It's here, and I've already given it a test drive. After one shave I can safely say it's a keeper. Had an exceptional shave on two days' growth. The feel of the shave was unique for me. I know everybody says that about every new razor they get. But I really mean it! Ha! Seriously, it almost felt like a piece of rubber was wiping the whiskers off. There was an odd sensation of softness as the razor moved across my skin. Blade feel was there, but it was subtle. If not for the highly efficient removal of whiskers on the first pass and the fact that it gave me a couple of weepers, I would have guessed blade exposure might be neutral. But I don't think that's the case. It'll cut you if you're careless. It just has a soft feel to it. I like it a lot! I could change the angle of the head against my face by a fair amount and continue cutting hair, which also suggests positive blade exposure. Sound was almost nonexistent, which combined with the soft feel contributed to the unique sensation of rubber.
I've used steel and aluminum Lupos exclusively for the past couple of weeks, so that's my main point of comparison. I shaved with the aluminum two days ago and had such a close shave, I never felt like shaving yesterday. That doesn't happen often, and it's why I had two days' worth of growth tonight. The Diamondback mowed down two days' stubble like it wasn't there. I can't say that the Dback is more efficient than the Lupo, but I do think after one shave it might require more attention. The softness and quietness of it might lull one into complacency, causing nicks or cuts. I can drive the Lupo on autopilot pretty safely. But I think the Dback might make me watch the road more carefully. Maybe that does suggest that it's more efficient. I dunno yet. That's after one shave in. I'll see what I think after a few more shaves. But it's definitely a fine shaving tool that I'm glad to have. It ain't going nowhere.
All that said, the finish on this razor is a mystery. Parts of it make me wonder if its function might be affected, specifically the way the top of the baseplate was buffed down so much the edges of the bevels that the blade rests on are rounded. I've seen pictures of this razor elsewhere that show crisp angles on those bevels. Since razor makers measure blade gaps and exposures in fractions of millimeters, I wouldn't be surprised if my razor shaves differently than one that hasn't had its edges rounded off. The most highly polished surface on the head is the underside of the top cap. Weird! The top of the top cap is what I'd call a machine finish. The polished underside of the top cap could affect blade position too, I would think. There's definitely some strange machine work with this thing. But I got one heck of a nice shave, so I'm not complaining. Just puzzled and curious. Pardon the crappy phone photo. I'll try to take some better pictures later to show what I'm talking about.
![[Image: pENwj8C.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/pENwj8C.jpg)
