CarbonShavingCo. New company & razor in the works....

Tracking shows package delivered to jbreakfield Saturday andrewjs18

Yep, arrived yesterday, several days ahead of the original estimate. 

I still have the Henson pass around razor, so wanted to get at least another shave or two in with it before trying out the Carbon. It seems between late delivery of the Henson and early delivery of the Carbon the USPS has caused me to have some overlap with pass around razors. 

no big deal. I don't think anyone can predict the actual successful delivery rate of packages these days. I bought some razor blades on ebay the other day and they arrived in a few days whereas I'm still waiting for a package from California that shipped on 12/11 and has been sitting in Philadelphia since 12/23....

Quick update:
I finished my time with the Carbon, everything was cleaned and sanitized, and is now in the mail to Lesser. I'll post some thoughts in the next day or so.

Hi all,

Here's the current pass around list for the Carbon razor. This pass around will include 1 handle, 1 top cap and 3 base plates: the original base plate plus 2 new base plates Carbon has designed.

Since there's only 1 razor being passed around, please try to get the razor sent out to the next person via priority mail after 7 days of usage so things move along at a decent pace.

**Please spray the complete razor down with alcohol or something similar before shipping it out to the next person and upon receiving it!**

Pass around list:

andrewjs18 (Pennsylvania)
CK89 (Indiana)
Captainjonny (Washington)
Standard
bobmsp (Minnesota)
Shavemd *removed at the user's request*
shaveSymptomatic (Florida)
keto (Missouri)
rawfox1 (Nevada)
Darktrader
Calm_Shaver *removed at user's request*
gvw755 (Washington)
MarsEnglish
AJSharp (New York)
Oasisdave (California)
CzechCzar
george1906 *removed at user's request*
Marhos24 (Michigan)
IanG513 (California) *removed at user's request*
Jimmyfn (Oklahoma)
MaxP (Iowa)
fmalpartida (California)
Whisker_whacker *removed at user's request*
Bullyson
ALI (Connecticut) *removed at user's request*
w_mcnabb (Texas) *removed at user's request*
herbert7890 (Texas)
Dave in KY (Kentucky)
jbreakfield (Alabama)
Lesser (New York)
Ketotrader (Virginia)
andrewjs18 (Pennsylvania)

Sorry for the delay, the last 2 weeks have been busy. Thanks again to CarbonShavingCo. for providing the razor, and to andrewjs18 for organizing the pass around. 

I was able to use all 4 plates while I had the Carbon. There has been a lot said in this thread, so I’m not sure how much I can add, but here  are some of my thoughts.

This is a very well made razor, up there with other high-end razors that I’ve had the chance to use. The polish isn’t quite up there with H&S or Paradigm Diamondback, but it’s not far from it (at least on the head, the handle isn’t polished quite as well).  I like the design, and the slim head, and I really like the laser etching on the baseplate. I’m curious how that will hold up over time. 

I started with the + plate, based on the gap that thought would work. It actually wound up being very harsh for me, and I ended up with a fair amount of razor burn on my neck. Next, I went with the ++ plate, and it was actually MUCH better for me than the + plate, which was unexpected based on the gaps, but the less blade exposure made a big difference for me. Goes to show you that gaps aren’t everything, and the overall geometry is important in the design. I found the ++ plate to be fairly smooth on the WTG and XTG passes, but slightly harsh on the ATG. Next up was the Original plate, which worked ok for me, but harsher than the ++. Now I feel like I’m getting strange results, BUT this is the plate with the most blade exposure (from what I understand), and I don’t seem to get along with some razors that have higher exposure. The - plate gave me a fairly smooth shave, although still a little harsh against the grain. So, my best shaves were from the - and the ++ plates.  I think that my experience was similar (and possibly more pronounced) to what Dave in KY  described… I could tell that the blade wasn’t held close to the cutting edge, especially on the higher exposures. This is something that I seem to be sensitive to, and in many cases it will cause some chatter during and irritation after the shave.  I’m sure that many will find this to be a great razor for them, it’s just not for me.

Received razor from jbreakfield. Will try this week.

Have had two shaves with the passaround razor.  But first, thanks to CarbonShavingCo. for sharing it, and to andrewjs18 for organizing this.  
 
