Thank you for this ongoing review. Hoping your shave boo-boos heal quick.
The Tilted Picnic Slant Circus, Year 2
- Thread starter Old Hippie
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #62
The Tilted Picnic, Year 2. Round Three, Final Shave: Fasan Double Slant, Version One
By contrast, today's shave was great. Smooth, close, all that could be asked.
In the end, the Fasan Double Slant is a razor that could be used every day. It has its quirks and foibles, but then so do I. Despite being an aging contender, it still has the mojo! It's good to pull something like this out once in a while and do a "Roots Shave" returning to an earlier set of sensibilities.
Monday we'll return to a fairly faithful interpretation of the Fasan: PAA's "El Fantasma."
O.H.
By contrast, today's shave was great. Smooth, close, all that could be asked.
In the end, the Fasan Double Slant is a razor that could be used every day. It has its quirks and foibles, but then so do I. Despite being an aging contender, it still has the mojo! It's good to pull something like this out once in a while and do a "Roots Shave" returning to an earlier set of sensibilities.
Monday we'll return to a fairly faithful interpretation of the Fasan: PAA's "El Fantasma."
O.H.
- Thread starter
- #63
The Tilted Picnic, Year 2. Round Four, Shave One: Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements "El Fantasma"
Reference the picture earlier in this thread of the three-slant "generational" shave.
I'm not a stranger to the "ElF." While I appreciate that many really like very light razors and find them quite congenial, I personally find very light razors to be a challenge. That may be down to just not having developed my technique with them, but in any event I struggle with them so I make some changes.
In this case -- as with most aluminum and plastic razors I've used -- I find that the addition of a stainless handle pretty much solves my immediate problem. With the ElF, I like the RazoRock "UFO" handle which puts more of the handle's mass up toward the head. That's important to me, because having a bottom-heavy handle on a light head like this doesn't feel right.
Side by side with the Fasan Double Slant, the ElF appears to have the same degree of twist as the Fasan. Since the razor is explicitly marketed as being modeled on the Double Slant, one would hope it at least looks the business! And look the business it does, however I've found that also somewhat deceptive. Not in an evil sense, but rather that the razor is not as close to the Fasan in use as it would outwardly appear. This leads to the second modification.
Earlier I found that putting a trimmed razor blade shim between the blade and baseplate gave a more useful gap. Without the shim, the razor is, in my context, literally too mild to shave. That's not a blanket criticism. It's recognizing that I have to modify a little to get the razor to work the way I want.
I appreciate the mild character of the ElF and (I imagine) the other razors in the series. Too many slant manufacturers only go for the most aggressive razor they can make. For guys'n'gals who love the aggressive razors that's great. I'm not criticizing; just saying that it's nice to see some diversity in the level of aggressivenes in the market offerings.
For the money the ElF is a great little razor. With a little customization it's a lot more comfortable to me. Despite the rather intimidating amount of helicality and the open comb, I would recommend the ElF as a good first slant to anyone who has a year or two of experience with regular DE razors. We can argue all day about whether slants work, how they work, why this or that technique does the same thing, or why slants are no longer relevant because we have better blades than 80 years ago. The fact of the matter is that I like the shaves I get from most slants, and the ElF is a very nice shaver.
O.H.
Reference the picture earlier in this thread of the three-slant "generational" shave.
I'm not a stranger to the "ElF." While I appreciate that many really like very light razors and find them quite congenial, I personally find very light razors to be a challenge. That may be down to just not having developed my technique with them, but in any event I struggle with them so I make some changes.
In this case -- as with most aluminum and plastic razors I've used -- I find that the addition of a stainless handle pretty much solves my immediate problem. With the ElF, I like the RazoRock "UFO" handle which puts more of the handle's mass up toward the head. That's important to me, because having a bottom-heavy handle on a light head like this doesn't feel right.
Side by side with the Fasan Double Slant, the ElF appears to have the same degree of twist as the Fasan. Since the razor is explicitly marketed as being modeled on the Double Slant, one would hope it at least looks the business! And look the business it does, however I've found that also somewhat deceptive. Not in an evil sense, but rather that the razor is not as close to the Fasan in use as it would outwardly appear. This leads to the second modification.
Earlier I found that putting a trimmed razor blade shim between the blade and baseplate gave a more useful gap. Without the shim, the razor is, in my context, literally too mild to shave. That's not a blanket criticism. It's recognizing that I have to modify a little to get the razor to work the way I want.
I appreciate the mild character of the ElF and (I imagine) the other razors in the series. Too many slant manufacturers only go for the most aggressive razor they can make. For guys'n'gals who love the aggressive razors that's great. I'm not criticizing; just saying that it's nice to see some diversity in the level of aggressivenes in the market offerings.
For the money the ElF is a great little razor. With a little customization it's a lot more comfortable to me. Despite the rather intimidating amount of helicality and the open comb, I would recommend the ElF as a good first slant to anyone who has a year or two of experience with regular DE razors. We can argue all day about whether slants work, how they work, why this or that technique does the same thing, or why slants are no longer relevant because we have better blades than 80 years ago. The fact of the matter is that I like the shaves I get from most slants, and the ElF is a very nice shaver.
O.H.
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
Interesting modifications.
I like the razor well enough stock, but to me it's mostly a novelty item albeit a good one.
Happy shaves,
Jim
I like the razor well enough stock, but to me it's mostly a novelty item albeit a good one.
Happy shaves,
Jim
- Thread starter
- #65
The Tilted Picnic, Year 2. Round Four, Shave Two: Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements "El Fantasma"
Before I have to double up, better get a late report in!
