Feather Popular Double Edge Safety Razor

This is my second, and probably last, DE razor. I started my DE career with a Merkur C34 last year and after some learning time, was able to reliably get very smooth shaves with it. The C34 gave me much less irritation than the cartridge razor I used before that, but my skin still burned slightly after shaving with it, and the occasional nick still occurred. I don't have a very strong beard, but I have sensitive skin on my neck, and getting my neck smooth with the C34 always left a couple of spots red and irritated. I bought the Feather based on the reviews saying that it was very well made and that it had a small blade gap and still delivered BBS shaves with no irritation. I have not been disappointed.The craftsmanship on the Feather is superb - it is a piece of art in itself, a simple design built to perfection with a wonderfully understated matte brushed finish to it. I shave every day and I look forward to taking this tool into my hand every morning. The precision design results in a very uniform, very small blade gap, which, in turn, makes it very hard (though not impossible) to nick your skin with this razor. When I first shaved with the Feather, I was amazed at how little irritation my skin showed, but I was not too impressed by the shave, which was not as close as I used to get with the C34. It took me about two weeks of playing around with pressure and head angle to find the sweet spot of this razor. I found that using almost no pressure and a pretty high angle of about 60-70 degrees, where I feel almost all plate and just a touch of blade on my skin delivers extremely close shaves that are virtually irritation-free.The feel of the Feather shave is very different from that of the C34. I use the Feather razor with Feather blades and this combination produces a very smooth glide as it cuts, and does so in almost complete silence, while the C34 is outright noisy in comparison, giving much clearer audible feedback on whether the blade is working correctly or not. With the Feather, I almost exclusively rely on how the razor feels on my skin. For me, the sweet spot of this razor is the point where I wonder whether the blade is doing anything at all or whether I am just scraping the lather off my face with the plate. This took some getting used to, but now I actually like these "silent cuts" the Feather delivers. Also, because it is so hard to nick your skin with this razor, I can use it in the shower, which I would never dare to do with the C34.The Feather definitely has a longer learning curve than the C34, but getting that first BBS shave without any nicks or irritation is an absolute revelation well worth every penny spent on this weapon. Shaving has become something like a Zen ceremony for me, and the Feather fits perfectly into it. When I have the time in the morning, it is an absolute pleasure to reduce the stubble to nothingness, but even when I am in a hurry the Feather delivers a great shave without the risk of nicks and the irritation I got from the C34.For me, the Feather shaves are not any closer than C34 shaves, but much more comfortable. Highly recommended.UPDATE 3/2013: I still love this razor and have not used anything else for a while. As this razor is very well built, I expect this to last for decades. My favorite blade in it is a Shark Super Chrome, which is just as sharp as the Feather, but much smoother.

It is funny how we tend to go back to where we started on most things, when I was 15 my dad gave me his old safety razor, a Gillette tech safety razor, which served me well for over 10 years. I have moved up slowly to more and more aggressive blades and 35 years later have been using a Muhle R41 since 2011. Well I have been looking for a new razor, and had decided to get a "milder" everyday razor since my 13 year old daughter has taken a liking to shaving with my double edged safety razors instead of her mother's 5 bladed wonders. as I was looking around I found the Seki Edge Feather All Stainless Steel Double Edge Safety Razor (AS-D2), and when I found I could buy it for just over $100.00 with a discount I bought it. I read a lot of review saying that it was a very mild razor and was not good for cutting thick coarse beards, one guy on YouTube even did a video saying feather AS-D2 fail showing him run his finger over the blade and not getting cut. I have a very thick coarse beard (can we say bailing wire with an attitude) So when it arrived I was not expecting a whole lot of close shaves from it, well now that I have been using it for over a month I can say the bad reviews are wrong, and just show me that you will get out of this razor what you put into it. My first pass was smooth and very mild (I barely felt the blade or razor) to say the least but did not get me that super close shave, my first thought was the reviews were right, my second thought was why did I not feel or hear the blade, the Muhle R41 sounds like you are scrapping a chalk board with your nails on my beard. I remembered reading a review that stated "you can get any razor to shave if the razor is able to present the blade to the skin correctly" so I soaped up again and closely watched my technique, this razor really likes to be held at a steeper angle than any razor I have ever used (yes using really aggressive razors has made my techniques pretty bad), once I took my time and made sure I could feel the top cap, bottom bar, and blade touching my face this razor came alive, it sings (it is kind of hard to explain but it has almost a hum to it) and glides very smoothly, the angle is easy to keep, and the blade does a great job of giving me a BBS shave after two passes and a cleanup. Unlike the Muhle I can buff a trouble area without fear of cuts or irritation.I have used this razor with every blade I can find, from Feathers, Wilkerson blades, gems, Derby, to CVS specials, just to see how it does and for the most part it delivers a clean shave. With Feathers, Wilkerson's, or Personna red blades this razor gives me 4 to 5 clean 3 pass shaves per blade. That is better than the 2 to 3 I get from the Muhle.So what I have learned is this is a great razor, if you cannot get it to shave clean then step back and recheck you technique. If you can hear it sing and feel the blade, head, and bar then keep that angle and have fun, once you get the feel for it this is a very fast, and efficient razor that is safe to use every day. At 5 a.m. after a long night, where I am half awake and not paying attention I can still pick this razor up and get a close shave fast, with the Muhle R41 I have to give it my full attention all the time or it is a blood bath.I would not call this a mild razor as much as a safe razor (since it will give a BBS shave with less fear of nicks and cuts) it is a very efficient razor for sure, put in a sharp blade and you can get a fast clean shave every time, everyday, once you have trained your mind and hand to the new angle this razor askes for.If you can afford it then do not listen to the bad reviews, The workmanship is second to none, the fit and finish is awesome, the balance and weight are perfect, and the shave is safe and efficient. If you have a thick coarse beard put in a Feather blade and enjoy.

Great quality and build. Gives me an awesome shave. Almost impossible to nick and/or cut my face even when I am careless or not careful. Expensive but worth the price specially if you like quality products. Will buy again and recommend.