it unhesitatingly to anyone who asked. From a shave efficiency standpoint I would put it at about 6 or 7 on a 10 point scale. It’s well-engineered and easily lives up to the “Worlds Finest” assertion printed at the base of the handle.
RAZOR: Fine Accoutrements SS New LC Homage Razor
BLADE: Sharp Star (1)
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Rabid Banana Preshave Cube
BRUSH: Viking Silvertip Badger
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat w/ 6 drops of M-Bomb
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Humphreys Lilac WH and Osage Rub. Finished with Cremo Cooling Post Shave Balm.
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