Captain CS by Lord, first impressions

I took it out of the package and the blade look cheap. There was a hue of yellow to the blade, the grinds of the blade didn't look even. It was the first Lord blade that appeared to be a disappointment.

Dropped it in the Muhle R89 and was shocked at how well it shaved. I didn't get any irritation or draw any blood. Got a DFS could have gotten a BBS without any issues. I liked everything about it - cant wait for shave #2.

talibeard said:

Those 3-hole blades where do they fit in? A regular DE, Wardonias or yet another type of razor?

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They will fit any 3-piece that I have owned but not my old Gillette TTO style razors.

I kinda want to get some of those...

I sent a few emails to them recently,but after asking for a source to buy small quantities ,my emails were no longer answered.If I remember correctly,the minimum order was 15,000 -20 packs....I tried a few that I found in Tanzania,the carbons,they were very sharp,and the tigers are also a good blade.....the russians have had a contract for quite awhile to produce the tiger blades as well....http://www.czechblades.cz

So how much are 15,000 packs?

Hi Talibeard and everyone,

Thanks so much for sending me these Captain carbon steel blades Talibeard. Tonight I will give them my first shave and I will post updates on my impressions of these Captain CS blades by Lord. Thanks again Talibeard.

sir-nix-alot said:

They will fit any 3-piece that I have owned but not my old Gillette TTO style razors.

I kinda want to get some of those...

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I am not sure they will fit all the Techs or News. Mine have a cross bar for that fits the slot in a "normal" DE blade. It would fit my Old Type or my Merkur classic though.

Otherwise, my second shave was just as awesome as the first. Maybe a little better. Same setup.

I would most likely buy these if the price was right.

My 1st shave with Captain carbon steel Lord blade. I used my Flying Eagle razor and Crabtree and Evelyn Nomad shaving cream with Eterna 928W shaving brush. I prepped my face extra carefully making sure that my shaving cream was soaking/moistening my whiskers well and preparing for my past carbon blade experiences which was full of tugging and not too smooth. Surprise, surprise this Captain CS blade shaved like stainless blades. Smooth absolutely no tug and a very easy straight forward shave. I did my usual 2 passes with my usual approaches and touch ups. This is the best carbon steel blades I have yet used. I`ll continue to push this blade to the max and see how long it will hold up. I got a dfs and no surprises or irritations. Tomorrows shave will be less prep and it`ll be just my normal prep and it should be like todays shave.

sir-nix-alot said:

I took it out of the package and the blade look cheap. There was a hue of yellow to the blade, the grinds of the blade didn't look even. It was the first Lord blade that appeared to be a disappointment.

Dropped it in the Muhle R89 and was shocked at how well it shaved. I didn't get any irritation or draw any blood. Got a DFS could have gotten a BBS without any issues. I liked everything about it - cant wait for shave #2.

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I thought the same about the non-even lacquer but I agree it is a very, very nice blade and I didn't expect that at all. Thanks for your comments!

TheBigL said:

Otherwise, my second shave as just as awesome as the first. Maybe a little better. Same setup.

I would most likely buy these if the price was right.

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My second was better than the first but I think it had more to do with getting to know the blade. When I am trying out a new blade I am often just a little too excited and thus too hasty. I don't think these are really expensive but the problem is that nobody has them (yet...).

Radium said:

My 1st shave with Captain carbon steel Lord blade. I used my Flying Eagle razor and Crabtree and Evelyn Nomad shaving cream with Eterna 928W shaving brush. I prepped my face extra carefully making sure that my shaving cream was soaking/moistening my whiskers well and preparing for my past carbon blade experiences which was full of tugging and not too smooth. Surprise, surprise this Captain CS blade shaved like stainless blades. Smooth absolutely no tug and a very easy straight forward shave. I did my usual 2 passes with my usual approaches and touch ups. This is the best carbon steel blades I have yet used. I`ll continue to push this blade to the max and see how long it will hold up. I got a dfs and no surprises or irritations. Tomorrows shave will be less prep and it`ll be just my normal prep and it should be like todays shave.

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Thanks for your review Radium and I am glad you like them. Maybe wait to call it the best after a few shaves?

Because if that is really true it will be little fun chasing more carbon blades...

You all seem to like the blade (as do I) and that surprises me a little as I know that only about 30% of the guys on the hungarian forum liked them. Or you are used to more difficult blades; that is why I asked for (more or less) experienced carbon blade shavers as I knew about the 30% before I started this little test.

I am really curious about your opinions when you are a few shaves in!

Ok, my report on shave #6.

The first strokes were as good as how the 5th shave had ended but the blade suddenly became harsher, first one side and in a few strokes on the other side as well. Just as mr.Koltai from Lord Hungary predicted the teflon would wear off and the blade lost its smoothness altogether. The strange thing was that the removal of my beard was still good. Of course not as good as in the first shaves but I have tried a lot of blades in the past that did that a lot worse even on their first trip. So carefully I finished my shave; still no nicks or weepers, no red skin; just an unpleasant feel of the blade against my skin. I could still manage to shave the difficult spots on my neck without getting my skin irritated. The AS burned a little more this time (as expected) but apart from the awareness of a recent shave I did not suffer from razorburn and even my neck did not show the typical red bumps I get when I shave with a blade that is not up for the task.