Wednesday's shave was very nice. The blade's settling down a little and I managed a good DFS that over the course of the day mellowed to a BBS -- it was still pretty BBS-y 12 hours later!
Before I have to double up, better get a late report in!
Wednesday's shave was very nice. The blade's settling down a little and I managed a good DFS that over the course of the day mellowed to a BBS -- it was still pretty BBS-y 12 hours later!
- Thread starter
- #66
The Tilted Picnic, Year 2. Round Four, Shave Three: Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements "El Fantasma"
I know this about myself: that I make something of a fetish out of the third shave on a DE or Gem blade. I don't have as much experience with AC blades, but they tend to hit the magic shave around number five for me. Mostly it's that time when the factory edge has been knocked down just a little on each side (I flip between each shave), but part of the magic is that if I stick to my usual shave routine the third shave is on a Friday. Automatically a pretty good day. That leaves a pretty good shave in the blade for next Monday, then Wednesday is a recognition that the blade's on the way out and Friday is "let's see if we can squeeze out one more."
And yeah, I probably get at least as much entertainment out of thinking about shaving as actually doing it.
But here we are; it's Friday and I've had the third shave and I'm supremely happy. Or as happy as a grumpy, pessimistic, aging Scot can be.
I'm sensing, however, that this razor is so mild that I tend to do more passes. I've lately hit on the tactic of doing two WTG passes before going ATG, which really seems to help knock things down and make the ATG pass easier. I then end up doing two ATG passes with the "ElF" which is mostly OK but there is one spot where the hair is a little swirly-squirrelly where I have to use lots of different angles and there's some danger of "wearing through the plating" and leaving a weeper.
For all these shaves I've been using the same brush (Omega 10005 Boar) and the same soap, an "Old Man Special" of half a bar of Yardley's Almond and Oatmeal soap grated into my mug, then melted for 30 seconds in the radar oven and gently packed down with a soup spoon. I'm not in love with the soap but it works OK. Nice and slick as long as I work in smaller areas and keep painting it on as needed. I have other soaps, including homemade OH Puck! that has enough residual slickness to shave for a week on one application. I wanted to try this on, and have discovered it's inexpensive, I don't mind the scent, I get good shaves, and one bar of soap lasts me at least two months. I once blew through a puck of OH Puck! in two weeks.
Well, that's enough narrative that none of y'all will accuse me of just phoning it in.
O.H.
I know this about myself: that I make something of a fetish out of the third shave on a DE or Gem blade. I don't have as much experience with AC blades, but they tend to hit the magic shave around number five for me. Mostly it's that time when the factory edge has been knocked down just a little on each side (I flip between each shave), but part of the magic is that if I stick to my usual shave routine the third shave is on a Friday. Automatically a pretty good day. That leaves a pretty good shave in the blade for next Monday, then Wednesday is a recognition that the blade's on the way out and Friday is "let's see if we can squeeze out one more."
And yeah, I probably get at least as much entertainment out of thinking about shaving as actually doing it.
But here we are; it's Friday and I've had the third shave and I'm supremely happy. Or as happy as a grumpy, pessimistic, aging Scot can be.
I'm sensing, however, that this razor is so mild that I tend to do more passes. I've lately hit on the tactic of doing two WTG passes before going ATG, which really seems to help knock things down and make the ATG pass easier. I then end up doing two ATG passes with the "ElF" which is mostly OK but there is one spot where the hair is a little swirly-squirrelly where I have to use lots of different angles and there's some danger of "wearing through the plating" and leaving a weeper.
For all these shaves I've been using the same brush (Omega 10005 Boar) and the same soap, an "Old Man Special" of half a bar of Yardley's Almond and Oatmeal soap grated into my mug, then melted for 30 seconds in the radar oven and gently packed down with a soup spoon. I'm not in love with the soap but it works OK. Nice and slick as long as I work in smaller areas and keep painting it on as needed. I have other soaps, including homemade OH Puck! that has enough residual slickness to shave for a week on one application. I wanted to try this on, and have discovered it's inexpensive, I don't mind the scent, I get good shaves, and one bar of soap lasts me at least two months. I once blew through a puck of OH Puck! in two weeks.
Well, that's enough narrative that none of y'all will accuse me of just phoning it in.
O.H.
- Thread starter
- #67
The Tilted Picnic, Year 2. Round Four, Shave Four: Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements "El Fantasma"
As we head into the "back half" of the blade's useful life I'm seeing some interesting things about this mild razor. I felt during the shave that it was too mild, or at any rate just not shaving off anything. However, gently concentrating on the areas that needed some additional edgy love was mostly successful. After the shave it was a couple of hours and it had mellowed out to a DFS.
On the one hand, zero irritation. On the other, it took longer and didn't feel smooth straight off. I definitely will prefer this razor in the early shaves.
O.H.
As we head into the "back half" of the blade's useful life I'm seeing some interesting things about this mild razor. I felt during the shave that it was too mild, or at any rate just not shaving off anything. However, gently concentrating on the areas that needed some additional edgy love was mostly successful. After the shave it was a couple of hours and it had mellowed out to a DFS.
On the one hand, zero irritation. On the other, it took longer and didn't feel smooth straight off. I definitely will prefer this razor in the early shaves.
O.H.
- Thread starter
- #68
The Tilted Picnic, Year 2. Round Four, Shaves Five and Six: Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements "El Fantasma"
Well, I see I missed a day. Again. My apologies.
Shave Five was bloody close. Not bloody; just close. I wasn't sure exactly how that happened with such a mild razor, but it apparently had to do with simply spending more time in the last pass and cleanups.
Shave Six pretty much recapitulated those results, except that I quit a little earlier. I managed to reach an acceptable level of closeness.
