New CORE razor from OneBlade

CORE.2

My CORE.2 arrived this afternoon. I won't try it out until Monday most likely. I have an event to attend tomorrow and I'm not risking that with a new razor. Tomorrow will be a Blackland Sabre shave for sure.

I will report back more after using this new 2nd version. Hopefully I'll have better results than the gent above. I am pleased, however, with how quickly my replacement was processed, shipped, & received back.

Got my v2 core in today.

And would have to say this is probably the most mixed I have ever felt about a razor yet.

It is super gentle, no nicks/cuts/weepers/creepers, and no alum burn at all by the end of the shave! Which is very impressive considering the amount of swirl on my neck and how sensitive it is. If I am trying to go for BBS I always get some weepers/irritation there no matter how much prep work I do, no matter the razor, and no matter how great the lather is; I am fine if I only go for a DFS.

However the core took forever to get there. 5 passes and three touch up passes. One of which was on my cheek and I can physically see the stubble in the mirror but for the life of me couldn't get pick up by the core normally. I had to both stretch the skin and puff up my cheeks and aggressively tackle it with the core to finally get that spot.

I am not sure if the ability to get BBS without irritation is worth 2 extra passes and 2 more touch up passes; totaling for 4 more passes.

Thanks for your feedback. Sorry if I missed it but did you have the Core V1 before and went with an exchange or was the Core V2 your first OneBlade Core.

Your V2 experience mirrors my V1 experience so have been waiting for more V2 reports .

Got my v2 core in today.

And would have to say this is probably the most mixed I have ever felt about a razor yet.

It is super gentle, no nicks/cuts/weepers/creepers, and no alum burn at all by the end of the shave! Which is very impressive considering the amount of swirl on my neck and how sensitive it is. If I am trying to go for BBS I always get some weepers/irritation there no matter how much prep work I do, no matter the razor, and no matter how great the lather is; I am fine if I only go for a DFS.

However the core took forever to get there. 5 passes and three touch up passes. One of which was on my cheek and I can physically see the stubble in the mirror but for the life of me couldn't get pick up by the core normally. I had to both stretch the skin and puff up my cheeks and aggressively tackle it with the core to finally get that spot.

I am not sure if the ability to get BBS without irritation is worth 2 extra passes and 2 more touch up passes; totaling for 4 more passes.

Thanks for your feedback. Sorry if I missed it but did you have the Core V1 before and went with an exchange or was the Core V2 your first OneBlade Core.

Your V2 experience mirrors my V1 experience so have been waiting for more V2 reports .

Unfortunately I have not tried the V1 only the V2. But the experience has definitely made me wonder about getting a Genesis.

Additionally I have been looking into maybe doing some mods with the core and see how that turns out. Am not exactly sure what my next steps are following this shave.

I've now done two side-by-side comparison shaves with the original OneBlade CORE and the replacement/modified/newer version that got here this past week.

In the first shave, I used the original CORE on the right side of the face, the newer one on the left side, and then reversed this for the second shave.

Blade insertion seemed easier with the newer CORE, although I didn't have the issues some here had with blade insertion on the original.

For each shave, I used a new FHS blade in each razor, and the impressions of both shaves were similar.

First pass was 'riding the pivot' for each of them, that is, flat part of the head against the face, and letting the pivot operate. This requires a bit more pressure than a non-pivoting SE or DE razor, and I still have to watch my pressure the next day with a DE or SE.

The original CORE felt milder than the newer version when riding the pivot, but the difference was slight. The newer one got more of the initial stubble off.

I then repeated a North/South pass (pass 1.5) this time NOT riding the pivot, i.e., steepening the angle slightly with each razor. Here's where the difference was marked in my experience. There was much more 'blade feel' in the newer CORE when not riding the pivot.

For me this is a welcome change, as I like a some blade feel, and I don't think this will be unpleasant sensation for the transitioning multi blade cart user-if they don't 'ride the pivot', they will definitely feel the blade presence.

