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The "King" Cobra Classic Tour

Well, the King is on it way to a new location. It shipped out yesterday and should arrive at its new location on the 2nd.

I was able to give it another run Thursday morning before I cleaned and sanitized it. I paired my Simpsons Somerset Persian Jar 3 and Czeck and Speake no.88. I think I dulled the blade a bit going directly at my mustache and goatee the other day as I finally ended up with my first weepers and some minor irritation. I don't blame the razor however, user abuse on the poor blade.

As I was lathering up, I couldn't help but admire this brush. But as much as I love it, I decided I love the King Cobra more, so I figure I will post it in the BST soon to raise some money towards my own King Cobra. Heck, I think everything in my house is now for sale so I can be ready to buy one the moment these become available...

Friday morning, I went back to my DE razors and pulled out my ikon slant for a smooth and easy shave. It was definitely not the same as the King Cobra. The ikon used to be one of my favorites but my tastes for razors has been permanently tainted. I hope these Cobras get back in stock soon!

Anyways, its kinda sad and lonely here now that the King is gone. I miss that guy but am glad I had the opportunity. Enjoy the razor texquill! I will be anxious to hear what you think of it compared to your Cobra Classic.

Thanks again poonjaji!

John
 
Well, I guess patience is a virtue (one that I'm running short on). Moondoggie mailed the King on January 30 via USPS 2-day with tracking and insurance. Right now (Feb 3 at 8 PM), USPS still shows the package as having departed San Diego on January 31 and due to be delivered in Fort Worth on February 2.

I'll keep the thread updated when something happens (or doesn't happen).
 
Well, I guess patience is a virtue (one that I'm running short on). Moondoggie mailed the King on January 30 via USPS 2-day with tracking and insurance. Right now (Feb 3 at 8 PM), USPS still shows the package as having departed San Diego on January 31 and due to be delivered in Fort Worth on February 2.

I'll keep the thread updated when something happens (or doesn't happen).

Crap!!! I'll see what I can find out from my end. The package is gonna really have to hurry if it's going to get there on the second... Good old USPS! My sister sent me a package a couple weeks ago from Denver and they routed it to North Carolia and then on to San Diego. Must make perfect sense to someone...

The fact that this razor doesn't even belong to me is going to stress me out until it makes it to Fort Worth! Please let me know when it gets there. In the meantime, as I mentioned earlier, I will start working on things from this end.
 
Well it looks like good news from the USPS. Tracking update says it in Euless, TX this morning so we're getting close! Comforting to know that it has re-surfaced in their system... Now we just need it to show up at your door!
 
That's good news. A friendly reminder to please make sure that all of you get the extra insurance as well. I got 200 in isurance when I sent it which I believe is a requirement of the tour. I just risked the other 50 or so because I didn't want the next person to have to sign for it. We did lose a Cobra Classic razor in transit with no insurance on the Cobra tour. Fortunately some of us that really wanted the tour to continue pitched in and person who sent it uninsured picked up a lot of it. So it was replaced and the tour continues. It does happen that things get lost in the mail.
 
The King just showed up at my desk, accompanied by a pack of Dorco blades. Now, I'm doubly excited. I've never used Dorco and, of course, this will be my first experience with a King. Since I have used a Mongoose within the past few weeks, and the Cobra Classic has been my daily go-to for several years, I'm eager to make the comparisons.

Stay tuned! The experience begins tomorrow.
 
The King just showed up at my desk, accompanied by a pack of Dorco blades. Now, I'm doubly excited. I've never used Dorco and, of course, this will be my first experience with a King. Since I have used a Mongoose within the past few weeks, and the Cobra Classic has been my daily go-to for several years, I'm eager to make the comparisons.

Stay tuned! The experience begins tomorrow.

I just got a Mongoose a couple days ago and I'm forming my opinion. I'm looking forward to hearing yours.
Those Droko blades are nice. I wish they fit in the Mongoose.
 
