Thread: First shave with the Feather AC RG Special

My Mach III tore the crap out of my face, so for me that's the major benefit of a straight. But there's also the cost issue. Now I don't have to buy $3 blades that make my life miserable...

I used to dread shaving; since I'm not a morning person, that was one less reason to get out of bed. Now shaving is a pleasure, and I look forward to it. A good shave puts me in a good mood all day.

And then there's the manliness factor...

Josh

I recently tried a Mach 3 and after a relatively short time of straights and DE's I could not believe how cheap and poor the Mach 3 blades felt. I forgot just how much "buffing" or "scratching" I had to do against the grain of my face with those cartridges before I got the effect even comparable to a Slantbar DE or Straights.
I do occasionally use a Dovo Shavette with various blades, which I'd guess is the same effect as the feather. Unforgiving.

Originally Posted by JoshEarl

I've also noticed that the Feather requires a different approach to shaving for me. For example, on my neck I usually go straight down with a regular straight on the first pass. With the Feather I do better to go up first. So don't assume that whatever works for your straights is optimal with the Feather.

It definitely adds some variety.

Josh

Sorry I'm so late to the conversation. Anywho, I was hoping I could get some more info on the difference in strokes. I remember when I got a professional shave with a feather the barber did go against the grain on my neck but I just figured it was because he was that frickin good so I didn't bother trying it. Has anybody else tried this?

I had my second shave with my new DX (SMF group buy) this morning. I find I've got to use different hands for certain passes than I do with a regular str8. The shave today stubbled in 13 hours, pretty good for my beard. The corked pro blade did not give me any irritation at all. I was able to use the same angle as my traditional str8s, with no nicks. I will state that I have fairly tough skin, and have never had to stretch my skin to get a BBS shave. So YMMV. I'll have to try the first pass on the neck ATG tomorrow. I could really get used to a japanese-style str8. Hmm, I wonder if Robert would...


Wayne

The cork thing sounds interesting, but I don't think it would work for me. I used mine every day for about a month or six weeks, and I found that the blades were only good for about five shaves for me. After that I found myself needing to increase the angle and pressure, resulting in MAJOR razor burn. My shaving saga is unusual, though, and most guys seem to be able to get 10 to 15 shaves from a blade.

One of these days I'm going to pop a fresh blade in my Feather and see whether my skills have improved...

Josh