Wrapping up the El Fantasma, I must say it is not the fastest razor in the drawer. On the other hand it's a lot milder than the fastest razor in the drawer. That mildness sometimes frustrates me a bit, as I'm rather impatient to get done sometimes. Not too much, though, as I have faster options available if needed.
The shim opens up the gap a little and makes the razor a bit more aggressive. "Aggressive" is relative, as this razor really has the soul of a lazy hound lying on the porch. That's not a criticism. More of a "feature" than a "bug."
I'd used this razor before several times before putting it in the rotation for the Tilted Picnic. Hence I didn't spend a lot of time hunting for congenial modifications, I just shaved with it.
It's been a while, actually, since I had a first-time shave in the Tilted Picnic. That changes on Monday. Monday will continue with a new phase of the current generational shave: the Windrose helical slant. Referring to the pictures earlier in the thread, we can see that the Windrose -- although "inspired by the Fasan Double Slant" -- is not nearly has helical as the original. It is, however, an OC razor which will likely ramp up the edge presentation just a bit.
Looking ahead we have another generational shave coming, although the razors are more cousins than siblings. Those, by the way, will be the Windrose tilted slant, the iKon Shavecraft 102 tilted slant, and a guest appearance from a Peroni. Unless I come up with an ATT X1, that'll probably be it.
I also want to take a moment to shout out to some folks who helped me find some of the razors in this round: @efsk for the Peroni, @gvw755 for the ikon Shavecraft 102 and @throughacoloredlens for the RazoRock Stainless Stealth Slant V3. Big thanks!
O.H.
Well, I see I missed a day. Again. My apologies.
Shave Five was bloody close. Not bloody; just close. I wasn't sure exactly how that happened with such a mild razor, but it apparently had to do with simply spending more time in the last pass and cleanups.
Shave Six pretty much recapitulated those results, except that I quit a little earlier. I managed to reach an acceptable level of closeness.
Wrapping up the El Fantasma, I must say it is not the fastest razor in the drawer. On the other hand it's a lot milder than the fastest razor in the drawer. That mildness sometimes frustrates me a bit, as I'm rather impatient to get done sometimes. Not too much, though, as I have faster options available if needed.
The shim opens up the gap a little and makes the razor a bit more aggressive. "Aggressive" is relative, as this razor really has the soul of a lazy hound lying on the porch. That's not a criticism. More of a "feature" than a "bug."
I'd used this razor before several times before putting it in the rotation for the Tilted Picnic. Hence I didn't spend a lot of time hunting for congenial modifications, I just shaved with it.
It's been a while, actually, since I had a first-time shave in the Tilted Picnic. That changes on Monday. Monday will continue with a new phase of the current generational shave: the Windrose helical slant. Referring to the pictures earlier in the thread, we can see that the Windrose -- although "inspired by the Fasan Double Slant" -- is not nearly has helical as the original. It is, however, an OC razor which will likely ramp up the edge presentation just a bit.
Looking ahead we have another generational shave coming, although the razors are more cousins than siblings. Those, by the way, will be the Windrose tilted slant, the iKon Shavecraft 102 tilted slant, and a guest appearance from a Peroni. Unless I come up with an ATT X1, that'll probably be it.
I also want to take a moment to shout out to some folks who helped me find some of the razors in this round: @efsk for the Peroni, @gvw755 for the ikon Shavecraft 102 and @throughacoloredlens for the RazoRock Stainless Stealth Slant V3. Big thanks!
O.H.
- Thread starter
- #69
For those of you who have been forlornly hitting the "refresh" button hoping that my Monday review was just lost in the ether somewhere, my apologies. It's been busy.
But here ya go...
The Tilted Picnic, Year 2. Round Five, Shave One: Windrose Open Comb Helical Slant
The Windrose line is a bit of a mystery to me. I gather the founder is making razors that align with his central interests, which I do not in any way mean as a criticism! His central interest appears to be slants, which lines up with my central interest.
Let me set the context a bit. I made the choice to only order heads from Windrose. This is not to imply that I'm cheap. (I'm Scottish. We call it "canny.") Rather, I figured I could use handles I already own.
There are some reviews and discussion about Windrose here and there. I was interested that the company makes just two slants: an open comb helical and a smooth bar tilted. Both of the heads are Zamak, which is really neither here nor there aside from one's personal preference. Somewhere on the website I recall seeing that the helical model is "inspired by the Fasan Double Slant." I don't recall seeing a similar attribution for the tilted version, but it has that lovely humpback design that harks to other, earlier slants.
Both heads have some mass. This is not a problem to me. I have a RazoRock Bulldog handle that nicely balances the helical head though it adds up to a relatively heavy razor.
Installing a blade for the first time required a little attention to line things up. The pins to either side of the stud are small diameter, which is fine but allows the blade to shift around while things are tightening. A little nudging with a thumbnail and things were pretty even. The cap leaves a fair strip of blade showing. This is consistent with the Fasan, as is the need to gently adjust the blade.
I was initially concerned by the exposure, knowing that the Fasan's edges can shimmy around a bit while cutting hard hair. It appears that by luck or design (and I'm betting on design) the cap clamps the blade just a little more widely than the Fasan, which at least on first use seems to have lessened the shimmies.
It's definitely a more aggressive razor than the El Fantasma. It's not as aggressively helical as the Fasan, but it IS an OC slant, which seems to be a bit uncommon.
I was faintly amused after a gentle WTG pass to see huge chunks of hair in the lather. Generally it's more like fine pepper, and if I see "coarse-ground pepper" then I have some warning that the razor has the potential to bite. After my usual shave -- WTG, WTG, ATG -- I had only minimal cleanup to do. It's a close shaver for me. I'll be interested to see how things go as the blade ages. So far, no nicks but I was being rather gingerly with it first time out.
