Alpha Bandit DFS pass around

Razor arrived today.  Will shave tomorrow.

I had an excellent shave this morning with the Alpha Bandit, using the SB baseplate with lather ports, and a new Feather blade.  It was a little more blade forward and efficient than the Drakkant, which I just finished with.  The handle while beautiful to behold, was very heavy and did not fit my hand, so I swapped it out for an old favorite.  I hope Vlasta is not offended, but I like to use a familiar handle as well as a familiar blade, when assessing a new razor head.  On first impression, I would rate the Bandit razor head a notch above the Drakkant, but I like the feel of the Drakkant handle much better, although the Bandit handle is prettier.

You use the handle you are comfortable with - I know it is not going to be everyones favorite!!

On first impression, I would rate the Bandit razor head a notch above the Drakkant, but I like the feel of the Drakkant handle much better..

Can you elaborate a bit? Is it just the blade feel and aggression, finish, or something else? Happy to be in such top tier company, but always looking for ways to improve

Slightly more blade feel; slightly more efficient; perhaps a little less forgiving, and it doesn't have tail fins on the topcap.  Also it is better finished; there are no rough edges; it doesn't look/feel like a prototype.  Yours however has a better blade vice and a more comfortable and functional handle.  They're both very good razors.

For my second shave I used the open comb plate and the same Feather blade, now on it's second use.  The open comb had a less comfortable face feel, but produced a mostly similar result.  Open comb razors are designed for shaving off beards.  For shaving off two days stubble I want a razor with a safety bar, not an open comb.  That said, the contour of this baseplate looks remarkably like the Gillette New Short Comb.  That's all folks.
Addenda:  A few hours later I looked down the length of the blade to assess the blade vice, and was surprised by how loose it was.  I could see between the bottom of the topcap and the top of the blade, as well as between the bottom of the blade and the top of the baseplate.  I got a good shave from it, but I don't shave against the grain.  If I did I would have likely drawn blood.  This blade vice could definitely use tightening up.

For my third and last shave with this razor I used the safety bar plate without lather ports.  I also used a BIC blade for the first time ever.  It was not quite as sharp as a Feather, but close.  Not much difference between this shave and the first one, except the razor didn't rinse clean as easily because of the lack of lather ports.  All in all a pretty good razor.  The blade vice needs improvement however.  That's all folks.

Nice catch!! - the comment about blade clamping bothered me so I grabbed my prototype #1 and #2 and also reviewed my design. Here is the microscope photo of the one you guys are trialling (I have the same with me) :



And this is the photo of prototype #1



Now - #2 - it appears that the maker has gone troppo on the polishing mop and rounded off some faces of the baseplate - it should be flat and as you can see it is curved. For completeness here is the CAD drawing



Needless to say, this will be taken care of in mass production and is now a point of note for the machine shop!!

This is EXACTLY why I prototype and pass around!!

thanks,

Steve  T.

Fascinating catch!  Truly awesome work guys 

For my second shave I used the open comb plate and the same Feather blade, now on it's second use.  The open comb had a less comfortable face feel, but produced a mostly similar result.  Open comb razors are designed for shaving off beards.  For shaving off two days stubble I want a razor with a safety bar, not an open comb.  That said, the contour of this baseplate looks remarkably like the Gillette New Short Comb.  That's all folks.
Addenda:  A few hours later I looked down the length of the blade to assess the blade vice, and was surprised by how loose it was.  I could see between the bottom of the topcap and the top of the blade, as well as between the bottom of the blade and the top of the baseplate.  I got a good shave from it, but I don't shave against the grain.  If I did I would have likely drawn blood.  This blade vice could definitely use tightening up.

Noted the same thing several times in my review. Glad your point got across.