Excellent birthday shave, @Ron R !
Hey @Iridian, how would you compare your Sentinels with a Lupo 95?I have both the 1.5 SB and OC from Yaqi, head and geometry of the OC are different, it is aggressive, but also very thorough and shaves way better than the 1.5 SB model. I have no idea if they changed that to the OC cap or if they will leave it like that
Hi, the Sentinel 1.5 OC is much more aggressive and efficient than the Lupo .95 OC. The Sentinel SB is a weird one, I already talked about it as you noticed, I would definitely take the OC. The 1.35 OC will already be more aggressive and efficient than the Lupo .95 OC, IMO. I have a 1.15 Boti Shield SB that is a bit below the Lupo .95 OC in efficiency and aggression.Hey @Iridian, how would you compare your Sentinels with a Lupo 95?
Thanks a lot!Hi, the Sentinel 1.5 OC is much more aggressive and efficient than the Lupo .95 OC. The Sentinel SB is a weird one, I already talked about it as you noticed, I would definitely take the OC. The 1.35 OC will already be more aggressive and efficient than the Lupo .95 OC, IMO. I have a 1.15 Boti Shield SB that is a bit below the Lupo .95 OC in efficiency and aggression.
I would dare to say if you want to have more efficiency than the Lupo, Sentinel 1.35 OC. Glazed Boker also wrote about the Sentinels and liked the 1.5, the 1.35 seems a safer bet for most.
Enjoy your shave.
@Iridian, I should have clarified that I have the Lupo 95 SB. Never tried the OC. I tried to find the Sentinel 1.35 OC but I can only find the 1.5 OC. I guess the other one is out of stock or discontinued, though the 1.35 SB is available. I think I might pull the trigger on the 1.5 OC, if it's too crazy I can always release it to the wild. It might be too much based on what you say, but some people say is not that aggressive. It is always hard to tell, because everyone is so different!Hi, the Sentinel 1.5 OC is much more aggressive and efficient than the Lupo .95 OC.
I would dare to say if you want to have more efficiency than the Lupo, Sentinel 1.35 OC.
You can go very steep with the Sentinel, the huge gap means you can vary your angle a lot to adjust the shave.It is always hard to tell, because everyone is so different!
Glad your enjoying the shaves, The Sentinel works best with a Shallow angle(riding the cap) has been my experience after trying neutral and steep angles. One of the fellows mentioned use a shallow angle early on when I bought it and I'm glad I did. I shave a lot of the time with a steep angle(riding the bar) but it was easy to change to riding the cap.View attachment 1824364
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I recently acquired several Yaqi razors, including the Sentinels. I researched a lot and thought I had made up my mind but later decided to try for myself. So I got the 1.5 OC, 1.5 SB and 1.35 SB. When they arrived I had already shaved so I tried them in my forearms. Right away I noticed the 1.5 SB is the noticeably different one. Different feel and auditory feedback, but the three of them seemed very efficient.
Yesterday I had my first shave, I did a side-by-side comparison: 1.5 OC vs 1.35 SB with Nacet blades. I was thoroughly impressed. The first shave with a razor is usually not my best, but this was great from the get go. Both are extremely efficient, lots of blade feel while being comfortable. A small nick and mild neck irritation with the 1.5, flawless BBS with the 1.35.
For reference I always shave with a shallow angle, 2 passes WTG & AGT, with minor touch ups. I always shave the same way, I never change for a razor (I rather change the razor). Nevertheless, I did notice that both, particularly the 1.5 OC, give you a wide range of angles to try, as was mentioned by @Iridian.
I'm elated with these razors and I am thrilled to try them more and compare the three of them with each other.
You're absolutely right Iridian - plate 2 has a bigger gap but less blade exposure as compared to 3. I like the AX enough to get one head in SS and that's when I figure out what plate 2 actually is in the SS version. Ann at DS is very helpful and quick with her response so will reach out to her.@megamac interesting! Your plate 2 switch with plate 3 as well, did I read that right? (gap-wise).
That the blade with the highest gap is the smoothest, well, seems it is a right fit and you can do it with 1-2 passes without need for correction. Seems to be a good fit.
