Before I begin my review of the ATT safety razor system, let me say I am not a shill or in anyway connected to the company or its owner. In fact I have never met or spoken directly to the owner Stan H. I have exchanged some emails with him this year related to his stainless razors, and what I can tell about Stan is that he has great passion for his business and that passion drives him to create the best quality shave products currently available. In my opinion thats what he has done and thats why I say Above The Tie-Above The Crowd Lets face it guys shaving is such a personal thing therefore very subjective so an opinion is really all you can have, and in my opinion the Above The Tie razor system is the very best available today. I have owned just about every stainless razor out there and find ATT to be so much better that I have sold them all expect one or two.
With all that being said how was the shave??
The best ever, the OC plates shave equally well as the solid plates but just smoother as open combs tend to do. I am a shower shaver and have been for over 30 years so for me no prep is necessary as nothing prepares your whiskers better that the hot steam in the shower. So what I did was use different creams each time I tried the OC plates, so far I have only used the R2 and the H2 as the M plates I only use when I need a second shave in the evening. So I used the R2 1[SUP]st[/SUP] shave with Poroaso 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] with Crown Cream and the 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] with Castle Forbes Lavender then the H2 1[SUP]st[/SUP] with Santa Maria Novella and the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] with Palmolive Menthol as I wanted to use a range of creams with the ATT system. Each shave was just a pleasure in fact the H1 was always a little hard for me to master so I used the R1 daily but the smoothness of an OC will make the H2 my daily razor from now on. ( I think)So to sum up, the ATT is without question one of the highest quality razors out there today it just kills any stainless cast or sintered head in terms of build quality. The hand finishing is jewelry quality and the flexibility to change plates is a great system approached to shaving. Oh yeah one more thing: MADE IN THE USA!! Yes the ATT cost a little more but the question is if you can afford it , do you get comparable VALUE for the money spent? I feel without question you do, and I always feel good when supporting a small business making things in the USA giving jobs to Americans. WELL DONE ABOVE THE TIE.....WELL DONE!
With all that being said how was the shave??
The best ever, the OC plates shave equally well as the solid plates but just smoother as open combs tend to do. I am a shower shaver and have been for over 30 years so for me no prep is necessary as nothing prepares your whiskers better that the hot steam in the shower. So what I did was use different creams each time I tried the OC plates, so far I have only used the R2 and the H2 as the M plates I only use when I need a second shave in the evening. So I used the R2 1[SUP]st[/SUP] shave with Poroaso 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] with Crown Cream and the 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] with Castle Forbes Lavender then the H2 1[SUP]st[/SUP] with Santa Maria Novella and the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] with Palmolive Menthol as I wanted to use a range of creams with the ATT system. Each shave was just a pleasure in fact the H1 was always a little hard for me to master so I used the R1 daily but the smoothness of an OC will make the H2 my daily razor from now on. ( I think)So to sum up, the ATT is without question one of the highest quality razors out there today it just kills any stainless cast or sintered head in terms of build quality. The hand finishing is jewelry quality and the flexibility to change plates is a great system approached to shaving. Oh yeah one more thing: MADE IN THE USA!! Yes the ATT cost a little more but the question is if you can afford it , do you get comparable VALUE for the money spent? I feel without question you do, and I always feel good when supporting a small business making things in the USA giving jobs to Americans. WELL DONE ABOVE THE TIE.....WELL DONE!