Cobra Revisited

[brothers]

Chris, we'd think no less of you for it.

HAHAHAHAH ---LOL LOL LOL

[Squire]

Most of us anyway.

[drmoss_ca]

Reading between the lines I can see the idea excites you. You'll be sad to hear I have decided to take up nude yoga instead.

C.

[rsp1202]

Probably preferable to making your rounds that way.

[Squire]

On your deck? In this weather?

[Sam]

Got to try the Cobra this morning thanks to the generosity of Gary. My impressions:

1. Heavy and felt like a squeegee. Took one swipe on each cheek and was almost done.
2. Wish the handle accommodated the ear to nose or sideways passes better. And speaking of grip I wish the handle had some grippiness. I felt like it could slip out but I was using a light grip. Would rubber work?
3. Feels as close as the Feather straight without the weep holes.

I could see me getting this over a fixed head DE razor. Never got as close with any injector I used. Have not used a Gem Don't know if a Progress works Better. But I did like it. I know my technique will get better. If it was $100.00 I know i'd get one. 170? Don't know. Will see about stubble in 10 hours

[drmoss_ca]

One issue with the Cobra that won't be apparent on just a few uses is that those blades cut close which is dandy at first. Then your skin begins to thin and you start using it carefully, or intermittently. Daily use for me works OK for a couple of weeks but after that I start to get red splotches and irritation. So I'm using it in rotation with my straight and my old Merkur HD on a Jagger bulbous handle. I get variety and no red spots that way and all's right with the world.

Chris

[bernards66]

Chris, Yes, well, that was the issue that quite a few of us had with the Feather straights and I always assumed that the same would prove to be true with the Cobra...which is one reason that I never seriously considered getting one. Shoot, I can't even use Feather DE blades ongoing although that one is problematic with fewer shavers than the straight. I think that almost every SMF member who reported on using the Feather straights daily sooner or later had that issue with irritation and/or 'weepers'.
Regards,
Gordon

[rsp1202]

What of the Kai Captain Titan Mild blades as an option to the Feathers, or are you giving up closeness for less irritation?

[Sam]

I also am able to test a Progress using Personna blades. I have never been a big fan of the Personnas, but these are in a blue wrapper.

I think that the Cobra with a Kai blade shaves closer than the Progress with a Personna opened up to the '5 setting. Maybe the Personna is not as sharp of a blade. I have stubble still on my neck near the Adams apple and by the ear adjacent to the neck. I will switch sides tomorrow. Dont know how much Kai blades are versus the Feather Professionals but I am getting used to the Cobra

[rsp1202]

Kai's are about four bucks cheaper per pack of 20.

I'm going to try again to buy a Progress, and have an assortment of blades to experiment with. If there's a new Cobra, or when the Huntlee Katana shows up, the Kai will be my first (and only) choice. No way can I survive a Feather.

[Sam]

update: Here it is some 10 hours later or more and the cheek and neck with the Cobra and the Personna blade are noticeably stubbier than the Cobra with the Kai blade. Now this is by feel, and by looking in the mirror, I cant say that I notice much of a difference. Wonder if the Personna blade is the issue in the Progress and say another blade would get it as close. Ill reverse cheeks tomorrow and expect that the results will be the same.

I dont know that I would pony up the money for the Cobra and the blades unless the blades lasted twice as long. There is a tactile difference when freshly shaved and now 10 hours later, but I dont know that I would pay that sort of money when I could just go and get a DE that is a more aggressive razor than the Progress. For some reason, I did not like the slant bar for the first few passes and only took to it after I relegated it to touching up my shave at the end with blade buffing. But I dont want two razors for one shave, and sold that off and my Edwin Jagger. So now looking for one razor to use during my shave.

[bernards66]

Sam, Well in that case, and based on knowing your past shaving history and on what has been posted here, that Cobra and Kai blade combination might really be the ticket for you. The Cobra is a pretty 'aggressive' shaver, practically everyone seems to agree on that but you have never had sensitivity issues with your skin and you also like a very close shave. Apparently, those Kai blades tame the razor down a little ( compared to the Feather blades ) so the eventual weepers you got from the Feather straight may not reappear. Regarding DEs, well, you already know what's out there, having tried many of them already before you settled into that Edwin-Jagger and slant head duo. You started with the Merkur Vision didn't you?...and have tried the Futur? The slant head and the Futur opened up are generally considered the most 'aggressive' DEs available, except for a few esoteric vintage models.
Regards,
Gordon

[Sam]

Gordon. I have never tried a Futur.

I used the Futur today with the Personna blade, second shave on that blade, and it was a good shave, but no better than the Good News Gillette disposable razors I have.

[Sam]

when the Huntlee Katana shows up

Ok, tell me about this razor.

I went to Classicshaving's site and saw the Futur. Gordon, you really think it is more aggressive than the Progress? I did see some Parker razors and the butterfly-type razors always looked good, but the older ones I used never really shaved all that great.

If the Huntlee is going to be priced around what a Futur costs and works like a Cobra, Im all in.

[rsp1202]

Happy new year, Sam. I hope you find the right razor. In the meanwhile, check out Phil's video on the Huntlee here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pljCUWbycLo
It's a great idea, but I don't currently see the link at BullGoose's website (drat!).

[Sam]

Ron, thanks. Saw the video and I like Lee and Phil. Also, the handle looks less cumbersome and maybe easier to manuever. If they come in around $75 to $110 or so, they will sell out I bet. Id like to think that a lighter weighted handle, maybe some sort of resin/rubber would work also.

I also read that the Cobra 2 was going to come out. Ill probably wait a bit to see about these. Blades a tad more expensive than Feather DE blades (usually around 30 cents a piece?) but who knows how many shaves you can get.

[rsp1202]

The Huntlee video shows what looks like a Tradere handle, but I'm sure that's just for starters. Being a big Phil-fan, my tendency would be to wait things out and then go with whatever he comes up with.
The guessing as to the Cobra follow-on centers around tweaks to the blade-securing and/or seating mechanism and the finish, but no definite word yet from Classic Shaving.

[bernards66]

Sam, Well, the main difference between the Progress and the Futur in that department seemed to be that the Progress can be dialed down to be a mild shaver ( in that mode even I liked it ) but the Futur, apparently, can not. I'm only basing this on old posts on this subject but the consensus seemed to be that the Futur was relatively 'aggressive' even in it's 'lowest' setting. Of course, there are newer DEs, razors that have appeared since the early years of these forums, the Ikons for example, Weber is another, and so forth. I've not tried any of those but I'm sure a check of our archives would yield plenty of feedback on them.
Regards,
Gordon

[brothers]

Tonight I returned to the Cobra Classic. I believe tonight's shave was the closest and smoothest shave this razor has delivered. The difference was my technique. I held the razor so that the angle of blade was as close to zero as possible.