LRod's Acquisition and everything else Thread!

[LRod]

Got a Maggard shaving coupon today (they sell most of the Timeless razors and parts).
So..
Since the .95 OC base plate is on the way from Timeless, I ordered it's own top cap and handle.
Smooth top cap (since I already have the scalloped) and the 85mm barber pole handle (since I've already got
the 100mm pineapple handle).
So I'll have 2 full .95 scalloped & OC razors with different interchangeable top caps and handles.
Hard to pass up on these discount coupons!

 

[LRod]

My .95 OC baseplate arrived today from Timeless.
And they received the Slim plate I sent back today as well.
I'll give it a whirl with tonight's shave and see how it compares to the .95 SCL (and the .68 OC).
I won't even mention the Slim again since it's a totally different thing than these. Let's see how it goes!!

 

[LRod]

Tonight's shave was a most excellent shave with the Timeless .95 OC!
As compared to the .68 OC?
It shaves the same, it's almost just as smooth (a tiny tad less) but it's got what the .68 is missing (for me):
More efficiency (due to it's positive blade exposure).
So if you love the .68 OC but want some more efficiency without sacrificing comfort, this'll do it!
I don't feel any of them to be aggressive, so I won't even use that word as a description.
The only razor that Timeless has that I'd consider aggressive is the .78 Bronze open comb. That's aggressive!!
And compared to the .95 SCL?
I'd say that the .95 SCL is a slightly toned down version of the .95 OC.
I will use the .95 SCL for 1 day of growth and the .95 OC for 2+ days of growth. Perfect combo!
Without a doubt, I will continue praising Timeless' open comb. It's something special!
Shave result:
My face feels excellent
Both are definite keepers. A++

 

[JAHE]

Excellent summary @LRod
I have shaved with the .38, .68 OC, .95 SCL, .95 OC .50 Slim OC and the mean .78 OC in course of this month. It's fair to say I really LOVE the Timeless lineup.

In terms of smoothness the sequel imo is

.38 (super smooth) < .68 OC < .95 SCL < .95 OC < .50 Slim OC < .78 OC (sweet Jesus)

Your experience, Larry, does mirror mine, with the one exception that (given my usecase of almost daily shaving) I'd rather be in "team .68OC" than "team .95 OC" if a gun was pointed to my head.

But, as I have to highlight, the difference in my usecase is that I shave atg passes on a daily basis. Thus both the .38 and the .68 OC work 100% for me if paired with a sharper blade.

For my "two passes plus" usecase (wtg/atg passes plus a bit of touchups) all baseplates named above safe the .50 Slim OC and the .78 OC fall into the daily driver department.

The Slim OC is a step up in terms of bladefeel and efficiency over the .95 OC (used whenever 2 or 2+ days worth of growth), but the OC Slim is not a beast as the .78 OC is. The really aggressive .78 OC is reservedfor those days when a real challenge is needed (livin' on the edge at its best... It's the end level big boss for me ).

Cheers!

 

[JAHE]

Excellent summary @LRod
I have shaved with the .38, .68 OC, .95 SCL, .95 OC .50 Slim OC and the mean .78 OC in course of this month. It's fair to say I really LOVE the Timeless lineup.

In terms of smoothness the baseplates behave like this (imo):

.38 (super smooth) =/< .68 OC < .95 SCL < .95 OC < .50 Slim OC < .78 OC (sweet Jesus)

Your experience, Larry, does mirror mine, with the one exception that (given my usecase) I'd rather be in "team .68OC" than "team .95 OC" if a gun was pointed to my head.

But, as I have to highlight, the difference in my usecase is that I shave atg passes on a daily basis. Thus both the .38 and the .68 OC work 100% for me if paired with a sharper blade.

For my "two passes plus" usecase (wtg/atg passes plus a bit of touchups) all baseplates named above safe the .50 Slim OC and the .78 OC fall into the daily driver department.

The Slim OC is a step up in terms of bladefeel and efficiency over the .95 OC (used whenever 2 or 2+ days worth of growth are in question), but the OC Slim is not a beast as the .78 OC is. The really aggressive .78 OC is reserved for those days when a real challenge is needed (livin' on the edge at its best... It's the end level big boss for me ).

