Cobra Revisited

[JRTASTER]

Any ideas on which on-line vendor sells the Dorco Barber Blades (at a good price)?

[brothers]

John, here's an ebay link.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dorco-Super-Bar ... 6640150%26

Evidently they have "barber bladess" and they also have "super barber blades". It's all news to me.

[slantman]

The Dorco blade is called Dorco Super Barber. There is only one blade not two.

[JRTASTER]

Gary, thanks for the link.

The vendor was familiar to me for some reason and the price and
shipping costs were quite reasonable, so I bit.

will slip in a Dorco as soon as they arrive and advise.

jr/John

[drmoss_ca]

Well, I did it. Just like Johnnie, for those that remember him, when he put two blades in a DE. I slid out what I thought was one blade from a rather sticky old Feather Pro dispenser, and after two weeks of shaves removed not one, but two blades from the Cobra. I can't say it has been a better than ever two weeks, but rather was a fortnight of heavy drag shaves. The next two weeks will have one blade only, as checked by SWMBO.

In other news I have a second Cobra for my travel bag. Yes, it's that good.

In other, other news, I looked up my old e-mails to Ray Dupont, back to the time I was asking him about whether Feather made injector blades. No, he replied, but if they did he would stock them. What a pity said I, and it's a good thing the existing blades are so good. Then out came the Cobra. I hope I had a tiny bit to do with the idea.

Chris

[brothers]

I have a second Cobra for my travel bag. Yes, it's that good. Chris

Yes indeed!

[bernards66]

Chris, Ha!...so you pulled a Johnnie, did you? Yes,( chuckle ) considerable drag, no doubt. I don't know if you remember but I tried two blades in a DE on purpose one time. Andy Sam suckered me into it by sharing how a really old school Viennese barber had used that set-up once real cutthroat razors became untenable for use in his shop. And yeah, all that I got out of it was a lot more blade drag. But, we theorized, maybe that's what appealed to an old hand with a straight...the feel of more drag while he was doing customer shaves. Anyhow, being a long time DE guy it was not for me. Andy stuck with the experiment longer.
Regards,
Gordon

[Nitrox]

Gordon, now we know why two blades and over are awful in multi blade designed razors (Trac II, etc..).

[brothers]

Speaking of the Cobra, yeserday my Trac II cartridge went "tango uniform" as we used to say. So today I loaded up a brand new Kai Captain Mild blade and had a go with the Cobra after about a two or three week layoff due to my newly reborn love affair with the Trac II. Great razor and blade combo, the shave was just as comfortable as expected. This is one nice razor.

[greyhawk]

A nice review--thanks, Chris.
I also recently purchased one of these and my observations mirror yours. The razor shaves beautifully (I've used one Feather Pro for six shaves so far). My biggest quibble with the razor is the slickness of the handle when wet, despite the ribbing on the underside. I'd love to see some knurling for a better grip.

[brothers]

Yep, all of the above is true. This evening I used the Cobra with a very small angle, just like I use on the old single edge razors. Good decision!

[Sam]

Well, I want to revisit the injector type razor. I sold my DE and have been using the disposable Good New by Gillette double bladed razor. I had used some older injectors early on in this forum and the experience was not as good as with just a DE. But now that I have a goatee back, I dont have to worry about my lip area.

So is the Cobra that much better than trying to find an injector? or is it the blade and if so, which blade is preferred.

[brothers]

Sam, in my case I find the COBRA more efficient than injectors. The blades are larger than the injector blades, and they last about the same number of shaves. As with most everything else, the razor and blades are pricey. And very easy to sell if they don't work out. If you want to try before you buy, I'll loan you mine with some Kai blades to use. Just let me know.

[JRTASTER]

Sam, in my case I find the COBRA more efficient than injectors. The blades are larger than the injector blades, and they last about the same number of shaves. As with most everything else, the razor and blades are pricey. And very easy to sell if they don't work out. If you want to try before you buy, I'll loan you mine with some Kai blades to use. Just let me know.

Such a generous offer.... difficult to find a nicer, more thoughtful group of gentlemen!!
Glad I'm here!

[Sam]

Sam, in my case I find the COBRA more efficient than injectors. The blades are larger than the injector blades, and they last about the same number of shaves. As with most everything else, the razor and blades are pricey. And very easy to sell if they don't work out. If you want to try before you buy, I'll loan you mine with some Kai blades to use. Just let me know.

I sent you a PM. Yes, my injector experience was good, just not great shaves. But at that time, it was just an older Gillette model and not anything as far as blades. Maybe now injectors are different. Since I am growing my goatee back, I dont have issues with the lip and can use the DE again. Thought I would venture out and try something else. Sad that I sold my Feather blades since they were the best for me, but now with the goatee again, I might just go wild and try something new.

[rsp1202]

Sam, it's a good deal. Any Schick injectors you get now might be fine, but modern injector blades fall short of the performance of the NOS blades, at least in my experience. The Cobra and Kai make for a good combo, and if you like the razor you can always grab one or wait for the revised Cobra or upcoming Huntlee.

[Sam]

Ron, Im not gonna be in a rush so maybe waiting on the Huntlee might be a good idea. I was telling Gary I may go back to a straight even. The growing back of a goatee gives me options since I dont have the lip area to deal with. I always loved the closeness of the Feather Straight but got weep holes, and the regular straights were so much fun, but I shaved in the shower and it was dicey. So its either some sort of Cobra-type razor, or some new DE with blades. I have used a regular Merkur DE and the Vision, and a Edwin Jagger bulbous one. See that they have Ikons and others now and something called a Mergress. Yet the Cobra really gets good reviews for closeness and we will have to see.

[drmoss_ca]

Sam, the Cobra is designed to use those same Feather straight blades so you can get that closeness without the risk of weepers. Some people prefer the Kai blades, but I have so many Feather blades it's nice to use them up. I can use a regular DE if I stick to WTG, but going against soon leads to ingrowing hairs, presumably because the thin blades deform and dig a little deeper than desirable. This doesn't happen with the Cobra, or at least far less often as the blades are thicker and more rigid. I'd recommend it over an injector as they are hit and miss - I have a bunch and some barely cut hair and others are too aggressive. I do have a couple that are in the Goldilocks zone but even if you find one that works just so, the blades are harder to find and of lower quality than they used to be even ten years ago. Since a Feather straight blade lasts me two weeks (I must have built up some tolerance for a little tugging by using straights for so long!) it doesn't take too much effort to buy enough to last for many years.

It all makes me feel a little sad. I have the brushes I like, the razors I like and the best soap I can get. Technique is settled and is as good as my abilities allow. Seems like there's not much experimentation left. Perhaps I should learn belly-dancing or something next.

Chris

[rsp1202]

Similar to Sam, I can shave with just about anything as long as it doesn't involve the goatee area. The stiffer NOS Schick Plus Platinum injector blades let me do some pretty close work on that trouble spot, and I haven't found anything that matches it, certainly not the Chicks (Chinese Schicks), the Mach3 or Trac II. I'm looking forward to trying the Huntlee Katana with some Kai blades when it becomes available, but just in case that falls through, I'd like to have the fall-back of the Progress/Mergress and/or EJ head/Ikon Bulldog II handle. Those are the only DE's I can think of that might work for me. I don't know where to go after that if Plan A and B fail. Punt?

Chris, if you decide to take up belly dancing, please do not post photos. Thank you.

[Squire]

Now I've got to wash that mental image out of my head.