RR Stainless vs Aluminum

incredible experience and opportunity to use every variant of RR Slants, definitely an unique perspective but from some of the pics posted i remember some look more gunmetal than others. But the gunmetal finish is a nice touch I think..

But thanks for the side by sides, not many can illustrate the differences as you have. Thank you for that and the observations.

Thanks for the comparisons. Instructive to see the razors side by side for similarities as well as differences. It is odd for the stainless version to make its appearance before the original aluminum model can be produced in enough quantities to even partially address demand or the sudden profusion of varieties of the original model which all add to the baffling inability to bring the product to market. All the experimentation seemingly detracts from the task of producing enough of the Stealth Slant. Someone mentioned a production plan? All look like great products but maybe in some orderly progression.

So it seems that V2 alum and stainless are the similar models. Im loving my stainless, the alum was just to light. If Joe could make a slant that fell between the 2 in weight that would be terrific! Stainless is almost to heavy, and alum to light, middle ground would be ideal.

As a follow-up to my recent comparison of the DLC Stainless Steel and Aluminum V1, here are my initial comments on the Aluminum V2 Kiyara. Note: I have exactly one shave on the V2 so I am sure my initial thoughts on performance may change as I get more experience with this iteration.

From a performance perspective, I found the V2 shave to be very close/near identical to that of the V1. I did notice that the V2 had a tiny bit more bite to its shave. Subsequently, the optimal shaving angle for me was moving the handle a smidge further away from the skin. The razor is definitely still on the mild/forgiving side of the spectrum. I quickly dialed in the shave and obtained an irritation-free BBS. On a related note, my SWMBO shaved with her black V2 yesterday and she also commented that the performance was practically the same.

Here are a few pictures highlighting the "tale of the tape" and a few design differences between V1 and V2. My V1 comes in at 45g while the V2 Kiyara comes in at 47g.



As previously mentioned, the V2 slant closely follows the design of the DLC Stainless Steel slant. In the below photo, note the thicker mounting area of the V2 bottom plate compared to the V1 bottom plate. This additional aluminum adds a very small amount of weight to the V2 razor head (18g versus 16g).



The V2 handle with its thinner neck looks identical to the DLC SS handle. Length is the same across all 3 prototypes.



There have been a few posts spread across various threads about the appearance of properly mounted blade. Here is my process: Insert the blade into the top cap, Press the bottom plate tightly onto the blade/top cap, screw on the handle. The end result (which mirrors the photo that Joe posted in the past) looks like this:



I previously mentioned that the V2 felt just a tad different when shaving. It had a hint of more "bite" which I tamed by altering my shaving ever so slightly (moved the handle away from skin). It is difficult to capture in the photo below but I can definitely see a slightly larger blade gap in the V2. I would like to emphasize that this razor is still very mild and forgiving when compared to the majority of the razors out there. Many people see the phrase "larger blade gap" and they automatically assume the razor is going to draw blood just by looking at it. That is far from the truth --- I felt a very slight difference and I *believe* this is why. I will continue to shave with the Kiyara and will gladly provide updates (or retractions if necessary).



On an completely unrelated note, 3017'ing a soap/cream really helps when it comes to reviewing various products...it's one huge variable that you do not have to worry about.

Atalk said:

As a follow-up to my recent comparison of the DLC Stainless Steel and Aluminum V1, here are my initial comments on the Aluminum V2 Kiyara. Note: I have exactly one shave on the V2 so I am sure my initial thoughts on performance may change as I get more experience with this ....

Click to expand...

Thanks for the great review and comparison! With your RR slant luck, you should consider buying a lottery ticket My Kiyara should be here Monday. Can't wait!

Great review! Thank you for your effort.