I'm going to keep an eye on the clamping. I noticed by the end of the shave that the blade had shifted more to one side, which produced a differential shave with one mild side and one more aggressive side. I'm not really a fan of differential razors, so I'll see what develops. Probably a bit more attention to line-up and a check midway will address the matter.
O.H.
But here ya go...
The Tilted Picnic, Year 2. Round Five, Shave One: Windrose Open Comb Helical Slant
The Windrose line is a bit of a mystery to me. I gather the founder is making razors that align with his central interests, which I do not in any way mean as a criticism! His central interest appears to be slants, which lines up with my central interest.
Let me set the context a bit. I made the choice to only order heads from Windrose. This is not to imply that I'm cheap. (I'm Scottish. We call it "canny.") Rather, I figured I could use handles I already own.
There are some reviews and discussion about Windrose here and there. I was interested that the company makes just two slants: an open comb helical and a smooth bar tilted. Both of the heads are Zamak, which is really neither here nor there aside from one's personal preference. Somewhere on the website I recall seeing that the helical model is "inspired by the Fasan Double Slant." I don't recall seeing a similar attribution for the tilted version, but it has that lovely humpback design that harks to other, earlier slants.
Both heads have some mass. This is not a problem to me. I have a RazoRock Bulldog handle that nicely balances the helical head though it adds up to a relatively heavy razor.
Installing a blade for the first time required a little attention to line things up. The pins to either side of the stud are small diameter, which is fine but allows the blade to shift around while things are tightening. A little nudging with a thumbnail and things were pretty even. The cap leaves a fair strip of blade showing. This is consistent with the Fasan, as is the need to gently adjust the blade.
I was initially concerned by the exposure, knowing that the Fasan's edges can shimmy around a bit while cutting hard hair. It appears that by luck or design (and I'm betting on design) the cap clamps the blade just a little more widely than the Fasan, which at least on first use seems to have lessened the shimmies.
It's definitely a more aggressive razor than the El Fantasma. It's not as aggressively helical as the Fasan, but it IS an OC slant, which seems to be a bit uncommon.
I was faintly amused after a gentle WTG pass to see huge chunks of hair in the lather. Generally it's more like fine pepper, and if I see "coarse-ground pepper" then I have some warning that the razor has the potential to bite. After my usual shave -- WTG, WTG, ATG -- I had only minimal cleanup to do. It's a close shaver for me. I'll be interested to see how things go as the blade ages. So far, no nicks but I was being rather gingerly with it first time out.
I'm going to keep an eye on the clamping. I noticed by the end of the shave that the blade had shifted more to one side, which produced a differential shave with one mild side and one more aggressive side. I'm not really a fan of differential razors, so I'll see what develops. Probably a bit more attention to line-up and a check midway will address the matter.
O.H.
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
⬆ I had wondered about those slants ⬆
- Thread starter
- #71
The Tilted Picnic, Year 2. Round Five, Shave Two: Windrose Open Comb Helical Slant
I occasionally run into a razor that can deliver a three-day shave. Oh, Day Three is pretty stubbly but it merely lends an air of manly raffishness. Or possibly raffish manliness. I assume it makes me more handsome in a rough-hewn outdoorsy way, even though precisely none of the women who've ever had me inflicted on them has ever said those words all together like that.
Wednesday would have been Shave Two except for a confluence of external events capped off by a $100K+ solar array attempting to destroy itself in a windstorm Tuesday. Forty-five 4x5 foot solar panels have a bit of sail area! Got that thing furled in the nick of time but we had to get some equipment in Wednesday morning to get up there and fix the original problem. Then I had a thesis defence to attend; the last grad student of "mine" is now out the door and looking for new adventures. And those are just the matters I could handle from home! The rest of Wednesday was spent stomping out fires elsewhere.
I actually intended to shave yesterday but other stuff needed to be sorted. Well, I shaved in about five minutes but with electrickery which left me with lots of annoying stubble this morning. So, finally, out comes the brush and we can set to with a nice Friday shave!
I think I'm noticing a few variations compared to other slants, however it's only second time out and even though technique falls into train pretty quickly I'm sure most of it's just the learning curve at this point. Even though there's a fair bit of edge exposure and the gap looks decent, I often need to adjust the razor to a steeper edge angle to cut.
This is somewhat complicated by a related observation that I often feel like there's a lot of stubble left after a shave in some areas. I can go back over them with a super-close electric trimmer and they will BBS right away, or I can rinse off, swab on some Nivea, and wait an hour or so while things puff back up and a DFS mellows out to a BBS. Mostly I try not to chase the baby but I get annoyed when a razor can't lay out a close shave. Using a barber straight, either 1/2DE or AC in a gentle manner can achieve the same result but typically adds at least 50 per cent to my shave time. Impatience is my besetting sin so I try to quit before I get cranky.
O.H.
I occasionally run into a razor that can deliver a three-day shave. Oh, Day Three is pretty stubbly but it merely lends an air of manly raffishness. Or possibly raffish manliness. I assume it makes me more handsome in a rough-hewn outdoorsy way, even though precisely none of the women who've ever had me inflicted on them has ever said those words all together like that.
Wednesday would have been Shave Two except for a confluence of external events capped off by a $100K+ solar array attempting to destroy itself in a windstorm Tuesday. Forty-five 4x5 foot solar panels have a bit of sail area! Got that thing furled in the nick of time but we had to get some equipment in Wednesday morning to get up there and fix the original problem. Then I had a thesis defence to attend; the last grad student of "mine" is now out the door and looking for new adventures. And those are just the matters I could handle from home! The rest of Wednesday was spent stomping out fires elsewhere.
