According to the mailman, my Cobra Classic arrives today! I'll use this thread as a landing spot to review it.
Ok, so I rushed the prep tonight in my excitement to try it out...which was a mistake. This is definitely an aggressive razor! I got bitten a few times, once under the nose. However, I can see the appeal. It has a great heft to it and it literally mows down the whiskers. Will write a more detailed review tomorrow. I might need to wait a day or two before trying again.
I agree that its reputation is well earned. All in all, an excellent shave. The Cobra, in my opinion, shaves much differently than a DE because of the blade and the way the razor holds the blade. It feels very secure and substantial, like I would imagine a str8 would feel. Because of its longer width, I'll have to adjust a bit on a few areas, but so far, I love it. I'm also going to try some Kai Mild blades. I hear some say they favor them over the Feathers.
The feather pro guards have done the trick for me. I have been using them for over a year now. PM your address and I will send you both a blade to try.
I was skeptical of hand stropping Feathers for the Cobra, but it really seems to work for them, calms them down for your first shave with the blade. Kai's are milder and a lot more forgiving than Feathers, they are not quite as sharp I think but they are less brutal and will not nick like Feathers. . The Feather Pro Guards I found too mild , they give a shave that feels like the blade is tugging and struggling but at the end you have a clean shave. Dorco Barber Blades are more cheaply made than Feathers, they are thinner blades but give a shave similar to Feathers , sharper than Kai or Feather PG. I struggled with nicks when using the Cobra at first though the shave was excellent. At the time I thought the Kai blades a godsend as they didn't nick me. 2 years later and I am using the Feathers exclusively basically because they are very sharp and seem to cut the closest.
Thanks for the great detail. I had 2 small weepers after yesterday's shave and I haven't had blood in years. So, I saw the dot of blood on my cheek and I thought it was a speck of dust or soap speck and wipped it off and it came right back. LOL!! Also the wider shaving head of the Cobra will take some getting used to since I'm used to maneuvering around my face with my smaller DEs. Kind of like driving a Cadillac Fleetwood around your face when you're used to driving a Toyota. Ha! Did you have to get used to that as well?
The "Cobra Classic" is a modern razor styled after the Schick injector series, but it takes a longer blade.
I went to classic shaving and saw the blades and razor. That is AWESOME!!! I will definitely want one for my collection.
That is good to know. So many cool vintage and new razors.... I can see why someone said I never will have money now.
