Paradigm Salient Test Drive

All done with the razor and it is shipped off to RayClem. Thank you to dtownvino for generously allowing the passaround of his razor, and for setting everything up.

This is my first exposure to a paradigm product, but I was expecting only the highest quality after years of reading reviews on their previous work.

First impressions are good. It is a nicely designed box with a magnetic closure and form fit foam inside to hold the razor. It's simple and performs the job without being over the top.

The razor itself has a nice polish to it and feels hefty in the hand. The polish isn't wolfman mirror finish, as you can still see some machining marks, but for its price range, it presents well. All of the pieces fit tightly together with good tolerances, and it feels good in the hand. I agree the grip could be improved, as it is pretty slick. I don't have any problems with the balance of the handle, and if feels good. The threaded stud on the top cap seemed just a little too short. It still does its intended job, but feels like it should be a few milliliters longer to ease engaging the handle on the threads.

I used a Gillette Platinum for all three of my shaves with the razor, which is my benchmark blade for all new razors. All three of the shaves were very good and left me with a comfortable DFS. The first shave didn't take me long, maybe half a stroke, to find the correct angle. This razor is very smooth while maintaining a solid level of efficiency. The first shave was on three days growth, while the other two were on two days growth. The razor didn't hesitate at all with the multiple days growth, and knocked it right down without being tuggy. I can't say this razor is super efficient (like a blackbird) but it's on the upper end of medium efficiency. It never felt harsh or like it would bite, and I never experienced irritation or weepers.

For the price, I feel this razor is a good deal. It shaves well above its price range, and I would reccomend picking one up for any shaver looking to add a dangerously smooth razor to their den. I look forward to Andy possibly adding handle options with more grip. I'll add some pictures below showing the geometry a little bit, although I'm sure it was already covered earlier in the thread. 

I hope to review this DE razor with the same thoroughness I try to exhibit when evaluating shaving soaps and DE razor blades. Although I have used quite a few different razors, I have not done formal evaluations. There will be a bit of detail.

The overall fit and finish of the razor are wonderful. I understand the razor was machined in China and then polished in the USA. I love the polished finish. I heard that polished finishes show scratches more readily than satin finished razors, but I still prefer the polished appearance. Unfortunately, the polished version is currently sold out. Although the razor has gone thorough the hands of several DFS members, it still looks brand new.

The overall mass of the razor is 107 grams. That is in the same range as many stainless steel and brass razors. Bronze razors tend to be even heavier. If you want a lightweight razor, you need to choose titanium or aluminum.

This is a solid bar razor. There are no ridges or scallops along the bar. I tend to prefer scallops that allow some lather to pass through to lubricate my face.
The handle length is 85 mm / 3.35” with a large bulb on the bottom end. I have rather large hands, so I prefer handles from 3.5 – 4” in length. The Salient handle is slightly shorter than I like, but still usable. I find that the balance of the razor is too far toward the bottom of the razor handle due to the enlarged bulb at the base. The balance point should be at the grip rings, but it is near the bottom of the grip rings making the feel of the razor awkward in my hands. The lack of any knurling below the grip rings made the handle somewhat slippery once lather got on my hands. If I were to use this razor routinely, I would need to replace the handle with a longer handle of uniform diameter and better knurling.

The head is designed to clamp the razor blade close to the edge of the cap. I have sensitive skin, so I prefer having the blade clamped tightly rather than having a cantilever like so many razor designs. For me, blade chatter means irritation. However, I don’t mind a little audio feedback during the shave.
The head specifications are somewhat unusual, so I am not sure what to expect from the shave with respect to aggression, smoothness, and efficiency. The blade gap is 0.7 mm which is a gap normally associated with mild-mid aggressive razors. For example, the Karve B-plate has a blade gap of 0.73 mm. However, the B-plate has a neutral blade exposure, while the Salient has a blade exposure of 0.12 mm which is close to the Karve D-plate spec of 0.13mm. With the combination of blade gap and exposure, I am anticipating that the aggression of the razor will be similar to that of the Karve C-plate razor.

I have been using the Karve C-plate razor to evaluate a series of DE razor blades over the past couple of months. One new blade I added to my collection because of these evaluations is the Wizamet Super Iridium which was manufactured by Gillette in Russia. While not the sharpest blade I evaluated, it is sharp enough and quite smooth. Thus, I selected that blade for the 1st shave with the Salient. I am planning to do a face-off shave with the Salient shaving one side of my face and the Karve C-plate the other. They should be similar in aggression, so it will be interesting to see how they compare in efficiency and smoothness.

