Rabidus was kind enough to lend me his aluminum Colonial General for a trial, with two different AC blades (Kai Captain Mild and Schick Prolines). I hooked this head up to a UFO Titan Fine L and it makes a great-looking razor with good balance.
My experience with AC-type razors is limited. Years ago I participated in a Cobra pass-around and I liked it OK but didn't really understand all the hype.
Because I used to use Kai double-edge blades a long time ago, I assumed the Kai blade would be best, so I loaded up the General with a Kai blade and took it for it's maiden voyage. There was quite a bit of tugging. It almost felt like the blade was plucking out my stubble as I pulled the razor across my face. I hung in there through the entire first pass and found that there had been good reduction and no obvious irritation, but the feeling was unpleasant enough that I finished the shave with a Fatboy loaded with a Polsilver SI. What a difference! Smooth and comfortable.
So, for this morning's shave I loaded up the General with one of the Schick Proline blades. This was much better, but still it's not as sharp as my beloved Polsilvers or the amazing GEM blades I have been using in my MMOC. It was comfortable enough, though, and I finished two passes and had a nice, smooth shave. The razor itself was really easy to handle. It didn't take very long to find and maintain the best angle. By the second pass the shave was almost TOO easy. Almost so easy as to take some of the fun out of it.
I definitely like this razor better than the Cobra classic I tried out years ago, but I'm not really sold on the AC blade razors in general. To me the blade is a little too wide, and for no apparent reason, which makes it a bit clunky in certain places. And although the Colonial is an attractive razor, it lacks the cache of a vintage MMOC or Streamline or 1914 or Fatboy that I enjoy. It almost feels like shaving with a modern cartridge razor, in a sense, in that it's almost effortless and that the razor, to me at least, doesn't have any style, or élan, or gravitas, or story, or whatever it is that I love about vintage razors.
In short, not a bad razor at all. Might be a great razor for someone who has never tried anything but modern cartridges; for them it might be challenging and fun, and it looks completely different. For me, however, I feel like I would be happier sticking to my vintage DEs and SEs. And maybe I'll try one of the new GEM-type SEs like the ATT G-1 or the Backland Sabre just because they are beautiful and use a blade that I prefer to the AC blades.
Oh, and the Schick Proline blade is worlds better than the Kai Titan Mild, at least for me.
Thanks to rabidus for the chance to try out this nice, affordable modern razor.
My experience with AC-type razors is limited. Years ago I participated in a Cobra pass-around and I liked it OK but didn't really understand all the hype.
Because I used to use Kai double-edge blades a long time ago, I assumed the Kai blade would be best, so I loaded up the General with a Kai blade and took it for it's maiden voyage. There was quite a bit of tugging. It almost felt like the blade was plucking out my stubble as I pulled the razor across my face. I hung in there through the entire first pass and found that there had been good reduction and no obvious irritation, but the feeling was unpleasant enough that I finished the shave with a Fatboy loaded with a Polsilver SI. What a difference! Smooth and comfortable.
So, for this morning's shave I loaded up the General with one of the Schick Proline blades. This was much better, but still it's not as sharp as my beloved Polsilvers or the amazing GEM blades I have been using in my MMOC. It was comfortable enough, though, and I finished two passes and had a nice, smooth shave. The razor itself was really easy to handle. It didn't take very long to find and maintain the best angle. By the second pass the shave was almost TOO easy. Almost so easy as to take some of the fun out of it.
I definitely like this razor better than the Cobra classic I tried out years ago, but I'm not really sold on the AC blade razors in general. To me the blade is a little too wide, and for no apparent reason, which makes it a bit clunky in certain places. And although the Colonial is an attractive razor, it lacks the cache of a vintage MMOC or Streamline or 1914 or Fatboy that I enjoy. It almost feels like shaving with a modern cartridge razor, in a sense, in that it's almost effortless and that the razor, to me at least, doesn't have any style, or élan, or gravitas, or story, or whatever it is that I love about vintage razors.
In short, not a bad razor at all. Might be a great razor for someone who has never tried anything but modern cartridges; for them it might be challenging and fun, and it looks completely different. For me, however, I feel like I would be happier sticking to my vintage DEs and SEs. And maybe I'll try one of the new GEM-type SEs like the ATT G-1 or the Backland Sabre just because they are beautiful and use a blade that I prefer to the AC blades.
Oh, and the Schick Proline blade is worlds better than the Kai Titan Mild, at least for me.
Thanks to rabidus for the chance to try out this nice, affordable modern razor.
