Greatest DE safety razor in on the planet???

[gus1942]

Quick testimoney. I have been shaving over 50 yrs, half of that with DE razors. Every morning I get a BBS shave with any of the following combination of razors and blades:
Gillette Tech Blades: 7O'Clock yellow, Astra SP, Red Personna, Supermax Platinum
Gillette Super Speed
Gillette Fatboy
Gillette Slim
Gillette Super Adjustable
EJ 89
Merkur 23c
Merkur 34c
Merkur 38c
Merkur Futur

Most of the reviews, advice, and recommendations as a majority from B&B are right on. Superb. So I spent my $179 on my beautiful, well crafted FEATHER ALL STAINLESS razor. I shaved with it using all the above blades plus a feather. Absolutely, the smoothest shave of my life. There was just one thing absent: It did not cut my facial hair. I was almost able to get DFS with the feather blade, but not BBS. I cold water shave but tried hot water also.
There are probably 75-80% glowing reviews of this razor on B&B. I only know my face and technique but I feel some of the posts are delusional, not objective, and reek with "jump on board" rationalization. I read one post suggesting 90 degree angle. Ridiculous. If you have to think about angle with any DE, then you are in trouble. I never think about angle, just put the blade on my face, and hear and feel the angle.I can't hear or feel anything with this razor. It is past super mild. I will say that this is the first time a feather blade has actually improved my shave. Some say the AS was built around the feather blade. Other than sharpness, explain that one to me. My AS will soon be for sale. I hope I'm not too condescending or contentious, but I needed to rant on this product

Gus (old and cranky)

[ras120]

I didn't care for the Feather either, so I tried shimming to make it more aggressive. When I reached four shims (a shim being a DE blade with the sharp edges trimmed off) and it still wasn't satisfactory, I gave up and sold it.

[itsmedave]

I'd like to try one but I know it would be a waste of money due to it's lack of aggressiveness. You'd think with the name "Feather" attached to it, it would be a monster of aggressiveness.

[pcumby]

Gus
I haven't been at this very long in comparison to you but I find the feather delivers a fine shave
The angle required to achieve it however is unlike any other DE I have tried and I can get a great shave with any razor I have tried
The head almost feels as if it's sitting flat on your face...very strange compared to everything else
It's always good to hear from other shavers about their negative experiences with some of your favourite equipment
thanks mate

Phil
middle aged and just as cranky

[ERVARGASNY]

Awesomr Razor, Works for me and iwouldnt give it up for Any DE So Far, no nicks, no cuts, This razor ice skates on my face with a Feather Blade. Ill say it again, guess some of us just cant find its sweet spot, or maybe some of us have different shaped face and facial hair. growth that this razor doesnt work for, but i havent found a Razor that completely sucks so far :o/ so i guess im one of the lucky ones :o)

[Kentos]

Its a huge YMMV thing.

[gus1942]

It really is YMMV but it seems every other razor in my group gives me BBS every shave. No nicks and no irritation. My beard is considered average. Really have a problem believing folks can get a consistent BBS with the Feather AS. Perhaps most are satisfied with DFS, which is fine.

[derazor]

I'm a huge Feather AS fan and wouldn't give it up for anything. My shaves are consistently BBS to DFS and I have no fear of a nick or cut. My Merkur HD gave similar shaves but it took a lot more effort and I occasionally nicked myself despite my best efforts. It may just be that you like a more aggressive razor.

One final observation about the Feather - it is flawlessly executed with a build quality that is incredible. The fact that it is SS means it should hold up well.

[DougieB]

As a fellow cold shaver... and someone who has been DE shaving for less than 2 months...

I like my Gillette Tech almost as well as my Gillette Old Style. I like both of them better than any of the TTO. I ordered a Gillette NEW style.
I have read some opinions on B&B that it is the piccale of shaving technology. That being said... If it is as good for me as the tech or old... I'll be happy.

I suspect that the big draw for an all stainless razor is that it is all stainless. No plate loss over time. Avoid bleach and it should hold up beautifully. I really see the draw.

