#81

Member
North Carolina
Phoenixkh to add your photos, click on 'open full editor' (down below), then click the black 'I'

https://damnfineshave.com/thread-how-to-...n-the-site

GlazedBoker likes this post
#82
Thanks. I'll try that next time. It would easier than uploading photos to Flickr and adding them to a post here.

Big_T likes this post
A Male Kim "Perception is reality." 
#83
I'm not in an enviable position here... Doing a review after one of Gus'.... I feel a touch inadequate and believe me, this isn't false modesty. I will do my best.

First impressions. The presentation box is very well crafted with slots for everything. I knew I wasn't going to use the included handle, as I'm more familiar with the Timeless Ti Crown handle and use it exclusively with all my top SS razor heads. The first thing I noticed after loading a new Perma-Sharp blade was.... The threads weren't clean all the way into the Crown handle. I added an extra M5 washer to lessen this but it was still a bit tight screwing it in. I examined the threads and noticed, as it approached the cap, the threads weren't fully machined...Small thing that I'm sure will be addressed by Augustin.

The head is light.... I weighed it at 23.8 grams. In comparison, a full Timeless Ti 0.68OC head is 22.8... just a gram lighter. My lightest hybrid 0.68OC head has a SS cap and a Ti base plate and weighs 28.4 grams.

Did it affect the balance of the razor? I didn't notice it feeling "off" to me. I use titanium or hollow bronze handles because I prefer the balance to be tilted towards the head. I would say, the No.7 is slightly more neutral in its balance with a titanium handle. This may or may not make any difference to those reading this review. But I would keep it in mind if you are going to use the supplied SS handle. The OEM handle weighed in at 76.0 grams on my scale... but flickered just a bit so maybe 75.9 ++. The resolution is only .1 grams. The Ti Crown is 42.7 grams. Again, this might not matter to any of you as it's a personal thing with me.

When I first looked at Gus' photos of the razor head... and then looked at it after I loaded the Perma-Sharp... it looks like there is quite a bit of unsupported blade hanging out there. This concerned me when I was considering a purchase of this razor. But I've learned over my short 2.5 year of wet shaving, I'm not a razor designer.

I shave before I shower. I use the Cube 2.0 twice in the shower as part of my pre-shave routine.

I use a badger brush to apply the Cube 2.0 pre-shave before I lather up, in this case, with a SV brush after I lathered up some Baume.be cream in a Cayuen Abalone shaving bowl.

The shave itself. I purposely avoided shaving, waiting for the No.7 to arrive. My last shave was on Friday, June 7th... So I had 5 days of growth. I never shave every day, but 5 days is pretty much the max for me unless something kept me from shaving... I would like to shave every other day, but I don't always achieve this goal. Wink

OK.. Dense, old man, grey and coarse whiskers... How did the No. 7 do? It took the whiskers off in a flash, with very little effort on my part... The cheeks are always easy with my Top Razors. My chin is where things can get complicated if the razor isn't up to the task... And this was using the . 7 gap base plate.... No problem with the WTG pass. I spent a little extra time on my chin but I do that with every shave as my whiskers are the most dense and coarse there. Again.... no problems at all.

I do two XTG passes, one in each direction but I don't relather. I just smear on a bit of lather I keep between my thumb and forefinger from the SV 2.0 brush. You could hear the whiskers being sliced off.... The No. 7 has very nice auditory feedback on the XTG passes.

The final ATG pass. The No. 7 had already taken most of my whiskers at this point but I could still hear a whisper as the whiskers were cut down slightly below the skin, I believe. I had no issues going ATG on my upper lip... or anywhere else, for that matter. It stayed comfortable and smooth... My concerns about blade chatter were unfounded, I believe. I could feel the blade there as I positioned the razor before a stroke... but again, not in any aggressive way. It was more like hmmmm I could feel the blade engage but that was it. I doubt I'm describing this well. It will have to suffice to say, the No.7 was a pleasure to use in all 4 passes... Drama-free...

