Alpha Shaving DE Razor Passaround - Call for Participants

Hello, may I please be added to the pass around? I live in Missouri.

Hi All,

Here's the pass around list. Vlasta is going to send out two brushes and two razors, one for the West coast and one for the East coast. As per the usual DFS pass arounds, keep the razor for a week or so and then send it along to the next person on the list for your area. Once you have time, please share some feedback in this thread, whether good or bad.

As a precaution for the covid19 stuff, please soak the razor in alcohol, or something similar before using the razor and prior to shipping it off to the next person to limit our risks.

West Coast:
rawfox1 (Nevada)
ppfingsten (Hawaii)
gvw755 (Washington)  requesting removal from list
ddk13 (Nebraska)
bobusa (Washington)
bobmsp (Minnesota)
CzechCzar (California)
jesseix (California)
andrewjs18 (Pennsylvania)

East Coast:
troydclayton (Illinois)
shavemd (Ohio) *removed at the user's request*
Gbsher (Pennsylvania)
Dragonsbeard (New York)
velohammer (Alabama)
Marhos24 (Michigan)
boilerphan (Indiana)
Kaotikfusion (New York)
andrewjs18 (Pennsylvania)

andrewjs18 , ppfingsten  I am removing myself from the West Coast list. I ordered an ES Outlaw and expecting it to arrive this week. I will post here of my shaving impressions since it is the same razor as the Alpha Outlaw.

no problem.

Hello, may I please be added to the pass around? I live in Missouri.

added you.

Hi All,

Here's the pass around list. Vlasta is going to send out two brushes and two razors, one for the West coast and one for the East coast. As per the usual DFS pass arounds, keep the razor for a week or so and then send it along to the next person on the list for your area. Once you have time, please share some feedback in this thread, whether good or bad.

As a precaution for the covid19 stuff, please soak the razor in alcohol, or something similar before using the razor and prior to shipping it off to the next person to limit our risks.

West Coast:
rawfox1 (Nevada)
ppfingsten (Hawaii)
gvw755 (Washington) *removed at user's request*
ddk13 (Nebraska)
bobusa (Washington)
bobmsp (Minnesota)
CzechCzar (California)
jesseix (California)
andrewjs18 (Pennsylvania)

East Coast:
troydclayton (Illinois)
shavemd (Ohio) *removed at the user's request*
Gbsher (Pennsylvania)
Dragonsbeard (New York)
velohammer (Alabama)
Marhos24 (Michigan)
boilerphan (Indiana)
Kaotikfusion (New York)
dmshaver (Missouri)
andrewjs18 (Pennsylvania)

Final thoughts before sending to the next member. I thought the razor was very nice.  The razor gave a very nice shave but not spectacular enough to justify purchasing.  I feel that for the level of aggressiveness, the Charcoal Goods Level 2 and the H&S N075 are more efficient and possess the  “magic efficiency feeling” which I do not feel this razor has. Build quality and fit and finish are really great and I love the handle.  This is still a really fine shaver, just not better than what I currently have. 

Now for the brush. I absolutely love this brush and will be purchasing one. The feel in the hand is great and this is probably the best synthetic knot that I have used. 

Hi All,

Here's the pass around list. Vlasta is going to send out two brushes and two razors, one for the West coast and one for the East coast. As per the usual DFS pass arounds, keep the razor for a week or so and then send it along to the next person on the list for your area. Once you have time, please share some feedback in this thread, whether good or bad.

As a precaution for the covid19 stuff, please soak the razor in alcohol, or something similar before using the razor and prior to shipping it off to the next person to limit our risks.

West Coast:
rawfox1 (Nevada)
ppfingsten (Hawaii)
gvw755 (Washington)  requesting removal from list
ddk13 (Nebraska)
bobusa (Washington)
bobmsp (Minnesota)
CzechCzar (California)
jesseix (California)
andrewjs18 (Pennsylvania)

East Coast:
troydclayton (Illinois)
shavemd (Ohio) *removed at the user's request*
Gbsher (Pennsylvania)
Dragonsbeard (New York)
velohammer (Alabama)
Marhos24 (Michigan)
boilerphan (Indiana)
Kaotikfusion (New York)
andrewjs18 (Pennsylvania)

andrewjs18 , ppfingsten  I am removing myself from the West Coast list. I ordered an ES Outlaw and expecting it to arrive this week. I will post here of my shaving impressions since it is the same razor as the Alpha Outlaw.

Ha Ha - when you order from ES I make less money!!!

Just received my Outlaw from Scotland today, however too late for tonight's shave. I did have time to look at the ES Outlaw, which is exactly the same as the Alpha Outlaw in our passaround. I have to admit that build quality is excellent and fits together well. The handle is one where nobody can complain about being too slippery when wet, and is just about the right size for me. For tomorrow's shave, I will be using my Frank's Shave 22mm G4 brush just to keep things consistent with everyone else's shaves. Of course the Alpha Outlaw brush has an aluminum handle and a much larger G4 knot. Vlasta, if I decide to get a larger G4 knot, I will get one from Alpha Shaving and not from Frank's Shaving. 

After using the Alpha Outlaw Razor during this pass around, I decided to purchase one. Glad I had the opportunity to try it out!

First shave tonight with the ES version of the Outlaw. One thing that I noticed tonight that I did not notice last night was that the handle of the ES version is polished to match the head, where the Alpha appears to be satin finished. The finish of the handle matching the head was a small plus for the ES version. As mentioned last night, I also pulled out my FS 22mm G4 brush. 



Before talking of the shave, I need to talk about the G4 knot, which is in the Alpha brush being passed around. I recently started using badger brushes after sticking with boar and synths for the longest time. Once I became familiar with badger brushes, I decided to look into the next generation synth brushes that performed as good as badgers. Most I found lacking and the one that came closest was the Muhle STF brushes. I was then told that the FS G4 brush was closer to a badger experience and so I purchased one. I have to admit that the G4 knot is so close to a real badger feel (including the gel tip feel and high density) that it beat out the STF. For those in this pass around, definitely try out the Alpha brush because the G4 knot will blow you away.

Okay, on to the shave. As always when I test out a new razor, I load a blade that is closer to being disposed than a new one. This is so I can learn the characteristics of a razor quickly. First thing I noticed was that there was a lot of blade chatter, even during the WTG pass. The WTG pass was effortless, but did leave a little more than I am used to for the next pass to clean up. ATG pass was also noisy but did clean up well. I still had to do an XTG pass on my jaw line and under my chin area and I did have to stretch and buff more than usual, but did end up with a BBS.

Tomorrow, I will change the blade out and try a new one.

Clarifying - when I started the pass around I did not have any shiny handles left so used the matte ones.

Second shave tonight with the ES version of the Outlaw. Tonight I loaded a new blade and one that was slightly thicker. I used an Elios blade that I got as a test shave blade and it was thick and sharp and just a brute of a blade. It was a perfect match for the Outlaw. WTG pass had no blade chatter at all and once I found the correct angle, it cut down everything in it's path. I could have stopped with the WTG pass and ended up with a DFS+, but I continued because I had lathered my favorite soap and did not want it to go to waste. ATG pass went well, although the two areas on my face that I always had problems with ended up being a slight problem. I had to go with an XTG pass along the jawline and under the chin again, but ended up with an effortless BBS.

My only complaint about the Outlaw is that is have a very small angle to shave with. Too little and you are just moving the lather, and too much and you got a very aggressive shaver (without being more efficient). Just one or two more shaves with the Outlaw for now so the others that are next to receive their pass around razors can get them and start reporting on the shaves.