I am puzzled. This blade still did the job pretty good, leaving me with a decent result afterwards. During the shave it felt like I was ruining my skin but apart from a little tightness for a few hours nothing serious had happened. When this was my daily blade I would have stopped (with hindsight) after the 5th shave but I am also a (dangerously?) curious guy so I am tempted to give it another go....

Hm, let me think about it for a while.

talibeard said:

My second was better than the first but I think it had more to do with getting to know the blade. When I am trying out a new blade I am often just a little too excited and thus too hasty. I don't think these are really expensive but the problem is that nobody has them (yet...).


!

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I often see that something inexpensive in its intended market is often hugely marked up by the time it gets to be sold internationally online.

Today's shave was still very good. Got a couple of nicks on my throat but nothing serious. No other irritation.

Well...this Captain is a very interesting blade. First off, it's not the first yellow blade I've used. Here's another:



The first shave with the Captain was very pleasant. As I do with most of my vintage carbon blades, I used a short handled Gillette Adjustable set low. No pulling, no tugging. Just comfortable efficient whisker whacking. The second shave was much the same. It is a smooth blade...maybe too smooth. Kind of like a good stainless blade. And this is where I begin to have a little problem. The reason I like carbon blades is because you can feel them. There is some tugging. There is some pulling. They require you to adjust your technique and your expectations. The Captain doesn't do that. It acts and feels like a stainless blade. Someone posted that it is similar to the Treet blue specials. I disagree. The Treets give you a little tug. They let you know you are using a carbon steel blade. Not so much with the Captain. That being said, I really like the Captain. It's a great shaving blade that I would happily use in my rotation. But when I want the carbon steel experience, which is most of the time, I wouldn't reach for the Captain.

Sorry for not posting last few days, been very busy.

For the 3rd shave, I got a pretty good shave out of it.

For the 4th one... it started getting very dull for me. I did finish up but had to throw it away afterwards.

Radium said:

My 1st shave with Captain carbon steel Lord blade. I used my Flying Eagle razor and Crabtree and Evelyn Nomad shaving cream with Eterna 928W shaving brush. I prepped my face extra carefully making sure that my shaving cream was soaking/moistening my whiskers well and preparing for my past carbon blade experiences which was full of tugging and not too smooth. Surprise, surprise this Captain CS blade shaved like stainless blades. Smooth absolutely no tug and a very easy straight forward shave. I did my usual 2 passes with my usual approaches and touch ups. This is the best carbon steel blades I have yet used. I`ll continue to push this blade to the max and see how long it will hold up. I got a dfs and no surprises or irritations. Tomorrows shave will be less prep and it`ll be just my normal prep and it should be like todays shave.

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My 2nd shave with Captain carbon steel Lord blade. I used my Flying Eagle razor and Crabtree and Evelyn Nomad shaving cream with Eterna 928W shaving brush. I did my usual quick prep and proceeded to shave like it was a stainless steel blade. Smooth, no irritations great shave like it should be with a good blade. I can`t wait for tomorrows shave. The noise of the blade has less tingle/vibration sounding due to a slightly thicker blade and a thicker wedge shape blade edge.

talibeard said:

Ok, my report on shave #6.

The first strokes were as good as how the 5th shave had ended but the blade suddenly became harsher, first one side and in a few strokes on the other side as well. Just as mr.Koltai from Lord Hungary predicted the teflon would wear off and the blade lost its smoothness altogether. The strange thing was that the removal of my beard was still good. Of course not as good as in the first shaves but I have tried a lot of blades in the past that did that a lot worse even on their first trip. So carefully I finished my shave; still no nicks or weepers, no red skin; just an unpleasant feel of the blade against my skin. I could still manage to shave the difficult spots on my neck without getting my skin irritated. The AS burned a little more this time (as expected) but apart from the awareness of a recent shave I did not suffer from razorburn and even my neck did not show the typical red bumps I get when I shave with a blade that is not up for the task.

I am puzzled. This blade still did the job pretty good, leaving me with a decent result afterwards. During the shave it felt like I was ruining my skin but apart from a little tightness for a few hours nothing serious had happened. When this was my daily blade I would have stopped (with hindsight) after the 5th shave but I am also a (dangerously?) curious guy so I am tempted to give it another go....

Hm, let me think about it for a while.

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Go for it Talibeard push the Captain blade to the max which is what I am intending to do. I think though the blade might feel rougher for you due to the teflon wearing away but it`s still capable of giving a good shave because the edge is made differently to the stainless edge. If it was stainless feather blade I think it would of been disposed of earlier for a lot of people compared to the Captain CS blade.

talibeard said:

I thought the same about the non-even lacquer but I agree it is a very, very nice blade and I didn't expect that at all. Thanks for your comments!



