herm2502
Master Shaver
That's Mr. Knucklehead to you!!
Posts: 1,059
|
Post by herm2502 on Oct 7, 2017 7:00:31 GMT -6
I dunno, I kinda feel a connection to this one. Heyyyyyyyyyyyyy. Welcome to TOST!! Thank you. Didn't know this forum existed. Tom is to blame for presence. LOL
|
|
|
Post by Petrvs on Oct 7, 2017 9:04:54 GMT -6
Well thanks Tom for bringing a new member in, then. Welcome to THE place for SE enthusiasts!!!!
|
|
|
Post by wchnu on Oct 7, 2017 9:39:44 GMT -6
Heyyyyyyyyyyyyy. Welcome to TOST!! Thank you. Didn't know this forum existed. Tom is to blame for presence. LOL He does stir the pot like thst. Woo
|
|
|
Post by Alan on Oct 8, 2017 11:56:49 GMT -6
Alan's IGOR Test Run: Shaves 2 and 3
Shave #2 Shave number two was performed on Friday the 6th with IGOR set at medium. I first shaved the right side of my face using a Pella stainless blade. Once again I was able to maneuver the IGOR all over my face like a race car. Even at the medium setting I was not laying the hump flat against my face. I didn’t seem to need to (that’s just me, YMMV). The shave was smooth with no nicks or weepers. I then shaved the left side of my face using a PAL carbon blade (thanks Bird). Another smooth shave, just like the right side. This shave was nick and irritation free and a bit closer than shave #1. Now, as I was shaving I realized that this razor reminds me of a Shovelhead, only much better. I compared the two and noticed that the head on IGOR is mounted flat to the handle, not angled as on the Shovelhead. It also has a straight bar comb, not teeth like the Shovelhead. Hmmmm.
Shave 3# Shave number three was performed on Saturday the 7th. I set IGOR at the most aggressive. I could feel the difference. It was fine but I didn’t feel comfortable unless I kept the hump flat against my face. Nothing wrong with that, that’s what Tom designed the razor to do. Anyway no nicks, weepers, or irritation but the shave did not seem any closer than when I was skimming over my face with it set at medium.
|
|
|
Post by Alan on Oct 8, 2017 12:04:03 GMT -6
Alan's IGOR Test Run Summary
The following is not a review, it is just some observations I’ve made based on three shaves with Tom White’s creation the adjustable “IGOR”. Bear in mind these are my opinions, not scientifically acquired data. I used the same set-up for each of the shaves. The only exception being that on shave number two instead of using a Pella blade for the whole shave I used a Pell on one side of my face and a PAL on the other. I wanted to see if the razor worked the same with both. In my opinion it did. SET-UP Soap: Palmolive Cream Blade: Pella/PAL Brush: EverReady 100 Badger AS: Thayers Witch Hazel Three pass shave: with, against, and across the grain.
I like this razor. It reminds me a lot of a Shovelhead, a razor I felt was basically good, but had many drawbacks. Tom does two things different here. Number one: His adjustment is based on Blade to front of comb distance, not blade to comb gap. Number two: He mounts the razor head straight on the handle, not angled. Anyway, here is what I observed. Fit and Finish: The fit is very good. The finish is not complete but this does not significantly affect performance. We need to remember Tom stated he was not going to spend a lot of time polishing and fine tuning the finish until he knows the razor is worth spending the effort on. Balance: For me, this razor has perfect balance. It balances on my pinky. I think Jayaruh commented on this also. Weight: Excellent for me. It’s a very light razor (I love light razors) but it still seemed to cut without needing pressure. Probably has something to do with the fact that the razor adjustment is based on blade distance and not blade gap. Maneuverability: Excellent! I can dance and whisk this razor all over my face with just a light pinky grip. Ease of loading: It loaded fairly easily as long as I made sure the front of the blade was seated. If I seated the spine end first the blade would slide out of place. I believe this was due to the fact that the tabs in the base plate that seat the blade need a little further fine tuning. We have to remember Tom was using a hardware blade for measurements and then altered the fit for a shave blade. Blade Adjustment: The adjustment has a nice variation from a mild feel to a medium aggressive feel. Razor Mechanism Performance: All in all, very good. Sometimes the adjustment action seems a little stiff but this will smooth out once the milling swirls are polished out and surfaces smoothed (again, Tom is aware of this but isn’t going to waste hours on it until he knows it works). The razor opens easily and closes securely. Grip: Before I actually held it I would have sworn the grip would stink. It didn’t. