(This post was last modified: 06-01-2021, 12:01 AM by MaineYooper.)
I had decided to skip today (being lazy on a holiday) but changed my mind. I have planned to use most of June for getting to know my Vector better. I picked up an OC plate on the BST, have 3 types of blades (2 of which I know work well, one being super smooth in memory (the Schick Proline)), and the most soap and brushes I have ever had in my shave drawer. So this afternoon I decided to start the journey today.
Some thoughts that I want to record for later follow, so feel free to skip over this as it is mostly for my reference in the future. This is from my notes back in December, "Borrowed Dave in KY's Vector and think it may be better than the Karve. It almost hurts to say that, as I love the Karve, but I am so excited about the close, comfy shaves from the Vector. I posted some WTB threads and DFS member Venkat is selling me one." After those first wonderful shaves with the Vector, back in December, I bought a sample pack of blades from Try A Blade. They arrived shortly after my new-to-me Vector arrived. The shaves were awful, pulling and tugging. Reading on the various forums, I discovered that AC blades seem to get dulled when shipped singly in a paper or paperboard sleeve. Ideas around this were to order 5 of each blade you want to try, in order to get a few blades that aren't dulled, or just order full dispensers of the blades, and sell off unused ones on the BST. I bought 2 different Kai AC blades, and the Protouch MG guarded blades have worked well. Not as good as the Schick Prolines, but I can get good shaves from them. (I just reread that last sentence, and realized that I have never used a Protouch and Proline back to back, so how can I be sure they aren't equals?) The other Kai is the Capt. Titan Mild.
Today, I put the Kai Capt. Titan Mild (hereafter Kai Mild) in the Vector and went to town on the whiskers. No tugging or pulling. A decent shave. I do see why I wanted to spend a month with this razor. I felt tense for the first few strokes, as the Vector feels like it could bite you hard if you don't stay on your toes. But no blood letting today! And by the end, I was relaxing more. The Vector does seem to fully remove lather, as well as whiskers. Reminds me of the Fatip Grande, you can get maybe 1 additional stroke but there is not enough residual lather to get a smooth glide. Touch ups must be done after applying a little more lather, at least that is what I find.
So I'll give a few more shaves with the Kai Mild before putting in a new Proline. After a few more shaves, I'll try the OC plate. Reviews in the forums are all over regarding agressiveness, many seem to think it is about the same, or at least not much more than SB plate. All agree that what I call "tooth feel" is minimal. The best to date for me was the Hybrid Yates plate, until I tried a NEW long comb (invisible teeth!), which I don't recall feeling at all.
- Eric
Put your message in a modem,
And throw it in the Cyber Sea
--Rush, "Virtuality"
Overloader of brushes, Overlander fanboy, Schickhead, and a GEM in the rough!