The shave angle is intuitive for this razor, at least, for me. It is on the shallow side of neutral, as one would expect given the design. The angle of the cap is pretty much the angle of attack for me. As I was rinsing off my face, I did notice a few spots of blood. Nothing unusual for me as I often do some cosmetic surgery on my face when I'm shaving. Some people have those totally smooth faces, nary a blemish in sight. Not me. My face has always had small bumps in various places.... When the shave is close, they are leveled off nicely. None of them required any special treatment and were gone by the time I applied the Metro Gel... I do use an LEA Alum "Deodorant" stick immediately after I've finished shaving. I rinse it off after I'm done cleaning my two badger brushes... Then the Metro Gel is applied before I clean the razors.

I'm new here so most of you don't know I use the ESC/Alpha Claymore Evolution around my nose for every shave, as I have a few pesky whiskers that grow right next to it. That was one place where I couldn't get the No.7 to complete the job on the final ATG pass. I had one whisker, now about 1/4" long after 5 days.. right in the corner of the right side of my mouth. I had to use the Claymore Evo to reach it as the DE blade on the No.7 doesn't reach the end of the base plate/cap. This is normal for most razors. I tried moving my mouth into various positions but couldn't quite get it and the Claymore Evo was already sitting there. It was easier to just pick up and complete the task.

My face is as smooth as any shave I've ever had.... Was it the best shave I've ever had? No.... but only because I have some very fine razors. The La Faulx Classic sits at the very top of my small razor collection. The No.7 didn't dethrone the La Faulx, but like my other top razors, it's tied with my other razors at this point.

I do wish we had a .5 gap base plate. I'm going to try the .3 next to see how much difference it makes. I'm certain I don't need one of the higher gap base plates. The No.7 with the .7 base plate is extremely smooth and comfortable. I can feel the blade a bit but not in an aggressive way, if that makes sense. Much like the La Faulx, the base plate seems to stretch out the skin in front of the blade so I didn't have to do much skin stretching with my left hand... or even contort my face much.

As I'm sitting here, feeling my face, all my problem areas are totally smooth. BBS? We have a 10 month old granddaughter now... I don't believe this old face can ever be that soft and smooth.... but it's a smooth as it could be. I might have to up my rating a bit... as it might be as smooth as I've ever felt it..... After I send this one on... I'll have to do some comparison shaves with my other top DE razors to determine the No. 7's ranking. It's always tough, because I don't have any marginal razors around.

It sure was a pleasurable shave, esp. for a first time run. I was trying to make mental notes as I went along but the razor kept trying to move me into the Zen zone. You can't ask for more than that.

WVShaver, GlazedBoker, ALI and 13 others like this post
A Male Kim "Perception is reality." 
#84

It's sharp and it cuts. I like it...
Northeast, USA
(This post was last modified: 06-12-2024, 01:09 AM by GlazedBoker.)
(06-12-2024, 12:40 AM)Phoenixkh Wrote: I'm not in an enviable position here... Doing a review after one of Gus'.... I feel a touch inadequate and believe me, this isn't false modesty. I will do my best.

First impressions. The presentation box is very well crafted with slots for everything. I knew I wasn't going to use the included handle, as I'm more familiar with the Timeless Ti Crown handle and use it exclusively with all my top SS razor heads. The first thing I noticed after loading a new Perma-Sharp blade was.... The threads weren't clean all the way into the Crown handle. I added an extra M5 washer to lessen this but it was still a bit tight screwing it in. I examined the threads and noticed, as it approached the cap, the threads weren't fully machined...Small thing that I'm sure will be addressed by Augustin.

The head is light.... I weighed it at 23.8 grams. In comparison, a full Timeless Ti 0.68OC head is 22.8... just a gram lighter. My lightest hybrid 0.68OC head has a SS cap and a Ti base plate and weighs 28.4 grams.

Did it affect the balance of the razor? I didn't notice it feeling "off" to me. I use titanium or hollow bronze handles because I prefer the balance to be tilted towards the head. I would say, the No.7 is slightly more neutral in its balance with a titanium handle. This may or may not make any difference to those reading this review. But I would keep it in mind if you are going to use the supplied SS handle. The OEM handle weighed in at 76.0 grams on my scale... but flickered just a bit so maybe 75.9 ++. The resolution is only .1 grams. The Ti Crown is 42.7 grams. Again, this might not matter to any of you as it's a personal thing with me.

When I first looked at Gus' photos of the razor head... and then looked at it after I loaded the Perma-Sharp... it looks like there is quite a bit of unsupported blade hanging out there. This concerned me when I was considering a purchase of this razor. But I've learned over my short 2.5 year of wet shaving, I'm not a razor designer.