I actually intended to shave yesterday but other stuff needed to be sorted. Well, I shaved in about five minutes but with electrickery which left me with lots of annoying stubble this morning. So, finally, out comes the brush and we can set to with a nice Friday shave!
I think I'm noticing a few variations compared to other slants, however it's only second time out and even though technique falls into train pretty quickly I'm sure most of it's just the learning curve at this point. Even though there's a fair bit of edge exposure and the gap looks decent, I often need to adjust the razor to a steeper edge angle to cut.
This is somewhat complicated by a related observation that I often feel like there's a lot of stubble left after a shave in some areas. I can go back over them with a super-close electric trimmer and they will BBS right away, or I can rinse off, swab on some Nivea, and wait an hour or so while things puff back up and a DFS mellows out to a BBS. Mostly I try not to chase the baby but I get annoyed when a razor can't lay out a close shave. Using a barber straight, either 1/2DE or AC in a gentle manner can achieve the same result but typically adds at least 50 per cent to my shave time. Impatience is my besetting sin so I try to quit before I get cranky.
O.H.
- Thread starter
- #72
The Tilted Picnic, Year 2. Round Five, Shaves Three and Four: Windrose Open Comb Helical Slant
Man, life's been gettin' in the way of my shaving time. I had some time to shave on an "off" day and took it, then waited four days for the next shave just to get back on my preferred schedule. Doing it that way, though, taught me some things about this razor.
One of the things is that this is a rather agressive razor, while at the same time being an extremely smooth razor. It's quite mild-feeling to me, which makes it really easy to overdo the cleanups and groove in on chasing the baby. Chasing the baby for me, with this razor, is just a tad close. So it was good to have a couple extra days for things to calm down again.
Having learned that lesson (for now; heh...) I didn't go quite so close on the last shave and it mellowed out to a nice shave after a little bit. The first WTG pass with four days' growth was interesting. No pulling, just big pieces of hair in the lather. After two WTG passes I was tempted to let it sit and see how it ended up, but went ahead with the ATG anyway and some light cleanup after that.
All of this, as a reminder, with Astra SP blades.
So far, most of the differences between this razor "inspired by" the Fasan Double Slant and an actual Fasan Double Slant seem to be in a positive direction. The Windrose clamps the blade better than my Fasan, and also leaves a little less exposure which reduces the tendency of the edge to jitter in tough going. That also translates into a more comfortable ATG pass.
It's a bit smoother shaver, which could be due to being a little less helical than the Fasan. I'm not sure why. At the same time, the Windrose helical slant shaves more like a Fasan Double Slant than a lot of other slants I've tried. Something to consider if you're thinking you'd like to take a Fasan for a whirl.
I don't think this razor (or the Fasan, for that matter) is a good "starter" slant. Someone could start with it, of course. It's just that to me, having a feel for how slants shave and how various slants shave differently makes it easier to pick up what this razor is trying to tell me. Getting me to listen to it is another matter, but that healed pretty quickly.
O.H.
Man, life's been gettin' in the way of my shaving time. I had some time to shave on an "off" day and took it, then waited four days for the next shave just to get back on my preferred schedule. Doing it that way, though, taught me some things about this razor.
One of the things is that this is a rather agressive razor, while at the same time being an extremely smooth razor. It's quite mild-feeling to me, which makes it really easy to overdo the cleanups and groove in on chasing the baby. Chasing the baby for me, with this razor, is just a tad close. So it was good to have a couple extra days for things to calm down again.
Having learned that lesson (for now; heh...) I didn't go quite so close on the last shave and it mellowed out to a nice shave after a little bit. The first WTG pass with four days' growth was interesting. No pulling, just big pieces of hair in the lather. After two WTG passes I was tempted to let it sit and see how it ended up, but went ahead with the ATG anyway and some light cleanup after that.
All of this, as a reminder, with Astra SP blades.
So far, most of the differences between this razor "inspired by" the Fasan Double Slant and an actual Fasan Double Slant seem to be in a positive direction. The Windrose clamps the blade better than my Fasan, and also leaves a little less exposure which reduces the tendency of the edge to jitter in tough going. That also translates into a more comfortable ATG pass.
It's a bit smoother shaver, which could be due to being a little less helical than the Fasan. I'm not sure why. At the same time, the Windrose helical slant shaves more like a Fasan Double Slant than a lot of other slants I've tried. Something to consider if you're thinking you'd like to take a Fasan for a whirl.
I don't think this razor (or the Fasan, for that matter) is a good "starter" slant. Someone could start with it, of course. It's just that to me, having a feel for how slants shave and how various slants shave differently makes it easier to pick up what this razor is trying to tell me. Getting me to listen to it is another matter, but that healed pretty quickly.
O.H.
- Thread starter
- #73
The Tilted Picnic, Year 2. Round Five, Shave Five: Windrose Open Comb Helical Slant
After reflecting on the lessons learned in the last two shaves, today's outing was a pretty predictable run. Like most OC razors with a good sharp blade in them, the Windrose Helical will improve your skin by coincidentally removing little bumps and tags as you target your whiskers. The skill lies in not going back to remove even more while trying to get more whiskers. I've noticed that sometimes -- only sometimes, it seems -- I can develop those little shaving bumps. Not paying much attention to them means that I'll only have them until the next shave with a moderately aggressive razor, whence I will then have red dots and pink lather. So again, I'm learning things from this razor that others haven't taught me.
It's also a "three-day" razor like some others in the cave; a razor which shaves close enough that developing ingrowns is a likely outcome of shaving too frequently.
