Mongoose -- Stainless Steel SE Razor

[SharpSpine]

SEnsational. SplEndid. SpEctacular.

[SharpSpine]

Mongoose -- Dub Legend

Well it is out in the wild and is already on fire. This is the first modern SE to hit the market since the Cobra & the only one to be stainless steel. This is a beast of a razor and the "Dub Legend" handle makes it even 'beast-ier'. At 5/8" diameter of solid stainless steel this handle alone comes in at 135g. With the head on and a blade installed the total mass is 186g.

There is currently the option for a slimmer handle, the "Dub Slim" which is 1/2" diameter and comes in at 90g; for a total razor mass of 141g.

Here is my inaugural Mongoose shave...



Razor: Mongoose + Dub Legend
Blade: Kai Captain Titan Mild (1)
Brush: Plisson Pearly Gray Synthetic
Soap: Martin de Candre Fougère (67)
AS: Vintage Aqua Velva Ice Blue

I was a bit rushed with this shave but I wasn't going to pass up the chance to use my new precious. I wasn't thrilled with the Kai Mild blades as they felt slightly tuggy on my ATG pass.

What was impressive though was how quiet the blade was even when tugging. In the Cobra a tugging sensation would lead to blade vibration, or chatter, and then my face would be a minefield of weepers. That was not the case tonight. I did have a couple weepers which were caused by my rushing; one on my Adam's Apple and another just under my chin.

I'm sure the sheer mass and gravitational pull of this razor helps to make it such a smooth shaver. However, the designed angle built into this razor is brilliant. It was simply intuitive to find the proper angle with the Mongoose. The only awkwardness I had was holding such a large handle as this completely blows away the Clog Pruf Micromatic that I normally use.

I have zero irritation and my two wee little weepers cleared up with a single cold water splash before I applied the vintage Velva juice.

Batch #1 is sold out as far as I know. There is no reason to panic, however, as Batch #2 is only weeks away and should be large enough to ensure that all who want one will get one. To be sure that you are on the list just send an email to mongooseorders@gmail.com saying that you want on the list for Batch #2. The Mongoose razor costs $149 shipped to the CONUS and it is worth quite a bit more. Be sure to get in on the next round before they realize that the price should be higher.

My many thanks to Bruce Weber for his passion and drive to bring this razor to fruition. Also to Matt Glass, Paul Bombino, & David Marshburn I thank you for your hours upon hours of sacrificing your face to help bring this razor through 9 prototypes and finally to v10 for this first production run. I highly anticipate future offerings from Mongoose Razors, Inc.

[SharpSpine]

My photo essay on the Mongoose + Dub Legend Handle.

[CMur12]

Thanks for the presentation, Brian. This is the first I have seen of this razor. (Probably not watching in places where it would have been announced earlier.)

Is it similarly aggressive to the Cobra?

- Murray

[malocchio]

Looks very industrial and well made...wonder if it will take a Feather SE blade ? ? ?

[SharpSpine]

Thanks for the presentation, Brian. This is the first I have seen of this razor. (Probably not watching in places where it would have been announced earlier.)

Is it similarly aggressive to the Cobra?

- Murray

Murray, it's a little tough to say initially. I do think it is similarly aggressive but feels smoother.

[SharpSpine]

Looks very industrial and well made...wonder if it will take a Feather SE blade ? ? ?

This razor is designed to work only with the Feather Artist Club or Kai Captain blades only. Just like the Cobra.

[brothers]

Thanks for posting this. I have just asked to be placed on the list.

[Squire]

Appears to be a well made item. I'm surprised there is enough of a market to support modern production of SE razors.

[TheMonk]

I've already signed up for the second batch... now I just have to keep my fingers crossed and hope they're able to do a shorter handle (~85m), and preferably with some knurling.

[ShadowsDad]

I'm on the list for the 2nd batch also, but w/o a handle. I want a shorter handle with knurling as well. But I'll just contact UFO and have one made the way I want it. FWIW, Mongoose told me their target price for a head alone is $120, but that could change.

[alcx77]

It is encouraging to see such high quality DE products still on the market.

[brothers]

As far as I can tell, the Cobra Classic, the King Cobra, and now the Mongoose are the only single edge (SE) razors in modern production. There is a proliferation of double-edged (DE) razors in current production in addition to the Merkur line, which is still making DE razors after all these years, and Feather. The old but ever-faithful Gillettes are becoming less attractive because a new razor can be perceived as more modern, in the eyes of the new markets that are opening up. Just my random opinion.

[flintlock]

WOW! Awesome. I would love to try this Razor.

[SharpSpine]

First, please allow me to thank you all for the kind comments. I do hope that my experiences will be helpful for people that are interested in this razor. I am very thankful to be a part of this initial release and I'm happy to let others see just what this razor is all about, at least in my own opinion and experience.