I shave before I shower. I use the Cube 2.0 twice in the shower as part of my pre-shave routine.

I use a badger brush to apply the Cube 2.0 pre-shave before I lather up, in this case, with a SV brush after I lathered up some Baume.be cream in a Cayuen Abalone shaving bowl.

The shave itself. I purposely avoided shaving, waiting for the No.7 to arrive. My last shave was on Friday, June 7th... So I had 5 days of growth. I never shave every day, but 5 days is pretty much the max for me unless something kept me from shaving... I would like to shave every other day, but I don't always achieve this goal. Wink

OK.. Dense, old man, grey and coarse whiskers... How did the No. 7 do? It took the whiskers off in a flash, with very little effort on my part... The cheeks are always easy with my Top Razors. My chin is where things can get complicated if the razor isn't up to the task... And this was  using the . 7 gap base plate.... No problem with the WTG pass. I spent a little extra time on my chin but I do that with every shave as my whiskers are the most dense and coarse there. Again.... no problems at all.

I do two XTG passes, one in each direction but I don't relather. I just smear on a bit of lather I keep between my thumb and forefinger from the SV 2.0 brush. You could hear the whiskers being sliced off.... The No. 7 has very nice auditory feedback on the XTG passes.

The final ATG pass. The No. 7 had already taken most of my whiskers at this point but I could still hear a whisper as the whiskers were cut down slightly below the skin, I believe. I had no issues going ATG on my upper lip... or anywhere else, for that matter. It stayed comfortable and smooth... My concerns about blade chatter were unfounded, I believe. I could feel the blade there as I positioned the razor before a stroke... but again, not in any aggressive way. It was more like hmmmm I could feel the blade engage but that was it. I doubt I'm describing this well. It will have to suffice to say, the No.7 was a pleasure to use in all 4 passes... Drama-free...

The shave angle is intuitive for this razor, at least, for me. It is on the shallow side of neutral, as one would expect given the design. The angle of the cap is pretty much the angle of attack for me. As I was rinsing off my face, I did notice a few spots of blood. Nothing unusual for me as I often do some cosmetic surgery on my face when I'm shaving. Some people have those totally smooth faces, nary a blemish in sight. Not me. My face has always had small bumps in various places.... When the shave is close, they are leveled off nicely. None of them required any special treatment and were gone by the time I applied the Metro Gel... I do use an LEA Alum "Deodorant" stick immediately after I've finished shaving. I rinse it off after I'm done cleaning my two badger brushes... Then the Metro Gel is applied before I clean the razors.

I'm new here so most of you don't know I use the ESC/Alpha Claymore Evolution around my nose for every shave, as I have a few pesky whiskers that grow right next to it. That was one place where I couldn't get the No.7 to complete the job on the final ATG pass. I had one whisker, now about 1/4" long after 5 days.. right in the corner of the right side of my mouth. I had to use the Claymore Evo to reach it as the DE blade on the No.7 doesn't reach the end of the base plate/cap. This is normal for most razors. I tried moving my mouth into various positions but couldn't quite get it and the Claymore Evo was already sitting there. It was easier to just pick up and complete the task.

My face is as smooth as any shave I've ever had.... Was it the best shave I've ever had? No.... but only because I have some very fine razors. The La Faulx Classic sits at the very top of my small razor collection. The No.7 didn't dethrone the La Faulx, but like my other top razors, it's tied with my other razors at this point.

I do wish we had a .5 gap base plate. I'm going to try the .3 next to see how much difference it makes. I'm certain I don't need one of the higher gap base plates. The No.7 with the .7 base plate is extremely smooth and comfortable. I can feel the blade a bit but not in an aggressive way, if that makes sense. Much like the La Faulx, the base plate seems to stretch out the skin in front of the blade so I didn't have to do much skin stretching with my left hand... or even contort my face much.

As I'm sitting here, feeling my face, all my problem areas are totally smooth. BBS? We have a 10 month old granddaughter now... I don't believe this old face can ever be that soft and smooth.... but it's a smooth as it could be. I might have to up my rating a bit... as it might be as smooth as I've ever felt it..... After I send this one on... I'll have to do some comparison shaves with my other top DE razors to determine the No. 7's ranking. It's always tough, because I don't have any marginal razors around.

