Kai Salon Select Premium Guards?

Has anyone tried these AC blades or know more about them?



There also appears to be a smooth guard that looks similar to the Protouch MG

Are those actual Kai blades, versus a knockoff? I’ve seen a couple blades now that have used the exact same packaging or verbiage as Kai but aren’t.

Pictures are from Kai themselves. I’ve only found them for sale in bulk and shipping from Japan.

If somebody in North America places a bulk order, would be willing to purchase a cartridge of each. DM on DFS please

If somebody in North America places a bulk order, would be willing to but a cartridge of each. DM on DFS please

Same here

I was able to procure some of both types of these blades. I am a big fan of the KAI Protouch MG and I believe both of these blades are improvements on the Protouch.
The premium guards have a finer, thinner guard and definitely give a closer, smoother shave. The smooth guard have a coating that gives a smoother shave, I'm not sure it is any closer. I have used these in both AC shavettes and AC razors and I believe Kai has improved upon the Protouch blades with these two.
I have created a BST post with some for sale if anyone is interested in trying. I'd be interested in hearing what others think.

I was able to procure some of both types of these blades. I am a big fan of the KAI Protouch MG and I believe both of these blades are improvements on the Protouch.
The premium guards have a finer, thinner guard and definitely give a closer, smoother shave. The smooth guard have a coating that gives a smoother shave, I'm not sure it is any closer. I have used these in both AC shavettes and AC razors and I believe Kai has improved upon the Protouch blades with these two.
I have created a BST post with some for sale if anyone is interested in trying. I'd be interested in hearing what others think.

Interested but, based on how harsh other Kai AC blades are, would like to try one first.

Completely opposite experience here.

Harsh is the very last word I’d use to describe any blade from the Kai AC line, which is imho way better than Feather counterpart in both smoothness and longevity (respectively 25-30 shaves vs. 15-20 on average + some head shaves too on different tools).
Protouch MG are really the best beginner AC blades, I’ll be sure to add these next time I order something from Japan (sadly still unavailable in EU too).

Thanks evahs for your impressions of these hard to source blades.

Unfortunately I'm outside CONUS or I would try some.

First shave in with a Kai Select Premium Guard. I ran this with my La Faulx ++ in SS.

A quick backstory: A while back I ordered a La Faulx ++ plate to have an alternative to my classic plate, paired with a Feather Pro Super. I only have a limited set of runs in with the ++ plate, as I had been bumping into what felt like a bit of aggression, relative to the delivered efficiency, using a conventional unguarded Kai PINK or Feather Pro. So I was considering a guarded blade to see if that might tone things down. And that's when I saw the BST listing for the Kai Salon Select blades.

Back to the shave: This blade ran significantly smoother and more comfortable compared to the unguarded KAI PINK and Feather Pro, in the ++ configuration. I haven't used a guarded blade in a very long time, so I unfortunately can't make a fresh comparison with other guarded blades. Although by memory, I would suggest this blade is on par with the Feather SoftGuard, but with higher efficiency. The only downsides were an incremental reduction in efficiency and feedback compared to conventional unguarded blades. This translated into some light buffing and touch up in my most difficult areas. Although I imagine that would be less necessary with more run time. 

The only other questions are BBS duration and blade longevity. Judging by post shave inspection, I don't think I will hit my normal 12+ hour BBS goal. But if I can hit 8+ hours, that would work for a number of scenarios. Also, I feel that my beard profile is at the higher end of difficulty. And because of that demanding profile, I find lower efficiency blades tend become less effective, sooner. I will continue to shave with this blade copy and report back on BBS and blade longevity.