Member
St. Louis MO
FINAL SHAVE WITH THE NO. 7 USING THE .7 PLATE
Again, all extraneous items were the same. The only change was the .7 plate. What amazed me right from the start is that it had a great deal of blade feel. It was quite similar in feel to the 1.5 but not as aggressive or as uncomfortable. But it was definitely there. The razor performed very well. I used my customary 3 passes but today there was a bit of need for buffing.
FIRST PASS: WTG
The blade feel threw me for a loop but it did remove the stubble (2 days growth) with little effort. The passes were smooth, no tugging or jumping over the wrinkled areas.
SECOND PASS: XTG
Very smooth pass, I shave in both directions on the cheek and it was not an issue at all. Additional stubble was removed.
THIRD PASS: ATG
This is where it can get tricky. I know I need to use a steep angle but it is hard in that area, the solution to me was to use a very shallow angle with a very LIGHT touch. That worked fine. I was even able to shave under my nose which is always an exciting experiment in blood letting. No issue here.
In reviewing the face after a warm rinse there were several areas that needed buffing, but I could tell that my face had had enough. All that blade feel and aggression added some irritation feel and I didn't want to make it worse.
FINAL CONCLUSIONS:
I am going to preface my final comments with YMMV.
The head of the razor is very thin and very light. This allows a great deal of maneuverability which is great. But, it is so light that you get the feeling that it is fragile. Only time will tell there. The handle is attractive and a good weight but I find the 12 mm size a bit small for me. I lean toward 14mm when I can. The size of the handle would not be a deal breaker. The overall weight ratio of head to handle was excellent. I had no trouble manipulating it during the shave nor was there ever a problem with handle slippage.
1. the 1.1 plate was the best for me. Blade feel was present throughout all the plates but it was tolerable. The shave with the 1.1 was excellent for me, only slight buffing.
2. the 1.5 plate was a disaster for me. Way too blade forward and gave off a scraping feel throughout the shave. If you try this, try it with a milder blade to see if your results will vary. This plate gave me the most uncomfortable shave of all.
3. the .7 plate, as with the others had a ton of blade feel. The shave, though, was not uncomfortable and it delivered a DFS shave. I believe because of all the blade feel, too much buffing will create an uncomfortable irritation post shave. This plate was mild and I decided not to bother with the .5 as that would have been too mild for me.
4. the box, well, to be fair, I will say that for $150.00 it is a piece of CRAP. Unless you have money to burn, and you want to buy this razor, just get it in the cardboard box it comes with.
5. Atelier Durdan. I have had great experience with the La Faulx both Classic and ++ plate. But dealing with this company is very difficult. I have sent 3 emails and only one got a reply and that was a result of the "cornbread" incident. I do not believe this company has a clue on good customer service.
SO WOULD I BUY THIS RAZOR?
I do find the razor with the right plate an item that could fit into someone's collection, JUST NOT MINE. It is far inferior in shave and quality compared to the La Faulx and the Lambda razors. There is just too much blade feel throughout the shave and across all plates. That combined with the minimal customer service puts this razor on my BUYER BEWARE list.
Thank you to Gus for letting me try this product. It saved me a lot of money.
Good luck to the following users. I have no doubt that there will be a great deal of disagreement with my views and that is what makes 'wetshaveing' fun.
Great Shaves to All.
Again, all extraneous items were the same. The only change was the .7 plate. What amazed me right from the start is that it had a great deal of blade feel. It was quite similar in feel to the 1.5 but not as aggressive or as uncomfortable. But it was definitely there. The razor performed very well. I used my customary 3 passes but today there was a bit of need for buffing.
FIRST PASS: WTG
The blade feel threw me for a loop but it did remove the stubble (2 days growth) with little effort. The passes were smooth, no tugging or jumping over the wrinkled areas.
SECOND PASS: XTG
Very smooth pass, I shave in both directions on the cheek and it was not an issue at all. Additional stubble was removed.
THIRD PASS: ATG
This is where it can get tricky. I know I need to use a steep angle but it is hard in that area, the solution to me was to use a very shallow angle with a very LIGHT touch. That worked fine. I was even able to shave under my nose which is always an exciting experiment in blood letting. No issue here.
In reviewing the face after a warm rinse there were several areas that needed buffing, but I could tell that my face had had enough. All that blade feel and aggression added some irritation feel and I didn't want to make it worse.
FINAL CONCLUSIONS:
I am going to preface my final comments with YMMV.
The head of the razor is very thin and very light. This allows a great deal of maneuverability which is great. But, it is so light that you get the feeling that it is fragile. Only time will tell there. The handle is attractive and a good weight but I find the 12 mm size a bit small for me. I lean toward 14mm when I can. The size of the handle would not be a deal breaker. The overall weight ratio of head to handle was excellent. I had no trouble manipulating it during the shave nor was there ever a problem with handle slippage.
1. the 1.1 plate was the best for me. Blade feel was present throughout all the plates but it was tolerable. The shave with the 1.1 was excellent for me, only slight buffing.
2. the 1.5 plate was a disaster for me. Way too blade forward and gave off a scraping feel throughout the shave. If you try this, try it with a milder blade to see if your results will vary. This plate gave me the most uncomfortable shave of all.
3. the .7 plate, as with the others had a ton of blade feel. The shave, though, was not uncomfortable and it delivered a DFS shave. I believe because of all the blade feel, too much buffing will create an uncomfortable irritation post shave. This plate was mild and I decided not to bother with the .5 as that would have been too mild for me.
4. the box, well, to be fair, I will say that for $150.00 it is a piece of CRAP. Unless you have money to burn, and you want to buy this razor, just get it in the cardboard box it comes with.
5. Atelier Durdan. I have had great experience with the La Faulx both Classic and ++ plate. But dealing with this company is very difficult. I have sent 3 emails and only one got a reply and that was a result of the "cornbread" incident. I do not believe this company has a clue on good customer service.
SO WOULD I BUY THIS RAZOR?
I do find the razor with the right plate an item that could fit into someone's collection, JUST NOT MINE. It is far inferior in shave and quality compared to the La Faulx and the Lambda razors. There is just too much blade feel throughout the shave and across all plates. That combined with the minimal customer service puts this razor on my BUYER BEWARE list.
Thank you to Gus for letting me try this product. It saved me a lot of money.
Good luck to the following users. I have no doubt that there will be a great deal of disagreement with my views and that is what makes 'wetshaveing' fun.
Great Shaves to All.
RAD is just a permanently temporary condition. I'll get over it.. eventually.
