I think eventually Karve will sell different size handles with the Bison.
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Karve Bison
- Thread starter latetotheparty
- Start date
I’ll be crying poor with my hands pressing shamefully into my smooth face if that happens. Oh no!
That’s two out of way, way, way too many, so I’ll hold off on the RazoRock “German” 37 and Above The Tie aluminum Windsor SB90 and use them for the others if the mood strikes me.
Better yet, I ought to stop saying that! Could’ve sworn I read that on their website, but scoured it and found nothing saying M5, 10/32”, or otherwise. I don’t know where I got believe and do apologize for spreading it without reverifying it (boldly assuming I ever read it anywhere in the first place).
Whether I’m wrong or accidentally right, their el Fantasma handles work great for the Karve brass Overlander and all but one RazoRock in my possession.
One mo' time (there should be an FAQ on this).
M5 & 10-32 are within . 003" of each other.
M5 handles are fine on 10-32 caps because M5 is the larger of the two.
The reverse will get you into trouble.
... Thom
M5 & 10-32 are within . 003" of each other.
M5 handles are fine on 10-32 caps because M5 is the larger of the two.
The reverse will get you into trouble.
... Thom
I finally got around to shaving with my Bison last night and it’s a great razor and gave me a lovely, long-lasting, irritation-free shave. What more could I ask for? It needs a touch of pressure because it’s so light, but it’s easy to do that without irritation and the razor has a very pleasant, positive level of feedback while remaining gentle. Doesn’t seem to be fussy about the shaving angle, which makes everything easy. I like the way it feels in my hand, and the grippy handle design. What a lovely razor for such a good price! There is nothing about it that indicates any compromise in quality or finishing to achieve the price. As is typical for Karve the thread feel when you screw on the handle surpasses in quality anything else you could buy.
I’ll have to do a side-by-side shave with my aluminum Overlander to decide which one I like best. But the mere fact that it isn’t obvious is already a testament to the Bison, given how much I love the Overlander.
I’ll have to do a side-by-side shave with my aluminum Overlander to decide which one I like best. But the mere fact that it isn’t obvious is already a testament to the Bison, given how much I love the Overlander.
Looking forward to your side-by-side comparison.
Think after talking to Chris at AZ Wet Shave Meetup if you a guy like me, who beard like hair is not think & tought.
Either the Overlander or Bison would work on me well.
The other thing he said was find your BLADE to pair with razor is key.
Because my beard is not fought as nails, I get ok result with price point blades, aka cheap blades.
I sure hope so. Sign me up for a SS Bison!
I finally tried the Bison.
I’ve had it for a while, it arrived the same time as my Overlander. But I’ve been enjoying the Overlander so much that I haven’t wanted to shave with anything else.
Decided today was Bison day.
I used a Perma-sharp blade as that’s what I’m most familiar with in the Overlander, and a soap I’m very familiar with as well.
I figured it would take a few shaves to get a feel for it and accurately draw a comparison to the Overlander.
Not the case. A number of things were immediately obvious.
First thoughts:
-Slightly more efficient than the Overlander.
-I like the head design better.
-The exact angle is easier to lock in than the Overlander.
-I can never remember steep and shallow angle terminology and which is which, but the Bison requires you to lift & tilt the handle up less than the Overlander. Barely tilt the handle on the Bison and boom, you’re there.
-I find the Overlander easy and intuitive to use, the Bison even more so.
-The Bison head is slightly shorter end to end which means the corners of the blade are closer to the corners of the safety bar, making it easier to use the corner to detail & touch up fine edges and corners on sideburns, mustache, goatee, etc.
-Smoothness & gentleness… hard to say which is more smooth/gentle. With the Bison being a touch more efficient, I might say the Overlander is smoother. But it’s close. Need more shaves.
But I find both of them a joy to use.
Cons:
-I wish I had bought one in a fun color like Green or Orange. (And I wish the Orange was “Oranger”)
-No options for a longer handle (yet?)
