The World Shave Off Showdown

[muzichead]

Maybe its just me but if you give the 34 another chance then it wouldn't be fair to all the other razors that have been eliminated so far in the shave off's!! IMO if it gets a 2nd chance then all others deserve one too and that defeats the purpose of this shave off... Its been eliminated like others so we should just move along to the next challenge.

 

[Joncr]

34 C vs 34

Yes

 

[shaveSymptomatic]

Maybe its just me but if you give the 34 another chance then it wouldn't be fair to all the other razors that have been eliminated so far in the shave off's!! IMO if it gets a 2nd chance then all others deserve one too and that defeats the purpose of this shave off... Its been eliminated like others so we should just move along to the next challenge.

Can't argue with this

 

[muzichead]

Thanks @muzichead for the reminder to stick to the rules I originally made!

It just seemed like it was showing favoritism towards one razor where others that were just as close were cast aside according to the rules and it just didn't seem right so I had to say something...

 

[JKshaves]

I'm good with this fair decision. No worries. Let's move on.
However due to my RAD I just may have to acquire one of those 34 aristocrats for myself to test and enjoy.

 

[AJSharp]

@JKshaves If you have RAD perhaps this year long thread may not be the best to go through as there are the "greatest" enablers and some good friends posting within these 4500 comments.

Best of luck AJ

 

[BigJ]

Very valid point and well taken and it’s made me come to the conclusion that it was my mistake for pairing the 2 razors up and based on the results ultimately if they met again in a later round the results would probably be the same or very very close so the 34 would have probably gotten eliminated at some point and again it’s all my fault for pairing these two absolute contenders in the early rounds. What’s fair is fair and so the 34 goes back in its case and the 2nd round will move on without it.

Thanks @muzichead for the reminder to stick to the rules I originally made!

I know some may not like this decision as big fans of the 34 but we have to follow the rules or have a confusing mess on our hands!

Great shaves all.

Well it’s your face and your shave-offs, so you make the rules!
(And you can follow the rules if convenient.)

 

[kingfisher]

Gentlemen before starting the 2nd round I have two new razors that arrived at my den this week and I’d like to get a couple shaves in. One is a GC OC I just got and the 2nd is a Vector a member was kind enough to lend me so I’d like to use it and get it back to its owner as soon as possible.
I also want to do a couple Shave comparisons with my Tradere with some other modern razors we are all familiar with to give members an idea of what the new Tradere which is collaboration between Blackland and the original owner Shave like. I only have the 1st Gen OC so I can only give my opinion on how that model compares to the razors I’ll use.

I’ll update the list of razors going into the next round of the Smoothest Razor Shave Off so you can look at some possible good early match ups and we will get started again next Monday.

Thanks Gentlemen

I am hoping this means that my original brass iKon SBS is going to get some airplay? Interested to see what you think of it, and particularly is a comparison of it to the original Tradere, both in construction and in shave qualities.
Fingers crossed.....

 

[Graydog]

Hi @BigJ

It was a valid point that @muzichead made and it brought me back to the point where I’m not making decisions based on my personal feelings but more so following the rules I set up in the beginning of this Shave Off.

So from now on when a razor looses even if it’s by 1 point it has to go on the eliminated list.

One thing I won’t do in the next round is put two possible top contenders together in a Shave Off in the early 2nd round. So this last Shave Off was a learning lesson for sure in more than one way.

As always thank you my friend!

And here’s a pile for you!

Frank if you really want to be fair you should put all the Razors in a hat and draw names, that way personal feelings won't play any part of your selection

 

[Graydog]

Wow that’s a great idea! I like that and your right no personal decisions takes some pressure off me. Shave with whatever two slips of paper comes out with the razors names on them.

Good one my friend!

Glad to help

 

[shaveSymptomatic]

Gentlemen before starting the 2nd round I have two new razors that arrived at my den this week and I’d like to get a couple shaves in. One is a GC OC I just got and the 2nd is a Vector a member was kind enough to lend me so I’d like to use it and get it back to its owner as soon as possible.
I also want to do a couple Shave comparisons with my Tradere with some other modern razors we are all familiar with to give members an idea of what the new Tradere which is collaboration between Blackland and the original owner Shave like. I only have the 1st Gen OC so I can only give my opinion on how that model compares to the razors I’ll use.

I’ll update the list of razors going into the next round of the Smoothest Razor Shave Off so you can look at some possible good early match ups and we will get started again next Monday.

