Review - first shave with a Feather SS.

[MajorEthanolic]

As we say in the military, bottom line upfront (BLUF): Great shave - much better than I thought.

A few qualifiers: My only previous experience with a shavette was with a $20 Parker/Shark blades and all the straights I've been using have come professionally honed within the last few weeks, so I'm working with stealth bombers on that side. Now with that said...

The Pros:

1) Amazing shave. I did my usual 1 pass w/ grain on the face/mouth area + 2 passes (1 with/1 ATG) on the neck, and the shave is as good as my straights as far as I can tell. FAR, FAR better than I was getting with my Parker.
2) No stropping
3) The smaller blade actually works kind of nice with the way my neck hair grows.
4) Great feeling razor. Has the weight like a true straight.

The Cons:

1) Saw a little blood for the first time in a while, but that's probably from me being a somewhat novice with shavettes. The front edge of the shavettes are MUCH less forgiving than the straights. I bumped that front a few times and had to use a bit of tissue.
2) Felt like I had to rinse more. The hairs with an actual straight don't clog up as much (or at all), so I can do a longer pass vs the shavette.
3) I found the SS to be a little tougher under my nose because it's bulkier than my straights.
4) I felt that the shorter length of the blade meant it took me longer to shave, so maybe as a "time saver" vs stropping - it really might be a trade off.

With that said, GREAT razor!! VERY worth the $100. Because I often travel for weeks/months at a time and live in situations (ie barracks/tents) where stropping/honing is just not an option, this is an awesome alternative. I will definitely be using this for travel when a straight isn't viable (but for day to day at home, I'm still a big fan of true straights). Like I said, I got as good as a shave with this as I get with my straights, just a bit more technical in the handling and I like the longer blades on true straights. Thanks again for all the advice!