Essence by Tedalus

No it's not about the loading, that part is easy as can be, if you follow the instructions you'll be fine, put the blade on the short part of the razor and glide it along the long side and it automatically snaps in place.

No there was someone who mentioned that with a blade inside when you close the razor it touches the handle a little bit in one place (where the stand should hold it). No big deal, either remove the blade after use (preferred as to avoid scum buildup inside) or close it very gently or just not all the way if you absolutely want to leave the blade inside.

No there was someone who mentioned that with a blade inside when you close the razor it touches the handle a little bit in one place (where the stand should hold it). No big deal, either remove the blade after use (preferred as to avoid scum buildup inside) or close it very gently or just not all the way if you absolutely want to leave the blade inside.

Good to know. It would hugely annoying to spend that kind of money on a razor, only to scratch it up right from the start. It does sound like a design flaw.

That someone was PLANofMAN in his initial review on ATG where he mentioned that the scales was designed that way to be able to accommodate the design of the holder. Not a real problem since I normally take apart my AC straights after every use to clean it. I can just as easily leave the blade out in between use.

that"s the best way to go about it, when left in for 15 shaves there was some rust on the blade (fortunately not on the razor)

I must've missed the part regarding blade removal.
Hopefully it's not as tricky as it sounds.

Its no harder than learning to load a three piece razor after starting with a twist to open design.

Haha. Sounds simple enough then.

That someone was PLANofMAN in his initial review on ATG where he mentioned that the scales was designed that way to be able to accommodate the design of the holder. Not a real problem since I normally take apart my AC straights after every use to clean it. I can just as easily leave the blade out in between use.

It kind of needs to be where it is, since the tail barely clears it when the scales are being rotated around. If deleted, the scales would need to be moved closer to the blade to act as a "blade stop." That has the potential to mark up either the scales or the blade.

It's just something to be aware of, and is neither a positive or negative. Is moving the blade stop to the tang an option? Probably, yes, but at the expense of losing the near 360° rotation flexibility you have with the razor now.

That someone was PLANofMAN in his initial review on ATG where he mentioned that the scales was designed that way to be able to accommodate the design of the holder. Not a real problem since I normally take apart my AC straights after every use to clean it. I can just as easily leave the blade out in between use.

It kind of needs to be where it is, since the tail barely clears it when the scales are being rotated around. If deleted, the scales would need to be moved closer to the blade to act as a "blade stop." That has the potential to mark up either the scales or the blade.

It's just something to be aware of, and is neither a positive or negative. Is moving the blade stop to the tang an option? Probably, yes, but at the expense of losing the 360° rotation flexibility you have with the razor now.

I'll reserve judgment until mine arrives. I took the leap and am very excited!

Shame the stand was not available, especially if the scales were partially designed to accommodate the stand. I would rather Manuel launch both at the same time. Presumably would reduce the shipping expense.

I'm sure it would, but at this point, it's still a single guy who paid to have 333 razors made out of his own pocket. He couldn't afford the stands too.

That being said, you are in for a treat. The razor is a work of art. Once you use it, you'll understand why the world needs a shavette like this. The bar on what we can expect a shavette to be has been set much higher by Tedalus.

I'm sure it would, but at this point, it's still a single guy who paid to have 333 razors made out of his own pocket. He couldn't afford the stands too.

That being said, you are in for a treat. The razor is a work of art. Once you use it, you'll understand why the world needs a shavette like this. The bar on what we can expect a shavette to be has been set much higher by Tedalus.

I'm hoping to see a few video reviews while mine is in transit.

I'm sure it would, but at this point, it's still a single guy who paid to have 333 razors made out of his own pocket. He couldn't afford the stands too.

That being said, you are in for a treat. The razor is a work of art. Once you use it, you'll understand why the world needs a shavette like this. The bar on what we can expect a shavette to be has been set much higher by Tedalus.

I'm hoping to see a few video reviews while mine is in transit.

I don't do videos, but I just got mine today. It is gorgeous. Brushed finish on the blade. The purple charcoal scales are really nice. Really, the entire thing looks exactly like the photos that have been posted. I'll take some tomorrow under natural light for comparison; it's too dark now over here since it's about to rain.

I can see that removing the blade will be necessary. I don't know the terminology, but there's a cross section inside where the edge touches to stop the razor from going round and round. If you leave a blade in, it will hit the cross section, which will damage the blade and / or cut into the cross section. I would have thought it would be better to have that stopper just after the edge, such that the blade can be left in without hitting anything, but I suspect that piece needs to be where it is because of the stand. (I trust I have my terminology all messed up, so I'll try to show this in the pictures tomorrow.)

It has a decent weight. Compared to most of my stainless steel razors, it's a bit light, perhaps because of the slim profile and aluminum scales. It's kind of like a titanium razor in this regard.

It is very thin when looking at it from the front. It's not like a full hollow razor, but I do believe it is thinner than a Feather DX.

The loading mechanism is the part I think everyone is wondering about. It is pretty easy. I did load in an AC blade and it was simple. To open it, you just slide the removeable piece forward. When you want to close it, set the blade, and there is a clear path to slide the removeable piece back in place. The magnet holds it in securely. I haven't shaved with it yet, but it seems VERY secure and I cannot see this sliding open when being used.

In summary, keeping in mind that this is my first shavette and I've never shaved with a straight razor either, I have never been so excited to slice my face up!