Today was my second use of the Mongoose. I was not rushed this time so I really paid attention to the details. I even experimented a bit with the angle to see what would happen. The main question I've been seeing from people is in regards to this handle being slippery. Despite the lack of knurling I can tell you that there has not been a single time during 2 shaves now that I've felt the razor slip in my grip.

Here's my shave today:

Mongoose (Deuce) -- 08/09/2014



• Mongoose + Dub Legend •
• Kai Captain Titan Mild (2) •
• Plisson Acetate Pearly Gray Synthetic •
• Soap Commander Respect (12) •
• Krampert's Finest Bay Rum •

I learned beyond a shadow of a doubt that this razor is not to be used like my vintage SEs such as the GEM Micromatics or EverReady 1914. With these razors I leave the head almost flat on my skin for each stroke. That doesn't work well with the Mongoose as there is just too much steel on latherless skin. It wanted to skip on me even though I had pretty good residual slickness from my Soap Commander lather. I only tried this on my initial pass which is mainly WTG with some XTG as well. It did give me some weepers.

On the second pass I went back the the angle that feels more natural with this razor which allows the solid guard bar to lead the razor but keeps the rest of the head off of the shaving surface. This smoothed out my stroke immediately. However, now that I was going ATG I noticed that the blade was having some trouble. I am not sure that these Kai Mild blades are sharp enough for my coarse stubble. They perform well enough during the WTG pass, start to show distress with XTG, and then during ATG they start to tug.

I felt more comfortable using the large Dub Legend handle this morning. As mentioned earlier I have had exactly zero issue with any slipperiness from it. The hardest thing with anything on this razor is keeping my fingerprints off of it for the picture. The fit and finish is second to none. I hope that is coming through as I try to show off the reflections that are capable from this high quality polish.

While I haven't changed blades yet I want to address the way in which the razor head holds the blades. There are no blade stops as they simply aren't needed. The top cap and base plate fit together precisely and securely clamp down on the blade. This feature is why I believe the Mongoose can be a smoother shaver than the Cobra. There are tabs on the top cap for the blade to sit on. Then there are matching indentions on the base plate for the tabs to settle in. There is even an audible click when they engage. With the handle screwed on that blade is not going anywhere even if it wants to. Another nice feature are the two cutouts on the top cap near the outside and under where the blade rests. These are fingernail slits so that you can slide your nail in there to get under the blade. This makes it very easy to remove the blade either between shaves for cleaning and drying or when you change blades depending on your normal razor maintenance routine. While this has nothing to do with how the razor performs I find it to be another indication of just how much thought and care went into the design of this razor.



I believe that is all that I have to report for today. I did palm strop the Kai Mild blade after my shave today so I'm curious to see if that makes any difference in my next shave with it. If not, then I think I'm going to have to call no-joy on these blades and move on to the Feather Professional blades. The Pros are the blades that I have the most experience with in the Cobra Classic. Interestingly enough, I did have a couple of Kai Mild blades that I used in the Cobra Classic and I found them utterly unusable at that time due to extreme tugging and blade chatter. While I won't know for sure, I do hypothesize that the better blade locking mechanism of the Mongoose has turned a blade that was unusable for me in the Cobra Classic to a serviceable blade in the Mongoose. Just food for thought.

[SharpSpine]

My old razor next to "New Hotness"!

The Clog Pruf was recently replated in bright nickel, yet it can't hold a candle to the shine of such a finely polished Mongoose.

[kingfisher]

Head only would be awesome. I could pair it with my custom UFO handle. Not a fan of the smooth handle.

[SharpSpine]

Head only would be awesome. I could pair it with my custom UFO handle. Not a fan of the smooth handle.

The head only option will be available starting with the second batch which should be available in October. From what I saw of Brian Krampert's post it seems like the cost for the head only could be around $120 but nothing has been released officially on that front yet.

[SharpSpine]

Day #3 of the Mongoose Journey

This was my first use with only a day of growth. My first shave was on almost 3 full days of growth. Yes, I was excited and didn't want to shave until it arrived. I doubt I was the only one who did this. The second shave was on approximately 38 hours of growth and shave #3 was on 24 hours growth.

The shave looked like this...

