Alpha Bandit DFS pass around

I received the razor safely, I will try it tomorrow.

Tried both OC and SB w/o holes today. 3-4 days growth, Lothur nawkha, wizamets blade. 2+ pass. Wtg - Atg
I am using this soap and blade often.

I mostly use razors 50-100 grams weight and I prefer rigid constraint than blade chattering. This Alpha razor is quite opposite what I commonly use.
It weighs around 140 grams, and it has high blade chattering.

The polishing and design is really nice, and the handle is the most comfortable one I've ever used. Really like thicker handles.
Heavy weight didn't bother me, probably owing to its weight center close to middle of the handle.
This blade chattering makes the razor singing. It has high audible feedback. I honestly didn't get any negative impact of chattering. No cut, no irritation.
Really like the razor, it is very efficient and super smooth. I got fantastic shave today.
In my opinion, both SB and OC are quite similar.

Tried both OC and SB w/o holes today. 3-4 days growth, Lothur nawkha, wizamets blade. 2+ pass. Wtg - Atg
I am using this soap and blade often.

I mostly use razors 50-100 grams weight and I prefer rigid constraint than blade chattering. This Alpha razor is quite opposite what I commonly use.
It weighs around 140 grams, and it has high blade chattering.

The polishing and design is really nice, and the handle is the most comfortable one I've ever used. Really like thicker handles.
Heavy weight didn't bother me, probably owing to its weight center close to middle of the handle.
This blade chattering makes the razor singing. It has high audible feedback. I honestly didn't get any negative impact of chattering. No cut, no irritation.
Really like the razor, it is very efficient and super smooth. I got fantastic shave today.
In my opinion, both SB and OC are quite similar.

Haven't seen anyone else comment on how hard it was to get a blade over the posts......Did you have difficulty and have to force the blade on ?

Tried both OC and SB w/o holes today. 3-4 days growth, Lothur nawkha, wizamets blade. 2+ pass. Wtg - Atg
I am using this soap and blade often.

I mostly use razors 50-100 grams weight and I prefer rigid constraint than blade chattering. This Alpha razor is quite opposite what I commonly use.
It weighs around 140 grams, and it has high blade chattering.

The polishing and design is really nice, and the handle is the most comfortable one I've ever used. Really like thicker handles.
Heavy weight didn't bother me, probably owing to its weight center close to middle of the handle.
This blade chattering makes the razor singing. It has high audible feedback. I honestly didn't get any negative impact of chattering. No cut, no irritation.
Really like the razor, it is very efficient and super smooth. I got fantastic shave today.
In my opinion, both SB and OC are quite similar.

Haven't seen anyone else comment on how hard it was to get a blade over the posts......Did you have difficulty and have to force the blade on ?

Inside of top cap has very similar profile to R41. Thread and pins have same design, but they have slightly larger diameter than R41 Ti. 
My R41 Ti top cap can fit to Alpha base plate, but Alpha top cap cannot fit to R41 Ti baseplate.
I saw the blade stuck to the thread and not as easy to remove it from top cap as R41.

I have used SB plate, it had very well balance between efficiency and smoothness. In my opinion, it is as efficient as Blackbird.
Brass razor is getting patina, but this razor is polished, and it is getting less patina and It is much easier to remove patina than my Brass CG razor. 

I used small amount of flitz, then clean it, and barbicide. I will ship it to the next participant tomorrow.
I took a photo just before packing:

Guys - going well so far thanks to all who have tried it so far.
here is the link for the feedback from when you are done

https://forms.gle/1g8Da7ouPpKvicYq9

If you want to be included in the pass around list, please comment that you're in and what state you live in. As per usual, keep the razor for 7-10 days (mostly because there's 3 plates) and then pass it off to the next person on the list. When you have time, please share your thoughts in this thread.

Here's the google form with some feedback questions Vlasta has for people who have used the razor in the pass around: https://forms.gle/cP6VTUGh1uLx3FN37


List:
ALI (Connecticut)
Dave in KY (Kentucky)
jorvaljr (California) *removed at user's request*
draebeard (Washington)
CK89 (Indiana)
Marhos24 (Michigan)
Lbkindy (Indiana)
Ketotrader (Virginia)
Timeclo (California)
Calm_Shaver (New York)
GlazedBoker (New Jersey)
MaineYooper (Maine)
ewk (South Carolina)
Timeclo (California)
Bullyson (Kentucky)
J33pGuy13 (Pennsylvania)
andrewjs18 (Pennsylvania)

I received the razor a few days ago in good condition. First impressions are good, the case is simple and elegant, and protects the razor. I have two shaves in, and I like the razor a lot so far. It's blade forward and higher on the efficiency spectrum, but doesn't cause any irritation. It seems to have a pretty wide cutting window and is easy to find. Both shaves were with the lather port SB baseplate, and took down two days growth with ease. The razor is heavy but not unwieldy. The handle fits the hand well and is comfortable. I noticed that the threads are very smooth and tight. The top cap posts are a bit big and the blade is hard to remove when disassembling the razor, but it is doable. I see what other have posted about the blade clamping, but the shave did not seem to suffer (I don't shave ATG though). I look forward to the next few shaves and trying out the other baseplates!

Third shave today with the SB plate that has no lather ports. Was a good shave although the blade was on its last leg. I did not notice a difference in shave without the lather ports. Possibly a little head heavy but not enough to change the feel of the razor. Really like this razor! Its got a bit of blade feel but is plenty efficient. Going to use the open comb in a few days then send it on to the next tester.

Keep it up guys!!

I had my last shave with the razor yesterday and sent it on to the next participant. For the last shave I used the open comb base plate. It was the smoothest shaver but seemed to be a hair less efficient than its SB counterpart. I was expecting it to be more efficient, but the smoothness was a nice surprise. Regardless, left me smooth and comfortably shaved. My favorite out of all the plates was the SB with the lather ports. It shaved almost identical to the plate with no lather ports, but I think it looks off not having them. Purely aesthetic. The razor although heavy, is well balanced. It had blade feel but never felt like it would bite. The efficiency is on the higher side of medium, and is a bit too much to be a daily shaver for me. If I could compare it to anything it would be a Karve with the "D" plate. The machining and finish is great, but the top cap posts are a bit large. The blade fits tightly but is difficult to remove. I assume this will be fixed on the production version. The packaging is nice, a small box with form fitting foam holds the razor tightly. I feel this will be a great bang for your buck razor, as Steve is usually well priced on his razors. Thank you Vlasta and andrewjs18 for organizing the passaround, always a fun time trying out new gear!