Thanks Gentlemen

Looking forward to your thoughts on the vector! It's one of my favorite razors

 

[shaveSymptomatic]

I’m excited to try it as well. It’s funny you mentioned it’s one of your favorites as I must have talked to 3 members on the phone in the last week who also said it is their favorite SE razor so that makes me even more excited to try it.

I’ll post up the results tomorrow!

Thank you!

I hope you like it also. Have you used a Sabre before?

 

[User 306]

1st Shave with a Blackland Vector

So after one of the members @J 5 Jonathan was kind enough to offer me a Vector to try I finally had a chance to use it for my morning shave for work. I was on 2 days growth which is the growth I like to normally do my Shave Offs with so a good measure for me of how the Vector performs. I just sold almost all my SE razors as I've pretty much switched to DE's and although I honestly do have a little remorse about selling my polished Asylum RX and Cobra Classic they were both wonderful shavers but I just wasn't using them as I primarily use DE's nowadays.

So I did a two pass Shave with the Vector and I ended up with a BBS on 90% of my face and neck and only on my nasty cowlick I'd call it a DFS and with a quick buffing I'm sure I could have cleaned that up. What I really liked about the Vector was the small profile head and the weight of the razor overall. This AC format razor was easily the most manuverable of any AC SE razor I've shaved with ever! Efficiency was definitely below my Asylum RX which for me was the most efficient SE I've ever shaved with along with the ATT SE 2 OC and I found the Vector to be just a tad below my Cobra Classic but not by that much but like I said more manuverable than either two razors. The Vector was also very smooth which I liked and blade feel was moderate to mild but consistent throughout the shave so I always knew where I was at. Another good quality!

I used Murphy and McNeil Niad Shave soap which I really like. It is very soft I overloaded the brush and had to put back some junks that were on the top of my brush. Still had way to much for a 2 pass shave. Learned a lesson! LOL



Getting around my mouth and under my nose was a pleasure. I used no pressure with the razor and it only took me a couple of strokes to find the angle which I found to be not steep and not quite riding the cap. I also did not aggressively skin stretch so I'm sure if I did I would have had a solid 2 pass BBS but I wanted to just use the razor as most would taking long strokes and did some light skin stretching only in certain spots on face and neck. So all and all I'm very impressed with the Vector and moving on down the road I can see myself picking one up because as I was using it I said to myself using a Proline Blade which is what I used this morning which I can get a good number of shaves out of the Vector would be a good travel razor. It's light and I wouldn't have to change blades unless I was going away for a couple of weeks. I also liked the overall feel of the Vector in my hand so bottom line it's a winner in my books and now I know why it is highly regarded by many members I know who I talk to a lot.

So thank you Jonathan for lending me the Vector to try and I wish I still had my RX and Cobra classic back in the den to do a Shave Off with both vs the Vector as I think it would have been two fun Shave Offs.

All and all I really enjoyed using the Vector and I'd highly recommend it if someone where to ask me. Great job Shane on reinventing a new generation AC SE razor!

 

[shaveSymptomatic]

1st Shave with a Blackland Vector

So after one of the members @J 5 Jonathan was kind enough to offer me a Vector to try I finally had a chance to use it for my morning shave for work. I was on 2 days growth which is the growth I like to normally do my Shave Offs with so a good measure for me of how the Vector performs. I just sold almost all my SE razors as I've pretty much switched to DE's and although I honestly do have a little remorse about selling my polished Asylum RX and Cobra Classic they were both wonderful shavers but I just wasn't using them as I primarily use DE's nowadays.

So I did a two pass Shave with the Vector and I ended up with a BBS on 90% of my face and neck and only on my nasty cowlick I'd call it a DFS and with a quick buffing I'm sure I could have cleaned that up. What I really liked about the Vector was the small profile head and the weight of the razor overall. This AC format razor was easily the most manuverable of any AC SE razor I've shaved with ever! Efficiency was definitely below my Asylum RX which for me was the most efficient SE I've ever shaved with along with the ATT SE 2 OC and I found the Vector to be just a tad below my Cobra Classic but not by that much but like I said more manuverable than either two razors. The Vector was also very smooth which I liked and blade feel was moderate to mild but consistent throughout the shave so I always knew where I was at. Another good quality!