The build quality and feel both are excellent, as others have said.  For the price, one gets a solid and well made razor.  While I was skeptical about the handle shaping, in practice it worked just fine for me.  As to the shaves, given the comments above, I decided to start with the ++ which has proven to be a sweet spot for others with its (I believe) 1.08 gap plate.  So I've used it both of the past two days. Both were three pass shaves and the first day I used a GSB and the second a BIC.  The first day’s shave, with the GSB, was quite smooth and comfortable – minimal blade feel and the razor quietly glided across my face.  First two passes I was really enjoying it.  The third pass was also so smooth but the ease seem to come at the expense of being efficient (at least for me).  In my toughest spots, I didn’t get beyond a good and fine shave but not glass smooth or as close as I might prefer. If I were in a hurry, just wanted to have a mindless shave, or just didn’t want to push for a perfect BBS shave, it really would hit the spot. But I wanted to try for something closer and thinking that it might have been the blade, today, I changed the blade to a BIC which I usually find to be somewhat sharper and more efficient in other razors. There was most certainly more blade feel and feedback and a slightly closer shave. Not glass smooth and some residual low level stubble. Perhaps due to the blade exposure, however, I did get a touch of dragging and a small amount of irritation in my most sensitive lower neck.  While I will move onto other bases, so far I’m finding the razor to be a lovely feeling and looking razor and, with the ++ base, a smooth shaver that many could use for a driver day after day, one that might not give a perfect efficient and close shave but an easy shave.  Given my slightly elderly whiskers, I suspect that many folks would find it close to ideal. For me, having a milder razor that I click with, I wouldn’t feel a need to add this. Had I not my other razor (a N075), I’d probably be all over this.

Tools below. Day 1 was the A&E and day 2 the Ethos.  Both brushes are Elite Manchurian whites.
 
Tomorrow, a different base to be tried....

Two more shaves, which I will put in two posts.  First, yesterday's:

This was with the + plate.  I might be an outlier compared to some others, but I liked this plate and the shave was a fine one.  Went with a Gillette 7 O'Clock Yellow, used Wholly Kaw's Timmerman Classic 1869 (a soap made for the amazing Pasteur's Pharmacy in New York) and my Brad Sears 26mm Arley Estate.  I found this plate to be a medium or medium plus in terms of efficiency with the right amount of blade feel that I like -- as if I'm shaving but am not left guessing as to what is occurring.  The first two passes (WTG, XTG) were efficient and smooth. The ATG pass was also efficient and got me down to a BBS level just about everywhere with the usual hard exceptions in my neck folds.  On the ATG, there was a bit of chatter or perhaps tugging - not entirely positive which. But aside from that, I found this plate reminding me of the shave I get with my Wolfman WR-1 .61.  Maybe that razor is a touch smoother, and without the slight chatter, but all-in-all this was a quality shave.  Had I not already a razor that provided a similar feel, I could see considering this. After all, it got me a BBS shave without irritation or difficulty.  Oh, and the WK Timmerman was great, as was the Brad Sears brush (which is always a delight to use with a knot that just works for me).

Today's shave.  Used the - plate with a BIC, Ethos Greenfresh, and an Elite Razor Manchurian.  This shave can be simply reviewed:  it was effortless. Really. The - plate makes the razor completely un-aggressive (I'm not sure what the opposite of aggressive should be in this context - docile?)  Heck, I felt as though I couldn't cut myself if I wanted to.  The razor just went over my face with almost no feel at all.  Only problem is that it didn't give me a close shave. A decent shave that took the growth off but not a close shave - in most places, when I run my hand over, I can still feel hair that I'd normally want to shave.  At the end, I felt that I still wanted an ATG pass.  Having said all this, if I owned this razor, I could see using this plate  for when I only had five minutes to shave and just wanted to get the whiskers off so I looked shaven. One could speed shave myself with this plate to go out because, as I said, I felt as though there was no way I would cut myself.  Otherwise, the Ethos was just great (almost every day it seems I'm using some good soaps), and also great was my brush, which is new and I think is going to become spectacular once fully broken in.  

Today I tried the original base plate.  Not for me.  Too much blade feel and too much tugging or chatter.   Even swapped out blades after the first pass from a GSB to a Bic.  So, I'll just pass on that plate.

All in all, I enjoyed this razor.  It's an excellent stainless steel option and while not cheap, certainly made at a high quality commensurate with the price.  It feels great in the hand and is beautifully done in a nice polish.  My preference was the + plate by far.  As I said about it, it provided a medium plus aggressive feel that was easy and provided a solid shave.  Did I not have another razor that was similar in feel and efficiency, I'd be all over it.  My only complaint, I guess, is that were I getting one, I'd probably want a second plate (perhaps the - to give myself a super quick shave) but they are relatively expensive.  As a whole, however, a solid razor and a contender for $200 and up market.  

So many many thanks to CarbonShavingCo. -- not just for sharing the original razor but four plates! - and to andrewjs18 [font=Arial]for arranging all this. Within the next few days -- depending on the weather --  it will be going out to Ketotrader.  [/font]

[url=https://damnfineshave.com/user-andrewjs18][/url]

andrewjs18 is it possible for me to get added back to the end of this passaround after Ketotrader ? I had opted out after buying the the carbon w the original plate, but I am thinking if buying the + and / or ++ plates and would find it useful to try them in SS. Thanks!