I showered before my shave to clean and hydrate my beard. I produced my lather using the recently released exclusive shave soap produced by Grooming Dept. for The Razor Company. The Schön scent was released in the most recent update of the Mallard formulation. It is one of the best soaps in my extensive collection. Using that soap, I knew there would be no issues with the shave due to the lather.

After lathering my face, I loaded a fresh Wizamet blade into both the Salient and my Karve C-plate razors. I had a two-day beard growth to challenge the razors and blades. My beard is a tough, white, old-man beard. My skin is quite sensitive, so I should be able to evaluate efficiency and smoothness during the shave.

My normal procedure is to do a four-pass shave. The first pass is WTG to knock down significant growth. The second pass is XTG. The third pass is ATG. Generally, there is still sufficient stubble that I do a fourth cleanup pass using buffing strokes ATG and XTG until I achieve a near BBS shave. I do not push for full BBS as that usually causes irritation. I evaluate irritation by splashing witch hazel on my face after the shave. If all is well, I will get zero feedback from the witch hazel.

I used the Salient to shave the right side of my face since I am right hand dominant. I found that holding the razor was awkward as the handle was too short for my hands and the balance point does not align with the grip. During my WTG pass, I got a significant nick on my chin. Soon after this, my wife came into the bathroom and saw my face in the mirror with blood streaming down my chin. She gasped and asked me if this was from the new razor. I confirmed that it was. Her next statement was “We are not going to purchase that one”. I agreed.  I might get a weeper every 4-6 weeks, but I cannot remember the last time I cut myself with a safety razor. It took several minutes of direct pressure to stem the blood flow after the shave.

Fortunately, the XTG, ATG and clean-up passes were completed without further incident. Although the blade exposure of the Salient is only slightly greater than the Karve C-plate, the Salient had slightly more blade feel. I shaved “off the cap” with both razors. After then shave when I applied witch hazel, I got zero feedback on the Karve razor side and minimal feedback on the Salient side. Thus, the Salient is a razor that I could easily use if it were not for the handle design.

My next shave will be on Tuesday. For that shave I plan to use my Karve brass D-plate razor for comparison. That Karve has slightly more blade exposure than the Salient, so the blade feel should be similar. I plan to install the handle from the Karve SS C-plate razor on the Salient to see if the quality of the shave improves.

I hope to review this DE razor with the same thoroughness I try to exhibit when evaluating shaving soaps and DE razor blades. Although I have used quite a few different razors, I have not done formal evaluations. There will be a bit of detail.

The overall fit and finish of the razor are wonderful. I understand the razor was machined in China and then polished in the USA. I love the polished finish. I heard that polished finishes show scratches more readily than satin finished razors, but I still prefer the polished appearance. Unfortunately, the polished version is currently sold out. Although the razor has gone thorough the hands of several DFS members, it still looks brand new.

The overall mass of the razor is 107 grams. That is in the same range as many stainless steel and brass razors. Bronze razors tend to be even heavier. If you want a lightweight razor, you need to choose titanium or aluminum.

This is a solid bar razor. There are no ridges or scallops along the bar. I tend to prefer scallops that allow some lather to pass through to lubricate my face.
The handle length is 85 mm / 3.35” with a large bulb on the bottom end. I have rather large hands, so I prefer handles from 3.5 – 4” in length. The Salient handle is slightly shorter than I like, but still usable. I find that the balance of the razor is too far toward the bottom of the razor handle due to the enlarged bulb at the base. The balance point should be at the grip rings, but it is near the bottom of the grip rings making the feel of the razor awkward in my hands. The lack of any knurling below the grip rings made the handle somewhat slippery once lather got on my hands. If I were to use this razor routinely, I would need to replace the handle with a longer handle of uniform diameter and better knurling.

The head is designed to clamp the razor blade close to the edge of the cap. I have sensitive skin, so I prefer having the blade clamped tightly rather than having a cantilever like so many razor designs. For me, blade chatter means irritation. However, I don’t mind a little audio feedback during the shave.
The head specifications are somewhat unusual, so I am not sure what to expect from the shave with respect to aggression, smoothness, and efficiency. The blade gap is 0.7 mm which is a gap normally associated with mild-mid aggressive razors. For example, the Karve B-plate has a blade gap of 0.73 mm. However, the B-plate has a neutral blade exposure, while the Salient has a blade exposure of 0.12 mm which is close to the Karve D-plate spec of 0.13mm. With the combination of blade gap and exposure, I am anticipating that the aggression of the razor will be similar to that of the Karve C-plate razor.