If I were you and it is your favorite, I would focus on figuring out if it is the 1.35 or 1.55 gap and get it in SS or Ti. If you like it that much, that's it. Actually there is no need to upgrade and there are many, many more razors out there to try.
Hey Ron, Have enjoyed reading every shave experience with the Sentinel that you posted, totally love it Bruh. Thanks to you, I've got acquainted with a few more blade varieties and shaving soaps from the pics you post.Glad your enjoying the shaves, The Sentinel works best with a Shallow angle(riding the cap) has been my experience after trying neutral and steep angles. One of the fellows mentioned use a shallow angle early on when I bought it and I'm glad I did. I shave a lot of the time with a steep angle(riding the bar) but it was easy to change to riding the cap.
If you find the open comb likes a steep angle (riding the bar) I would just keep using your technique if your happy with results.Hey Ron, Have enjoyed reading every shave experience with the Sentinel that you posted, totally love it Bruh. Thanks to you, I've got acquainted with a few more blade varieties and shaving soaps from the pics you post.
I haven't used the Sentinel SB but I do feel that the 1.5 OC works better when I ride the bar, could probably be my technique but when I tried riding the cap, it wouldn't do anything. All in all the Sentinel is a superb product though.
Iridian's mention of the Yaqi Thalia piqued my interest too but then figured that rather than a Blackbird clone, it was closer to the DE89. Still can't understand why they are charging much for the SS Head.
Yeah Ron, you're right about what works best for each one. You know what, I will try a shallow angle with the 1.5 OC just for the fun of it. Wit the DS AX here's what I found, plate 1 needs a shallow angle but plate 2 and 3 work better with Riding the bar. For me shaves with the 1.5 OC Sentinel and the DS Ax 1.55 SB are poles apart. I haven't used the Sentinel SB so I can't comment on that one but the 1.5 OC has a character and personality of its own, I found it very efficient but not aggressive in any way.If you find the open comb likes a steep angle (riding the bar) I would just keep using your technique if your happy with results.
When manufacturing products there are +/- tolerances on all products and maybe your razor works best to your technique, I'm just mentioning to you & others from my testing the shaves are better for my technique are shallow angle approach(riding the cap) because of less irritation to none and a close comfortable shave has been my findings.
When you look at DSC AX-SE the tolerances are different as the plates progress(plate #2). They must use a different gage when marking the # plates, maybe DSC used experienced shaving folks and asked what they felt when shaving after each pass and they claimed #2 plate was more aggressive than #1 but not as much as #3(?) plate but gaps do not make sense to us.
The DSC AX-SE looks like a good deal IMO and almost purchased it but I enjoy the Yaqi 1.5mm gap one and had already purchased it before the DSC AX-SE was even introduced to market.
Ha ha ha ha ha. Iridian, that would make me the first easily detectable spy given my size. When I was a kid, My Grandma taught me the Golden rule in life, 'I Don't Know'. She said ask as many questions as you can, don't interrupt the speaker and respect each and every answer. Blame it on my Gran Bruh. I'm also the most inexperienced shaver of the lot and with you kind lads, I've learnt everything from Razor design to technique to developing a hunger for trying out diffrent Razors.I think @megamac asks so many questions, which is highly suspicious and warrants a proactive execution in my book, he might be a spy, after all.
So maybe we should ask him some questions in return.
You have the Yaqi 1.5 OC and the DSCosmetic 1.55 Zamac SB version of the WR2 clones, how do these two compare, then?
Now that would be interesting. See, I even highlighted it for you. @Ron R listen up, the spy is about to make a final confession before his execution.
One can always go a bit more shallow instead of steep to make the shave more mellow with the high gap WR2 clones. But I also rather use them very steep after that, just not for the first pass with a lot of hair.
The now rather rare Smart Helix razors also offer quite some leeway with the shaving angle.
The one razor where I personally don't go steep is the Blackbird, particularly not the OC. But even there we have people reporting they use it steep. But they are often members of the SASA (Steep Angle Shaving Alliance) and might simply be hell bent on riding that bar steep. At least that's how I make reason of people doing that with the BB!