The US West Coast Bunny Injector Pass-Around

Day 5

Bunny V3 w/NOTSO comb
Personna/Pella (1)
The Grooming Co. synthetic brush
Stirling Electric Sheep
Fine L'Orange Noir

A lot of people don't like the Personna blades, but they have always worked just fine for me in just about anything, and I found that to be true for the Bunny as well. The hybrid plastic/metal dispenser is also not universally loved, but it smoothly loaded the blade into the Bunny with no drama.

The end result was another great shave - smooth, close, and no irritation or weepers.

Tomorrow I take a break from the Bunny to observe March 24/14.

--Bob

 

Day 6 with the Bunny

Bunny V3 w/NOTSO comb installed
Personna (Ted Pella) blade (2)
The Grooming Co. synthetic brush
Art of Shaving soap (old style tallow based)
Captain's Choice Sandalwood aftershave
Crabtree & Evelyn Sandalwood EdT

The NOTSO comb with the Personna blade seems to be a winning combination for me. To be honest, the Personna blade is every bit as smooth/sharp as the NOS Schick Super Chromium that I had previously been using in the Bunny. What a great shave!

--Bob

 

Day 7 with the Bunny

Bunny V3 w/NOTSO comb
Chinese Schick (1)
L'Occitane Plisson synthetic brush
Chiseled Face Groomatorium Ghost Town Barber soap and aftershave

I'm on a weekend getaway and finding out how the Bunny travels. Traveling with the Bunny is easy - figuring out mobile apps on a tablet is hard.

My Chinese Schick blades (Chicks) came in yesterday so I'm trying one for the first time in the Bunny.

I like the Personnas more than most people but I have to admit that the Chick is a little sharper/smoother in this razor.

Despite the hassles of being on the road (unfamiliar place, poor lighting etc.) this turned out to be an excellent shave.

--Bob

 

Credit goes to @Bama Samurai for PIFing me a flawless beautiful example of Schicks finest.

I've had two shaves with my new to me J-1. I've notice it takes less effort to get a better shave than with a DE or straight. I can wait until two days later to really need another. Closing in on a month of Straight Razor Focus and will be switching to prepare for my turn. I will be well practiced with Injector style when The Bunny reaches me.

 

Which unfortunately won't help you much, as the Bunny shave is unlike any other injector.

I'd say that it shaves more like a Schick Repeating Razor than anything else, although it really is quite unique.

--Bob

 

I guess it's my turn with the Bunny next! Should get it this week.

 

Yes it's true! A few shavers have had conflicts over the past few weeks so we've altered the batting order just a bit and you were next on the list, so get your favorite blades ready and enjoy.

For all those still remaining or interested, note the updates to the pass-around rotation on the first page of this thread.
And let us know of any potential schedule conflicts please!

Cheers!
RT

 

Am interested. Am I too late to get in line to pet the bunny? Oh wait, the bunny pets me. Well, you get the idea.

 

PM your mailing address to me, we'll alter the Bunny Hop Route!

 

Thanks!

 

Alright man! You got in!

 

Okay so here is the plan. Everyone else will cut their time with the Bunny in half so I can get it quicker. Sound good?

 

Good thinking. Not sure the others will think so

 

Here are my observations and miscellaneous ramblings after spending a week or so with the Bunny.

First impression of the Bunny is that it is quite attractive, and nicely presented in its tin. The homage to the Schick F type is obvious.

The Bunny does not look or perform like a prototype or "homemade" razor. Fit and finish are excellent. The interchangeable combs fit into the head with no play or gaps. Everything is nicely polished.

At 1.8 oz the Bunny is heavier than most injectors, and has a nice solid feel in the hand. The polished aluminum handle is smooth - no knurling or lines.

Loading the blade is essentially like any other injector, although there are some subtle differences. The key slides into a machined channel in the head, and the spring is on the back side of the key. It feels a little odd, but works fine. Of course, I load an injector a little different from most people, being left-handed.

I used a Chinese Schick, a Personna (Ted Pella) and a NOS Schick Super Chromium blade. All loaded flawlessly, even the Personna with the cheesy dispenser. Blades slid in smoothly, a safe distance away from the blade stops. The spring seems to hold the blade securely, although it did shift out of position when I cleaned the Bunny in my ultrasonic jewelry cleaner.

I started with the MILD comb and the NOS Schick blade. The first thing I noticed is that this is one smooth shaver. It's also quiet - very little audible feedback.

The blade is mounted at close to a 90 degree angle to the straight handle, so the correct blade angle is unconventional, to say the least. With this angle and its open comb, the Bunny reminded me more of my C1 Schick Repeating Razor than any injector. The correct angle is with the handle nearly perpendicular to the face. Intentional or otherwise, there are a couple of "safety" features. The comb sticks out in front of the blade, and if the angle is too steep the comb prevents the blade from touching the face. The spring rises above the blade, and acts in a similar manner if the angle is too shallow.

The comb not only sticks out in front of the blade, it sits below the blade. The result is that when shaving there is essentially nowhere for the lather to go. I bowl lather, and like to lather up like the Ever-Ready guy. The lather builds up on the comb and is smeared back onto the face.

Fortunately there is an easy workaround - just rinse the razor after each stoke. After a few shaves this becomes automatic. The effect could probably be minimized by using a thin lather and not piling so much on - but where's the fun in that? The lather buildup actually comes in handy when blade buffing.

Getting back to the shave itself, the MILD comb was surprising. Shaving felt quite smooth and mild, as expected. However, after the shave I found the it was unexpectedly close as well, approaching BBS.

I probably could have been happy staying with the MILD comb, but naturally I had to experiment, and I found the NOTSO comb was even better. I noticed a little more audible feedback, I could feel the blade a bit more, and the shave was even closer - but still buttery smooth and irritation free.

I tried the WILD comb and found even more blade feel and audible feedback. Mental lapses on my part were now punished with a bit of irritation and/or a weeper or two. However, the shave didn't seem to be any closer, so I went back to the NOTSO comb and stayed with it for the rest of the week.

The Bunny does not seem to be finicky about blades. The 3 I tried all worked well, with the Chick being the smoothest/sharpest (better than the NOS Schick!). However, the differences were subtle and I could be quite happy using any of these blades in the Bunny.

I would prefer a handle with some knurling or lines, but this is purely a personal preference - I never experienced any issues with the handle becoming slippery.



The flared end of the handle results in the Bunny fitting nicely in my shaving stand!

Bottom line: The Bunny razor has a few quirks, but it is well crafted and a great shaver. If Tom ever puts them into production, I WANT ONE!

--Bob

 

Great Write up Bob..

Billy..

 

Everyone here is just so selfish!!! Haha

 

Top notch review and primer for those that follow you Bob!
Really glad you chose to be part of this.

 

Wow Bob! Outstanding write up, very informative and descriptive. I found myself easily picturing the shave angle, combs, injection slot. Very helpful!

 

I received the bunny today. Caught me off guard. I had intended on using all of my injectors until it was my turn to have a more recent comparison. But, my number came up sooner than expected and I wasn't going to defer, so I'll go at it without that. Oh well. From what I've read, it doesn't really compare to other injectors anyway.