All in all, I found it to be an interesting challenge. Not too challenging, but enough so to engage a little interest in sorting it out. It's a good razor. I hadn't heard much about Windrose although there are some reviews here and there. Not having tried their handles, I can't speak to them. I can say that a decision to try a Windrose helical slant isn't a bad one, and encourage anyone who's interested to give them a go.
I think I'll pivot the Tilted Picnic to the next set of slants starting next week. I separated the helical from the tilted slants, and now we're moving into the latter group. The three razors in this series will be: "The Classic:" the iKon Shavecraft 102; "The New School:" Windrose tilted slant; and "The Left Field:" the Peroni. Looking at that Peroni and remembering my struggles with the Razorine, I may be in for a bit of it. Won't know 'til I lather up and give'er a rip, so watch this space for more shaving entertainment.
That will set up an interesting context for a final razor to which I have alluded; the Above the Tie X1 slant. I have one on the way and am trying not to pre-figure things too much. High expectations, for sure! ATT makes quality kit and has shown themselves capable of some amazing designs. The G1 will always have a fond place in my heart, the S2 will always be my Grail Razor. I'm looking forward to it.
O.H.
After reflecting on the lessons learned in the last two shaves, today's outing was a pretty predictable run. Like most OC razors with a good sharp blade in them, the Windrose Helical will improve your skin by coincidentally removing little bumps and tags as you target your whiskers. The skill lies in not going back to remove even more while trying to get more whiskers. I've noticed that sometimes -- only sometimes, it seems -- I can develop those little shaving bumps. Not paying much attention to them means that I'll only have them until the next shave with a moderately aggressive razor, whence I will then have red dots and pink lather. So again, I'm learning things from this razor that others haven't taught me.
It's also a "three-day" razor like some others in the cave; a razor which shaves close enough that developing ingrowns is a likely outcome of shaving too frequently.
All in all, I found it to be an interesting challenge. Not too challenging, but enough so to engage a little interest in sorting it out. It's a good razor. I hadn't heard much about Windrose although there are some reviews here and there. Not having tried their handles, I can't speak to them. I can say that a decision to try a Windrose helical slant isn't a bad one, and encourage anyone who's interested to give them a go.
I think I'll pivot the Tilted Picnic to the next set of slants starting next week. I separated the helical from the tilted slants, and now we're moving into the latter group. The three razors in this series will be: "The Classic:" the iKon Shavecraft 102; "The New School:" Windrose tilted slant; and "The Left Field:" the Peroni. Looking at that Peroni and remembering my struggles with the Razorine, I may be in for a bit of it. Won't know 'til I lather up and give'er a rip, so watch this space for more shaving entertainment.
That will set up an interesting context for a final razor to which I have alluded; the Above the Tie X1 slant. I have one on the way and am trying not to pre-figure things too much. High expectations, for sure! ATT makes quality kit and has shown themselves capable of some amazing designs. The G1 will always have a fond place in my heart, the S2 will always be my Grail Razor. I'm looking forward to it.
O.H.
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
You continue to save me money.
- Thread starter
- #75
It's a little service we offer here on the Tilted Picnic. Since it's a service, your invoice is in the mail.
O.H.
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
It's a little service we offer here on the Tilted Picnic. Since it's a service, your invoice is in the mail.
O.H.
The owners of the forum have sent you a check for services rendered to the entire B&B community and their business.
Happy shaves,
Jim
I wasn't that happy with the Windrose helical. Too heavy, and basically for my face an unpleasant razor. Bulky, heavy, looking like but not acting like a Fasan, a bit of a disappointment.
- Thread starter
- #78
Buckle up, y'all. We got a bit of a ride ahead...
The Tilted Picnic, Year 2. Round Six, Shave One: iKon Shavecraft 102 Tilted Slant
OK, what's on the map? First we'll survey the general terrain of the next few reviews, then we'll look in a bit of detail at the razors with which we'll be sharing the journey, and then finally I'll make some comments about the featured razor for the next couple of weeks.
"Rocket Morton takes off again; into the wind!" -- Capt. Beefheart
Context first! Here's a look at the suspects in this "generational" shave series:
![IMG_0526[1].JPG](https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/attachments/img_0526-1-jpg.1281745/ "IMG_0526[1].JPG")
Top to bottom: iKon 102 Shavecraft, Windrose Tilted Slant, Peroni.
Thanks to @gvw755 for the iKon, and to @efsk for the Peroni!
Time for mass:
The RazoRock Bulldog handle that I will use on the iKon and the Windrose heads clocks in at 72.5 g.
The iKon 102 Shavecraft head masses 41.5 g (114 g with handle).
The Windrose Tilted Slant head masses 52g (124.5g with handle).
The Peroni comes in at 49.5 g.
Casting an Eyeball, Mark One, Mod Zero, One Each at these razors shows that the iKon has a very narrow gap and, compared to the Windrose, is also less tilted. The Windrose is a chunky bugger, for sure. Looks like most of that excess avoirdupois is in that rib on the underside of the base and in the Walbusch-style "hump" on the cap. Balancing that thing with a moderately heavy handle will make for an interesting shave a little later this month.
I chose to start with the iKon as the older "proper" tilted slant in the batch. I've been somewhat curious about them for years, but let some other concerns get in the way. Those of you who've followed my journeys in slant-space know that I have expressed a preference for helical instead of tilted slants. This section of the Tilted Picnic is intended to give some tilted slants a fair go and see what develops.
A tilted slant was my first slant. I get a little embarrassed about it. It was a PAA Oxblood Bakelite Alpha Ecliptic. I have read back in my notes and see that I never did ever come to complete terms with it. I tried, but it and I just didn't get on. So I piffed it. Then I bought another one and tried again with better technique. Piffed that one. And just to prove that I'm a stubborn fellow sometimes, I bought a third one which ended up being piffed as well. So I had a few things to get over.