-Not available in other more premium materials like Stainless Steel, Titanium, Brass, etc (Yet?)
That’s really the only cons I could come up with. It’s a great razor.
Do I like it better than the Overlander? Mmm… maybe? It’s hard to say as I’m quite attached to my Overlander. I’ll reserve judgment until I get a dozen or so more shaves in.
I’ve had it for a while, it arrived the same time as my Overlander. But I’ve been enjoying the Overlander so much that I haven’t wanted to shave with anything else.
Decided today was Bison day.
I used a Perma-sharp blade as that’s what I’m most familiar with in the Overlander, and a soap I’m very familiar with as well.
I figured it would take a few shaves to get a feel for it and accurately draw a comparison to the Overlander.
Not the case. A number of things were immediately obvious.
First thoughts:
-Slightly more efficient than the Overlander.
-I like the head design better.
-The exact angle is easier to lock in than the Overlander.
-I can never remember steep and shallow angle terminology and which is which, but the Bison requires you to lift & tilt the handle up less than the Overlander. Barely tilt the handle on the Bison and boom, you’re there.
-I find the Overlander easy and intuitive to use, the Bison even more so.
-The Bison head is slightly shorter end to end which means the corners of the blade are closer to the corners of the safety bar, making it easier to use the corner to detail & touch up fine edges and corners on sideburns, mustache, goatee, etc.
-Smoothness & gentleness… hard to say which is more smooth/gentle. With the Bison being a touch more efficient, I might say the Overlander is smoother. But it’s close. Need more shaves.
But I find both of them a joy to use.
Cons:
-I wish I had bought one in a fun color like Green or Orange. (And I wish the Orange was “Oranger”)
-No options for a longer handle (yet?)
-Not available in other more premium materials like Stainless Steel, Titanium, Brass, etc (Yet?)
That’s really the only cons I could come up with. It’s a great razor.
Do I like it better than the Overlander? Mmm… maybe? It’s hard to say as I’m quite attached to my Overlander. I’ll reserve judgment until I get a dozen or so more shaves in.
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Your assessment is dead on to how I see the Bison. Though, it took me a while to get used to it -- I was not used to the lightness of an aluminum razor. Now I'm starting to prefer its lightness in both the Overlander and the Bison. Now I sort of get why people like titanium. ... The Bison gets even better the more shaves you have with it.
Found it!
On this Filament page, it’s mentioned on the lower, right-hand chunk of ad copy titled “Keeping the Standards.”
I knew the notion PAA claims to use 10/32 threading wasn’t proof I’m crazy. Well, thought I knew and it turned out I was right.
Thanks Thom, that is great to know. I thought I saw folks here putting a filament handle on an M5 head 
That’s @Cal with his Blackland Blackbird
We know that you can safely fit a known M5 handle on to both a 10-32 and M5 cap.Thanks Thom, that is great to know. I thought I saw folks here putting a filament handle on an M5 head
The uncertainty arises when a manufacturer doesn't specify their thread pitch and you want to try their handle on a different razor.
If you're not inclined to using brute force, you can easily try the handle with the unknown thread pitch.
So, if you have a 10-32 handle (Overlander) and try to thread it onto a Gamechanger (M5), you'll feel thread resistance after about 1.5 to 2 turns. As long as you "respect" the metal (light touch, please) and back off when you encounter resistance, you'll do no harm.
Of course, I have the advantage of having a large stock of both imperial and metric nuts and bolts, so I can try this with impunity
The big surprise to me is that Karve (being Canadian) specifies 10-32 instead of M5.
... Thom
Canada uses the Imperial and Metric systems not unlike the USA and Great Britain.
Yep!
It's an excellent fit. But it was indeed checked with great care initially... better safe than sorry.
Karve Bison | Kai | Stirling Finest Badger 24mm | Stirling Unscented with Beeswax | Skin Bracer | Stirling Glacial Unscented PSB
I can't give this razor enough praise. It's got the same magic as the Overlander.
Love that Glacier look.
Edit to add ... a video of a guy using the Glacier:
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