Cadet razors?

Gents:

I've been surfing the web looking for a new mild DE. There's a few from the brand name makers that I'm interested in. In a recent post I stated that "money isn't an issue." And it's not. BUT, I'm a business man and I seek out value. I may have a few hundred bucks burning a hole in my pocket, but that does not automatically equate to me purchasing a new Feather at about $190. I was thinking about doing just that, when I came across the Cadet line of razors.

Now, I know that the overall quality between the two is probably quite different. I get it. But my mind keeps going back to the same things. I mean, we're talking about a small metal item. My Gillette SS is really nice, yet it was made for the everyday man and sold for less than a $1.00 back in the 50's (I think). We may put a high premium on Gillettes today (not without good reason), but we should remember that they were mostly produced for the masses. A Flaretip was going for about $5.00 in 1970, in terms of 2013 dollars. So, I'm trying to keep some perspective on what it is that I'm trying to buy. I think the Feather looks great and probably works great. But $190? I can afford it, but I think I'd feel that I've been "had" if I did.

Now to the point of this post: CADET RAZORS. They are advertised as having brass bodies. They come in many different styles. They are nice looking and seem to be nicely made. They average about $23. The tight wad in me says, "hey, this is a good deal. This was what it was always about. Nice item for a good price." The only thing I need to know is whether I'm right or not.....so, what are your experiences with the CADET? Thanks!!

I used a cadet 3 piece today. It is not quite as aggressive as my fatip, but is more aggressive than my Red tip SS. I got a nice dfs from it.

i feel he same way right now about the joris razors. i want a couple models of these so much but just dont know if i can justify the price tag at this point.

I have not had a bad shave with my Cadet OC head. Doesn't matter what handle I use with it, I get an excellent shave. It is a very smooth shaver and I would definitely agree with Chuck above that it is more mild than a Fatip. I have had rough shaves with my Fatip head..... but no so with the Cadet. The Fatip for me seems to be much more finicky depending on the blade and handle compared to the Cadet. Finish.... I would rate the Cadet just slightly better than a Fatip, but not as good as EJ or Muhle. Obviously being made of brass, it gets a notch above any modern pot metal razor in terms of quality as well.

For the money, I think I will always have a Cadet OC head on hand. I mostly like using the aftermarket handles with it.... since I'm not too impressed with the Cadet handles.... but that's okay. It gives me something to use with my UFO handles.

Ben

You guys are gonna kill me, but I must ask......what's a "Fatip"?

And am I correct in concluding that the Cadet is a fairly mild shaver?

the fatip is a italian made open comb razor similar to the cadet. the main difference from what i have been able to find if the cadet head is made from a znic metal and the fatip is actual brass. im waiting for my fatips i ordered and i also ordered a cadet and will chime in again once they both arrive to give thoughts on both.

as far as shave if you are not used to the open comb design you may find it a bit aggressive compared to say a 34hd or a de89. otherwsie i have heard the fatip is a bit more aggressive then the cadet head is.

Cadet is my favorite razor head. I got it based on the glowing (and accurate) reviews here on B&B and elsewhere, which described it as being a 75 on the aggressiveness scale, if the R41 is 90, and Gillette New and Merkur 1904 are perhaps a 50 (with which I concur). The Cadet OC head is very well designed and produced, providing my best shaves yet. It's my favorite, go to razor head, leaving nothing to be desired... except...

...a handle worthy of it: the Sabi T1! The combination of the Sabi T1 handle and Cadet OC head are visually stunning, high performance, high comfort, tremendously satisfying, and very cost-effective.

I am very price sensitive, so this is my poor-man's deluxe razor at a fraction of the cost of the up-market brands such as Ikon Bulldog, Titan, Weber, etc. In my opinion, even at the price of both the Cadet and Sabi razors, I have yet to be able to find or assemble a better razor for the money.

