Cobra Classic rising

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Sun Jun 10, 2012 11:16 am

I've had the Cobra several weeks now, and have logged only about a dozen shaves with it. Each shave seems like an event, for some reason. It's a unique and delightful razor.

When the Cobra came along, it went into a small regular rotation of 8 straight razors, 2 Schick injectors, and 6 double edge razors. I was using all of my favorites against each other to see how smooth and effective they could shave. The Cobra shaves smooth and close every time.

Week after week, I have been seeing one razor after another unable to provide the consistently smooth and close shave I get from the Cobra. Now the rotation consists of the Cobra, plus 7 straight razors (down by one), zero Schick injectors (down by 2), and only 2 double edge razors, (down by 4).

The Cobra provides a smooth and close shave in about 1/2 of the time and effort it takes to obtain the same shave with a straight razor, and about 2/3 of the time and effort it takes to get the results I want in a shave with a double edge razor.

jww · Post by **jww** » Sun Jun 10, 2012 11:46 am

Nice razor, but a tad on the expensive side for me.

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Sun Jun 10, 2012 12:21 pm

I sold 2 double edge razors and 1 straight razor, and after subtracting what I paid for the Cobra and an extra pack of blades, I ended up with almost enough left over to buy another Cobra. It's all relative, I suppose.

vpayne · Post by **vpayne** » Mon Jun 11, 2012 11:35 am

Hey Gary,
How does the Cobra do compared to the R41? I'm looking into the Cobra myself. The R41 is a little uncomfortable (unpredictable) for me.
Vic

I just read your previous question on the Cobra and Phil (bullgoose) answered.

I'm working with Michael on a loan now. The same one that was passed around to B&B members earlier. I'm hoping it will stop my RAD.
Vic

mantic · Post by **mantic** » Tue Jun 12, 2012 7:12 am

vpayne wrote:Hey Gary,
How does the Cobra do compared to the R41? I'm looking into the Cobra myself. The R41 is a little uncomfortable (unpredictable) for me.
Vic

I just read your previous question on the Cobra and Phil (bullgoose) answered.

I'm working with Michael on a loan now. The same one that was passed around to B&B members earlier. I'm hoping it will stop my RAD.
Vic

I'm not Gary of course but I do have both an R41 and a Cobra so allow me to weigh in. If I had to choose between the two I would take the Cobra. Although the R41 with a Feather DE blade may cut "closer" (e.g. incredibly aggressive) the Cobra is allllllmost as close but much more consistent and comfortable for me. Maybe it's the stiffer Feather Pro Guard blade that makes the difference.

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Tue Jun 12, 2012 9:32 am

Vic, Mark has stated it very well. Here's my recent thread about the comparison of the two razors. You'll find some very informative posts from a number of guys discussing these two razors. Good luck! http://www.shavemyface.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=49739

desertbadger · Post by **desertbadger** » Thu Jun 14, 2012 12:13 pm

brothers wrote: The Cobra provides a smooth and close shave in about 1/2 of the time and effort it takes to obtain the same shave with a straight razor, and about 2/3 of the time and effort it takes to get the results I want in a shave with a double edge razor.

Glad you like the Cobra, Gary. As I stated in your previous thread in comparison with the R41, the Cobra can be very addictive, but in a good way.

Regards,
David

vpayne · Post by **vpayne** » Thu Jun 14, 2012 12:22 pm

I have been thinking about trying a str8 but the Cobra seems like a good/safe compromise. I will be finding out because Michael has put me on the mailing list for the Cobra pkg. That is very generous of him & very helpful. I'm looking forward to it.
Vic

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Thu Jun 14, 2012 1:51 pm

Time for me to start forming a blade strategy for the long haul.

vpayne · Post by **vpayne** » Thu Jun 14, 2012 3:00 pm

That's what I'm trying to do so I can stop this never ending circle. A couple of good razors and good blades. Done.
Vic

Jonnieboy61 · Post by **Jonnieboy61** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 5:50 am

Me too, I'm down to 2 razors and 3 blade types currently. I will probably stay this way.....................unless the Swede's come back into production.