I used Murphy and McNeil Niad Shave soap which I really like. It is very soft I overloaded the brush and had to put back some junks that were on the top of my brush. Still had way to much for a 2 pass shave. Learned a lesson! LOL



Getting around my mouth and under my nose was a pleasure. I used no pressure with the razor and it only took me a couple of strokes to find the angle which I found to be not steep and not quite riding the cap. I also did not aggressively skin stretch so I'm sure if I did I would have had a solid 2 pass BBS but I wanted to just use the razor as most would taking long strokes and did some light skin stretching only in certain spots on face and neck. So all and all I'm very impressed with the Vector and moving on down the road I can see myself picking one up because as I was using it I said to myself using a Proline Blade which is what I used this morning which I can get a good number of shaves out of the Vector would be a good travel razor. It's light and I wouldn't have to change blades unless I was going away for a couple of weeks. I also liked the overall feel of the Vector in my hand so bottom line it's a winner in my books and now I know why it is highly regarded by many members I know who I talk to a lot.

So thank you Jonathan for lending me the Vector to try and I wish I still had my RX and Cobra classic back in the den to do a Shave Off with both vs the Vector as I think it would have been two fun Shave Offs.

All and all I really enjoyed using the Vector and I'd highly recommend it if someone where to ask me. Great job Shane on reinventing a new generation AC SE razor!

View attachment 1003797

Nice review Frank! I'm glad you liked it
The only AC style safety razors I've used are the Paradigm SE and the Vector, of the two I vastly prefer the vector. It's more efficient while being just as smooth and much easier to maneuver.

 

[Shavemd]

Very good review of a great SE. The Vector and Cobra Classic were the last of my SE razors when I decided to stick with just DE razors

 

[J 5]

1st Shave with a Blackland Vector

So after one of the members @J 5 Jonathan was kind enough to offer me a Vector to try I finally had a chance to use it for my morning shave for work. I was on 2 days growth which is the growth I like to normally do my Shave Offs with so a good measure for me of how the Vector performs. I just sold almost all my SE razors as I've pretty much switched to DE's and although I honestly do have a little remorse about selling my polished Asylum RX and Cobra Classic they were both wonderful shavers but I just wasn't using them as I primarily use DE's nowadays.

So I did a two pass Shave with the Vector and I ended up with a BBS on 90% of my face and neck and only on my nasty cowlick I'd call it a DFS and with a quick buffing I'm sure I could have cleaned that up. What I really liked about the Vector was the small profile head and the weight of the razor overall. This AC format razor was easily the most manuverable of any AC SE razor I've shaved with ever! Efficiency was definitely below my Asylum RX which for me was the most efficient SE I've ever shaved with along with the ATT SE 2 OC and I found the Vector to be just a tad below my Cobra Classic but not by that much but like I said more manuverable than either two razors. The Vector was also very smooth which I liked and blade feel was moderate to mild but consistent throughout the shave so I always knew where I was at. Another good quality!

I used Murphy and McNeil Niad Shave soap which I really like. It is very soft I overloaded the brush and had to put back some junks that were on the top of my brush. Still had way to much for a 2 pass shave. Learned a lesson! LOL



Getting around my mouth and under my nose was a pleasure. I used no pressure with the razor and it only took me a couple of strokes to find the angle which I found to be not steep and not quite riding the cap. I also did not aggressively skin stretch so I'm sure if I did I would have had a solid 2 pass BBS but I wanted to just use the razor as most would taking long strokes and did some light skin stretching only in certain spots on face and neck. So all and all I'm very impressed with the Vector and moving on down the road I can see myself picking one up because as I was using it I said to myself using a Proline Blade which is what I used this morning which I can get a good number of shaves out of the Vector would be a good travel razor. It's light and I wouldn't have to change blades unless I was going away for a couple of weeks. I also liked the overall feel of the Vector in my hand so bottom line it's a winner in my books and now I know why it is highly regarded by many members I know who I talk to a lot.

So thank you Jonathan for lending me the Vector to try and I wish I still had my RX and Cobra classic back in the den to do a Shave Off with both vs the Vector as I think it would have been two fun Shave Offs.

All and all I really enjoyed using the Vector and I'd highly recommend it if someone where to ask me. Great job Shane on reinventing a new generation AC SE razor!

View attachment 1003797

I'm glad you enjoyed it @Dragonsbeard ! If you still have a feather pro super, you might find that kicks it up a notch while keeping it's smoothness.

 

[BigJ]

1st Shave with a Blackland Vector

So after one of the members @J 5 Jonathan was kind enough to offer me a Vector to try I finally had a chance to use it for my morning shave for work. I was on 2 days growth which is the growth I like to normally do my Shave Offs with so a good measure for me of how the Vector performs. I just sold almost all my SE razors as I've pretty much switched to DE's and although I honestly do have a little remorse about selling my polished Asylum RX and Cobra Classic they were both wonderful shavers but I just wasn't using them as I primarily use DE's nowadays.