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I like how it feels. Being smooth, I thought it would be slippery when wet but it wasn’t. For me, the fact that the head is mounted to the handle straight and not angled does not make for an uncomfortable grip. I actually like it. Clogging Factor: I was really surprised here. It acted like a GEM MMCP. I could do almost a whole shave without rinsing. Not sure why, maybe the lather was collecting in the hump. Cutting Performance: I thought the cutting performance was very good. I was able to get very close shaves out of it compatible to most of my SEs. Hard to Get Places Performance: Very good, better than most SEs. The only con was that the hump sometimes got in the way under the nose. Bloodthirsty Factor: I never drew blood. On the #1 mild and #2 medium shaves I skated all over my face with no regard for avoiding cuts and still drew no blood. No blood on the #3 aggressive shave either, but I took my time and paid close attention with the hump always against my face. Irritation: The cream I used was a good one, but not top of the line for protection. All I used for AS was plain Witch Hazel. There was no irritation from the shaves. Water Retention: Like Jayaruh, I did notice the head retains a little water when rinsed. You have to shake it a bit. Dietary preferences: The razor seemed to work equally well with PAL carbon and Pella stainless blades. I did not have a new Treet to shave with but I loaded an old one and it loaded just as well as the PAL and Pella. Maintenance: The razor seems to clean up nicely with an under faucet rinse. Probably even better if the milling swirls were polished out and surfaces smoothed (again, Tom is aware of this but isn’t going to waste hours on it until he knows it works). Durability: The design of the razor seems very simple. Usually simple things are pretty durable. As I don’t know much about metals I’m not sure how the aluminum hinges and slide mechanism would hold up with daily use; Tom can better answer that. New Technology: So this razor is based on blade distance from front of comb rather than blade gap with comb. I think this works here because unlike most SEs, the head on the IGOR is not mounted on a tilted angle; it is mounted flat at 90 degrees. So, we have two out of the ordinary concepts in use here. They seem to complement each other. Changes or Improvements: If the hump wasn’t there this razor would remind me of a Shovelhead without the negatives associated with the original Shovelhead. I’m able to get a good shave out of the IGOR without laying the hump flat against my face. Then again, I don’t put injectors, 1912s, 1914s, 1924s, or any of the Micromatic types flat against my face either. However, that’s just me and the majority of the other shavers may see things different.
|
|
|
Post by twhite on Oct 8, 2017 12:43:05 GMT -6
Alan
Thank you very much for the review. I am very happy you enjoyed it.
A little note on the hinge. They are Stainless dowel puns. As you all know. This Igor is just a proof of concept. I literally machined and stuck it together. Absolutely no finish work, other than scraping any burrs off.
I am glad to see that Igor is not too mild.
Please keep your opinions and observations coming.
Tom
|
|
|
Post by jayaruh on Oct 8, 2017 14:23:25 GMT -6
Nice review, Allan. It is very thorough.
|
|
herm2502
Master Shaver
That's Mr. Knucklehead to you!!
Posts: 1,059
|
Post by herm2502 on Oct 8, 2017 16:37:39 GMT -6
Very thorough Allan. We all need to re-read your post before trying Igor.
|
|
|
Post by wchnu on Oct 9, 2017 5:14:48 GMT -6
Awesome reviews there Sir Toady! Thank you for time spent working that all out.
|
|
KarlG
SE Super Freak
Posts: 28
|
Post by KarlG on Oct 9, 2017 6:59:15 GMT -6
Sign me up! Looking forward to it.
Thanks Tom
|
|
|
Post by twhite on Oct 9, 2017 7:01:32 GMT -6
Sign me up! Looking forward to it. Thanks Tom You are in. Glad to have you Karl.
|
|
|
Post by twhite on Oct 9, 2017 7:26:00 GMT -6
Igor should be heading out to mrchick today. Enjoy my friends. Tom
|
|
|
Post by mrchick on Oct 9, 2017 7:26:25 GMT -6
Igor should be heading out to mrchick today. Enjoy my friends. Tom 😀
|
|
|
Post by wchnu on Oct 9, 2017 8:44:17 GMT -6
Sign me up! Looking forward to it. Thanks Tom Good to see you Karl.
|
|
|
Post by wchnu on Oct 9, 2017 8:47:58 GMT -6
I would love to give it a go. Thanks Tom. Welcome to you too good Sir.
|
|