09/09/2014 - Mongoose Day #3



Razor: Mongoose SB + Dub Legend
Blade: Kai Captain Titan Mild (3)
Brush: The Grooming Company Brazuca
Soap: Catie's Bubbles Jardin D'Or (14)
AS: Vintage Aqua Velva Ice Blue


The shock of the day came when I noticed that the Kai Mild blade was actually holding its own during the XTG and ATG strokes. This was the last thing that I was expecting from this shave. I fully intended to bin this blade and move on to the Feather Professional blade for tomorrow. Well, I am still moving on (more on that later) but I didn't bin the blade. Rather, I found one of my son's magnetic rocks that we picked up while in Gatlinburg, TN last fall and set the blade on it. This will allow me to keep it out of the way and also off of the cutting surface until I'm ready to come back to it. Perhaps the palm stropping I performed on the blade after the last shave helped to smooth it out. I know many don't buy into palm stropping stainless steel razors. However, in my experience I must say that I see a difference with the practice. GEM SS PTFE blades can be rough for the first 1-3 shaves. I now palm strop every new GEM blade before their first use and I no longer have to suffer through a few rough shaves before experiencing the really smooth shaves that they can deliver. I wonder if that is what I'm seeing with the Kai blade. When I come back to it down the road I will revisit how it performs.

Today's shave was completely blood free and smooth; absolutely zero weepers for the first time. I don't think I ever experienced that with the Cobra. I always had a couple weepers or so. The extremely close shave is the whole reason I put up with it for as long as I did. With getting this type of a result with a blade that was unusable for me in the Cobra and until today wasn't performing that well even in the Mongoose has me stoked to see how the Feather Professional and Feather Super blades will work.

In order to get some experience with all 3 blades as quickly as possible while also giving each one enough time to really show what they are capable of I am going to shave with each for 3 times and then move on. I will then come back to them so I can keep comparing them against each other while also recording the longevity of each blade.

Very similar to the Cobra, the shaves from the Mongoose are close and long lasting. I believe this to be due to the fact that they use the same blades and there is definitely something special about these blades; even the Kai Mild blade which hasn't been the best for me so far. You will be getting high quality shaves from any well designed razor that utilizes these blades from Feather and Kai. I've never tried any of the "guard" blades and will possibly try them out once I get through the 3 types of blades that I already have. I will say that the guard blades give a wicked impression in photos. They make the blade look serrated. Anyone want to shave with a serrated blade?

[SharpSpine]

Day #4 of my Mongoose Journey

New blade time. The Kai has been stored instead of binned because it actually shaved better on its third use than it did on either of the first two shaves.



Enter the Feather Professional blade. Now this is where I will really start to make some comparisons to how the Cobra Classic shaved for me. I have over 100 shaves with the Feather Pro + Cobra combination under my belt. So while I won't have that many shaves with the Mongoose for quite some time, I am confident that I will be able to pull from my Cobra experience to determine the similarities and differences between the two.

Today's Mongoose Shave:

10/09/2014 - Mongoose just went Pro; Feather Pro!



• Mongoose + Dub Legend (4) •
• Feather Professional (1) •
• Plisson Synthetic •
• Martin de Candre (16) •
• Vintage Aqua Velva Ice Blue •

The difference is immediately noticeable from the first stroke with the Pro loaded vs the Kai Mild. The Feather Pro blade is so much sharper and smoother than the Kai Mild blade for me that it didn't even feel like a blade was in the razor during the WTG/XTG pass. It wasn't until I started my XTG/ATG strokes that I could even get the smallest amount of feedback from the blade slicing my whiskers.

Now to start making a more direct comparison to the Cobra. This was the absolute first time that I have completed a shave using a Feather Professional blade with zero weepers. I used to be able to get close to a blood-free shave with the Cobra when I shaved off multiple days of growth. Even then I would get 2-3. On daily shaves, however, I could have half a dozen or more weepers. The Feather Pro blades are just so stinking sharp. I was flabbergasted at how well they could work yet frustrated at the constant weepers even on what I thought was a careful shave. It then occurred to me after changing blades one day that the blade bed could still move a tad even when locked in place. The lightbulb went off in my head and I knew then why the weepers were there. Even though the Feather Pro blades are thicker and stiffer than DE blades, they aren't quite as thick and stiff as the traditional GEM style SE blades. Therefore, they can flex easier especially if they are not locked down tightly. The blade bed sliding around like that just didn't provide me the rigid blade experience that I (and my skin) prefer.

The Mongoose's 3-piece design along with the interlocking tab/indents between the razor head and base plate ensure that the blade is clamped down securely. There is absolutely no movement coming from the blade when inside the Mongoose. This allows the blade to maintain its maximum rigidity as well as my face's maximum happiness.

Take a look at the Mongoose disassembled with a blade loaded. Pay attention to how the tab do two things; 1. They are the "posts" for the cutouts on the blade and 2. They insert into the matching indentions on the baseplate. The blade is sandwiched between the two pieces of stainless steel. Then as you screw the handle on it acts like a vice grip slowly tightening down on the blade within. That blade ain't going nowheres!



Looking forward to a couple more great shaves with the Mongoose + Feather Pro combo before moving on to the Feather Supers. Now that is where things will really get interesting for me as I've been wanting to use that blade almost 2 years now.