I had from the initial buy and sold before they restocked..................in other words, I was fortunate
Second go round with this razor and this time I loaded a fresh Schick single edge blade. Shave was on the 5 setting. Razor is mild still but deceptively so, angle is key here and the way I found to maintain it was using one finger pressed up near the dial while holding the razor to keep it constant. I will admit I used more pressure than I should have but the end result was a BBS finish. I also gave myself a few weepers which shouldn't have happened if it was mild and not cutting. Now I am curious why people are not getting better results with this razor if I can get a BBS finish with this. For record I do 5 pass shaves so that could be partially the issue why I did where others didn't. I will also say if you only judged or used this razor by doing ATG pass the razor ain't worth a fart. This type of shave angle works best going against the grain for cutting. I'll also do another shave or 3 to wear in the blade and see if that affects the shave during the wear in process. Schick blades even though very sharp out of the key, mellow out over the course of their life span. I'll also try using less pressure see how much the changes the outcome. I think some people may have written this razor off too soon without determining if it was them and not the razor. Then again in the case of amount of passes, if they were never going to do an XTG pass it wouldn't matter anyways like someone driving a Corvette and refusing to go above 55 and then saying it performs no better than a Kia.
I can't understand how someone can have BBS withouth three passes ... But I read quite often about efficiency. This magic word. The problem is the physiology!!! Even the mildest shaver, with the right technique, can produce a perfect BBS. But mostly people love heavy and aggressive razors. This is where YMMV rule comes in.
Always nice when people say because they get a good shave from a razor, everyone should be able to IF their technique is good.( I don't consider it good technique to apply more pressure to get a desired result to deem a razor useful) NOT true as there are a multitude of other variables and differences in peoples skin and hair and I'll leave it at that. Glad you guys are getting good shaves with it.
Next shave with the blade broken in and a days growth to test how well it could take down a heavier growth. Razor was set to 5 again and for pressure I let the blade determine that by feel. I think I have this razor dialed in since it not only was a BBS finish but glass like BBS. There is no question this razor is a performer with this blade and set to 5. Now that I have it dialed in next is to dial it down to 3 and see how it performs. Final test is to try a Personna blade since they are not as sharp as Schick blades and see if that makes a difference in performance. Couple of notes first off to get this finish I used 5 passes and for each pass I use a buff short choppy style of stroke. The idea behind that is you hit the same spot multiple times until you don't feel the blades cutting to know you achieved max hair reduction for that particular style of pass. I also have to say I goofed on that they should have set this dial at the 5 setting as the 1 setting. This what happens when one makes proclamations first based on what they think as opposed to what the razor can actually do without using the type of blade the razor was designed for i.e. a single not double edge injector blade then extrapolating that without testing first. This razor is more than good enough the way it is designed at the 5 setting once you dial it in.
I look forward to your observations with the Personna. For whatever reason I seem to get my best Personna injector blade shaves in my PAL Injectomatic and my PAL adjustable.
Same parameters as the prior shaves except I dialed it to 3. I did get a BBS finish but not a glass like one and got it with almost no weepers. Somewhere between 3 and 5 is going to be the goldilocks setting for me with a Schick blade. Next shave will be with a Personna blade set at 5 then depending the results set at 3.
This shave was with the Personna blade set at 5. What a difference a blade makes. It was close but short of a BBS. I guess it would depend your hair and skin but this razor does not perform as well with a less sharp blade on thick coarse hair. I also got a closer shave with the Schick Twin blade than this Personna blade both being about the same mildness for the shave. If the gap could be increased that would probably improve the shave with a Personna blade. Looks like I am back to my original critic of the adjustment range being less than optimal if you take both Schick and Personna blades into account. If it was designed strictly for a Schick blade then the range is fine. If for the Personna and/or Schick then start the low end of the dial around the where the current 3 setting is.
This convinced me to not be tempted by this razor anymore. I do want mild razors, that is sure, but I do not want any razor that is clogging. Thus I want a bigger gap and mildness coming from no blade exposure.
Yeah so I've read on Mantic's blog. I bought a V2 myself but it is going to be awhile until it makes it into the shave rotation.
I was about ready to buy one but hesitated. I think some of the less than positive reviews of V1 influenced me. It won’t happen tomorrow but I’ll probably pull the trigger on a V2 before too long.
I was pleasantly surprised by the V1. I actually gifted it to one of my wife's friends, so now I'll probably pick up the V2.
