Frankenrazor Februar

[gvw755]

Alfa Frankenrazors

The Alfa razor was a cheap Czech razor made mostly of some kind of plastic (not bakelite). The top is fully pent but not asymmetrical like the humpback slants. The base has widely spaced teeth similar to the Neillite 400 razor on the wide side only. By itself it is a pretty rough but pretty efficient, not as efficient as the PAA BOCS, but also not as rough. This is definitely a good candidate for experimentation, and they will begin to appear tomorrow.

 

[gvw755]

Frankenrazor Feb 21 – Alfa Cap/Apollo Base

First Alfa Frankenrazor used the Apollo base plate. The upward facing teeth ad the large lather holes definitely made quick work of things. Unlike the Marvel/Apollo, the Alfa cap set a different angle with slightly more blade feel, but significantly more efficiency. WTG pass was very fast as the pent cap set a perfect angle and the large lather holes meant I didn’t have to waste time rinsing (very similar to the SE Lather Catchers of old). Again, I could have stopped with just one pass plus touch up for a DFS, however as always; I went for a second pass. ATG was very similar to the first pass with definite blade feel, but no discomfort and not needing to rinse the lather along the way. This ended up being a two pass plus minimal touch up BBS.

 

[gvw755]

Frankenrazor Feb 22 – Alfa Cap/Barbasol Base

Next up is the Alfa cap on a Barbasol base. The Barbasol base shares some characteristics with the Apollo in that it has upward facing comb and decent lather flow. The shave was also similar. WTG pass had blade feel similar to the Apollo but was more efficient. Although there was enough whiskers left after the first pass, most was taken off with the ATG pass. Again, definite blade feel, but no discomfort. Unlike the Marvel cap experience where the Apollo and Barbasol bases were different in their shaves, the shaves with the two base plates and the Alfa plate were almost identical. Another two pass plus minimal touch up BBS.

 

[gvw755]

Frankenrazor Feb 23 – Alfa Cap/Progress Base

Tonight the Alfa cap was paired to one of my favorite bases that I hate – the Progress. The non adjustable Progress is a comfortable and very efficient shaver, but does not do lather flow very well. I have to constantly rinse out the lather because it gets caught in the trough with nowhere to go. Unlike the Marvel cap, the Progress base fit well with the Alfa cap.

From the first stroke of the WTG pass, I knew that this was going to be a good match. The angle was spot on and I could have finished with a one pass plus touch up near BBS. The shave was very comfortable and efficient, but louder than expected.

ATG pass was also very comfortable and efficient and I got away with a BBS with minimal touch up. This is definitely a combination to keep for the future.

 

[gvw755]

Frankenrazor Feb 24 – Alfa Cap/ OC Base

Tonight I paired the Alfa cap with the Pearl OC base. It appears that my string of great shaves getting progressively better continued tonight. WTG pass was very smooth and comfortable, and once again, I could have finished with a one pass plus minimal touch up near BBS.

Like last night though, I did the ATG pass. Once again this pass was very smooth and efficient and I got a BBS with two passes and very minimal touch up. This is another one to keep in mind for future shaves.

 

[gvw755]

Frankenrazor Feb 25 – Alfa Cap/ Marvel Base

After two disastrous attempts at matching a different cap with a Marvel base, I made one last attempt with the Alfa cap. This Frankenrazor actually turned out quite well. The Marvel base seem to prefer well defined angled caps and the Alfa was like the Marvel cap on steroids.

WTG pass was very smooth and comfortable. There was slightly more blade feel than the stock Marvel, and slightly less efficiency, but overall, a good first pass. Unlike the previous night, however, this one I needed an ATG pass as there were more whiskers left over than the previous nights.

ATG pass went well, again very comfortable, and slightly easier to manage than the WTG pass. I had to do more touch up than previously, but still ended up with a two pass plus touch up BBS.

 

[gvw755]

Frankenrazor Feb 26 – Marvel Cap/Swing Base

Thanks to a member on another forum for suggesting this Frankenrazor combination. The fit looked good and so I was anxious to try it out.

When I started my WTG pass, I could not feel anything and so I was expecting one of those extremely mild shaves that left a lot of whiskers behind (like the Apollo base plate). That did not turn out to be the case. I was surprised to find that this was another one pass DFS shave, and without even feeling anything! It kind of reminded me of the Mamba 70.

ATG pass was no surprise. Once again a very comfortable pass and I ended up with a two pass plus touch up BBS without even feeling the razor head against my face. This is definitely another one to save for later.