I have recently purchsed the Pearl branded Cadet razor here in the UK. AT this price point £14.99 I cant beat it. A little smoother than a Fatip and IMHO better made. The handles are a love or hate thing though. I've tried a Weber handle and a LUX handle and still the shave is very good. I even have a Fatip handle tapped out to 5mm so this Pearl head will fit. So far I aint used it but it's there if I want too. As I say for the price you wont miss the bucks if you dont like it. Go ahaed, get one, get a weber handle pair them and you wont be disapointed.

I just recently received a Razorck/Cadet Little Bastone. It is an excellent quality razor and the handle alone is probably worth 20 bucks. . Razorock/Cadet razors are made with a brass frames, so they should last a long time.

I recently got the Pearl version of the Little Bastone:
http://www.chicagoshaving.com/pearl-short-handle-three-piece-open-comb-double-edge-safety-razor.html

For the price, it is awesome- But i prefer the shave I get from my old Gillette, especially in that the Pearl doesn't always center the blade. That is really my only problem with it i guess.

I have two OC cadet heads and both have issues where the blade exposure is uneven.
Some one else called it "centering the blade", one side exposes much more blade than the other.
So you have one side more aggressive than the other.
One of the two heads has a greater difference than the other.
So I only use the more symmetrical head and take note of which side is the aggressive one.
The fit and finish is nice and the price is good but really.....this is seriously falling down in QC.
You get what you pay for and YMMV.

That said I get a good shave from and like the (more symmetrical) razor.
It's aggressive but not as much as the Muhle 2013 R41.
I mostly use it as a travel razor.

I got an OC Cadet from a Chadao PIF ( Thank you!) and it's one of my favorites. The only flaw is that the thread on the top cap is very long and will only work on handles with an exceptionally deep female end

So you can't really mix and match the handles like you would with other razors.

Battou62 said:

I just recently received a Razorck/Cadet Little Bastone. It is an excellent quality razor and the handle alone is probably worth 20 bucks. . Razorock/Cadet razors are made with a brass frames, so they should last a long time.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure what you mean by "brass frame".

Cadet razors have zinc alloy heads and some ? all have brass handles.

The zinc alloy head will NOT last a LONG time but will certainly last long enough to make the razor a worthwhile purchase.

There are plenty of threads on B&B and Shave Den detailing the problems of zinc alloy.

Before finding the R41's and ATT H2, the Cadet OC was my daily driver. Comfortable and close, just not in the same category as the former 3 razors for those who can handle the extra aggression.

I have a couple of Cadet OC's. They do have QC issues occasionally as previous posters have stated. One of mine has a poorly threaded brass handle that only engages on the last couple of threads and only on the long threaded post of the Jaws OC. Won't work with anything else.

That doesn't matter because I only use heavy S/S handles anyway and as I've stated many times, the Cadet/RR/Pearl razors are so cheap and work so well for the price, just buy a few and renew every 4 or 5 years.

To the OP;

You state you are not price sensitive but also concerned about value.

I'll put it this way; do you wear a Timex watch or Omega/Rolex etc.

If all you ever wear is a Timex then you will be more than satisfied with the Cadet/RazoRocks.

If you wear a prestige watch then you owe it to yourself to buy the ATT set or perhaps the Weber if you like mild razors.

Once you have tried a few different razors you will succumb to RAD anyway and end up with all of them. Resistance is futile

The 3-piece Cadets have zamak heads but brass handles. The Cadet TTOs are (I think) brass from top to bottom.

I have a Cadet 3-piece OC which shaves beautifully, but unfortunately the head arrived with so many scratches and flaws in the chrome that I requested a replacement. The vender was kind enough to send me one, but it was also scratched, though not as badly as the first. I wouldn't worry about this except I suspect the zamak will quickly dissolve if the chrome chips or flakes off. The handle is beautiful though, and I think I actually find the Cadet OC a bit smoother and more efficient than a Gillette New LC.

I also have a Cadet TTO with safety bars. Again, the handle is very nice, but there's a great deal of blade exposure and the shave is more aggressive than I like.

I recommend the Cadet 3-piece OC if you want to try an inexpensive OC that shaves beautifully. Shaveabuck offers them in a wide variety of handles, and I think all the 3-pieces there can be ordered with either closed or open combs.