Feather Artist Club Black SS Folding Handle Razor

This thing is awesome. I have a very thick course beard and dull Mach 3 blades in a single use. My electric gets stuck in my beard if I let it grow for 3 days. This swipe right through it with ease. Very close and clean. I was new to straight shaving when i first started using this thing about a year and a half ago. Since then I will never go back. The feather blades are extremely sharp and can hold an edge for about 7 shaves before I start nicking myself. I can start to feel a little more resistance with the blades as they start to dull. The handle is not flashy but it works, I have had no issues. I have had to clean it from time to time as the inside gets some soap residue. During the week if I leave too much water on the blade before putting it up, I will see some browning appear along the blade, never the actual handle. I try to make it a point to shake it off after each use. Also I clean out the inside of the razor holder each time I take an old one out.If you are just getting in to straight shaving and you want a better experience then the parker can offer this is the best thing to start out with. There is less initial cost then a true straight blade which you have to learn how to hone and all. This offers ease as well when it comes to traveling. You don't have to worries about finding time to sharpen your razor, just slip in a new blade and you are set. For $20 you get 20 blades that last 20 weeks. This thing just saves you money.

This is an astonishingly comfortable razor. I bought the softguard blades and my first shave with it was a full 3 pass shave. No nicks, no irritation. Normally I only get shaves this comfortable with a Merkur 34. If you have sensitive skin and want to have a straight razor experience, this with the softguard blades is it.The build quality is great, even with the plastic handle. If I had known it would shave this well I would have paid the extra for the nice wood handle. I might still get one later, but my bet is this one will last a lifetime anyway.The design of the head is fantastic. Feels very protective, very sturdy, and the weight is a great aid to the shave. It is super easy to find the correct angle and maintain it- and it is forgiving if you don’t. Easy to clean, disassemble and reassemble. Blades can be loaded injector style so there’s no need to touch the blades.I could do with a shave this mild every day, but it shaves so close it would probably be another couple days before I need one. I would even feel safe going with one of the more aggressive blades, which is saying an awful lot for someone with sensitive skin like mine.If you’re on the fence and worried about irritation, get the soft guard blades and give this a try. It will amaze you.

This is a shavette, which is a straight razor with replaceable blades. The main selling point of the SS is that it takes Feather Artist Club blades, which are better than normal single edge razor blades. The handle is plastic. The blade holder is spring loaded and has a hole that is designed to receive the peg on the Feather blade holders. The blade holder is metal. I can get over the fact that the handle is plastic because most of your grip will be on the metal part and that feels nice.This shavette is considerably nicer than the cheapo $20 shavettes that you can also find on Amazon. The blade holder is contoured to push your skin down a bit, making it less likely that you'll cut yourself- you're still more likely to cut yourself with this than a double edge safety razor though. In addition, the Artist Club blades are great, and you have a variety of blade types available- I use the standard Pro blades, and one blade lasts me for at least a week of shaving, and they only cost about $0.50 per blade. If you have a thick beard, you might want to try the Pro Super blades, which stick out from the holder a little further and are a little thicker.I wish this were a few bucks cheaper, but since you can use the SS for decades the extra few dollars doesn't matter enough to take a star off. If you want to shave with a straight razor but don't want to deal with sharpening your blade all the time, this is the shavette you should use. Stay away from the cheapo shavettes, they will ruin your experience.

I am truly in love with this razor! It is my first foray into straight razor shaving. I can't imagine wanting or needing anything else. I am more into soaps, creams, oils, lotions, and creating thick foamy lather than I am into stropping and honing. It already takes quite a bit of time to go through the pre-shave routine and then actually shave with a straight razor, so I'm really not interested in maintaining the sharpness of the blade. This is the perfect solution. You will get the straight razor experience without all the maintenance overhead. In fact, the machine-honed disposable blades will be much sharper than a traditional straight-razor blade, which is why many straight-razor enthusiasts will recommend a traditional straight razor for newbies over a razor like this. It is much, much sharper.But not to fear. You are in complete control. You will learn to tweak the variables to the specific needs of your face - the blade, the angle of attack, the amount of pressure on the blade, the pre-shave preparation, and the slickness and thickness of the lather. It took me about a week to get the hang of how to use the razor and I can now do WTG, XTG, and ATG passes without any nicks or cuts. Just take your time and use a light touch. What I did was to use this razor for the easy areas in the beginning and clean up the rest with my DE razor, I started out only doing the cheeks with a WTG pass, then added the neck WTG, then XTG, and finally ATG.I use a Feather Professional blade and I can get about 10 shaves out of each blade. These blades are super sharp and come out extra hot right out of the box, so I recommend researching how to cork the blade.I can't imagine going back to a cartridge-based razor again. I get such baby-smooth shaves from this razor and I am also free to focus on the part of shaving that I find most enjoyable -- playing with all the shaving soaps, creams, and lotions.