 

[gvw755]

Frankenrazor Feb 27 – Mystery French Bakelite Cap/Neo Lux Base

I recently took delivery of a Neo Lux (extreme) Diagonal razor and had some problems adapting to it. I followed the “slant rule”, which was to hold the handle straight and shave like you normally would, but that was not easy to do when you can see the head at such an angle. The Neo Lux head does not have a screw post in it and it does not have holes in the base for alignment pins. I found two caps with very short alignment pins and decided to go with my Mystery French Bakelite with Progress style base plate and came up with a most unusual Frankenrazor. So, on with the shave.

From the first stroke of the WTG pass, I knew I had to be careful. Blade feel was significantly more than the original Neo Lux (and the original Mystery French Bakelite). Audio feedback was also significant. I found out that I had to change my angle to ride the base more, and was rewarded with a very good first pass.

ATG pass was similar in that there was significant blade feel and a lot of noise. The shave was borderline uncomfortable, but manageable. I ended up with a two pass BBS with minimal touch up. As good as this shave was, I will not be trying it again in the future.

 

[efsk]

Weird cobination

 

[gvw755]

Frankenrazor Feb 28 – Feather AS-D2 Cap/Gillette New De Luxe Base

So what better way to end Frankenrazor February than to get a more expensive and modern pair of my original Frankenrazor. The top cap came from the Feather AS-D2 which is essentially a stainless steel modern interpretation of the Gillette Tech, and the base plate came from the Decollete version of the New De Luxe (which is my favorite Gillette OC). So what if the pieces don’t match because the Feather cap covers the blade and the Decollete base does not. Only thing that matters is if the pieces fit and how well does it shave.

Even before beginning my shave, this Frankenrazor was beautiful with the brushed silver cap and handle and a gold base. The balance was on par with the original AS-D2 as the base added a little more heft to the razor. WTG went surprisingly smooth. It retained the comfort of the AS-D2 but added the efficiency of an open comb razor. I could have stopped with a one pass DFS, but like the rest of the shaves this month, I did an ATG pass. I ended up with a two pass BBS with a touch up not worth mentioning. I have to rate this the overall best Frankenrazor shave for the month, and a fitting end to Frankenrazor February.

 

[gvw755]

Wrap Up

This was an interesting month as I finally spent time systematically evaluating the different Frankenrazor combos. The good part is that I ended up with more combinations that I liked than I didn’t. Some were so much beter than the original razors that I have permanently configured that way

Favorite Frankenrazors:
Windrose Cap/Fatip Base
DOC Cap/Merkur Base
Marvel Cap/Fatip Base
Marvel Cap/Swing Base
Lutz Diagonal Cap/Apollo Base
Alfa Cap/Progress Base
Alfa Cap/ OC Base
Feather AS-D2 Cap/Gillette New De Luxe Base

Frankenrazors to stay away from:
DOC cap/Apollo Base
DOC Cap/Marvel Base
Mystery French Bakelite Cap/Neo Lux Base

For those that have been keeping up and contributing, thanks for doing so, and hopefully I have done something to make you take a look at a razor not as a whole, but as parts that can be mixed and matched to get better results. Many of you already do this with the Rockwell, Karve, and ATT. This is the same thing, except the cap, base, and handle (yeah okay, whatever you want) aren’t coming from the same manufacturer.

 

[MudShark]

Der Februar ist zwar schon lange vorbei, aber nichtsdestotrotz möchte ich hier noch auf eine Kombination hinweisen, die aus der Summe der beiden Teile etwas größeres Ganzes macht:
DOC (bzw. Yaqi Mellon) Head plus Velvet Bodenplatte. Jedem, der noch einen Velvet zuhause (meist ja auch ungenutzt, weil zu sanft) rumliegen hat, sei die Modifikation durch den DOC-Kopf ans Herz gelegt! Das Ergebnis ist ein direkter, gründlicher Rasierer, der sehr sanft zur Haut ist, wunderbar!
Der Yaqi Mellon DOC ist mit seiner Original-Bodenplatte weniger gründlich und auch nicht ganz so sanft.
Der einzige Nachteil der Kombi liegt darin, dass die Löcher im Velvet-Boden viel größer sind als die Zapfen im DOC-Kopf, das Klingenspiel ist also nicht unerheblich, aber das kriegen wir ja alles locker hin! Fotos mach ich auch irgendwann noch...