I'm upstairs and just saw the mailman knock through my Ring camera. My wife signed for a package. I think it must be the Athena!
I'll find out in a few minutes!
Lambda Athena
- Thread starter Mr. Shavington
- Start date
I'll find out in a few minutes!
Excellent!!! Our deliveries could not have been timed out much closer than that since mine was just dropped off about 10 minutes ago.
Yup, that's amazing.
And January 2nd, exactly one month!
It's here! I'll post some pictures later today!
You are the privileged one... a couple others are still waiting...
I'm definitely happy!!You are the privileged one... a couple others are still waiting...
Thanks Theo!
Here it is, stunning!
It'll be up for tonight's shave:
It'll be up for tonight's shave:
First shave with the Athena with great results. The handle will definitely take some getting used to, but it was a comfortable and close shave, so no complaints on that front. It certainly has a very unique sound in terms if its audible feedback.
Is lambda blade type dependent? Does it work well with most of brands?
I'll defer to someone with more Athena shaves under their belt, but I didn't get that sense from the one shave that I did. It worked great with the Gillette Nacet I used, but I suspect the Athena has enough heft to it to still work well with milder blades as well.
First shave tomorrow with the titanium Athena, a beautiful goddess. Looks regal and feels superbly perfectly weighted in hand. After getting used to the bronze Athena handle, I really love shaving with it, so I expect tomorrow’s shave to be even more enjoyable because it’s perfectly weighted. Amazing!!
IMHO, the Athena is pretty much blade agnostic. I've yet to use a blade I like that's given me problems.
I posted this on my journal earlier today. My "terrible" first shave with the Athena:
OK so I just used the Athena. I was going to shave at night but were going out for dinner so I took the early chance
to bathe & shave!
Well, it was meh!!
I loaded a Lab Blue blade and experienced a very rough shave (at multiple angles, didn't matter the angle!)
Half way through I changed out to an Astra SP blade to assure myself that it wasn't a bad blade.
Same thing!
This was pretty much the same experience that I had with the Ares where it was rough & inefficient.
It's as if they can't handle the hardness of my stubble!
And to make matters worse, after my 2 passes I had to buff (which really didn't do anything).
After the shave I could see many spots where my jet black stubble shines through my skin.
I don't know if this particular issue is precisely the head design or the fact that it's neutral exposure?
I've learned that without positive exposure, the razor won't cut as deep as I would need (I don't do ATG!)
But I keep trying these neutral razors!!
So it's rough, tuggy & inefficient and left my face feeling irritated!
The only other option that I believe I have is to try it out with a Feather blade and actually use some pressure.
Other than that, I don't see how I'd make it work with my non-ATG dual passes.
I'll give it a go tomorrow with those two changes!
Any ideas from anyone? throw them out there!
OK so I just used the Athena. I was going to shave at night but were going out for dinner so I took the early chance
to bathe & shave!
Well, it was meh!!
I loaded a Lab Blue blade and experienced a very rough shave (at multiple angles, didn't matter the angle!)
Half way through I changed out to an Astra SP blade to assure myself that it wasn't a bad blade.
Same thing!
This was pretty much the same experience that I had with the Ares where it was rough & inefficient.
It's as if they can't handle the hardness of my stubble!
And to make matters worse, after my 2 passes I had to buff (which really didn't do anything).
After the shave I could see many spots where my jet black stubble shines through my skin.
I don't know if this particular issue is precisely the head design or the fact that it's neutral exposure?
I've learned that without positive exposure, the razor won't cut as deep as I would need (I don't do ATG!)
But I keep trying these neutral razors!!
So it's rough, tuggy & inefficient and left my face feeling irritated!
The only other option that I believe I have is to try it out with a Feather blade and actually use some pressure.
Other than that, I don't see how I'd make it work with my non-ATG dual passes.
I'll give it a go tomorrow with those two changes!
Any ideas from anyone? throw them out there!
You're selling?
Not yet. I've only used it once!
I'll give it a couple more trays and see what
happens.
I tried every angle!
From riding the cap to having the handle parallel to my face (literally).
Too bad I'm not in US
Ah man that’s frustrating. Sorry to hear your first shave didn’t go well. It’s disappointing when you have high hopes for a razor and then it doesn’t perform well.
I’ve never had the Athena feel rough. It doesn’t really get to inspiring until the ATG pass…that’s its money pass. It’s my best ATG razor by a long shot. I know that doesn’t help in your case, but maybe give an ATG pass a try before you give up on it. I’ve had great luck with Nacet blades.
I tend to like positive exposure razors as well, but the Athena is one of those exceptions for me. Maybe the designs of the Ares and Athena just aren’t right for your beard. I have had this happen with razors that most love but I just can’t achieve good results (Timeless, Blutt, Rocnel come to mind).
Hope your next shave is more to your liking.
I'll keep trying it out as I always do and see how it goes. (I ain't doing ATG though!)
So far I've only had 5 razors that have had major issues. Not too bad I guess considering all the ones I've bought!
I'm am in luck though that the Athena was a Black Friday deal. So if in the end it doesn't work, I recover the investment.
We'll see!
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I was sitting here now, analyzing the Athena's head. It seems that it'll engage the hair so shallow that maybe I need to go even more shallow than usual. More shallow that what is usually done with other DE razors!
@JS Ong made the suggestion (Thank you!) of trying a shallow angle but I didn't expect it to cut as shallow as what I'm seeing now.
When I shaved I went normal shallow which is essentially riding the cap. On other razors, that top cap is an end point (wont shave above that line) when moving up but on the Athena it isn't. I don't know if that makes sense but the base plate and top cap are like an extension (or continuation) of each other. The useable angle is huge whether using it steep or shallow!
That along with the massive blade bending will probably give the smoothest shave with an extremely shallow angle.
That's what I'm seeing anyways while I just hold it as I analyze it.
I've loaded a Feather blade for the next Athena shave (to use the sharpest blade) and will incorporate a super shallow angle
to see how it works out. I have hope since I love how he razor looks and feels in my hand!
@JS Ong made the suggestion (Thank you!) of trying a shallow angle but I didn't expect it to cut as shallow as what I'm seeing now.
When I shaved I went normal shallow which is essentially riding the cap. On other razors, that top cap is an end point (wont shave above that line) when moving up but on the Athena it isn't. I don't know if that makes sense but the base plate and top cap are like an extension (or continuation) of each other. The useable angle is huge whether using it steep or shallow!
That along with the massive blade bending will probably give the smoothest shave with an extremely shallow angle.
That's what I'm seeing anyways while I just hold it as I analyze it.
I've loaded a Feather blade for the next Athena shave (to use the sharpest blade) and will incorporate a super shallow angle
to see how it works out. I have hope since I love how he razor looks and feels in my hand!
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