I just pinched myself and woke up.

ltjaw · Post by **ltjaw** » Tue Jun 19, 2012 9:11 pm

I agree with Gary and Mark regarding the performance of the Cobra vs the R41. I'd take the Cobra over the R41 and have.

One other thing I find with the Cobra shave is my face stays smooth for longer than with my DEs. That's a close shave.

I'll also chime in about the Kai blades: I find they are smoother right out of the box and stay smooth for many shaves. I prefer them to the Feathers.

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 4:45 pm

Now I've started asking myself, do I continue using my straight razors and Barbasol floating head razor in rotation with the Cobra, or will I eventually just use the Cobra?

desertbadger · Post by **desertbadger** » Wed Jul 11, 2012 3:10 am

I'm being biased of course, but consider using just the Cobra. Afterall, it uses str8 blades.

Regards,
David

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Wed Jul 11, 2012 5:11 am

jww wrote:Nice razor, but a tad on the expensive side for me.

Yes, there's that. However, we're seeing a plethora of newly manufactured double edge safety razors on the market, and highly praised: Pils, Tradere, Weber, IKON, Feather Stainless, etc. And when compared to those razors, the price of the Cobra doesn't seem overly costly. The Cobra's unique in design, obviously, and to me, it does such a nice job, it's a joy to use. Once the Feather/Kai (depending on the user's preference) blade stash is on hand at a higher average price than commonly available DE blades, then I start thinking what if something happens to my Cobra, maybe I should get a backup. That's the way we do stuff around here, right?

PS: my thought here is why pay big bucks for just another double edge razor when I've already got the ones that work the best for me (my opinion, of course) in my hands already, and I'm not wanting or needing another double edge razor. Heck, these pesky whiskers just keep coming back day after day (thank goodness!) no matter which blade or razor I use.

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 3:19 pm

After yesterday's super close and smooth shave with the Hart Steel 6/8 straight razor (last full honing 1-1-12; last touchup, 5-1-12) I'm thinking I've accidentally got the rotation that works quite good and permits me to keep using all 3 kinds of razors: straight, DE, and SE (Cobra).

Previously I had the SRs coming up 14 days per month, the Cobra coming up 8 days per month, and the DEs 8 days. A couple of weeks ago I adjusted the rotation to increase the Cobra to 14 days per month, the straight razors were decreased to 8 days per month, and 2 DE razors 8 days per month (4 days each).

All of the 7 straight razors I use are proven to be excellent matches for my particular results. The Cobra is outstanding, and the 2 DE razors have proven themselves over the past year or two to provide shaves that are (to me) smoother and closer than any other DE razors I've ever experienced. I like my razors to be smoothly aggressive, and I like using and maintaining straight razors. I also like the idea of using 80 year old double edge razors that could be said to represent (to me) the zenith of Mr. Gillette's shaving revolution.

dosco · Post by **dosco** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 6:01 pm

What DE razors do you use?

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 6:05 pm

I'm down to a Gillette Big Boy Deluxe and a Barbasol floating head.

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 7:15 am

Yesterday morning I used the Cobra w/ Kai Captain Titan Mild blade, and got a great shave. Later in the afternoon, around 5:00 pm or later, I happened to hug my wife, and she said "you're smooth!", I didn't answer because that's a rare occurrence, so she repeated it. I have to admit, it was still nearly BBS at about the 8 hour mark. I admit, I get great shaves with the straight razor and the double edge razors, because that's the way I like it. But nowadays, I'm getting some unusually positive vibes from this razor/blade combo. I recently sold off the Feather Pro blades that came with the razor. Over the course of a month, I'm using the Cobra 14 days, the straight razors 8 days, and the double edge razors 8 days. That seems like a pretty happy arrangement. I'm not thinking about changing it, at least for now.

Cap'n CutThroat · Post by **Cap'n CutThroat** » Sat Aug 25, 2012 2:36 am

Must try one of these.....

SMF

Cobra Classic rising

Cobra Classic rising

Re: Cobra Classic rising