Shavette And Barber Razor Enthusiast (SABRE) group

[Halfbeard]

I have the same suspicion. I don't have a photo of mine loaded with blade at hand, but I try to illustrate with two images (blade and kamisori) how I load the blade. I do that by hand using tweezers to get the blade in; I have three single blades at the moment and haven't yet ordered a full pack, so I can't use the injector mechanism. I basically place the blade with the non-rectangular hole towards the handle. I tried it the other way, but the blade has overhang in the front if I do. Once the blade is loaded it looks like the first picture, with the grind of the blade slightly sticking out. Am I doing it wrong?
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Have you used AC blade in some SE razors ?
Maybe you are like me - AC blades are not for you. I can shave but shaves are not comfortable. I have used Feather Pro and Schick Proline - both give mediocre shaves.

Then you have Feather SS. I have used SS clone. It was disaster. Feather SR was better.

I have used modified A77 and Cloud-Cut blades with great success. But this modifying is not for everyone.

 

[Dave himself]

I have the same suspicion. I don't have a photo of mine loaded with blade at hand, but I try to illustrate with two images (blade and kamisori) how I load the blade. I do that by hand using tweezers to get the blade in; I have three single blades at the moment and haven't yet ordered a full pack, so I can't use the injector mechanism. I basically place the blade with the non-rectangular hole towards the handle. I tried it the other way, but the blade has overhang in the front if I do. Once the blade is loaded it looks like the first picture, with the grind of the blade slightly sticking out. Am I doing it wrong?
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To be honest mate I don't have a clue. I've never used an AC kamisori before the only one I have takes DE blades. I just put it out there hoping that it would solve the problem. It's strange though that you got a good shave the first day and now it's not working.

 

[m949]

Thank you @Halfbeard . I haven’t tried an AC razor yet. I figured that I might get a Shield AC if the Feather AC SS would work out for me. Maybe I should wait before getting one. I did however watch a video where the blade was installed the other way as I did, i.e. the non-rectangular hole towards the front. I’ll try it that way and see how it goes.

 

[Halfbeard]

I did however watch a video where the blade was installed the other way as I did, i.e. the non-rectangular hole towards the front. I’ll try it that way and see how it goes.

I would be surprised if it makes difference. Blade hone is the same symmetrical. Only difference that can make difference is that the sharp side is inside the razor and you shave with unsharp side. Did you ?

Everyone raves about how good the AC system is. I am buffeled that I cannot get the good shaves with it.

 

[m949]

I would be surprised if it makes difference. Blade hone is the same symmetrical. Only difference that can make difference is that the sharp side is inside the razor and you shave with unsharp side. Did you ?

Luckily I didn’t. The sharp side is quite visible. I’ll try to figure it out, but maybe you will prove to be right in the end and AC isn’t for me.

 

[Anchovie666]

Wednesday 1/15 Shave
BADGERary Day 15
All BADGER Brushes - All Month

Nothing better than the Feather with a guarded blade
for a quick and easy scrape
Full three pass BBS
Overall a Very Nice Shave

Razor: Feather SS Kamisori
Blade: KAI ProTouch MG (3X)
Lather: Mama Bear's Aged Spice Mug Puck
Brush: Omega 11047 Mighty Midget BADGER Mix
Post Shave: Osage/Mennen/Glacial Splash Mix
Post Shave: PAA Good Vibrations Aftershave

 

[GBerry]

20250115
Razor: Kasho Captain Straight Razor Kamisori (10)
Blade: KAI Captain Titan Mild Protouch MG (6)
Preshave: Hot shower; Shave Secret shave oil
Brush: RazoRock Plissoft Monster Synthetic Shaving Brush- 26mm
Lather: Proraso Shaving Soap in a bowl Sensitive skin + Cremo Coconut Mango cream
Aftershave: Cold water rinse;

No nicks; No irritation; Very Close; Very Smooth; Post shave feel is excellent. DFS+ above the jaw lines and DFS below the jaw lines. A pleasant uneventful shave. I decided to wait on using the unguarded blade.

Cheers!!!

 

[GBerry]

View attachment 1977049
Razor: Feather AC SS Kamisori
Blade: Feather Professional (3)
Razor: Yaqi Mellon
Blade: BIC Astor
Brush: Mühle Purist, Silvertip Badger, Ebonite
Soap: MacDuff's Soap Co. - Road Trippin'
A/S: Old Spice - Classic
EdP: Tom Ford - Lost Cherry

Still no dice. The Kamisori didn't cut, which led me to believe that indeed the blade may be a dud. So I changed to a new one - same thing.

My prep should have been okay. I made sure that my beard was sufficiently wet, and I prepared a very hydrated lather, much more water content than with my usual DE shaves, and I applied a thin layer. I approached relatively flat at the beginning of the stroke and then immediately went steeper, almost to the point of scraping. I tried short strokes, and I tried longer strokes and of course I stretched my skin as well as I could. The darn thing DID NOT CUT. I didn't have a single whisker in the lather on the blade.