My first experience with the King! I used a Feather Professional blade, a Simpson's Chubby 2 best brush, and MdC soap. As I loaded the blade, I was amazed at how much easier it was than with my daily use Cobra Classic. It was also much easier to load the blade than with the Mongoose that I used for two weeks before selling it to another B&B member.

The handle was initially a little uncomfortable, but it only took a minute or so to learn how to easily accommodate the additional length. The results were at least equal to those I'm used to getting from my Cobra Classic......and this is my first use of the King!

More to come as I cycle through the next six days.
 
Day 2 with the King:

My equipment included MdC soap, Simpson's Chubby 3 Manchurian, and the King outfitted with a new Dorco blade.

I repeat my observation that it's much easier to load a blade in the King than it is in either the Cobra Classic or the Mongoose.

First, after leaving the shower, but before shaving, I checked my stubble. Although the observation was certainly subjective, IMO the stubble that was generated in the 24 hours since yesterday's shave was approximately what I am used to on the day-to-day with my Cobra Classics.

I wasn't as off-put today by the length of the King's handle. It is something I can get used to with no problem. I noticed today that the King has a more "professional" appearance than the Cobra Classic. The finish is consistent, the door that covers the blade opens and closes smoothly, and the padded handle is more comfortable to hold.

I experienced a BBS shave with two passes. I did create a small weeper in a troublesome area between my lower lip and chin; but that's an issue I sometimes accomplish with the Classic, so I'm not complaining.

I'm moving down the road toward being totally convinced that the King is a step up from the Cobra Classic.

More to come tomorrow, when I have time for a much more leisurely experience.

And, just in case no one has figured it out yet, Poonjaji rocks! Thanks so very much for lending out the King, Michael.
 
EQUIPMENT LIST:
  • MdC Soap
  • King Cobra with a Feather Professional blade (second use of blade)
  • Simpson's Chubby 1 Super two band brush

Since I didn't have to start my honey-do list until mid-morning, I had time to approach today's shave in a leisurely manner.

First, although I didn't use a scientific method, while in the shower I ran my hand up my neck (against the grain) and it seemed that my stubble was a little heavier than "normal". Perhaps that was due to using a Dorco blade yesterday? I'll try to be alert for the comparisons the next few days.

My shave this morning ended up being BBS. I used two passes: first with the grain, and the second combining against the grain (on my neck) and both against the grain and across the grain on my cheeks.

I'm becoming a bigger fan of the King with every use!
 
Ken, your observations of the King Cobra mirror my own. I think the King is a step up from the Classic Cobra.

Unlike you big guys in Austin, I don't have "sources" for the hard-to-find items like the King, so, as soon as I pass the King on to its next stop, I'm going to have to re-learn what patience is while Classic Shaving get its arms around its supply chain.
 
I wish I had some sources. I tried the King the same way you did Ken and I've been practicing patience ever since.
 
EQUIPMENT LIST:

  • MdC Soap
  • King Cobra with a Dorco blade (second use of blade)
  • Simpson's Classic 1 Manchurian brush

It was a typical Sunday morning - on Saturday afternoon, I had the plans laid for a relatively early go-to-bed, a good night's sleep, and getting up early enough to enjoy a leisurely shower and shave before going to church.

Reality check! At 10:00 Saturday night, we received a text from a grandson, telling us that he was in town from college with his significant other (maybe our grand-girlfriend?), and they were on their way to our house for a visit. Of the four grandsons, this one is one of our favorites (so are the other three), so we were delighted that they were willing to spend some time with the old folks! (See, there is an advantage to paying the grandchildren's tuition)

Another set of good intentions (getting up early) became paving stones on the road to hell.

Anyhow, the Sunday morning shower was rushed, as was the shaving experience.

In the shower, I did a stubble check. It seemed to me that there was less stubble after shaving with the Feather Professional blade yesterday than there had been roughly 24 hours after the Dorco shave the day before yesterday.

