Alpha Shaving DE Razor Passaround - Call for Participants

I agree it does have a very small window to get the correct angle.

are there ever canadian pass-arounds?

When the Alpha Outlaw first came out, many (including me) thought that it the head resembled a stainless steel version of the Maggard v3a/RR Mentor head. Vlasta immediately put that rumor to rest, and now that I see the head close up, there are major differences. Still, it did not prevent me from doing a shave comparison between the two razors. Tonight I lined both up. I had the Yintal Classic Bronze version of the v3a/Mentor and the ES version of the Outlaw.




It could be seen immediately that these two razors were not even similar. The guard on the Outlaw is angled more and is scalloped, while the Yintal is squared off. The mount on the Outlaw is taller and closer in and the cap is less domed. This would explain the blade chatter I experienced with my first shave with the Outlaw. Since I had both razors set up, I decided to do the comparison anyway. The Yintal had the left side of my face and the Outlaw had the right. Since I didn't want to constantly change blades between razors, I loaded the original blade I used for the Outlaw (the one that gave me some problems with my initial shave) in the Yintal.

I have shaved with the Yintal many times and already dialed it in and so WTG and ATG pass was no problem. The Outlaw was also dialed in by this time and WTG and ATG pass went smoothly. There was slightly more touch up on the Yintal side, but not enough for me declare the Outlaw the winner. This comparison was a solid tie. I know that I really should be comparing the Outlaw against other stainless steel razors in the $100-150 price range, and that will happen soon as I am also on the Stirling razors pass around and my name is next up. For now I will have to say that this is a very good shaver, but does not step up to the level of great shaver.

This razor has caught my curiosity! Can I please be added? I’m in Ohio.

This razor has caught my curiosity!  Can I please be added?  I’m in Ohio.

PM andrewjs18

So I had my first shave with the Alpha and I only had a days growth but I thought why not see how it performs as a daily driver. My first impressions are fit and finish on the head is good and it’s polished underneath the baseplate which was impressive. The handle I’m not as crazy about for two reasons. One I would prefer a polished handle to match the head and the handle was a bit heavy so the razor felt a little handle heavy but I’ve felt worse an it was just a matter of an adjustment to get a more balanced feel to the razor and all was good.  The razor has some blade feel but not a lot and I did a quick 2 pass shave going both WTG and XTG and ended up with a nice DFS shave. I think it’s a decent razor for the price. I didn’t get that mojo I look for in a razor where I feel connected after a few strokes but it was more like some of the more generic razors I’ve shaved with that are decent shavers don’t get me wrong but I just didn’t feel connected to it right from the first few strokes like I have with others razor I love. I’ll give it one more shave on 2 or 3 days growth and throw a Feather in the razor and see if my opinion changes.  

What I did like a lot was the brush! I’ve admired the handle for a while and low and behold I mentioned to a friend and he was selling his so I’ve got one coming in the mail. 

All going smoothly gents - thanks for the constructive feedback so far!!

West coast razor headed to Dave!

I had my final shave using the Alfa and this time I had 2 1/2 days growth and I used a hand stropped Feather and this shave was what I’d call a nice 2 pass DFS with some spots being a entry level BBS shave going both WTG and ATG. Blade feel which is there throughout the Shave let’s you know if you're where you are but it’s not  remotely harsh by any means. So if you enjoy some blade feel from start to finish then this razor delivers a mild to mid level of it. Audible feedback was there but it was singing a soft rock song. I know I’ve read where some find the sweet spot to be a bit difficult to find but I did not have that issue and to me it’s not like a .61 WR1 where the sweet spot has a very narrow window.  For me the razor performed better with the Feather blade than in the last shave I had. 

So the pros are that this razor is capable of delivering a nice shave and would appeal to a lot of people and would also make a nice daily driver. 
The cons for me is the handle from both a looks standpoint as I’d like it better if it were polished to match the head which is finished nicely and it’s a bit on the heavy side which makes the razor a little handle heavy. I’m still not feeling the mojo I like but that’s just me. The last thing is I found out that the razor is made in China and I’m trying to stay away from made in China products as much as possible as I’d rather support made in the USA products. Again a personal choice. 

I’ll be shipping the razor out to the next person on the pass around list tomorrow. 

I’d like to thank Alfa for the chance to give this razor a couple of shaves. 


Great shaves!

velohammer

Could you please send me your shipping address as I tried to pm you but got no results. Don't know why but I was going to ship out the razor today.

Thank you !