New CORE razor from OneBlade

I don't see how you could become a 'merchant' or artisan on any of the other forums out there as you're not really selling any products per se.

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regarding DFS, no issues here.  we encourage interactions with everyone from the shaving community and since we don't have a need to silence discussions on any type of shaving gear, we really reduce the risk of people feeling the need to shill.

Thanks for your comments.

I don't see how you could become a 'merchant' or artisan on any of the other forums out there as you're not really selling any products per se.

...

regarding DFS, no issues here.  we encourage interactions with everyone from the shaving community and since we don't have a need to silence discussions on any type of shaving gear, we really reduce the risk of people feeling the need to shill.

Thanks for your comments.

no problem.

I have just arrived to the forum. As I said in my introduction I discovered DFS while I was looking for information about a new razor. It was in fact  the Oneblade Core, and I liked reading this discussion while I was trying it. It was also very interesting to watch the interview with the CEO of Oneblade posted by mantic59.

I already owned a Genesis V2.0. I wanted the Core as traveling razors or backup, but I have been enjoying it every day since I received it one week ago. The first two shaves were just OK but after that I have  been able to achieve a more than excellent shave (BBS) without too much of an effort. I assume I found the right angle and pressure. By the growth at 24 hours I can see that it does not shave as deep at the Genesis,  but it is not a lot different than what I get with other mild razors, both SE and DE. In any case for someone addicted to wet shaving this can be even perceived as a plus . It is too early to say if it will be become one of my favorite razors. I think there are areas of improvement and I will not be surprised to see a V2.0 next year. However, as it is now, I like it and I know it will work very well for my intended use.
Regarding it's price/value, considering that it comes with pack of blades and a razor stand (that I would have purchased anyhow), I would say that it is well worth the $25-$30 I paid for it. So far I can say that I would buy it again.
Now, what if I did not have a Genesis already and if I purchased the Core as a "primary" razor, instead of as a "backup"? Would I have liked it less? Probably not but I have no way to know it for sure.

I really wanted to like the Core. Alas, after 2 shaves, both with a fresh Feather, I am sending this back.

I took great care with the angle, modifying it based on some of the posts here. After 3 passes, it was if I'd only done 1 pass. Not efficient enough, to say the least. I ended up going the fourth pass with my vintage Merkur travel slant and a twice used Astra SP. BBS from there...

This is a well designed tool, but I feel it would only work with 6 passes on a guy/gal with a light beard. I feel bad for the Mfg...

PM me if anyone wants a discounted Core...

tonight I'll be taking my core on its maiden voyage. I'll be using the supplied feather blade as that's what the razor was designed to be used with.

Okay shave two:

24 hours of growth, 2nd use on the Feather blade. I did switch soaps but again ran it thinner than I normally would.

Yesterday I ran a mostly steep angle instead of the recommended way due to feedback from others who had figured a few things out in their first few shaves. I did have more irritation then I was expecting when finished though. The more I thought about it today the more disappointed I became. I saw on B&B someone mention shaving with the steeper angle but not to steep. When I got home I think the irritation came from getting to steep and actually the edge of the razor below the blade may have been causing the problem. It's actually kind of sharp and with any sort of pressure like I was using could very well have caused that.

Okay so tonight I was going to try to just use it as it was intended in the instructions and skip steepening the angle no matter the outcome of the shave. Keep in mind I don't have the V1 or V2 and never watched any videos about it. Well now that the shave is over I reread the instructions and I see what I did wrong. Hard to explain but basically I was holding it a little to far back and basically resting the razor against my face on the flat "U" surface instead of the angled slant part above and below where the blade comes out.  This required a lot of pressure to get it to cut. The good new is it did and I got a fairly decent shave, not quite as close as last night but I would say if it hadn't been for the irritation I got last night and not getting enough time for my skin to completely recover I might have gotten away without any sting from my aftershave when finished.  Tomorrow I will try again to use the recommended technique and see how that goes. I also plan on using the Feather for a third time so I won't replace the blade unless the shave is suffering because of it.

How many passes does this razor take to get a smooth shave (I hate using the term BBS because that isn't what I go for when I shave I just get it or I don't)?

I shaved with my core tonight using the feather blade.

the blade was a little tough to slide in on the one side, but once it went in, it aligned properly.

I only shave below my beard line and my facial hair mostly grows upwards in that area, so I shave south to north. shaving in that direction with the core was a little weird and I had to go over some spots multiple times to get a passable shave...

I'm going to give the razor a few more shaves before I make a decision. perhaps I'm not using the razor correctly yet...

Man, for a razor that's supposed to be so intuitive and easy to use, it sure seems like it takes a lot of fiddling around for people to get a good shave out of this thing. I keep hearing that "it's so not dependent on technique" or "I could get a BBS shave while blindfolded with this thing". It seems to me that you have to change your technique to be able to use it. I'll pass. I'd much rather grab one of my many razors that I can just load a blade and go without worrying about "is this the right angle or is that" or "should I ride the pivot or not". And beside that, it's plastic. How long before the area where you load the blade gets gouged to crap or the blade stops get shaved off?

Jeff, for the vast majority of shavers coming from carts, I think the shave available from 'riding the pivot' will be closer, more comfortable, and healthier for the skin than that from a multi-blade cartridge. And that manner of use is almost completely devoid of what we think of as technique-angle, pressure, etc.

For we aficionados, who want a closer shave, there's some minor adjustments in angle that may help-in my case it was a steepening of the angle. I don't think this is any different than getting a new DE or SE razor, some of which may require some dialing in for the first few shaves.

Time will tell about the longevity of the plastic, but I'm not sure that unless one is very heavy handed or aggressive in inserting the blade, how the blade stops would get 'shaved off'. Seems pretty sturdy to me. But, I may be wrong about this, and time will tell.

Don't get me wrong-I still prefer shaving with a good, solid, all-metal, efficient razor. The shaves I can get from my Level 3 Charcoal OC, or .74 Wolfman, or .95 Timeless, or Cobra Classic, to name a few are as good as it gets for me. But the shaves I get from the OneBlades-both the Stainless and the plastic-are close enough to those shaves that it just seems remarkable to me. I gave one of the stainless models to a friend who was struggling with entry-level razors, Merkur 34C and EJ89, and from his very first shave with the OB, he was getting what he called great shaves.

So, I think these razors have their place in the market, and they may not be for the connoisseur.