Oliworks OliBlade - adjustable razor made in the USA

FIRST SHAVE WITH OLIBLADE
In order to just focus on the razor, all my other products were those I was very familiar with.  After inserting the blade I adjusted the setting knob from .5 to 6 and saw no misalignments.  There was no issue with the thread being too rough or loose.  I decided to star with the RazorEmporium test for an adjustable.  I started with setting 1 to see if it would take off any stubble.  I was surprised that the Oliblade did remover stubble at that level.  There was no blade feel at adjustment and the pass was smooth.  I increased the setting to 3 and the pass was very smooth and efficient.  Again, I had no blade feel.  Then I kicked it up to 5 and the blade feel was quite evident.  I used a few strokes but the aggressiveness was more than I was use to and so I kicked it down to 4.  That being said, the blade feel and the aggressiveness reminded me of the Ambassador.  I would say the two razors are in sync at that level.  I finished the first pass (WTG) at level 4 and it was quite smooth and efficient.  Pass 2 (XTG) was at level 3 and it was a very smooth, efficient and comfortable pass.  The final pass was (ATG) and I set the razor at 2.  This pass was no different than the other 2.  It was comfortable and efficient.  It was in the touchups that I overdid it.  I should have stopped at the end of pass 3.  I didn't and it resulted in some neck irritation.  This was my fault for chasing a BBS shave.
CONCLUSIONS.
The knurling on the handle is very good.  I had no issues with slippage.  It is a bit smaller than the handle on the Konsul which is the same as the Ambassador.  The balance on the razor was fine and I was able to control the angle without issue.
The weight of the razor and the appearance of the razor were fine.  Is this razor as good looking as the Ambassador, NO.  But it is also 1/2 the price of the Ambassador. 
Does it shave well, ABSOLUTELY.
The polish on the underside of the head and plate are no where near as good as some other razors, but it in no way affected the shave.
That said, there are still issues with this product.  I am concerned with the numbers on the setting wheel.  I fear that in time they will vanish.  The wheel finish is very rough looking and should be polished a bit more.  However, other than the wheel, the polish on the razor was quite good.
MAIN PROBLEM
The main issue for this razor is at the manufacturer's level.  There are just too many comments on this thread and other threads about alignment, thread and other matters.  This is a result of a poor quality control department.  Whether this product is $150, $25 or $500, there should be no alignment issues or any other visual or mechanical issues for the razor before it is sent out for use.  If they can fix this issue, then this is going to be a quality razor that will challenge other razors at much higher prices.
These are just my initial thoughts on the razor after 1 shave.  I will continue to use it for the next few weeks to see if there comes an issue.

Would I recommend this razor, YES, if they fix the quality control.  The fact that they have a 30 day return, at no cost to the consumer, makes me say go ahead and get it.  With their customer support and return policy, you have nothing to lose.

Your photo illustrations show tool mark, and poor finishing IMHO.  50 years ago I started Tool N Die Apprenticeship, we were required to not only learn everything about a machine shop, how things worked, and last how to turn block of metal into finished part.  Machine to specifications.

Most of the things I worked on went into Fighter Aircraft, Transport Aircraft, and Bomber.s  Finish was a big deal, shiny or almost shiny, had to have part shiney, so they could work well with other parts.

Were are not 1966, we are in 2024 Machine are better, CNC is better, but it still take a person to-do inspecting, and throw our bad part or products.  Having met Chris of Karve he is OCD about not selling seconds, almost good enough Razors, & parts.  

He is crazy about quality.  A good thing.

Tuesday 30, 2024
Razor: Oliworks Classic Steel Adjustable
Blade: Wizamet
Brush: Paladin 26mm Vesuvius Winston
Soap: Ethos Peppermint
AS : Witch Hazel + Ethos Peppermint
Consecutive Daily Shaves - # 2,092

Actually unlike the pic, today's shave was setting 5 and smooth sailing.

The razor arrived today. Unfortunately I am out of town this week.

+1 on that. Package arrived today evening, hopefully can squeeze in 1 shave tomorrow otherwise will pick it up next week.

I had a great first shave with the OliWorks OliBlade razor. I loaded it with a new Personna lab blue and started by shaving my head. I used setting 4 for the WTG pass, and it didn't have any issues clearing 3.5 days worth of growth. It felt very smooth and comfortable. I started the ATG pass with setting 4 and then dropped down to #3 partway through. There was a bit less blade feel on #3, but the efficiency was still good enough to give me a BBS shave. 

I opened the razor all the way to 6.5 for the WTG pass on my face. There was definitely more blade feel at that setting, but it didn't feel rough or menacing at all. I was impressed by how smooth it stayed. I dialed the razor down to #5 for the XTG pass and #4 for the ATG pass. The end result was a smooth and comfortable BBS shave. 

I was impressed by how easy it was to use this razor right out of the box. There wasn't much of a learning curve, and it instilled confidence pretty quickly. Thanks to Jorge and the OliWorks team for the opportunity to try their razor!

Just finished my first shave with the Oliworks razor.

