The Pearl Flexi OC And Shave It "Shadow" Safety Razors

[huck1680]

Gentlemen
I recently purchased two razors...the Flexi OC and the Shave It Shadow. This being mainly due to @LRod and his reviews of these razors. Did I need them? Nope. But several things influenced me...design and price. The Flexi is a solid brass adjustable OC razor. I haven't had an OC for some time and same with the adjustable.
So the Flexi arrived first and came with a stand and 50 "Willys" blades. Ok, let's see what these blades are like. First shave was mediocre with 3 passes on 3 and buffing to get a completely forgettable shave. These blades will not be used again.
Next shave I used a new Perma-Sharp blade on 3 again. Much better. Smooth comfortable and reasonably efficient.
After that I used the same blade and dialled it up to 6. Well...that was a highly efficient and aggressive shave without any drama, weepers etc. Comfortable but you knew it was giving you a closer shave. This is a very heavy razor and to me, it reminds me of a "bulldog". Heavy and squat, but likeable. You have to let the weight of the razor do the work. I used Mitchells wool fat soap, a Zenith boar brush and Rockwell shave balm. The alum bar gave me a sting but I associated that with the closeness of the shave. I like this shaver and the price point is excellent.

Next to arrive was the Shadow black aluminum razor from the Shave It Shave Co. here in Canada. The company has a lot of nice looking shaving gear and right now there's a large sale because, unfortunately, they're closing their doors and going out of business.
I don't care for aluminum or Ti razors as they just feel too light to me. But this was a company and the price was very good so I bought one. I like the looks although the logo on the cap may be a bit off-putting to some. No matter.
Light, nice balance, great handle and I got to work. Used the same Perma-Sharp blade as I had in the Flexi. Used Mitchell soap with Lanolin and an olive handle Zenith boar brush. Soaked the brush for a bit and started my lather. I have to say my boars are breaking in really well and are very comfortable plus starting to be just about as good at bowl lathering as my synths.
Didn't notice a lot of blade feel and the razor felt like a Mach3 in that it was incredibly easy to shave with I went through 2 passes and some buffing to get a really good shave. Wow! I prefer this razor to my Henson AL and Ti razors which I have since sold off. I am truly surprised at this razor and very happy I bought it. This is a really nice addition to my rotation.
Cheers!

 

[ButterfaceX]

Nice write up...Thks...The Pearl is pretty good beast, once you got it dial it. I have had them all, now thou I am preferring a lower profile for around the mouth. I do like the new knurling pattern on the OC's handle thou.
On the Shadow, seems like the company is closing soon. Boy with all those funky as a monkey handled, I can see why the lack of $. It this old > don't put all your eggs in one basket or what were they thinking.
Now for me, so far the only aluminum's (heads) I have retained are the Ikons in which now unfortunately the company has "no winds in the sails (sales)" .
But it certainly seems a lot more razor companies are offering these low cost aluminum versions. BFX

 

[LRod]

I'm glad you like the Pearl OC. I'm gonna shave with mine right now!!
Also happy that you like the Shave it Shadow. I also think it's one of the best
aluminums I've tried. Aluminums are a tough sell unless you're Henson which leads
me to believe that the Shadow would have been a winner in a stainless version (if they ever would have made one).
I'm in agreement with @ButterfaceX that Shave it limited themselves to those resin handles with Muhle heads. I mean, they're cool but they're really limited to a small group of buyers. You mentioned the Henson: I've only had it for a couple of weeks (the aluminum +++) and I like it.
It's not aggressive at all as they advertise it to be, (at least for me it's not) but it's up there in performance. A nice razor that I'd pick up if I need a nice quick shave.

 

[huck1680]

As a quick followup. I have a couple more shaves in with the Shadow. It is an incredibly easy razor to use. Light, intuitive and delivers excellent shaves....for me. As I said I prefer it to the Henson AL13 and Ti that I used to have. And for those in the US...with the exchange rate the way it is you get the razor for a killer price.

 

[LRod]

As a quick followup. I have a couple more shaves in with the Shadow. It is an incredibly easy razor to use. Light, intuitive and delivers excellent shaves....for me. As I said I prefer it to the Henson AL13 and Ti that I used to have. And for those in the US...with the exchange rate the way it is you get the razor for a killer price.

I can attest to that! It was a great deal for what it is and how it performs. I also figure that if they still have stock left by the end of September (when they are due to close for good), the price will probably be even less. And for those that like huge razors, they also offer it in a crazy long 6" size!

 

[LRod]

Yesterday I received the replacement base plate from shave it since the first one had defective anodizing. I'll give it a shave this week and see how it goes. So far I've only used it once on the day that I received the razor. And it's was really good!

 

[huck1680]

Yesterday I received the replacement base plate from shave it since the first one had defective anodizing. I'll give it a shave this week and see how it goes. So far I've only used it once on the day that I received the razor. And it's was really good!

Both of these razors continue to amaze me with their build quality, ease of shaving and end results.

 

[Never Picked]

I checked that Shave it website. There is a going out of business banner. At least I think there is. I'm on the phone and it's cut off on the sides. They have a 6 inch aluminum handle. Seems a bit much but more options are a good thing.

 

[LRod]

I checked that Shave it website. There is a going out of business banner. At least I think there is. I'm on the phone and it's cut off on the sides. They have a 6 inch aluminum handle. Seems a bit much but more options are a good thing.

Buy one while you can. They close for good in 6 days!
The 6" seems over the top but a cool option if someone wants something really long.

Edit: They raised the price to $69, Lol!!
I honestly thought they'd lower it whenever they'd get closer to closing. That's weird! I bought it a few weeks ago for like $51.

 

[APBinNCA]

Edit: They raised the price to $69, Lol!!
I honestly thought they'd lower it whenever they'd get closer to closing. That's weird! I bought it a few weeks ago for like $51.

$69 looneys is $51 freedom bucks.

 

[LRod]

$69 looneys is $51 freedom bucks.

Hahahaha, you're absolutely right! It's listed in CAD!
I didn't notice because when I bought it, on the website it showed in USD! I guess it was set to that then. My bad!!

 

[LRod]

Buy one while you can. They close for good in 6 days!
The 6" seems over the top but a cool option if someone wants something really long.

Edit: They raised the price to $69, Lol!!
I honestly thought they'd lower it whenever they'd get closer to closing. That's weird! I bought it a few weeks ago for like $51.

Correction:
As @APBinNCA (aka Aaron) indicated, the price is in CAD. So they're still at like $51 USD!