Karve - Unpopular Opinion

...No point in using a razor that just isn't as good for variety's sake.

But isn't that pretty much the raison d'être for 99.99% of high $$ artisan razor purchases?  

Pumped to see the responses. As I mentioned, I feel like I’ve done everything I can with the plates I have (steep vs shallow angle etc). I was more or less looking for some likeminded individuals to feel validated because I’m a snowflake of course. 

I recently made the decision to move my focus from badger and blade to DFS and I’m pretty excited with what I’ve found. This community is more in line with my preferences at this point in my journey. I was getting sick of reading about Williams and Arko. It’s nice to see some more discussion around the artisanal aspect of the hobby. 

Thanks for the valued feedback.

I bought the D and E plates. I used the E plate once. Cleaned it, boxed it, sold it. It was a decent shaver but it was obvious it wasn't going to replace anything I already had.

Pretty much same for me.


I also made some observations about my preferences in head design while using the Karve that I still consider beneficial to how I look at razor heads in general.  First being that the rounded architecture of the safety bar and where it came into contact with my face is not to my liking feel wise. I’ve come to greatly prefer the safety bar design of the WR2 style that is more of a sharper and more defined angle instead of a rolling edge. It makes it much easier for me to find and maintain proper shave angle when the safety bar is built like the WR2 style. You either feel it or you don’t. Secondly I realized (personal preference only) that for the overall mass of the head ... the top cap on the Karve didn’t have enough mass for my liking. There has to be a balance of push/ pull forces on a blade in my mind. Between the handle and the large base plate there just didn’t seem to be enough mass on the top side of the blade.  I prefer a more balanced head where the top cap and base plate are closer in weight as it leads to a better feel during the shave for me. I also agree with a previous poster that while the efficiency increased as gap increased ...it wasn’t necessarily linear or as comfortable. Not bad but not great either. I felt at higher gaps the safety bar was essentially useless as the shave angle was very shallow. So along with the increase in efficiency that I needed ...it always felt like I could cut myself at any time.

Pumped to see the responses. As I mentioned, I feel like I’ve done everything I can with the plates I have (steep vs shallow angle etc). I was more or less looking for some likeminded individuals to feel validated because I’m a snowflake of course. 

I recently made the decision to move my focus from badger and blade to DFS and I’m pretty excited with what I’ve found. This community is more in line with my preferences at this point in my journey. I was getting sick of reading about Williams and Arko. It’s nice to see some more discussion around the artisanal aspect of the hobby. 

Thanks for the valued feedback.

That's what I've found as well. B&B is a great place for beginners and just general discussion, but DFS is where I find most of the discussion regarding the most elite soaps and super high end razors. I don't really need to read any more threads of Merkur vs Edwin Jagger, etc.

This happens. For example, I’ve had zero luck with game changer (all plates) and all timeless
Razors. People love them but I prefer other razors over these.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have Karve OC B,D and SB D Plate. It's made very well.But the delivery takes 50 days.

I have Karve OC B,D and SB D Plate. It's made very well.But the delivery takes 50 days.

Anyone who wants a Karve their best bet is the BST. There was a stainless up a day or two ago. Not sure if it sold yet.

My first one came to me from a member through the BST. A brass with D & E plates and two handles. I added an F & G plate directly from Karve shortly thereafter. At that time it didn't take long for the plates to get to me.

Then I was on the infamous Black Friday 2019 polished stainless buy. After a few months I switched my order to a standard stainless and received it within a couple of weeks. 

Now I'm on the titanium list and not holding my breath  ...   

The D plate worked for me. But eventually moved along to Timeless .95. Karve gave me a so so shave.
-Bill

Interested in trying out the Brass Karve as well. Has anyone who recently purchased one gotten any feedback on delivery times? If i wanted to have one as a gift for Xmas, wondering when i would need to order.

I hear that they're shipping out fairly quickly recently as they've caught up with the demand.