Alpha Shaving DE Razor Passaround - Call for Participants

I've received the razor & brush from bobmsp. Razor & brush both look very nice. I'll be getting it on deck in just a couple of days.

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)
jesseix (California)
CzechCzar (California)
bobmsp (Minnesota)
andrewjs18 (Pennsylvania)

East Coast:
troydclayton (Illinois)
shavemd (Ohio) *removed at the user's request*
Gbsher (Pennsylvania)
Dragonsbeard (New York)
Marhos24 (Michigan)
velohammer (Alabama)
boilerphan (Indiana)
Kaotikfusion (New York)
Sharp_Obsession (Ohio) *skipped as unresponsive to PMs*
ALI (Connecticut)
dmshaver (Missouri)
Calm_Shaver (New Jersey)
Jimmyfn (Oklahoma)
andrewjs18 (Pennsylvania)

Calm_Shaver I think you are next up. Can you PM me your name and address and I will put this excellent razor in the mail to you next week. I will post my thoughts next week as well. Thanks

Calm_Shaver I think you are next up. Can you PM me your name and address and I will put this excellent razor in the mail to you next week. I will post my thoughts next week as well. Thanks

No problem Ali, I will Pm you right away with that information. Thank You. Also looking forward to your review. Take Care.

First shave today with the Alpha razor & brush. Initial impressions today, I'll be brief & do a more thorough write-up after a few shaves. Nice feel & finish. Balance in hand is also good. I really like the diagonal lines in the safety bar, a nice touch of style there! For the first shave I used a once used Polsilver SI blade. I went with a shallow angle on the right side of my face & a steep angle on the left. Both angles generated a good amount of audible feedback. There is definitely some blade feel with this razor, but it's pleasant, I'm not knocking it at all. Overall a very good first shave with both shallow & steep angles producing excellent shaves. Having the blade tabs covered are a nice feature & I don't find the extra width a deterrent. This is an efficient razor that produced a very nice shave with my usual 2 passes.

The brush was a real pleasure to use. I like the weight, not too heavy. It's compact & fits nicely in my hand. The knot, wow! It's my first time using the G4 knot & I'm impressed. It is dense with a good amount of backbone. It takes pressure to get it to splay. But then the tips are soft & pillowy. It was a treat using the brush. I predict this knot is going to end up in a lot of dens.

I look forward to tomorrow's shave. Thank you Vlasta for creating such a nice razor & brush, & thank you andrewjs18 for organizing this pass around.

Razor has been cleaned and razor and brush in the mail on its way to my friend Marius in NJ.

First, thank you to Vlasta for these wonderful products and for allowing the pass around. And of course thank you as always to andrewjs18 for all his considerable efforts arranging the pass arounds. 

First, some thoughts on the brush. I did not use it / lather with it due to the times we are living in but I have to comment on the handle. It is perhaps the best designed handle I have seen on a brush. It is a very sleek looking black handle that is relatively thin and extremely comfortable and ergonomic to hold and lather all corners of the face. I can 100% recommend the handle for those looking for a high-end, well-made brush. I believe the knot is a synthetic and it had a good amount of backbone, something I like in synthetics. 

On to the razor. First, the handle of the razor is incredibly well designed and has excellent grip and appearance. It is reminds me of a Wrh1 handle but with more knurled sections. In terms of grip, it I would say it it is the second best handle in terms of grip that I've used, the first being the more deeply knurled handle of the Rex Ambassador.

The razor shaves wonderfully. In my book, the razor has managed to have both blade feel, which I like, and smoothness. I used 2 blades with the shaves, a Wizamet and a Med Prep, and both worked extremely well. Finding the angle was very intuitive. Furthermore, shaving against the grain was very comfortable - a razor's litmus test for me. BBS lasted a good 14 hours - very long for me.   

All in all, I enjoyed this razor tremendously. Congratulations to Vlasta for creating such a well-designed piece of hardware.

Razor has been cleaned and razor and brush in the mail on its way to my friend Marius in NJ.

First, thank you to Vlasta for these wonderful products and for allowing the pass around. And of course thank you as always to andrewjs18 for all his considerable efforts arranging the pass arounds. 

First, some thoughts on the brush. I did not use it / lather with it due to the times we are living in but I have to comment on the handle. It is perhaps the best designed handle I have seen on a brush. It is a very sleek looking black handle that is relatively thin and extremely comfortable and ergonomic to hold and lather all corners of the face. I can 100% recommend the handle for those looking for a high-end, well-made brush. I believe the knot is a synthetic and it had a good amount of backbone, something I like in synthetics. 

On to the razor. First, the handle of the razor is incredibly well designed and has excellent grip and appearance. It is reminds me of a Wrh1 handle but with more knurled sections. In terms of grip, it I would say it it is the second best handle in terms of grip that I've used, the first being the more deeply knurled handle of the Rex Ambassador.

The razor shaves wonderfully. In my book, the razor has managed to have both blade feel, which I like, and smoothness. I used 2 blades with the shaves, a Wizamet and a Med Prep, and both worked extremely well. Finding the angle was very intuitive. Furthermore, shaving against the grain was very comfortable - a razor's litmus test for me. BBS lasted a good 14 hours - very long for me.   

All in all, I enjoyed this razor tremendously. Congratulations to Vlasta for creating such a well-designed piece of hardware.

Wonderful informative review Ali! BBS for 14 hrs is impressive. The Alpha razor looks like a beautiful crafted razor while also being efficient. Can’t wait to try it. Thank You My Friend.

Slow to post second shave review, my apologies.

Second shave went well, similar to the first. I have to spend some time after my two passes to buff & touch-up to get totally smooth. But the razor is good. The brush is another matter. That knot, wow! I'll be getting at least one of these G4 knots. It is superb!

I'm ready to send it on its way to the next recipient. andrewjs18, please let me know whether I send it to you, or to whom. I received the razor from bobmsp, who was the last participant for the East Coast pass around.

Slow to post second shave review, my apologies.

Second shave went well, similar to the first. I have to spend some time after my two passes to buff & touch-up to get totally smooth. But the razor is good. The brush is another matter. That knot, wow! I'll be getting at least one of these G4 knots. It is superb!

I'm ready to send it on its way to the next recipient. andrewjs18, please let me know whether I send it to you, or to whom. I received the razor from bobmsp, who was the last participant for the East Coast pass around.

send it to Jimmyfn, please.

Got the razor and brush tonight, long day today will shave tonight and post thoughts tomorrow!