Atelier DURDAN Vestige pass around

A very smooth and easy 3 pass shave with the Vestige+. For me for a day or two of whisker growth, this gap size is very close to being spot on. Not as close or efficient of a shaver as say my Sabre L2 but, more like somewhere in between an L1 & L2 Sabre base plate. The 3 passes were comfortable and easy to manage on the skin on both face & neck. I only required a slight buff on the chin and next to the Adam’s Apple area. No irritation, nics or cuts of any kind. The alum pass revealed nothing whatsoever, not even the slightest of heat. My only grievance with the razor is the handle that I chose for this particular head. It is a heavy beast and paired with the super light and compact razor head, weight bias is completely in the handle. I just choke up on the handle to about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch under the base plate and I compensate for the unbalanced weight & feel of the razor. I’ll get in contact with Augustin at AD and see if I can order another brass handle but, this time I’ll ask to have it hollowed out to about hald way into the handle. That should help with getting the razor to feel a bit more neutral and more balanced in my hands. I’m going to get some shaves in and tinker slightly with angles to see if I can improve on my results.

Great shaves to all…

A very well composed & easy shave with the Vestige again. The GEM SS blade just gets better after each shave providing a very smooth & comfortable shave exercise. And this razor really takes advantage of those attributes. And to add that Augustin has done a masterful job in designing the Vestige head around this blade. Really good performer as yesterday evenings shave was on point.

Hi,
I am trying to decide between the Vestige ++ and +++ plate. I have the + plate, but it is not efficient enough. How much more aggressive is the +++ than the + or ++ plate? How smooth is +++ compared to the ++ plate?
Thanks,
Joe

I own the other three Atelier Durdan (La Faulx, Le Maurice, #7) and find the brand to be absolute top of the line. Could anyone share what the Vestige might bring to the Shaving Den that the others might lack?

The magic of GEM blades

I own the other three Atelier Durdan (La Faulx, Le Maurice, #7) and find the brand to be absolute top of the line. Could anyone share what the Vestige might bring to the Shaving Den that the others might lack?

I own the La Faulx and Vestige; have sampled the #7 from the DFS pass around; and handled the Le Maurice. The Vestige provides a unique shave experience when compared to the #7 and La Faulx in large part due to the GEM blade format. While the La Faulx has been my favorite AC format razor, it has been eclipsed by the Vestige in overall usage. The Vestige delivers a weight and agility that none of the other razors quite match. The calm effectiveness of the Vestige (++ and +++) provides a perfect balance for my demanding beard profile. I recently ordered my third copy of the Vestige for travel and backup as it would be a sad day if I did not have a Vestige in regular rotation. Of course I am just a single data point and biased toward higher efficiency options. 

I plan on acquiring a No 7 in the 1.5mm configuration at some point in the future.

Hi,
I am trying to decide between the Vestige ++ and +++ plate.  I have the + plate, but it is not efficient enough.  How much more aggressive is the +++ than the + or ++ plate?  How smooth is +++ compared to the ++ plate?
Thanks,
Joe

I find both are relatively smooth, but each requires a bit of a personalized adjustment on shaving angle to achieve that outcome. If I only had to pick one it would definitely be the +++ as the ++ is not quite at an efficiency level for my demanding beard profile.  I wouldn't mind a ++++ option but that would be primarily for 2 day growth, which is infrequent. 

I primarily use the ++ option for the initial and second shave with a fresh GEM blade. The other note I would make is a few other shavers observed a reduction in smoothness on the ++ vs the lower efficiency plate options. Maybe at this point I am somewhat biased and blinded to any major difference between the ++ and +++ smoothness. The Vestige is in heavy rotation, and I have probably adapted my technique accordingly to optimize results with each configuration.