I have been using the Karve C-plate razor to evaluate a series of DE razor blades over the past couple of months. One new blade I added to my collection because of these evaluations is the Wizamet Super Iridium which was manufactured by Gillette in Russia. While not the sharpest blade I evaluated, it is sharp enough and quite smooth. Thus, I selected that blade for the 1st shave with the Salient. I am planning to do a face-off shave with the Salient shaving one side of my face and the Karve C-plate the other. They should be similar in aggression, so it will be interesting to see how they compare in efficiency and smoothness.

I showered before my shave to clean and hydrate my beard. I produced my lather using the recently released exclusive shave soap produced by Grooming Dept. for The Razor Company. The Schön scent was released in the most recent update of the Mallard formulation. It is one of the best soaps in my extensive collection. Using that soap, I knew there would be no issues with the shave due to the lather.

After lathering my face, I loaded a fresh Wizamet blade into both the Salient and my Karve C-plate razors. I had a two-day beard growth to challenge the razors and blades. My beard is a tough, white, old-man beard. My skin is quite sensitive, so I should be able to evaluate efficiency and smoothness during the shave.

My normal procedure is to do a four-pass shave. The first pass is WTG to knock down significant growth. The second pass is XTG. The third pass is ATG. Generally, there is still sufficient stubble that I do a fourth cleanup pass using buffing strokes ATG and XTG until I achieve a near BBS shave. I do not push for full BBS as that usually causes irritation. I evaluate irritation by splashing witch hazel on my face after the shave. If all is well, I will get zero feedback from the witch hazel.

I used the Salient to shave the right side of my face since I am right hand dominant. I found that holding the razor was awkward as the handle was too short for my hands and the balance point does not align with the grip. During my WTG pass, I got a significant nick on my chin. Soon after this, my wife came into the bathroom and saw my face in the mirror with blood streaming down my chin. She gasped and asked me if this was from the new razor. I confirmed that it was. Her next statement was “We are not going to purchase that one”. I agreed.  I might get a weeper every 4-6 weeks, but I cannot remember the last time I cut myself with a safety razor. It took several minutes of direct pressure to stem the blood flow after the shave.

Fortunately, the XTG, ATG and clean-up passes were completed without further incident. Although the blade exposure of the Salient is only slightly greater than the Karve C-plate, the Salient had slightly more blade feel. I shaved “off the cap” with both razors. After then shave when I applied witch hazel, I got zero feedback on the Karve razor side and minimal feedback on the Salient side. Thus, the Salient is a razor that I could easily use if it were not for the handle design.

My next shave will be on Tuesday. For that shave I plan to use my Karve brass D-plate razor for comparison. That Karve has slightly more blade exposure than the Salient, so the blade feel should be similar. I plan to install the handle from the Karve SS C-plate razor on the Salient to see if the quality of the shave improves.

Great write-up RayClem! Your experience is very similar to mine, and it sounds like we have similar razor needs. I also have old-man beard and fairly sensitive skin, as well as large hands that prefer a longer handle. Look forward to your next comparison.

Time for the second shave with the Salient. Since I was uncomfortable with the Salient handle, my intent was to use the handle from my Karve razor on the Salient. Unfortunately, it did not seem to fit properly. I found that the 3.75" crown handle from my Timeless Titanium fit perfectly and provided perfect balance for the Salient head.

Since the Salient had slightly more blade feel than the Karve SS C-plate, I decided to compare the Salient to my Karve brass D-plate which is a larger blade gap, but a similar blade exposure. I moved the Wizamet blade from the SS razor to be brass razor so both the Salient and Karve brass would be on their second use. Once again, I had two days of beard growth. I used the same soap and brush for lathering that I used in the first shave. I did switch sides of my face this time. I shaved the left side of my face with the Salient and the right side with the Karve D plate.

I did my usual four-pass shave, WTG, XTG, ATG, and clean-up passes with buffing strokes. Unlike the 1st shave, there were no incidents: no nicks or weepers at all. The blade feel was nearly identical on both sides of my face; that was to be expected as the blade exposure is nearly identical. I was able to achieve a near-BBS shave on both sides. When I applied witch hazel after the shave, I got zero feedback from either side. Thus, it was a wonderful shave.

After the two shaves, I do like the Salient head design. I would prefer a scalloped bar rather than the smooth bar. The blade exposure seems to control the face feel of the razor more so than the blade gap. As such, the feel is quite similar to a Karve D plate SB.