I vote vintage non TTO Gillette's.

YMMV

[DougieB]

My Old and the Tech were $5 each. Most of my DE's were $5 each. The Fat Boy was more and the New I am waiting on was more but were not budget breakers.

[mos6502]

I will trade you my ball end tech for it.

[Smooth_Shaver]

I will trade you my ball end tech for it.

Haha....that's funny

[Arthur]

Yeah, I decided a while ago that the Feather AS probably isn't the razor for me... so far the only razor I've gotten consistently good shaves from is the Mühle 2011 r41.

[eastomjac]

gillette is on top for a reason.im just sayin(and not the new stuff)

[alex2363]

I can understand how he feels, I too tried it and sold it because even though it shaves sweet, its just tooo sweet and mild for my taste. I do like its looks and tank built qualities, but im in it for the shaves......nice honest review Gus.

[jamesspo]

It really is YMMV but it seems every other razor in my group gives me BBS every shave. No nicks and no irritation. My beard is considered average. Really have a problem believing folks can get a consistent BBS with the Feather AS. Perhaps most are satisfied with DFS, which is fine.

I understand what you mean, as the terms BBS and DFS are at least somewhat subjective. At the same time I think enough people praise the Feather AS that it truly is capable of giving a BBS to some folks. When I look at your list, I see razors that I just could never get a BBS with, like the Tech and the Superspeed. I think this illuminates a basic reality about shaving and razor geometry...that some beards need a different blade angle of attack to successfully be cut close to the skin. Various factors determine what this angle is, and that becomes a limiting factor on the range of razors that will "work" for a given person. Grab your hot beverage of choice, and I'll elaborate.....

In order to cut the hairs on your beard down to skin level (and for a moment, let's assume that that is required to shave close enough to "feel" like a BBS), an obvious and key requirement is that the blade make contact with your skin. Let's take a look for a second at how a razor has to be designed in order for that to occur. We'll use an example razor as a illustration - the Post-war Tech. Here's a great profile pic of the tech, showing the blade exposure relative to the cap and guard. This is blatantly stolen from woodfluter's famous and excellent thread on head geometry ( http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...-Razor-Designs ):



As you can see, the post war tech has essentially "zero" blade exposure, where exposure is defined as the amount of blade protruding past a tangent line from the cap to the guard. Imagine shaving a piece of glass with this razor (and that it had hair :) ). In theory, this is the only razor you'd ever need, right? You just put the cap and guard squarely on your face and shave away, and those hairs should get cut off right at skin level. Obviously, it doesn't happen quite that easily in practice. Your face isn't a piece of glass. At the macroscopic level it has curves. At the (nearly) microscopic level, it has little undulations due to the hair follicles and other skin imperfections. The skin has varying levels of elasticity depending on age and genetics. These factors can create a situation where the blade does not make contact with your skin, despite cap and guard being right against your face. However, there is another factor that, I think, is equally important in getting a very close shave - blade angle of attack....

Let's keep with the example of the post-war tech, and shaving a piece of glass. Since the blade exposure is zero, there is one , and only one angle at which the blade can make contact with your skin. That angle is the one between the blade, and a line tangent to the cap and guard, which in this case, is 25 degrees. Again, ignoring skin flexing, this the *only* angle at which the blade will contact your skin. You can shave at other angles, higher or lower than 25 degrees, but the blade will not come in contact with your skin at those angles. I don't have time to put together some pictures that illustrate this (maybe I will some day), but if you just think about what happens to the blade as you move away from that critical angle of 25 degrees, you'll see that the blade moves away from your skin whether you increase or decrease the angle you hold the razor. So, why is this important? Because the angle of the blade has an impact on its ability to cut actual, real life hairs. The hairs on your face aren't little trees sitting side by side, perfectly perpendicular to your face. They come out of the hair follicles at varying angles. They have different thicknesses from person to person. Some are probably "slick" with oils, having a propensity to be folded over by the blade, and not cut. In my opinion, the angle of attack of the blade is what allows you to overcome these variances, and cut hair closely. I suspect that everyone has a certain critical angle (or more likely a range of angles) at/over which they can cut hair closely with a reasonable number of shaving passes. Now, the problem. If a razor only has one angle of attack available (again ignoring skin stretching, which probably only changes that single angle to a small range), and that angle of attack in not with the range of acceptable angles for your beard, it will not be effective at cutting your beard in a reasonable number of passes. If ,on the other hand, one is lucky enough that their "critical" blade angle is within the effective range of angles of the razor, they can get a great shave with it...and with a bit of an advantage over more aggressive razors, in that they have the cap and guard to give them a bit more protection from mishaps.

