Stainless DE Trials Above the Tie Safety Razor

[Above The Tie]

Volunteers have been selected, prototype razors dispersed results could be coming anytime.
The testers are; Alex, Railroad Man, Omak, Shaverjoe, Brad and Matt. They have been assigned to grade design, quality, finish, ease of use and most importantly quality of shave. Their finding will be posted here. Stay tuned!

 

[warhawk]

Hi Stan: When will these prototype stainless steel razors be available for sale? Congrats to the testers... looking forward for the reviews.

WARHAWK

 

[Omak]

In Stan's last thread he said 3-4 weeks. I'm on my phone or I'd link it. Thanks for the opportunity! I look forward to getting the razor.

 

[shaverjoe]

Well, sometimes you get lucky and today was my lucky day. As many of you know, Stan at www.abovethetie.com is introducing an all stainless steel safety bar razor to the wet shaving community. Through some good fortune, I have the opportunity to give the prototype a test drive this week and offer feedback before the razor goes into production. I will be shaving with the razor everyday this week and will update this thread daily with my review of the razor's performance.

To put my review into perspective, I will share with each of you my past DE experience. I have been wetshaving for years, but only started using a DE razor one year ago this month. My DE experience includes regular use with the following razors- Gillette Super Speed Flare Tip, Gillette FatBoy, Gillette Slim, Merkur 34 HD, EJ 89, Tradere OC, and the Tradere Safety Bar. I also use a straight razor commonly but I feel I have used each of the aforementioned razors enough to offer a fair comparison to the razor being offered by Stan at Above The Tie (ATT).

First, some pictures and measurements- please remember this is a prototype and the measurements on the production razor may be slightly different-
​

The razor has a uniform matte finish and even the prototype is finished beautifully.



The width of the head of the prototype measures as above. This is identical to my 61 FatBoy.



The knurling is deep along the entire handle offering a very secure grip during the shave.



Handle length



Handle diameter. This is not the best photo but you can see the calipers are resting on the "gripping" portion of the handle.

As I said, I will shave with this razor for the full week. To reduce as many variables as possible, I will shave with this setup for the week-
Shower before the shave
Proraso pre-shave (before first pass only)
ATT all stainless safety bar prototype
Personna Lab Blue
Simpson Berkley
QCS Iced Key Lime cream- face lathered
Finish with Thayers Alcohol Free WH
QCS Key Lime Balm

First shave:
Let me first say it is impossible to draw any conclusion about a product from a single shave, however, here are my initial impressions-

Before starting the shave, I noticed the razor is hefty but well balanced with more weight in the handle than the head. I prefer this to the opposite because I feel this allows more control of the razor and in a skill where "no pressure" is a key to success, it is invaluable in my opinion to have a razor which is not "head heavy." The prototype I am using, loaded with a blade, weighs 108gms. The razor is a very smooth shaver and is quite efficient, more so than any of the aforementioned razors aside from the Tradere OC which really is not relevant here because it is an open comb. I would equate the face feel of the ATT stainless to a FatBoy on 7-8, though I will need a few more shaves to really evaluate this. Prior to starting this "test drive," I had used my Tradere SB about 5 times. I feel these razors are close in this aspect of smoothness and efficiency, however, again this is just one shave. The razor head of the ATT stainless is very maneuverable around the face, even under the nose which can be a problem spot with razors with bulky or oversized heads. The deep knurling on the handles affords the user a very secure and comfortable grip during the shave and the length of the handle is perfect for my hand size- as a point of reference, I can BARELY palm a fully inflated regulation size basketball.

Overall, I had a very nice 3 pass shave that was very close with zero irritation, cuts, nicks, weepers, etc.

I will update this post tomorrow with my next shave.

​

 

[Scott0079]

Stan, since you're in prototype phase can I cast a vote for a long handle option

 

[warhawk]

Hi Joe: That is a sweet looking razor. I am looking forward to your reviews.

WARHAWK

 

[stickjr25]

@shaverjoe, what blade will you be using for your review?