Almost nothing left on the newer CORE side of the face, a little more stubble on the original CORE side.

Pass 2 diagonally from ear to chin, riding the pivot with each. Same sensation as the first pass, the original felt a bit milder. DFS on the newer CORE side, near-DFS on the original CORE side.

Pass 3 diagonally upward from chin to nose, not riding the pivot. Here's where the differences were most noticeable. The newer CORE was very efficient in this direction and shaved more closely, again with more blade feel.

At the end of the three passes, I had virtually no work to do on the newer CORE side to get to BBS, a little touch up on the jawline. On the original side, there were a few patches that needed touchup, the jawline, a small patch on the cheek, and near the corner of the mouth.

The results of the comparison shave I did before this one was almost exactly the same, with the BBS sensation (nothing felt when applying pressure in a South-North direction) lasting longer on the newer CORE side of the face. The next morning, the newer CORE side had less stubble.

The newer CORE for me is noticeably more efficient, and for that reason, I prefer it. It will serve well for the purpose for which I got it-a travel alternative to the stainless OB.

I'd still give a slight nod to the v2 GENESIS as the best shaver of the 4 OneBlades, with the GENESIS giving the best shaving experience, the v1 stainless in second place, the newer CORE very close behind, and the original CORE in last place.

Thanks Michael P good write up. Have you have tried/or plan to try a GEM blade yet?

No, Wolverine I haven't tried a GEM yet. What got me interested in using the OneBlade was reading Brian's SharpSpine 's journal, and I know what a fan he is of the GEM blade, at least in the v1 stainless OneBlade.

I've tried a GEM in both the v1 stainless and the v2 GENESIS, and I agree with Brian that it's better in the v1 than in the v2. Having said that, I still prefer the Feather blade in both of them. Two shaves and done.

Bear in mind that this may be confirmation bias on my part, as I use Feather DE blades and Artist Club SE blades almost exclusively. Just haven't found a better blade.

Also, I'm not very experienced with the GEM. I enjoy my shave with the Blackland Sabre, a good, mild shaver. And I'll trot out an old Micromatic or 1912 once in awhile.

Bottom line is that I'll probably experiment with the GEM in the COREs, but haven't done it yet.

Thanks Michael P

I used my CORE.2 this morning with a fresh Feather blade. It is definitely more aggressive than the first CORE iteration as I had a closer shave & even picked up a few weepers. The original CORE never brought forth any blood.

I still need to try a GEM in the CORE.2 to see how it does. Unfortunately for all my OneBlades, they are currently being outperformed by the Blackland Sabre. This means less face-time for the CORE & more time in between feedback shaves.

I used my CORE.2 this morning with a fresh Feather blade. It is definitely more aggressive than the first CORE iteration as I had a closer shave & even picked up a few weepers. The original CORE never brought forth any blood.

I still need to try a GEM in the CORE.2 to see how it does. Unfortunately for all my OneBlades, they are currently being outperformed by the Blackland Sabre. This means less face-time for the CORE & more time in between feedback shaves.

Do you have the Genesis or V1 Stainless Steel Model or only the Core series OneBlade?

I used my CORE.2 this morning with a fresh Feather blade. It is definitely more aggressive than the first CORE iteration as I had a closer shave & even picked up a few weepers. The original CORE never brought forth any blood.

I still need to try a GEM in the CORE.2 to see how it does. Unfortunately for all my OneBlades, they are currently being outperformed by the Blackland Sabre. This means less face-time for the CORE & more time in between feedback shaves.

Do you have the Genesis or V1 Stainless Steel Model or only the Core series OneBlade?

I have a v1 stainless OneBlade in which I only use despined GEM blades. The CORE.2 used the GEM blade better than the Feather for me on today's shave. Still, neither are getting as close as I'm now used to with the Blackland Sabre.