I quickly lathered up, rushed through my first pass, lathered again, hurriedly did my second pass (a combination of with the grain and across the grain), and ---- TA DA !!!! ---- another BBS shave.

Gosh, I like this King Cobra!
 
EQUIPMENT LIST:


  • MdC Soap
  • King Cobra with a Feather Professional blade (third use of blade)
  • Simpson's P-8 Best brush (original Somerset release - not a 2013 LE)

What can I say but that "Mondays happen" ? One of our key guys at work called at 5:45 to say that he was sick and to ask that I cover for him to open the building at 7:00. I was reading the paper, planning to hit the shower at 6:00 in order to be at work around 8:00. It's now 7:00 and I'm writing this from work.

So .... another hurried shave. My in-shower stubble check on my neck indicated that the Dorco blade I used yesterday did as good a job as my Feather blades typically accomplish.

Just as I was finishing my second pass, disaster! I turned the razor as I was moving it across the grain, resulting in a genuine cut - probably the worst one in the past 2 - 3 years. After numerous applications of ice cubes, styptic, and small pieces of toilet tissue, I staunched the bleeding and was able to assess that I had accomplished another BBS (gash excluded).

Classic Shaving needs to start looking for a way to get the King Cobra back on the market.
 
Sorry to hear about the cut Ken, that's never fun. I also wish Classic Shaving would get the King back on the market. I would also like to see just the head be available, with standard DE threads.
 
Sorry to hear about the cut Ken, that's never fun. I also wish Classic Shaving would get the King back on the market. I would also like to see just the head be available, with standard DE threads.

If this razor were made of all stainless with a standard threaded handle it would be absolutely perfect. Being able to buy just the head as well as being able to choose from multiple handles would be really nice as well.
 
EQUIPMENT LIST FOR DAY 6:

  • MdC Soap
  • King Cobra with a Dorco blade (third use of blade)
  • Simpson's Polo 14 Super brush

Today's shave went well. I had time for a long shower, in which I performed the usual "stubble check." Yesterday's Feather Pro blade did a workmanlike job, since my stubble seemed to be at a relatively low level.

The two-pass shave was enjoyable, with BBS results. Although I'm not in love with the King's handle, I've become quite used to it and, in fact, didn't even notice its length during the shaving process.

Now that I've used the King Cobra a half-dozen times, I feel that I can speak to some comparisons between the King, the Cobra Classic, and the Mongoose. I've been using the Cobra Classic (actually, I have 3 of them!) as my daily razor for several years, and, in January, I owned a Mongoose for a couple of weeks.

The Mongoose. The razor has a good feel - nice weight and proportions. The single-edge blade loads remarkably easier in the Mongoose than it does the Cobra Classic. The Mongoose is not an aggressive razor and, after several years using the Cobra Classic, I was unable to convince myself that the advantages of the Mongoose merited replacing the Cobra Classic.

The Cobra Classic. There are lots of things that could be improved with the Classic, including the esthetics of the finishing, the shape of the handle, and the clunky and often difficult blade loading system. I find the razor a little difficult to clean thoroughly. Having said all that, I have a very strong liking for the razor and the consistently good BBS/DFS I get from it every day.

The King Cobra. I'm impressed with the improvements, including a blade loading system that operates easily and smoothly and the non-slip handle. The length of the handle is a little uncomfortable initially, but it was relatively easy to become used to it. The razor delivers a consistently good shave - so far, BBS every day.


The Conclusion. Knowing what I know now, and if I didn't own any of the three razors, and if all three razors were readily available, I'd likely purchase a King Cobra. However, I own three Cobra Classics and I'm perfectly satisfied with the job they do. If nothing better comes along - either in the form of a better blade than the Feather Professional (that is, a blade that the Cobra Classic won't accommodate) or in the form of a better-designed razor that handles the Feather Pro, I'll probably be using the Cobra Classic for years to come.
 
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