I used a new Nacet blade and my normal setup with TOBS cream. I decided to start at setting number 4 and use the scalloped safety bar, and made my WTG pass. Comfort was good with a bit of blade feel but I expected a bit more efficiency at setting 4. For the XTG pass I decided to leave it at 4. I used the smooth safety bar and found the comfort to be even better. I left the setting at 4 for the ATG pass which proved to be a mistake as I got a couple of weepers on my neck, and decided to set the adjustment to 2.5 for touch-ups.

Since I can't see the adjustment dot without my glasses I devised a technique that worked great. I turned the adjustment all the way down, and then placed my thumbnail at the .5 notch on the adjustment wheel and holding my thumb there I turned the wheel to 2.5 using my thumbnail as the alignment dot.

I used the scalloped safety bar on the coarse dense growth on my jawline that always requires touchup and that worked great.

This adjustable razor definitely has a wide range available; I think 2 to 4 is probably my comfort zone with it although I might try a higher setting but only for the first pass WTG.

Personally, I found using the razor to be very similar to the Pearl Flexi.

I received my free razor from OliWorksThanks to Jorge for the opportunity to test the OliBlade! I included some preliminary photos below, and I'll post again after shaving my head and face with it for the first time. 






Setting 6.5 - Scalloped side 

I was not going to make any further posts in this thread, but I have a general question relating to safety razors illustrated by the above photo's.  That seems to be an awful lot of the blade cantilevered out from the razor and thus unsupported.  Is this common in modern day DE razors?  Doesn't that lead to the blade flexing all over the place while you are shaving? 

Sorry if I am taking things off topic but I don't know how to post these photo's in a new thread and I don't want to violate any Copyrights.

FIRST SHAVE WITH OLIBLADE
In order to just focus on the razor, all my other products were those I was very familiar with.  After inserting the blade I adjusted the setting knob from .5 to 6 and saw no misalignments.  There was no issue with the thread being too rough or loose.  I decided to star with the RazorEmporium test for an adjustable.  I started with setting 1 to see if it would take off any stubble.  I was surprised that the Oliblade did remover stubble at that level.  There was no blade feel at adjustment and the pass was smooth.  I increased the setting to 3 and the pass was very smooth and efficient.  Again, I had no blade feel.  Then I kicked it up to 5 and the blade feel was quite evident.  I used a few strokes but the aggressiveness was more than I was use to and so I kicked it down to 4.  That being said, the blade feel and the aggressiveness reminded me of the Ambassador.  I would say the two razors are in sync at that level.  I finished the first pass (WTG) at level 4 and it was quite smooth and efficient.  Pass 2 (XTG) was at level 3 and it was a very smooth, efficient and comfortable pass.  The final pass was (ATG) and I set the razor at 2.  This pass was no different than the other 2.  It was comfortable and efficient.  It was in the touchups that I overdid it.  I should have stopped at the end of pass 3.  I didn't and it resulted in some neck irritation.  This was my fault for chasing a BBS shave.
CONCLUSIONS.
The knurling on the handle is very good.  I had no issues with slippage.  It is a bit smaller than the handle on the Konsul which is the same as the Ambassador.  The balance on the razor was fine and I was able to control the angle without issue.
The weight of the razor and the appearance of the razor were fine.  Is this razor as good looking as the Ambassador, NO.  But it is also 1/2 the price of the Ambassador. 
Does it shave well, ABSOLUTELY.
The polish on the underside of the head and plate are no where near as good as some other razors, but it in no way affected the shave.
That said, there are still issues with this product.  I am concerned with the numbers on the setting wheel.  I fear that in time they will vanish.  The wheel finish is very rough looking and should be polished a bit more.  However, other than the wheel, the polish on the razor was quite good.
MAIN PROBLEM
The main issue for this razor is at the manufacturer's level.  There are just too many comments on this thread and other threads about alignment, thread and other matters.  This is a result of a poor quality control department.  Whether this product is $150, $25 or $500, there should be no alignment issues or any other visual or mechanical issues for the razor before it is sent out for use.  If they can fix this issue, then this is going to be a quality razor that will challenge other razors at much higher prices.
These are just my initial thoughts on the razor after 1 shave.  I will continue to use it for the next few weeks to see if there comes an issue.

Would I recommend this razor, YES, if they fix the quality control.  The fact that they have a 30 day return, at no cost to the consumer, makes me say go ahead and get it.  With their customer support and return policy, you have nothing to lose.

Your photo illustrations show tool mark, and poor finishing IMHO.  50 years ago I started Tool N Die Apprenticeship, we were required to not only learn everything about a machine shop, how things worked, and last how to turn block of metal into finished part.  Machine to specifications.

Most of the things I worked on went into Fighter Aircraft, Transport Aircraft, and Bomber.s  Finish was a big deal, shiny or almost shiny, had to have part shiney, so they could work well with other parts.

Were are not 1966, we are in 2024 Machine are better, CNC is better, but it still take a person to-do inspecting, and throw our bad part or products.  Having met Chris of Karve he is OCD about not selling seconds, almost good enough Razors, & parts.  

He is crazy about quality.  A good thing.