The iKon 102 therefore threw up a Triple Whammy for me this morning: a razor I had never used, a fresh sharp blade, and technique that hadn't been honed on tilted slants. To say that I was concerned would go too far; let's just say there was some trepidation.
The head has nice big pins that leave minimal room for blade adjustment. Unlike the Windrose Helical, very little adjustment is needed. I diddled with it a little but didn't need to. Here's a glance at the blade in the head:
![IMG_0527[1].JPG](https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/attachments/img_0527-1-jpg.1281753/ "IMG_0527[1].JPG")
I didn't measure, but I haven't shaved with a razor with so little blade exposure for a while. The cap slams down like a bank vault door and Baby that blade ain't goin' nowhere. My biggest problem with the PAA tilted slant was that it didn't clamp the blade very well.
I lathered up and took that first stroke rather gingerly. Plenty of bladefeel, but very mild bladefeel. Angle easy to find. Taking out several days' growth showed me that although the narrow gap is somewhat prone to collecting hair, it doesn't really need any special treatment or more frequent rinsing.
I got to thinking about some of the concerns expressed about slants by other users. I recently suggested that if someone were bothered by the way their slant shaved "one way" on one side of their face and "the other way" on the other side that they might consider finding one of the somewhat rare helical slants that "go the other way" and use that on whichever side they thought was being shortchanged. Looking at the iKon while shaving, it occurred to me that I was actually holding a razor that could "shave both ways" on both sides.
So I played with that. Results somewhat inconclusive, but it was an interesting experiment. I tend not to hold a razor handle perfectly upright while shaving. I used whichever side was most slanted at the angle I was holding the handle at that moment.
In the end, a nice DFS with no nicks.
[Grouch alert]
I like this razor, at least on the strength of one shave so far. Which is kind of aggravating for a couple of reasons. iKon no longer makes the 102 Shavecraft; and to be honest it's better than the iKon X3. Looking back at the X3 notes from last year and in my notebook I see that it was a lacklustre, mediocre shaver for me. Supposedly a differential razor, I could not tell a difference between sides; they shaved equally poorly for me.
Fortunately I already sold off the X3 or I would be doing that right now. Now, I'll also recognize that was MY experience of the X3, and leave it there.
Suffice to say that if the folks at iKon are paying any attention at all to their fanbase, I've got one vote that says they need to bring the 102 back into their offerings. It's a much, much better razor than the X3 in my opinion.
[/Grouch alert]
So there you go. One shave down, in stellar fashion. Looking forward to the next one!
O.H.
The Tilted Picnic, Year 2. Round Six, Shave One: iKon Shavecraft 102 Tilted Slant
OK, what's on the map? First we'll survey the general terrain of the next few reviews, then we'll look in a bit of detail at the razors with which we'll be sharing the journey, and then finally I'll make some comments about the featured razor for the next couple of weeks.
"Rocket Morton takes off again; into the wind!" -- Capt. Beefheart
Context first! Here's a look at the suspects in this "generational" shave series:
Top to bottom: iKon 102 Shavecraft, Windrose Tilted Slant, Peroni.
Thanks to @gvw755 for the iKon, and to @efsk for the Peroni!
Time for mass:
The RazoRock Bulldog handle that I will use on the iKon and the Windrose heads clocks in at 72.5 g.
The iKon 102 Shavecraft head masses 41.5 g (114 g with handle).
The Windrose Tilted Slant head masses 52g (124.5g with handle).
The Peroni comes in at 49.5 g.
Casting an Eyeball, Mark One, Mod Zero, One Each at these razors shows that the iKon has a very narrow gap and, compared to the Windrose, is also less tilted. The Windrose is a chunky bugger, for sure. Looks like most of that excess avoirdupois is in that rib on the underside of the base and in the Walbusch-style "hump" on the cap. Balancing that thing with a moderately heavy handle will make for an interesting shave a little later this month.
I chose to start with the iKon as the older "proper" tilted slant in the batch. I've been somewhat curious about them for years, but let some other concerns get in the way. Those of you who've followed my journeys in slant-space know that I have expressed a preference for helical instead of tilted slants. This section of the Tilted Picnic is intended to give some tilted slants a fair go and see what develops.
A tilted slant was my first slant. I get a little embarrassed about it. It was a PAA Oxblood Bakelite Alpha Ecliptic. I have read back in my notes and see that I never did ever come to complete terms with it. I tried, but it and I just didn't get on. So I piffed it. Then I bought another one and tried again with better technique. Piffed that one. And just to prove that I'm a stubborn fellow sometimes, I bought a third one which ended up being piffed as well. So I had a few things to get over.
The iKon 102 therefore threw up a Triple Whammy for me this morning: a razor I had never used, a fresh sharp blade, and technique that hadn't been honed on tilted slants. To say that I was concerned would go too far; let's just say there was some trepidation.
The head has nice big pins that leave minimal room for blade adjustment. Unlike the Windrose Helical, very little adjustment is needed. I diddled with it a little but didn't need to. Here's a glance at the blade in the head:
I didn't measure, but I haven't shaved with a razor with so little blade exposure for a while. The cap slams down like a bank vault door and Baby that blade ain't goin' nowhere. My biggest problem with the PAA tilted slant was that it didn't clamp the blade very well.
I lathered up and took that first stroke rather gingerly. Plenty of bladefeel, but very mild bladefeel. Angle easy to find. Taking out several days' growth showed me that although the narrow gap is somewhat prone to collecting hair, it doesn't really need any special treatment or more frequent rinsing.