I'll have to do a side by side shave with the. 38 and .68 OC to establish my finding. I'm already pretty confident regarding the rest.

Cheers!

 

[LRod]

My Timeless matte smooth top cap & short barber pole handle arrived today from Maggard.
So now I've got both sets:.
The 95 SCL for daily shaves
and the .95 OC for 2+ days of growth!

 

[LRod]

Another perfect Timeless shave tonight!
I used the .95 SCL with the short barber pole handle and loved it.
Nice balance with that handle (for me) where the majority of the weight
tilt's forward towards the head. I like that!
I feel lots of control with that setup and it makes me totally rely on the razors
weight to do all the work.
And this handles texture is soft but grippy at the same time. It's very nice!
I got a super smooth shave with a glassy finish. Fantastic!
Overall the .95 SCL is wonderful!!

 

[LRod]

A quick recap of tonight's shave!
Tonight I used the Timeless .95 OC with the smooth cap and long handle.
I tried something new which is something I normally avoid: I did 3 passes!
WTG/XTG/WTG
The third WTG was basically a pickup pass but it's something that normally would leave me
with some sting.
Note: It'll just sting but no visible irritation!
My skin isn't too sensitive; to the point that I'll rarely get any nicks or cuts. It's pretty tough!
Irritation will come if I go ATG (which you all already know that I don't do!)
Anyways, I've been using the Gillette Wilkinson (India) blade which by the way is working great!
Great blades!!
Conclusion is that I ended up with another smooth & efficient excellent shave and with zero sting.
These .95's are awesome!
The geometry & slight positive blade exposure seems to work very well for me.
I yet to get any nicks or cuts or any surprises with these razors.
And the fact that I'm able to do those 3 passes is a miracle!
I can feel with my hand that the closeness in the shave excels and
that the razor got me there very gently.
My face feels awesome!
So far no complaints, I'm super happy with my Timeless!
Hope you all had a great weekend and wish you all a great week!

 

[LRod]

Well my friends, I can't get my hands off of the Timeless .95's or the Wolfman aluminum Guerrilla .69 OC!
It's what I want to shave with everyday because of the stellar results I'm getting with both (or actually all three).
I'm ignoring my other razors!
I believe this is the best I've had yet!
And here we go again:
Since I have both Timeless .95's in OC & SCL (but only an aluminum Guerrilla), I need a full weight Guerrilla!
As you may recall, I got the aluminum as the test razor since it was the cheapest way in.
So today I've ordered the Wolfman Guerrilla .69 OC with the original handle in Bronze!
Why Bronze:
1. It's double the weight of the aluminum but 10 grams shy from the total weight of the stainless version. Perfect!
2. The matted Bronze looks beautiful and not boring. So something new aesthetically to add!
3. As simple as this razor is, it doesn't look like a pain to polish. And based on what I've read, the finish is pretty resistant to patina. So a quick polish every couple months should suffice.
4. Bronze is just plain awesome!!
I'll post whenever it arrives (last time it was 8 days). We'll see!
They have no pictures on the website that shows a complete OC with the original handle.
So I had to split between these 2 pictures:

 

[LRod]

Surprise delivery yesterday from WCS (It was supposed to arrive on Tuesday!)
This was a "too good to pass up deal" when they sent out the Labor Day 25% off coupon!
Not only cheap but also no waiting for one to get built!
Brand new Karve Christopher Bradley brass with the "C" plate and 3" handle.
I'll give it a go tonight with 1.5 days of growth and a Gillette Wilkinson (India) blade:

 

[Guido75]

I have the Karve CB with the OC-C plate. I love the design of the razor and it shaves phenomenally as well.

Enjoy Larry!

Guido

 

[JAHE]

Surprise delivery yesterday from WCS (It was supposed to arrive on Tuesday!)
This was a "too good to pass up deal" when they sent out the Labor Day 25% off coupon!
Not only cheap but also no waiting for one to get built!
Brand new Karve Christopher Bradley brass with the "C" plate and 3" handle.
I'll give it a go tonight with 1.5 days of growth and a Gillette Wilkinson (India) blade:

I'd point you to a sharper blade in this razor... I fear you otherwise might not entirely enjoy the shave. Load a Feather and I'd predict a better suited result for your non-ATG use case.

Cheers!