I agree. The finishing looks horrible judging by those close up pics. Probably because they really are rejected parts that were made for another razor company located in the same area in Arizona. I find it odd that these guys have never made any other razor before this and the first one they come out with is an adjustable, obviously the most difficult to produce and one that looks pretty much exactly like the one they've been accused of selling rejects of. I don't care how it shaves or how low the price is. This whole thing stinks to high heaven of shadiness. I hate to bring dRaMa back into the thread, but it amazes me how everyone who got a freebie is just glossing over these issues.

FIRST SHAVE WITH OLIBLADE
In order to just focus on the razor, all my other products were those I was very familiar with.  After inserting the blade I adjusted the setting knob from .5 to 6 and saw no misalignments.  There was no issue with the thread being too rough or loose.  I decided to star with the RazorEmporium test for an adjustable.  I started with setting 1 to see if it would take off any stubble.  I was surprised that the Oliblade did remover stubble at that level.  There was no blade feel at adjustment and the pass was smooth.  I increased the setting to 3 and the pass was very smooth and efficient.  Again, I had no blade feel.  Then I kicked it up to 5 and the blade feel was quite evident.  I used a few strokes but the aggressiveness was more than I was use to and so I kicked it down to 4.  That being said, the blade feel and the aggressiveness reminded me of the Ambassador.  I would say the two razors are in sync at that level.  I finished the first pass (WTG) at level 4 and it was quite smooth and efficient.  Pass 2 (XTG) was at level 3 and it was a very smooth, efficient and comfortable pass.  The final pass was (ATG) and I set the razor at 2.  This pass was no different than the other 2.  It was comfortable and efficient.  It was in the touchups that I overdid it.  I should have stopped at the end of pass 3.  I didn't and it resulted in some neck irritation.  This was my fault for chasing a BBS shave.
CONCLUSIONS.
The knurling on the handle is very good.  I had no issues with slippage.  It is a bit smaller than the handle on the Konsul which is the same as the Ambassador.  The balance on the razor was fine and I was able to control the angle without issue.
The weight of the razor and the appearance of the razor were fine.  Is this razor as good looking as the Ambassador, NO.  But it is also 1/2 the price of the Ambassador. 
Does it shave well, ABSOLUTELY.
The polish on the underside of the head and plate are no where near as good as some other razors, but it in no way affected the shave.
That said, there are still issues with this product.  I am concerned with the numbers on the setting wheel.  I fear that in time they will vanish.  The wheel finish is very rough looking and should be polished a bit more.  However, other than the wheel, the polish on the razor was quite good.
MAIN PROBLEM
The main issue for this razor is at the manufacturer's level.  There are just too many comments on this thread and other threads about alignment, thread and other matters.  This is a result of a poor quality control department.  Whether this product is $150, $25 or $500, there should be no alignment issues or any other visual or mechanical issues for the razor before it is sent out for use.  If they can fix this issue, then this is going to be a quality razor that will challenge other razors at much higher prices.
These are just my initial thoughts on the razor after 1 shave.  I will continue to use it for the next few weeks to see if there comes an issue.

Would I recommend this razor, YES, if they fix the quality control.  The fact that they have a 30 day return, at no cost to the consumer, makes me say go ahead and get it.  With their customer support and return policy, you have nothing to lose.

Your photo illustrations show tool mark, and poor finishing IMHO.  50 years ago I started Tool N Die Apprenticeship, we were required to not only learn everything about a machine shop, how things worked, and last how to turn block of metal into finished part.  Machine to specifications.

Most of the things I worked on went into Fighter Aircraft, Transport Aircraft, and Bomber.s  Finish was a big deal, shiny or almost shiny, had to have part shiney, so they could work well with other parts.

Were are not 1966, we are in 2024 Machine are better, CNC is better, but it still take a person to-do inspecting, and throw our bad part or products.  Having met Chris of Karve he is OCD about not selling seconds, almost good enough Razors, & parts.  

He is crazy about quality.  A good thing.

I agree. The finishing looks horrible judging by those close up pics. Probably because they really are rejected parts that were made for another razor company located in the same area in Arizona. I find it odd that these guys have never made any other razor before this and the first one they come out with is an adjustable, obviously the most difficult to produce and one that looks pretty much exactly like the one they've been accused of selling rejects of. I don't care how it shaves or how low the price is. This whole thing stinks to high heaven of shadiness. I hate to bring dRaMa back into the thread, but it amazes me how everyone who got a freebie is just glossing over these issues.

I get it amigo, the razor & the whole situation is questionable. However, no one here has proof of anything one way or the other. I understand that in the eyes and court of public opinion, thoughts and speculation will abound and there can be dozens of stories relating to this whole situation. Freedom of speech and the ability to give an opinion on this forum is extremely important & vital to the growth of this forum as well as the comradery that this forum provides. However, the administrator andrewjs18 requested that we keep the thread within the realms of it's performance, craftsmanship & overall quality. He assured one of the vendors that he would keep it open as long as it stayed within those guidelines and it was civil within forum members without getting into the business side of it. The business end is completely off limits, plain & simple.

Let's keep it that way.

Here's a link to those guidelines referenced by Glazedboker above.  

https://damnfineshave.com/thread-oliwork...#pid554291