I got to thinking about some of the concerns expressed about slants by other users. I recently suggested that if someone were bothered by the way their slant shaved "one way" on one side of their face and "the other way" on the other side that they might consider finding one of the somewhat rare helical slants that "go the other way" and use that on whichever side they thought was being shortchanged. Looking at the iKon while shaving, it occurred to me that I was actually holding a razor that could "shave both ways" on both sides.
So I played with that. Results somewhat inconclusive, but it was an interesting experiment. I tend not to hold a razor handle perfectly upright while shaving. I used whichever side was most slanted at the angle I was holding the handle at that moment.
In the end, a nice DFS with no nicks.
[Grouch alert]
I like this razor, at least on the strength of one shave so far. Which is kind of aggravating for a couple of reasons. iKon no longer makes the 102 Shavecraft; and to be honest it's better than the iKon X3. Looking back at the X3 notes from last year and in my notebook I see that it was a lacklustre, mediocre shaver for me. Supposedly a differential razor, I could not tell a difference between sides; they shaved equally poorly for me.
Fortunately I already sold off the X3 or I would be doing that right now. Now, I'll also recognize that was MY experience of the X3, and leave it there.
Suffice to say that if the folks at iKon are paying any attention at all to their fanbase, I've got one vote that says they need to bring the 102 back into their offerings. It's a much, much better razor than the X3 in my opinion.
[/Grouch alert]
So there you go. One shave down, in stellar fashion. Looking forward to the next one!
O.H.
- Thread starter
- #79
The Tilted Picnic, Year 2. Round Six, Shave Two: iKon Shavecraft 102 Tilted Slant
The second shave with the iKon was even better than the first one. I can think of several reasons. The blade had one use on it, so not quite as sharp as a fresh blade. My technique is evolving. Knowing that this razor doesn't seem to have any bloodthirsty quirks, I was trying other things and learning my way around the razor.
In the end, two passes and some cleanup left me almost at a BBS. I decided to call it a day at that point.
I have a feeling based on the early going that the Shavecraft 102 is going to fall smack-dab between the ATT S2 and the RR Wunderbar on my personal list of favourite slants.
[Personal Opinion]
I've had the good luck to try a couple of "older modern" slants that come in fairly mild and well-behaved. The Shavecraft 102 is one. The RazoRock Stainless Stealth Slant V3 is another one.
The original slant designs were intended to make carbon-steel blades a little more efficient. The final effect of a slanted edge (and good clamping) still applies to our modern stainless blades even though stainless tends to be stiffer than carbon steel. The difference is that a well-designed non-slant DE will also turn in good shaves.
There are modern slants on the market that seem to be directed at guys who really want aggressive razors and lots of edgy bladefeel. I don't have a problem with that, but it's not me. My preferences fall toward a slightly aggressive razor that isn't too mild.
What I am specifically pointing to, however, is the relative lack of mild-to-slightly-aggressive slants. I like the way slants shave but do not like the more aggressive razors for regular use. Oh, I'll whip out the Wunderbar for a week and be quite happy to have survived each shave with a glassy smooth surface. A little adventure is good for a man, but I appreciate the quiet steady ones that just keep delivering.
Just sayin'. It'd be nice to see some of these milder slants come back on the market.
[/Personal Opinion]
O.H.
The second shave with the iKon was even better than the first one. I can think of several reasons. The blade had one use on it, so not quite as sharp as a fresh blade. My technique is evolving. Knowing that this razor doesn't seem to have any bloodthirsty quirks, I was trying other things and learning my way around the razor.
In the end, two passes and some cleanup left me almost at a BBS. I decided to call it a day at that point.
I have a feeling based on the early going that the Shavecraft 102 is going to fall smack-dab between the ATT S2 and the RR Wunderbar on my personal list of favourite slants.
[Personal Opinion]
I've had the good luck to try a couple of "older modern" slants that come in fairly mild and well-behaved. The Shavecraft 102 is one. The RazoRock Stainless Stealth Slant V3 is another one.
The original slant designs were intended to make carbon-steel blades a little more efficient. The final effect of a slanted edge (and good clamping) still applies to our modern stainless blades even though stainless tends to be stiffer than carbon steel. The difference is that a well-designed non-slant DE will also turn in good shaves.
There are modern slants on the market that seem to be directed at guys who really want aggressive razors and lots of edgy bladefeel. I don't have a problem with that, but it's not me. My preferences fall toward a slightly aggressive razor that isn't too mild.
What I am specifically pointing to, however, is the relative lack of mild-to-slightly-aggressive slants. I like the way slants shave but do not like the more aggressive razors for regular use. Oh, I'll whip out the Wunderbar for a week and be quite happy to have survived each shave with a glassy smooth surface. A little adventure is good for a man, but I appreciate the quiet steady ones that just keep delivering.
Just sayin'. It'd be nice to see some of these milder slants come back on the market.
[/Personal Opinion]
O.H.
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
I never know what anyone means by mild and aggressive.
In my experience the FOCS is very efficient albeit not in the very top category for efficiency. It is also very smooth feeling on my skin, easy to use, not irritating, not prone to biting, and not "aggressive."
In my experience the Wunderbar is extremely smooth feeling to use, and even more efficient than the FOCS. I like it a lot, but I also dislike its tendency to jump up out of the bushes and bite me. I'd call it aggressive because of that tendency.
Sudden bites are not my cup of tea.
I used the Wunderbar throughout the most recent Fixed Four and perhaps improved my technique with it but probably got only one terrific, bloodless shave (and that was the last one of the FF as I recall). Perhaps were I to use the WB daily for two or three months I could truly master it.
I'm not at all sure my comments add anything to the picnic spread.
Happy shaves,
Jim
