Tradere First Shave

[Gam]

First off this is a beautiful razor with some heft to it,as such only a light touch is needed.I had read that this was a medium aggressive razor and I concur.It's not as aggressive as the Fatip's,Joris 1912T,or the R41.To me it's very close to the OCMM,but that's just my take,I dont find the OCMM to be super aggressive,others do.I did a 3 pass WTG,WTG,ATG on my face,and my usual 1 pass ATG on my head.The shave was very smooth and close,with my beard I prolly could have just done a 2 pass and still get BBS.I got no razor burn or iritation and when I applied the Monster Block Alum I felt no sting at all.All in all I feel Tradere did a great job with this razor and it's well worth considering if you're in the market for a all stainless OC Made in the USA razor.

I forgot to add that I loaded the Tradere up with a Iridium Super.

 

[alex2363]

great review...keep us posted

 

[Face&Head]

One of the things that distinguishes this razor from most DE razors I'm familiar with, is that, like the Pils the blade lies flat and is not arched after the handle is tightened. I agree with the OP that it is a moderately aggressive razor that I would put on a par with the Joris/FaTip but below the R41. As you can see in the picture the blade gap is nearly triple that of the Pils. While the Progress/Mergress has the traditional arched blade, so it's not the best comparison, the Tradere gap is comparable to the Mergress set on 3.5 but the shave is quite different due the blade's angle. Regarding the optimum razor angle when shaving, I need some more experience with it, but as with the Pils you can easily alter the efficiency of this razor depending on your angle. But no matter how you hold it, this is an efficient razor. I don't think I'd recommend it to a newbie but it's absolutely brilliant in the hands of an experience shaver. That blade gap has me treating it with a good deal of respect until I know it better. As others have said, the workmanship is fantastic. My first two shaves were with a Feather and I'm going to try a Med Prep tomorrow.

 

[whavens]

I used mine for the first shave this morning. Prepped with a hot shower, TOBS Lavender that I let sit for a few minutes, massaged that in with hot water and lathered again. Four passes with a Super Iridium and I got a DFS. I am looking forward to getting more comfortable with this razor. I think it will be the only razor I use for a week or two to see what the learning curve is. Almost forgot, it is one beautiful razor, the finish is stellar. Richard did a wonderful job with this razor.

 

[edgerunner]

I hope somebody will make a comparison between the Tradere head and Gillette New. New is the OC razor I like and use the most.

 

[Face&Head]

I hope somebody will make a comparison between the Tradere head and Gillette New. New is the OC razor I like and use the most.

Will do! My New is a long comb...I'll try doing a 1/2 & 1/2 shave but I suspect that I'll find the Tradere is the more aggressive razor. My New had replaced the Joris as my favorite OC, undecided where the Tradere will fall in the hierarchy at this point as it requires a different technique that I'm not sure I've mastered yet.

 

[edgerunner]

Will do! My New is a long comb...I'll try doing a 1/2 & 1/2 shave but I suspect that I'll find the Tradere is the more aggressive razor. My New had replaced the Joris as my favorite OC, undecided where the Tradere will fall in the hierarchy at this point as it requires a different technique that I'm not sure I've mastered yet.

Thanks, I'll be expecting your thoughts on this one. I find the angle between the short comb and the long comb NEW slightly different. The aggressiveness is about the same and it's the maximum closeness of shave I can tolerate from a razor. If the Tradere is more aggressive than NEW, it's not going to work for me.

 

[kingfisher]

With razors that hold the blade flat, I'm not sure the blade gap makes that much difference in terms of aggressiveness. I tried using the iKon H2O, for example, and found it actually overly mild despite its having a HUGE blade gap, not unlike that seen in the picture of the Tradere, above.

To me the iKon looked like it would be very aggressive but in practice was actually slightly too mild for my taste. The iKon is the only "flat blade" razor I've ever used, so I can't say if this is generalizable to other razors that hold the blade flat.

 

[Sledgehammer39]

Thanks for the review!

 

[Gam]

With razors that hold the blade flat, I'm not sure the blade gap makes that much difference in terms of aggressiveness. I tried using the iKon H2O, for example, and found it actually overly mild despite its having a HUGE blade gap, not unlike that seen in the picture of the Tradere, above.

To me the iKon looked like it would be very aggressive but in practice was actually slightly too mild for my taste. The iKon is the only "flat blade" razor I've ever used, so I can't say if this is generalizable to other razors that hold the blade flat.

I'm not sure about that,I have a Pils 101NE and I find that to be a medium aggressive razor too.The only ikon I own is the OSS which I do find to be on the mild side.I have a different take on the mild vs aggressive.Sometimes I want a nice mild shave,sometimes only a r41 will do.In my book mild,medium,or aggressive is fine as long as they're efficient at the same time.

 

[Face&Head]

With razors that hold the blade flat, I'm not sure the blade gap makes that much difference in terms of aggressiveness. I tried using the iKon H2O, for example, and found it actually overly mild despite its having a HUGE blade gap, not unlike that seen in the picture of the Tradere, above.

To me the iKon looked like it would be very aggressive but in practice was actually slightly too mild for my taste. The iKon is the only "flat blade" razor I've ever used, so I can't say if this is generalizable to other razors that hold the blade flat.

My experience with the iKon, Pils & now the Tradere is that angle really matters. I want to get more shaves in with the Tradere before I comment further as what I wrote above was really just initial impressions, but with both the Pils & Ikon I can crank up the efficiency by steepening the angle. This is even true of the Feather, which is often thought to be a overly mild razor, but can be more efficient when you leave behind the standard 30-degrees. Playing around with the Tradare last night I was using a wide variety of angles with a noticeably different feel & efficiency depending on how I was using it.

Edit: I should have distinguished the iKon from the Pils & Tradere in that the blade does not lay flat in the iKon (SK9) as it does in the other two. The bottom plate on the iKon is beveled yielding a more traditional blade angle.

 

[Gordy2]

Had my first shave with the Tradere this afternoon. Used RR XXX, Med Prep and a good pre-wash of the face. I allowed the razor to use it's weight to do the cutting and did not press down at all. I found it to be a very efficient cutter. Had a fabulous first pass and finished up with a BBS on the second pass. I found the razor pretty much as aggressive as was posted above: a bit more aggressive than a New, Fatip and 2010 R41 but a bit less aggressive than the 2011 R41 I use to own. Angle was important as I got too steep on my chin and paid the price with a couple of nicks and a skipping razor. Oddly, I seemed to feel the teeth going across my face more than with any other of my other OC razors, not a problem though. The size does not hinder usage and felt it was easier to maneuver than my Futur. I like the size and weight and think the razor looks great and it is very well made, an absolute keeper for sure

 

[itsmedave]

To me, the Tradere is a good midway point between a New and an Old Type. It's not as aggressive as the old type and not as mild as a New.

 

[kingfisher]

You guys are pushing me toward purchasing this razor head (I already have the handle).

I love the NEW but it is a little milder than I'd like it to be. I am beginning to love the Old Type, but I've only used it a few times so the jury is still out.