It sure was a pleasurable shave, esp. for a first time run. I was trying to make mental notes as I went along but the razor kept trying to move me  into the Zen zone. You can't ask for more than that.

Very, very well written Kim. We were quite similar in shave experience with the only caveat that I only used the larger two gaps in the kit. But, I would bet that below the 1.1 gap it would feel more docile and natural for a lack of a better description for a good majority of shavers. I’ll be glued to the next few posts that you will most certainly provide with excellent clarity & detail. Keep’em coming!!!

ALI, Calm_Shaver, Phoenixkh and 1 others like this post
#85

Member
St. Louis MO
What a great detailed and informed review.
I am the next in line and after reading Gus and Kim's reviews, people are really going to be sadly disappointed with my reviews.  Smile
I am interested in testing all the plates as i like a bit more aggression.  I currently use the La Faux ++ plate.
HAPPY SHAVES ALL

GlazedBoker, Stickshift, WVShaver and 4 others like this post
RAD is just a permanently temporary condition.  I'll get over it.. eventually.

#86

Member
North Carolina
Excellent review Phoenixkh . I'm thinking the .70 or .90 plate for me, so I'll be trying the .7 and 1.1 in this kit and maybe one more depending on how those go.

Calm_Shaver, rocket, Phoenixkh and 1 others like this post
#87
Great review Phoenixkh many usefull informations for me. Thank you.

Feels for me like little brother of La Faulx, but not superior. My focus is on 1.1 plate as I prefer ++ for La Faulx

Phoenixkh and rocket like this post
#88
N*7 Pass Around list:
1. GlazedBoker - North Brunswick, NJ - Completed & shipped
2. Phoenixkh - Gainesville, FL - En route to
3. cigarman - St. Louis, MO
4. ALI - Old Greenwich, CT
5. rocket - Denver, CO
6. Dragonsbeard - Webster, NY
7. Dtownvino - Philadelphia, PA
8. Spacemonkey42 - Williamstown, MA
9. Keto - Aurora, MO
10. Big_T - King,NC
11. Calm_Shaver - NY, NY
12. ewk - Goose Creek, SC
13. Bbssboss - Boston, MA
14. wyze0ne - Farmington Hills, MI
15. Marhos24 - Armada, MI
16. Stickshift - Chicago, IL
17. Einar - Appleton, WI
18. Dave in KY - Williamsburg, KY
19. jbreakfield - Daphne, AL
20. Rudy Vey - South Plainfield, NJ
21. WVShaver - Mason, WV

I hope I didn’t skip anyone. I didn’t see anyone after Rudy but feel free to update this if I did. Thanks for the pass around!

Phoenixkh and GlazedBoker like this post
#89

It's sharp and it cuts. I like it...
Northeast, USA
N*7 Pass Around list:
1. GlazedBoker - North Brunswick, NJ - Completed & shipped
2. Phoenixkh - Gainesville, FL - Presently testing.
3. cigarman - St. Louis, MO
4. ALI - Old Greenwich, CT
5. rocket - Denver, CO
6. Dragonsbeard - Webster, NY
7. Dtownvino - Philadelphia, PA
8. Spacemonkey42 - Williamstown, MA
9. Keto - Aurora, MO
10. Big_T - King,NC
11. Calm_Shaver - NY, NY
12. ewk - Goose Creek, SC
13. Bbssboss - Boston, MA
14. wyze0ne - Farmington Hills, MI
15. Marhos24 - Armada, MI
16. Stickshift - Chicago, IL
17. Einar - Appleton, WI
18. Dave in KY - Williamsburg, KY
19. jbreakfield - Daphne, AL
20. Rudy Vey - South Plainfield, NJ
21. WVShaver - Mason, WV

Stickshift, Phoenixkh and Calm_Shaver like this post
#90

Living on the edge
(This post was last modified: 06-12-2024, 11:46 AM by Tester28.)
(06-11-2024, 07:43 PM)Phoenixkh Wrote: [img][Image: 53784903106_437fd877d3_c.jpg]RS_No.7 Close_Up by Phoenixkh, on Flickr[/img]

Quite a chunky head when viewed from certain angles.

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