That is the ugliest razor I have ever seen. I'm sure they'll sell some of them, as beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If I was an astronomer or an astronaut, I'd probably think it was great!
+1 BTW, Boti Shield is a good line: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004657106422.html • DE • SE AC • SE Gem
I don't like this color. But, anodizing titanium is simple. You just need a few 9V batteries, or a butane torch.
First run, full titanium. Three head: • DE • SE AC (Shield Avenger) • SE Gem (Shield Predator) Three regular handle, with sandblasted and polished option.
The DE with the 1.5 Gap I assume is a Wolfman clone, right? Isn't that the one we talked about in some other threads earlier this year, but from another vendor on Ali? Wasn't it Yaqi or DS Cosmetics? I forgot what the model name was. EDIT: One was the Yaqi Sentinel. Other was Dscosmetic AX.
Any experience with the Shield Titanium DE razors sold on Ali? So, if I understand it correctly, Shield (Mike) makes the razors un-polished, sells on Ali as Shield -- they get polished for sale by Boti and Bullgoose? $75 for a Titanium razor and stand is tempting. Or is it "to good to be true"? Are they "not as good as" /"as good as"/"better than" a Yaqi Sentinel or DS Cosmetic AX in terms of the way they shave, particularly compared to a Wolfman WR2? Thanks
The Boti label is also on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C6CCV8YF/?tag=thshde-20 Imagine if they put one of their inventory stickers on the box(if they would even touch it?), hopefully not. I grabbed the half DE, AC, and the Gem, heads only recently from AliExpress/Shield. About $180 total with a case, blade disposal, and some blades included. I didn't want the DE head because I wanted a bigger blade gap so I got the Yaqi Sentinel OC 1.5mm head only instead and a Tachi head only while I was at it, both highly polished, about $100 total. Then I grabbed a V3 ”A” & OC SS Razorock Hawk head only, about $130 total.
Nice! Mike from Shield on Ali responded immediately to my questions as if we were texting. It seems I got one of the last of his stock of unpolished or uncoated (with the colors) razors. I couldn't totally understand his answers, but it seemed like any set of head and handle going forward would be $100+. The unfinished ones he had left were $56 (pre-tax) or so. He only had the .95 gap head listed alone, no handles alone, and a higher gapped handle-razor combo in DE. He was nice enought to swap the head for me so I got a great deal. I'm guessing that the added finishes don't cost him too much, but allows him to sell the razors higher. He encouraged me to buy right away since he expected to sell out in a day. Not sure if it was sales-speak, but I got an all Titanium razor for a great price. It's funny/weird -- I wasn't aware of these until I first posted above in mid-August. I didn't know there was a less expensive version from a different store on Ali. I didn't really think much of it, then I was reading somewhere else about them when I posted the question here last Sunday. The next day I wound up buying one, and then Tuesday they were sold out of the unfinished, less expensive ones. So maybe I lucked out in the timing? The only downside is that the handle I'm getting wasn't the one I would have picked if I had the choice. And, oh yea, I still need to receive it in the mail (of course), and see how it shaves. That will determine if it was $58 well spent.
I was also hesitant as it was my first AliExpress purchase, I was having log in issues, and anything from across the world has more risks: damage, lost in transit, communication issues, return/exchange if needed, customs, etc. Everything worked out in the end. I do think the timing was right as well. I prefer the raw SS or titanium, even aluminum, as the coatings are typically inferior that the products themselves. If they start flaking, chipping, scratching, or fading it will look bad which I have seen on the anodized aluminum and stainless steel. I also have a couple of iKon heads with some black rubber stuff on them. How long is that going to last?
I started buying from Ali over 2 years ago when I heard about it in shaving forums. I've also bought other stuff from there. Any issues I've had, I filed a dispute and always won. Since I use Paypal, that's another level of protection if Ali does not rule in my favor. Anything that I've received has not been damaged. The only defective item I received had nothing to do with shaving. I was not required to return it, and was issued a full refund including shipping. It's fun when a store has a live sale, like Yaqi, but if you're in the U.S., then you need to stay up in the wee small hours of the morning. You need to be quick, because they only sell a limited number of a given item for the sale price, even if they have more in stock. I've picked up some Yaqi heads for $3 apiece! When I signed up at Ali, I could only do it on a phone -- for some reason it told me I couldn't do it on their regular website. I'm not sure if that's changed, since I always use the phone app now anyway for it.
Wow, I received it today. Barely a week and half from China to NJ. I've had packages delivered within the U.S. take longer. I know -- no pictures, then it didn't happen. I'll try to post some tomorrow. BTW, since it is technically not a Boti, should I start a new thread? It really looks fanatstic, but (there's always a "but", right?) there is a lot of play between the cap and the baseplate. Now, I haven't tried to put a blade in yet, but I don't see how that will make a difference, since the blade is held in place by the cap, not the baseplate. If it takes some fiddling to get even exposure on both sides, then it takes some fiddling to get even exposure on both sides, what can I do? Of course, I can contact Mike from Shield on Ali. Before I do that, I need to put a blade in it and see, and of course give it a shave or two after fiddling. Being the skeptic that I am, since it is not marked, how do I know I got the one with the .95mm gap? I do not have precision instruments to measure. But if I like the shave, does it really matter? More skepticism: why did I pay only $56 shipped when Bullgoose sells a polished version, with a small stand, for $144? They have one called "The Daily Driver" but no gap specs -- I thought last week I read somewhere what the gap was, and if I remember correctly, it was .95mm or close to it. There's precious little info on these Shield razors around the net, and most people that talk about them on, ahem, other forums seem to be Bullgoose announcing them, and very few people who have actually tried them. Plus, a lot is buried in threads about other razors like the Yaqi Sentinel. And -- since they come in multiple gaps, and there are AC and Gem versions, it's really hard to keep it straight what razor they are talking about. "I shaved with my Shield today" or "I shaved with my Boti today", etc. Well, I will rectify that situation here when I shave with mine. Will I try it tomorrow? Not sure, since my blade change day is Saturday, and I would prefer not to try a new razor with a blade that already has 5 shaves on it. Of course, I could put a brand new blade in the Shield tomorrow, but the creature of habit that I am -- I hate to mess up my schedule. The next big decision to make is: which blade do I try in it? My options: Nacet, Gillette Plat light blue, Astra SP, Astra SS, Dorco Prime, Perma-sharp gold, 7 o'clock Permasharp green, Siver Star, King C Gillette, Parker, Tiger Plat, Wilkinson Sword (Germany), Derby Extra.
I contacted Mike -- sent him pics and a video. He said it was normal. He said if it were tighter it would be hard to remove the plate from the cap. He is making heads now more like vintage Techs with slots in the plate and raised bars on the underside of the cap. You can see pics on Ali. But they are all $100+ now and you have to buy the handle and head separately. Mike is great, responded within minutes again. Not sure when he sleeps since I'm in NJ and he is in China. I've always received great customer support from Ali vendors. They usually respond on their next business day. I haven't shaved with it yet, but I put a blade in to check. No play at all between blade and top cap, so the blade reveal is spot-on when assembled. You just need to move cap from side to side to get a consistent blade exposure on both sides. Mike said since I deliberately moved it back and forth it was obvious, but if you just assemble it normally it really won't be an issue. He's kinda right, but even a few .01mm (give or take) change in exposure can make a difference. I found it is really easy to get it spot-on by eyeballing it. In fact, it favors one side, so pushing it to that side makes it look pretty much spot-on. All-in-all, a small price to pay for a $56 all-Titanium razor. Now let's see how it shaves. Pics and review to come...
