Shaving notes of the MaineYooper

I wanted the knot for a beautiful maple handle from Paul. So the handle was going to be extra for me, and I planned to move it on if someone really wanted it. And then I broked it...(sad face)

Just wanted to be sure you weren't hoping to have another knot in it. I would have repaired and returned it to you knotted up

Nope, I don't need it. Very pleased with new handle, and very happy that DSotM is not lost!

I’m happy DSotM lives on! It was my second acrylic pour ever. The air bubbles were a mistake but in the finishing made those cool star looking dots. I like how it faded to grey at the top with a bit of transparency.

Dave, work your magic.

The mission is not complete.

Godspeed

I’m happy DSotM lives on! It was my second acrylic pour ever. The air bubbles were a mistake but in the finishing made those cool star looking dots. I like how it faded to grey at the top with a bit of transparency.

Dave, work your magic.

The mission is not complete.

Godspeed

I'm not the professional but will do what I can when it gets here and we see what it needs 

EDIT : Did I mention in High School I embroidered the Prism from the Dark Side of the Moon album on the back of my jean jacket...........I have a soft spot for it and it's name

I’m happy DSotM lives on! It was my second acrylic pour ever. The air bubbles were a mistake but in the finishing made those cool star looking dots. I like how it faded to grey at the top with a bit of transparency.

Dave, work your magic.

The mission is not complete.

Godspeed

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

After a week of great shaves with the Christopher Bradley Karve, A and B plates, I am pleased to find the bad experiences were most likely blades. My trusty Israeli Red was still going strong, but I decided to switch to the Sabre for the rest of the weekend. What a smooth shaver, although I do have to be mindful of what I am doing. I got a little love nip and got the message to be more attentive!



Hope everyone has a great Saturday!

I had decided to skip today (being lazy on a holiday) but changed my mind. I have planned to use most of June for getting to know my Vector better. I picked up an OC plate on the BST, have 3 types of blades (2 of which I know work well, one being super smooth in memory (the Schick Proline)), and the most soap and brushes I have ever had in my shave drawer. So this afternoon I decided to start the journey today.



Some thoughts that I want to record for later follow, so feel free to skip over this as it is mostly for my reference in the future.  This is from my notes back in December, "Borrowed Dave in KY's Vector and think it may be better than the Karve. It almost hurts to say that, as I love the Karve, but I am so excited about the close, comfy shaves from the Vector. I posted some WTB threads and DFS member Venkat is selling me one." After those first wonderful shaves with the Vector, back in December, I bought a sample pack of blades from Try A Blade. They arrived shortly after my new-to-me Vector arrived. The shaves were awful, pulling and tugging. Reading on the various forums, I discovered that AC blades seem to get dulled when shipped singly in a paper or paperboard sleeve. Ideas around this were to order 5 of each blade you want to try, in order to get a few blades that aren't dulled, or just order full dispensers of the blades, and sell off unused ones on the BST. I bought 2 different Kai AC blades, and the Protouch MG guarded blades have worked well. Not as good as the Schick Prolines, but I can get good shaves from them. (I just reread that last sentence, and realized that I have never used a Protouch and Proline back to back, so how can I be sure they aren't equals?) The other Kai is the Capt. Titan Mild.

Today, I put the Kai Capt. Titan Mild (hereafter Kai Mild) in the Vector and went to town on the whiskers. No tugging or pulling. A decent shave. I do see why I wanted to spend a month with this razor. I felt tense for the first few strokes, as the Vector feels like it could bite you hard if you don't stay on your toes. But no blood letting today! And by the end, I was relaxing more. The Vector does seem to fully remove lather, as well as whiskers. Reminds me of the Fatip Grande, you can get maybe 1 additional stroke but there is not enough residual lather to get a smooth glide. Touch ups must be done after applying a little more lather, at least that is what I find.

So I'll give a few more shaves with the Kai Mild before putting in a new Proline. After a few more shaves, I'll try the OC plate. Reviews in the forums are all over regarding agressiveness, many seem to think it is about the same, or at least not much more than SB plate. All agree that what I call "tooth feel" is minimal. The best to date for me was the Hybrid Yates plate, until I tried a NEW long comb (invisible teeth!), which I don't recall feeling at all.

Your thoughts on the Try a blade packaging of single blades has me thinking now Eric. 
Hopefully mine are not compromised. Hmmm.

Your thoughts on the Try a blade packaging of single blades has me thinking now Eric. 
Hopefully mine are not compromised. Hmmm.

Sorry about that. I had no issues with DE blades, but they came individually wrapped, as they always are. But the AC style blades were in homemade paperboard sleeves, stapled at the ends and taped at the top, allowing the blades to bounce around inside the sleeves. I had used a new Proline from Dave, as he sent a whole dispenser of them (which I did return!) but the single Proline in the sleeve was horrible, nothing like what I had used from Dave. When I got a dispenser, I put one in and Vee Oh Lay, it was great!

The funny issue is cost. We, or at least me, balked at spending $20 on a dispenser of unknown blades, but had no problem shelling out $150 or so for the Vector. Pound wise and penny foolish?  I find myself doing that a lot, dithering over soap prices, but dropping big bucks to try a razor.

In any event, hope your blades work out better than mine did!

Your thoughts on the Try a blade packaging of single blades has me thinking now Eric. 
Hopefully mine are not compromised. Hmmm.

If they are compromised, give me a shout and I'll send packs of the Kai Protouch MG (guarded blade), the Kai Capt Titan Mild, and Schick Prolines if you want to try them.