My second was better than the first but I think it had more to do with getting to know the blade. When I am trying out a new blade I am often just a little too excited and thus too hasty. I don't think these are really expensive but the problem is that nobody has them (yet...).



Thanks for your review Radium and I am glad you like them. Maybe wait to call it the best after a few shaves?

Because if that is really true it will be little fun chasing more carbon blades...

You all seem to like the blade (as do I) and that surprises me a little as I know that only about 30% of the guys on the hungarian forum liked them. Or you are used to more difficult blades; that is why I asked for (more or less) experienced carbon blade shavers as I knew about the 30% before I started this little test.

I am really curious about your opinions when you are a few shaves in!

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Hey Talibeard, Pleasure is mine and I do like them Definitely the best carbon steel double edge blades I have ever used. I`ve used some that felt like a 1 year old daily used stainless steel blade ( Tiger CS blade). Ouch and razor burn and rough and tug and not smooth at all. He he yes I chase carbon steel blades with every opportunity
My first double edge blades when I first started shaving were the Flying Eagle carbon steel blades which came along with my Flying Eagle Razor as a kit set. I still use Flying Eagle CS blades and they tug and are not very smooth but provide a good to decent shave. The toughest blades were the Tiger blades from Czechoslavkia perhaps because they might of been improperly stored by the shop therefore they lost their edge? I don`t know but boy razor burn and sore all over from the Tiger blade. It was a very pleasant and happy experience with shave #2 using the Captain CS blade and I think it will last me a week easily and let`s see how tomorrows shave will be?

Straight Arrow said:

The Captain doesn't do that. It acts and feels like a stainless blade. Someone posted that it is similar to the Treet blue specials. I disagree. The Treets give you a little tug. They let you know you are using a carbon steel blade. Not so much with the Captain. That being said, I really like the Captain. It's a great shaving blade that I would happily use in my rotation. But when I want the carbon steel experience, which is most of the time, I wouldn't reach for the Captain.

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Very interesting observation. My experience with carbon steel blades is limited, only NOS blades that probably went bad to some degree, but the Captain behaves very different from the stainless blades I tried. Much more friendly to my skin than most stainless blades (even now the smoothness is gone after 6 shaves) and despite its diminishing sharpness it does a nicer job on the difficult parts than a lot of much (?!) sharper blades when new. Actually the Captain forced me to look at my ideas about razor blades again since it behaves "contradictive" so to speak.

Shant said:

Sorry for not posting last few days, been very busy.

For the 3rd shave, I got a pretty good shave out of it.

For the 4th one... it started getting very dull for me. I did finish up but had to throw it away afterwards.

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Glad you liked it but I wonder what your average # of shaves out of a given blade is. I get 3 from most and 2 from a feather. An Indian black 7O'Clock (and 2 or 3 others) can do 4 and that has been the max with a DE blade till I hit upon the Captain. YMMV and all of course but I am curious about your different experience.

Radium said:

Go for it Talibeard push the Captain blade to the max which is what I am intending to do. I think though the blade might feel rougher for you due to the teflon wearing away but it`s still capable of giving a good shave because the edge is made differently to the stainless edge. If it was stainless feather blade I think it would of been disposed of earlier for a lot of people compared to the Captain CS blade.

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I think I will push.....I just can't help myself here!

No stainless blade ever gave me 6 decent shaves before and indeed certainly not the feather; those give me just one great and one ok shave.

talibeard said:

...the Captain behaves very different from the stainless blades I tried. Much more friendly to my skin than most stainless blades.

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You are absolutely right Harrie, and I failed to mention it in my review. I was observing that the Captain is like a stainless blade in terms of the smooth feel and lack of tugging. You are spot-on that it is very easy on the skin and this is characteristic of the best carbon blades that I have used.

Hello Dear Gentlemen, Hello Dear Talibeard,
This is Penge from LORD Hungary ( http://lordeurope.com ) and the HU shave forum ( http://borotvaforum.hu )
It was very nice reading your posts on Captain blades and actually very interesting the measure of opinions from many points of view. Your reviews are surprising to me... I have been using Captain blades for about two years now, and I beleived I know all the characteristics from A-Z. These CS blades are irregular in many ways, and no other blade come near its shaving characteristics, which can be described as rough, but very forgiving. At the beginning, my first impressions were this was not a well designed blade, due to its strange wide angle bevels and final too-round hone and it was actually quite a time to get to understand what the engineers wanted with this blade. However finally playing around with angles and different DE razors I got the hang of it and now this blade is one of my favorites. What is most surprising to me, you all got the feeling and track from the first couple of uses and having chosen the right DE razor for the first place. You guys must have very unstressed hair and a great experience in DE shaving! It was also very strange to read Talibeard is pushing now the #6 shave while Captain usually dies after 4-5 shaves for most of us, but for a reference I could use other DE blades up to 10 shaves, which of course are made of more stiffer, better tempered higher HRC SS.

I actually expected 3-4 "rough" shaves for the first couple of rounds from Talibeard and friends, your reviews are indeed a great surprise for me. Thanks for the posts Talibeard!

Penge