So, how does the situation differ for a razor with more exposure (I hesitate to call such a razor "aggressive", but it's probably mostly synonymous). Let's take another razor as an example - the Old Type. Again, blatantly ripping off from woodflute's thread here:



I picked this one, because woodflute so graciously marked the minimum and maximum "effective" angles on the photo. As you can see, while the blade is at a 18 degree angle to the cap/guard tangent, the blade can still be placed right at skin level anywhere from 15 degrees (razor angled toward the cap) to 23 degrees (razor angled toward the guard). This make the the razor more versatile, as you can put the blade on your skin, but *also* control the angle at which it makes contact. This razor is going to be more effective, for a broader range of people. On the other hand, if you happen to need a 28 degree angle of attack to cut your beard well, this razor isn't going to be too hot for you, despite it's apparent aggressiveness. Of course, there's also a price to pay here as well. Over most of the effective angles, the cap and guard are not touching your face - it's "all blade" so to speak. Clearly, pressure, and control of it is very important here. Too much, and your chance of nicks and skin irritation goes up.

So this is all just to illustrate how it's possible that some can have such a wonderful experience with a very mild razor, and other can't even get to a DFS with it no matter what they do with technique. It all comes down to the tiny details of your beard and skin, and how the blade interacts with it. As I said, there are lots of additional details, like skin flexing. Clearly that plays a roll, since there are razors that have *negative* exposure (see the pictures of the Merkur 11C in woodflute's thread) that are effective shavers for some.

To the OP: it sounds like the Tech is as mild as it gets for you..any milder, and you just can't get an effective cutting angle. I don't think others are necessarily just jumping on a bandwagon with the Feather AS (although its beauty and build probably makes that more likely) . The fans of it probably just have a lot of common factors in their beards, and the blade angles required to get them to effortless BBS. Myself, I can say it's not a razor I'd be inclined to try (unless it was free), as all of the mild razors I've tried have been very ineffective for me. I use the 2011 R41 which has a very wide range of usable angles, and I use the whole range for various parts of my face.

[mikey]

I wish there was a way to try one out before buying one...sigh...

Thanks,
Mike

[turtle]

There has to be a reason you see so many Feather SS on BST with the text "used only a couple of times"

Just saying.......

[jamesspo]

Yes, see comment 16...that's my theory about why (although not specifically about this razor).

There has to be a reason you see so many Feather SS on BST with the text "used only a couple of times"

Just saying.......

[Face&Head]

I feel some of the posts are delusional, not objective, and reek with "jump on board" rationalization. I can't hear or feel anything with this razor. Gus (old and cranky)

Almost every razor, blade, brush, soap & cream that's been reviewed on B&B has its proponents & detractors. I guess the detractors could always view the proponents as herd driven fanboys. My first razor in 1966 was a hand me down Fatboy, I thought it was rubbish then and still do. Yet it has achieved iconic status in the current era. I don't think it's lovers are "delusional" but certainly may have different beards & preferences. I understand you can't get a good shave from the Feather but calling those who do derogatory names seems a little harsh. I must say that I found your inability to hear anything somewhat surprising. Out of my 30-odd razors, there are none that I get more audible feedback from than my Feather when it's dialed in properly.