 

[shaverjoe]

Hi Joe: That is a sweet looking razor. I am looking forward to your reviews.

WARHAWK

Thanks, Mel. I feel very fortunate to be able to try it out.

 

[shaverjoe]

@shaverjoe, what blade will you be using for your review?

I am very sorry. I will edit my post. I will be using a Personna Lab Blue

 

[shaverjoe]

Here is my set up for this week's test drive with the ATT all stainless.
Sorry for the poor quality photo. Shot this after my shave tonight.

 

[rebos]

Nice review. I'll be following this thread.

 

[VerbaVolant]

Very nice review indeed. I was wondering if you could take close-up pictures of the head loaded with a blade.
Thank you.

 

[VerbaVolant]

How is the thread fit of the handle with the head?

 

[Gingerbread]

Looks promising. This does not bode well for my wallet!

 

[shaverjoe]

Very nice review indeed. I was wondering if you could take close-up pictures of the head loaded with a blade.
Thank you.

I tried to capture this image tonight, however, it was too dark outside to get a good picture with some natural light. My wife is a far better photographer than I am and I will try to have her get a good picture tomorrow demonstrating both the blade fit and blade gap.

 

[shaverjoe]

How is the thread fit of the handle with the head?

Flawless! The handle threads cleanly and securely onto the razor head with absolutely zero "play." The machining is excellent with tight tolerance. The same can be said for the blade seating on the center post and lateral posts of the bottom head plate. I will try to demonstrate this clearly tomorrow in a photo. The machining, quality, and finish of the razor are absolutely top tier in my opinion.

 

[Unadan]

I'd replace the Thayer's with the generic Witch Hazel from Wal Mart although I realize it wouldn't look as pretty!

 

[Drybonz]

Those handles look good... will there be an open comb model?

 

[esoomenona]

As someone above mentioned, I like long handles. But, to be honest, I think ~3.5 inches is a good length; a meeting point between short and long. I would have no qualms with the length as it is right now.

 

[shaverjoe]

2nd shave down-
Overall, same result as last night. Very smooth, efficient, irritation free shave. The razor is substantial, yet comfortable to use. Maneuvers easily about the face. One thing I would like to mention in regards to determining the efficacy of a razor/shave is the time it takes one's face to return to some pre-determined point of being shave ready again. Another way of stating this is- how long do you maintain your BBS or DFS shave- or whatever baseline you yourself use. I shave daily and I usually have DFS for about 10 hours, however, I noticed my face felt smoother with less stubble for 2-3 hours longer today in comparison to my usual baseline. Part of this could certainly be secondary to me being quite careful with a new tool, however, I think it speaks more to the efficiency and quality of this razor's design. I am anxious to hear the other reviewers chime in on this particular aspect, but for me, this razor is very efficient, shaves closely without being overly aggressive, and accomplishes it all very comfortably.

As I mentioned in an earlier comment, I wanted to post some images of the blade gap and the blade when housed inside the head fully assembled. This was a challenging shot to accomplish and I used a combination of cameras. My photography skills are challenged to say the least, but I hope the viewer will have a reasonable impression after looking at the pictures below. I took these tonight after the shave.


Blade gap. There is a fiber in the photograph from the towel I used to clean the razor after I shaved. That is not a defect in the machining. The machining on the razor is absolutely beautiful. Though it looks large in the picture, it was tiny in real life.


Another view of the blade gap. It was just hard to get a good shot of this.


iPhone photo from the side trying, again, to demonstrate the blade gap. As you can see from this photo, the blade exposure along the entire length of the razor head is equal.


The photo is crooked, not the razor head on the handle. The head and handle fit together like a glove. The handle threads into the head cleanly and securely with absolutely zero play. The blade sits securely in the razor head and the blade exposure is equal side to side and is the same along the entire length of each side of the razor head- another testament to the top quality machining that has gone into the production of this razor.

Overall, I am very impressed with the quality, finish, and shave provided by this razor. Looking forward to tomorrow's shave and again, I will pay particular attention to how long my shave lasts. Thanks for reading.