Just thought I would share my journey with the Mamba. Have been using it for the last few weeks, with Razorock's Barber Pole handle, finding it to be extremely smooth but just not efficient enough. Varied the angles and blades (Silver Star, Feather, Shark and Astra Plat), same results.
Then I shimmed it and boy, was I surprised. I'm not sure how to reconcile my experience, but it seemed both smoother AND milder on the skin BUT the efficiency was definitely improved. I got a BBS with less buffing than I would have without the shim. No irritation, no nicks and most importantly no hair left. I never thought it was possible. In fact, I've never gotten a BBS before with the Mamba pre-shim, and believe me, I've been trying. To sum up, it was one of the best shaves I've had. And I didn't have to worry about technique. It almost took the fun out of a 'proper' shave.
I used a wide shim. So it's now my current fav with my go to blade the Silver Stars. Gillette's Superspeed has always been my benchmark. Many years and 10 razors later (ok, maybe more) I think I've found my new benchmark.
Also I find Maggard's MR1 handle a better match for the Mamba head as I prefer to hold the razor close to the head. With the MR1 this allows the weight balance to shift more towards the head. It's also lighter, shorter and slimmer, so aesthetically it matches better than Razorock's handles and it's still made in Canada. If only it had the barber pole look, sigh...
Thanks for reading!
Then I shimmed it and boy, was I surprised. I'm not sure how to reconcile my experience, but it seemed both smoother AND milder on the skin BUT the efficiency was definitely improved. I got a BBS with less buffing than I would have without the shim. No irritation, no nicks and most importantly no hair left. I never thought it was possible. In fact, I've never gotten a BBS before with the Mamba pre-shim, and believe me, I've been trying. To sum up, it was one of the best shaves I've had. And I didn't have to worry about technique. It almost took the fun out of a 'proper' shave.
I used a wide shim. So it's now my current fav with my go to blade the Silver Stars. Gillette's Superspeed has always been my benchmark. Many years and 10 razors later (ok, maybe more) I think I've found my new benchmark.
Also I find Maggard's MR1 handle a better match for the Mamba head as I prefer to hold the razor close to the head. With the MR1 this allows the weight balance to shift more towards the head. It's also lighter, shorter and slimmer, so aesthetically it matches better than Razorock's handles and it's still made in Canada. If only it had the barber pole look, sigh...
Thanks for reading!