Now, even though that was my third try with the Feather Kamisori, only the first was somehow successful, I'll be making a break with it until the last week of the month when I have a bit time off and more time in the morning to figure this thing out. It takes me a whole 15 minutes more to shave with this kind of setup and the Kamisori passes are basically a waste of time at the moment. I hope that I can figure out then where I'm going wrong.

One time I put the blade in with the cutting edge pointing inside the holder. Absolutely no cutting this way.

Cheers!!!

 

[GBerry]

I have used some of the AC blades I can’t use in the straight in the Hawk SE and they are very good.

Cheers!!!

 

[Goblin]

Thoughts on the Feather SS conundrum of @m949...

- I wonder if you are "riding the bump" and not engaging the blade fully? The SS is the model that I don't own, but even the slight bump of the SR requires a notably steeper angle than the DX in order to shave effectively. This is my immediate guess. It may be that you need to go steeper with the SS and / or try razor that allows a shallower angle.

- I would avoid putting the razor down on the blade. I always balance my kamisori styles on their spines when storing them. Seems unlikely this is an issue but then it doesn't take much to create a burr on the edge and that is going to completely mess up the shave.

- I am not sure if you are over complicating the loading. I just get a blade out of the injector thingy, give it a wipe if it is a Schick (they have a coating of oil to prevent rust), then squeeze open the blade arms and drop the blade into place. It doesn't take a lot of fiddling. Not that this is going to solve the shaving issue, but I just wonder if the fact you are finding it a bit of a rigmarole to get the blade in place indicates something is wrong somewhere with your razor. It should be easy to determine this by taking the blade arms apart and just checking are no casting flaws or anything that might be affecting the position of the blade.

Hopefully we can get to the bottom of it!

 

[m949]

Thoughts on the Feather SS conundrum of @m949...

I think you might be onto something here. Thinking back on my last two shaves I might have gone too steep and therefore not engaged the blade properly. Just to make sure that I covered some of the other points you have raised, I took the blade arms apart to check for issues there. I can’t see any casting issues, but you guys may have the better eye for that. Note, that the markings on the edge of the blade arms are just slight surface scratches, probably when I put the blade in and moved it around to properly place it.

I’m using the plastic cover for the AC SS Kamisori to store the shavette when a blade is loaded. Of course, there might be some burrs from when I handled the blades by hand, but if there are they are probably microscopic as I can’t see them.

What I did realize though just now when I took the blade arms apart was that once I put them back together, I have a larger gap on top (the spine)than I had before. The blade arms are also opening easier now. Before I had to exert quite some pressure to get them to open.

Thanks for your advice. I really appreciate you taking the time to help me figure this out.

 

[Flanders]

What I did realize though just now when I took the blade arms apart was that once I put them back together, I have a larger gap on top (the spine)than I had before. The blade arms are also opening easier now. Before I had to exert quite some pressure to get them to open.

That sounds like you fixed it. I was worried for a minute because I did actually get a defective one a few years ago and it was with the opening. You shouldn’t need to handle the blade from now on, that’s what the cartridges are for. Just insert the plastic guide pin and slowly push the blade out while moving the cartridge to align the blade. Once you get the end started, it will slide in smoothly now!

Jim already addressed the shaving issue, it’s the bump. Play around with the angle and you will find it eventually.

 

[never-stop-learning]

Thank you @Halfbeard . I haven’t tried an AC razor yet. I figured that I might get a Shield AC if the Feather AC SS would work out for me. Maybe I should wait before getting one. I did however watch a video where the blade was installed the other way as I did, i.e. the non-rectangular hole towards the front. I’ll try it that way and see how it goes.

The orientation of the hole, front or back, makes no difference.

The only thing I can think of is that you are using an extreme shallow angle and the blade is not making proper contact with your skin/beard. The Feather SS has a wider angle to work with as opposed to the SR or DX. Have you tried tilting the razor slightly more toward the blade to make sure you are getting good contact? Also, apply minor but adequate pressure to make sure that the blade stays seated against your skin/beard.

Hope this helps.

 

[Goblin]

What I did realize though just now when I took the blade arms apart was that once I put them back together, I have a larger gap on top (the spine)than I had before. The blade arms are also opening easier now. Before I had to exert quite some pressure to get them to open.

My SR was like that at first. I think it is something about the tolerances when they are brand new. It wouldn't open very wide and sometimes when I disassembled it and put it back together it seemed very stiff. I found that gripping the sides and exerting some gentle pressure on the sliding section towards the spine would produce a tiny click from somewhere inside, then it would open more easily and wider. After a while, this behaviour just stopped and it was all fine.