So I did a two pass Shave with the Vector and I ended up with a BBS on 90% of my face and neck and only on my nasty cowlick I'd call it a DFS and with a quick buffing I'm sure I could have cleaned that up. What I really liked about the Vector was the small profile head and the weight of the razor overall. This AC format razor was easily the most manuverable of any AC SE razor I've shaved with ever! Efficiency was definitely below my Asylum RX which for me was the most efficient SE I've ever shaved with along with the ATT SE 2 OC and I found the Vector to be just a tad below my Cobra Classic but not by that much but like I said more manuverable than either two razors. The Vector was also very smooth which I liked and blade feel was moderate to mild but consistent throughout the shave so I always knew where I was at. Another good quality!

I used Murphy and McNeil Niad Shave soap which I really like. It is very soft I overloaded the brush and had to put back some junks that were on the top of my brush. Still had way to much for a 2 pass shave. Learned a lesson! LOL



Getting around my mouth and under my nose was a pleasure. I used no pressure with the razor and it only took me a couple of strokes to find the angle which I found to be not steep and not quite riding the cap. I also did not aggressively skin stretch so I'm sure if I did I would have had a solid 2 pass BBS but I wanted to just use the razor as most would taking long strokes and did some light skin stretching only in certain spots on face and neck. So all and all I'm very impressed with the Vector and moving on down the road I can see myself picking one up because as I was using it I said to myself using a Proline Blade which is what I used this morning which I can get a good number of shaves out of the Vector would be a good travel razor. It's light and I wouldn't have to change blades unless I was going away for a couple of weeks. I also liked the overall feel of the Vector in my hand so bottom line it's a winner in my books and now I know why it is highly regarded by many members I know who I talk to a lot.

So thank you Jonathan for lending me the Vector to try and I wish I still had my RX and Cobra classic back in the den to do a Shave Off with both vs the Vector as I think it would have been two fun Shave Offs.

All and all I really enjoyed using the Vector and I'd highly recommend it if someone where to ask me. Great job Shane on reinventing a new generation AC SE razor!

View attachment 1003797

Great review!!

Given that this was a first shave, the Vector did a WONDERFUL JOB!!

 

[shaveSymptomatic]

Hello Gentlemen

I'm sorry I haven't been doing any Shave Offs for the " Smoothest Razor " but I've been really busy and I've had to prioritize where I put my time and I don't see things letting up for the next few weeks. I've decided rather than promise I'll do a Shave Off every two days until I'm back up and running on a normal schedule I'm going to promise to do at least one a week. With that said if I get a chance I'll do more than one a week I will.

Just so you all know besides doing these Shave Offs on here I also get members and other people messaging me to do a personal Shave Off for them as many are trying to figure out what razor they want to purchase or they have two razors and they only want to keep one and are not sure which one to keep or sell and they want another person's opinion so they send me a razor or 2 razors in some cases to use. I'm honored to do this for members if I have the time but just so you know my main focus as far as Shave Offs goes is in this thread!

So here is the current list of the razors that are in the 2nd round of the " Smoothest Razor " Shave Off and is you want to make suggestions on some matchups I'd like to hear your suggestions.

Thanks guys!

1.Gillette RFB - On to the next round
2. Gillette 1st Gen 15 OC Aristocrat - On to the next round
3. Gillette 2nd Gen SB Aristocrat - On to the next round
4. RR Gamechanger mild plate - On to the next round
5. Merkur 34C - On to the next round
6. Gillette President - On to the next round
7. Paradigm 17 4 - On to the next round
8. Raw Shaving RS 10 Mild plate - On to the next round
9. Stahly - On to the next round
10. Karve C baseplate - On to the next round.
11. Gibbs adjustable - On to the next round
12. Timeless Titanium .95 DC SB side - On to the next round

No need to apologize Frank
My suggestion would be Timeless vs Karve

 

[DSR]

No need to apologize Frank
My suggestion would be Timeless vs Karve

I think Timeless Ti was put up against Karve (although with D, rather than C baseplate...) in the last round?
How about Timeless Ti vs Paradigm 17-4?

 

[kingfisher]

At some point maybe skip one of the smoothest razor shave offs and do the OG open come Tradere versus the original brass iKon SBS???