The razor handles far more easily with the Timeless Titanium 3.75" crown handle than it did with the original Salient handle. For my large hands, that handle is unwieldy. You can purchase replacement Stainless handles from vendors like Maggard Razors. However, it seems the Salient has M5-0.8mm metric threads rather than the 10-32 thread used by Karve, so if you decide to order a replacement handle, be sure you order one with metric threads. While you can use a M5 threaded handle on a razor with a 10-32 post, an M5 post is slightly too large to fit into a 10-32 threaded handle. That is why I could not use my Karve handle with the Salient head.

I have learned all I need to know about the Paradigm Salient razor. It has been cleaned, sanitized, packaged and taken to the post office for shipment to Lesser who is next on the evaluation list. Thanks to dtownvino for making this pass-around possible. While I won't be ordering a Salient, I did learn a few things during the process; that made the experience worthwhile. I hope my evaluation will provide guidance to those who are considering the Salient. Even if you decide to order a replacement handle, the cost is still quite reasonable.

I do hope Andy of Paradigm with either redesign the handle or make another handle option available as the design of the head is excellent.

Arrived from RayClem. Looks lovely and can’t wait to try it with my next shave. Just resisted re-reading all the postings here so as not to influence myself!  

Lesser

I look forward to seeing your review.

Lesser

I look forward to seeing your review.

I can only hope to be half as comprehensive as your's....Hell, I won't get near that but I will give a good try!

Love this razor - an absolute delight to use every time.

Two shaves with the Salient.  Did I like it?

Well, I have just ordered one.  That should answer the question.  And I didn't order only because of the $20 Black Friday/Cyber Monday discount Paradigm Shaveware is offering. Even at the full price, this is one razor that punches way above its price point.

I’m not sure what more I can add to what other folks have said.  Mild and remarkably efficient.  For me, the head works wonderfully well. Perhaps because I’m a daily shaver, I am quite partial to mild razors, but sometimes there can be a sacrifice in efficiency.  Not so with the Salient.  While the shave feel was soft and unthreatening -- as if one can't cut oneself even if one tried -- I nonetheless got two BBS shaves.  And I usually don’t even try for BBS. The Salient simply shaves that closely.  I did not have any cuts, and there was just the smallest of nicks when I tried too hard, which, to be fair, I knew I was doing but somewhat wanted to see if it were actually possible to break the skin.  But, otherwise, I believe that I could use this day after day after day and not see any blood.  From a smoothness/efficiency trade off, I think this is is the single best razor I’ve ever used.  As a matter of feel, It reminds me a lot of the RS-10 I had for a year until I decided that it just never entirely clicked for me.  And that was true from my first shaves with the RS-10 all the way until I sold it.  Close but not quite right, and, frankly, too many nicks.  By comparison, for at least the past two day’s shaves, the Salient did click. Hence, my ordering it.

I do, however, have to agree with the many comments about the handle.  Just a bit too short. I do have a 85mm on a Wolfman and that length has worked for that razor, but with the head weight of the Salient, I found I wanted more length.  Since the handle weight was 71 grams, and I assume Andrew at Paradigm Shaveware chose the weight for a reason and to match the head, I decided to try something close to that weight but longer. Conveniently, my H&S N075 handle is 95mm and 78 grams, and so I used it for the today’s, the second, shave.  It paired wonderfully.  The weight was right and it was all balanced nicely. That shave convinced me to put in my order. I do hope Paradigm Shaveware comes out with a similarly weighted but longer handle. If not, I may see if I can get another of H&S's 95 steel handles from Aji.

For my two shaves, I used my single go-to, and favorite, blade, a Gillette Silver Blue, and two of my standard-bearer soaps/cremes, the A&E Kaizen 2e soap (in the unscented Recipe) and the Acqua di Parma Barbiere cream.  The respective brushes (both also among my standard-bearers) were an Elite Honduran Rosewood Burl 26mm Manchurian White and an “Ocean Mist” with a Muhle STF from Rudy Vey.   As I said, BBS shaves for both days.

Over the next few days I intend to try another few shaves, possibly with other blades, to see how they go, and I’ll report on that.  So many thanks to Paradigm Shaveware  for providing the razor and to dtownvino for arranging and managing this pass-around.

Lesser 
Great review!
I am glad you liked it enough to buy one.
I found it so close to my Karve D plate in efficiency that I felt I would not be gaining anything with the Salient in my den. I used to shave daily, but now usually go 1 1/2 - 2 days between shaves, so I need something even more efficient. 
With the $20 discount for BFCM you can purchase a longer handle for the razor.
I do hope Andy considers our feedback and will offer a long handle option. The Salient is a good razor at a good price.