 

[LRod]

I have the Karve CB with the OC-C plate. I love the design of the razor and it shaves phenomenally as well.

Enjoy Larry!

Guido

Thanks Guido!

 

[LRod]

I'd point you to a sharper blade in this razor... I fear you otherwise might not entirely enjoy the shave. Load a Feather and I'd predict a better suited result for your non-ATG use case.

Cheers!

Yeah, good call on this!
I shaved tonight with the Gillette Wilkinson and it was decent but something was missing.
Overall it was a good shave but the expected closeness (based on the razor's specs.) wasn't there.
And first thing I thought about was the blade!
Tomorrow night I'll throw in a sharper blade and see how it works out!
It was smooth though!!

 

[JAHE]

Tomorrow night I'll throw in a sharper blade and see how it works out!
It was smooth though!!

Both the smoothness and the closeness of the shave will increase with a sharper blade, I'd say. Looking forward to reading your thoughts tomorrow.

 

[LRod]

Both the smoothness and the closeness of the shave will increase with a sharper blade, I'd say. Looking forward to reading your thoughts tomorrow.

I have plenty of Feather blades but they've always felt harsh no matter what razor I try them on.
I'll probably use one of the German Schick DE blades or an Astor Bic. I find both to be on the high end of sharpness!

 

[LRod]

Surprise delivery yesterday from WCS (It was supposed to arrive on Tuesday!)
This was a "too good to pass up deal" when they sent out the Labor Day 25% off coupon!
Not only cheap but also no waiting for one to get built!
Brand new Karve Christopher Bradley brass with the "C" plate and 3" handle.
I'll give it a go tonight with 1.5 days of growth and a Gillette Wilkinson (India) blade:

By the way, I noticed (as you can see in the pictures) that the brass looks rather dark.
The razor came that way and it's not a result of my camera!
I believe that WCS has had these forever. So I'm guessing that it's developed that darkness
from just sitting in the dark box. It doesn't look like spotty patina, it's just dark overall.
Matter of fact, the inside of the box has a black mark from the razor where the head was resting in the box.
Definitely doesn't look like this on Karve's website!
I've seen this also happen with brass knives that are kept in a case for long term storage.
So after I shaved and dried it tonight, I decided to polish it to see what happens.
The amount of black soot that came off on the rag was unreal. It was unlike any brass or bronze
razor I've ever polished.
But now it looks just like it's shown on Karve's website. It shines!
And just to let everyone know, I'm anti-patina!
I like my razors shiny!!
I have no after pictures since I already put it away but I'll try to post some tomorrow.

 

[JAHE]

I have plenty of Feather blades but they've always felt harsh no matter what razor I try them on.
I'll probably use one of the German Schick DE blades or an Astor Bic. I find both to be on the high end of sharpness!

These alternative eshould work out just as well.

 

[JAHE]

By the way, I noticed (as you can see in the pictures) that the brass looks rather dark.
The razor came that way and it's not a result of my camera!
I believe that WCS has had these forever. So I'm guessing that it's developed that darkness
from just sitting in the dark box. It doesn't look like spotty patina, it's just dark overall.
Matter of fact, the inside of the box has a black mark from the razor where the head was resting in the box.
Definitely doesn't look like this on Karve's website!
I've seen this also happen with brass knives that are kept in a case for long term storage.
So after I shaved and dried it tonight, I decided to polish it to see what happens.
The amount of black soot that came off on the rag was unreal. It was unlike any brass or bronze
razor I've ever polished.
But now it looks just like it's shown on Karve's website. It shines!
And just to let everyone know, I'm anti-patina!
I like my razors shiny!!
I have no after pictures since I already put it away but I'll try to post some tomorrow.

I've made a similar experiences regarding the dark colour, though mine was sold directly by Karve. I guess there's no coating on the brass which helps patina to grow pretty quickly.

Since I polished my razor the patina returned in a very slow manner only. Just keep the razor dry post shaving to avoid these ugly "water spots"...

Cheers!

 

[LRod]

Just keep the razor dry post shaving to avoid these ugly "water spots"...

Cheers!

Yeah, I'm especially careful with this when using brass or bronze razors. I typically will disassemble them after a shave, dry each piece thoroughly and leave the 3 pieces out overnight.
And I also polish them frequently before they have a chance to patina.