(09-01-2024, 01:41 PM)george1906 Wrote: (08-31-2024, 07:44 PM)GlazedBoker Wrote: There have been some excellent posts here on this new Sabre and it shows that every take is unique to every individual that brings a different perspective about the qualities & attributes of this tool. Really some interesting and very detailed posts that have provided excellent info and reads that I have enjoyed.
On my end, I got to use the L4 guard plate for my 4th shave with the same GEM blade from the start. And all I can say is “what a doozy!”. I hadn’t shaved since this past Tuesday as I wanted at least 3-4 days of whiskers to work with the larger gap that the L4 plate provides. Make no mistake, the larger gap and blade feel of the GEM blade will tell you from the moment you place it on your skin and start the shave stroke, it means business on your whiskers and your face if you’re not careful. It’s not intimidating but, just be aware that the L4 & new Sabre are telling you that this is for heavy beard work or the shave performance enthusiasts as it brings the cutting prowess to MMOC levels just in an SB configuration. To me, it feels better than an MMOC concerning comfort & ease of use while being equal to the vintage GEM if not better in cutting terms. To me, the new Sabre with the L4 gives me an easier experience with equal level efficiency. It only took me 2 solid passes with lightest of touch up work around the Adam’s Apple area. There is enough blade gap with the L4 where one can play with the cutting window to balance blade feel, cutting ability and more importantly one’s comfort zone for the shave. I will also state and recommend to all that if you’re into the feel and challenge of using the L4 plate, make sure you use lather at every pass even during buffing and clean up work. The Sabre & L4 completely remove lather at every pass and while residual slickness is felt, the added aggressiveness that this gap enables can and will leave the skin bare. I experienced the heat gremlins in a couple of spots as I thought it unnecessary to add any lather for the finishing touches on my shave. A BBS achieved but, at the cost of some discomfort and irritation especially along the jawline & throat area. That is completely on me and not the razor as it does what it is supposed to do quickly, efficiently and mercilessly. I paid for the result out of pure ignorance to what this set up can potentially do. Performance wise and for the aggression seekers in the shave game, it brings it in spades but, I don’t think it’s a dangerous nor unforgiving shaver in the least. Nothing like an Ikon Tech or pre 2013 Muhle R41 and even the MMOC but, it has the chops to give that type of performance and results. With the discomfort I gave myself I would still wholeheartedly consider this gap to be a wonderful size option for the individual that wants a potential 2 pass shaver and doesn’t want to spend a lot of time during the process of shaving. Fans of the MMOC and to a lesser extent the Clog-Pruf will find the L3-L4 combo quite to their liking. That’s just my opinion and observations during these first 4 shaves. There is no doubt that more shaves are needed and will be performed to gain a better understanding of what this razor offers on my end but, preliminary thoughts however are that this razor covers a very big group of users from the efficiently mild gang to the very nicely aggressive performance seekers that has not been seen in the GEM bladed format.
I will say that the GEM SS ptfe blade as it has gotten more use has been a total dream to use in the new Sabre. On its 4th shave and it feels as if it’s really coming into its own. I can easily see another 10-12 shaves minimum with this particular one. And yes, it is the rebranded Personna GEM’s now labeled as the Accutec Pro Premium blades. These are identical to those Personna’s and there is no worry as to the quality of the blade. I’m going to run this razor until the blade gives it up so, I should be in for about another 2 weeks worth of shaves with this combo. I’ll chime in from time to time and give a full on impression of the new Sabre once I get through those shaves. It’s going to be a fun ride working this awesome tool.
Great shaves to all…
Glad we finally got a review of Plate 4. Looking forward to that one and the level 3 plate. I probably won’t have any use for level 1 and 2 but we shall see. Taking that for a spin when my titanium version ships.
Does the level 4 plate have any compatible modern Gem razors that it can be compared to like maybe the Rocnel SE-G? I personally love that razor but many found it way too aggressive for them.
I just had a thought for Shane. Seems like the plates would be somewhat easy to make in an OC offering down the road. That would be very cool if that happens. I know that was never done in the Sabre V1 but wondering if that has been considered. These small insert plates may be too difficult to do in OC but if anyone can figure that out, it would be Shane.
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For starters, I think the New Sabre has a level of refinement that takes a bit of that initial harshness off of the GEM blade that after a couple of shaves just gets better and noticeably smoother after each use. But, that can be said about most razors when using the GEM blade as it just gets easier to use after every outing. The head design on the new Sabre kind of takes the original design into another territory of efficiency while not sacrificing any of the excellent qualities of the OG in terms of smoothness & ease of use and feel on skin. With this newer revamped version, performance seekers will find #3 & #4 more to their liking for sure but, the #4 plate feels nothing like the Rocnel SE-G razor. That razor for me has no level of smoothness, has no blade stops and the corners are completely unprotected. Don’t get me wrong, a good steady hand that is cognoscente of a very aggressive feeling shaver can make it work but, that is not an easily adaptable razor by any stretch of the imagination for the general shaver. The new Sabre is nowhere near that level of extreme blade feel & aggression that the Rocnel SE-G brings to the table. The OG Asylum RX SE felt smoother to the SE-G by comparison and that Asylum was near straight razor like action. I never could get a reasonably comfortable shave with the SE-G when it was loaned to me some years back. I’d get a DFS or BBS level finish but, my face paid for it in extreme irritation and quite a few blood lettings that I felt were not worth the effort in mastering this particular tool. But, to each their own and if extreme efficiency is what one looks for, the SE-G would fit the bill to a tee.
On the open comb end, that would be a dilemma or problem that would require some serious problem solving shave engineering tactics. One would have to add to the bar width to have the added metal in creating a full on open comb option unless some sort of hybrid attempt is used, say like the Muhle R41 or like the Oliworks adjustable with its hybrid configuration. The guard plates as presently made are in my humble opinion just to thin to make that a feasible endeavor. However, if there is a manufacturer that can overcome that and provide a solution to that particular problem, it would be Shane over at Blackland.