I'm not sure how to go about this review without getting into a discussion about wet shaving in general, so I'll do my best here to keep it product specific.
I held off quite awhile before posting this review because this was my first safety Razor and experience with traditional shaving. I didn't want to give it a rating until I was sure I knew what I was doing, and not blaming the razor for any lack of skill/practice on my part.
The Viking's Blade definitely does the job, however, it's not always consistent. I've tried it with several different blades, etc. and have had good results for the most part, but it doesn't seem to hold the blades perfectly straight. I have to spend a minute or two each time I'm installing a new blade to make sure to position it just right before tightening the butterfly mechanism, else I get an uneven shave or more-than-usual nicks. Even when the blade is sitting right, I have to make several passes and reapply more cream before it gets it all (I'm talking 5, 6, sometimes more). Now, before writing that, I made sure it wasn't the blades I was using or my technique. I've tried several brands of blades and I've been using a few different razors with moderate success, so I can safely say that this is an issue with the razor itself. It may have something to do with the guard/comb part of the head, and it may work better for others with different types of facial hair, but it's consistently not giving me a close shave without multiple attempts.
I will say that, having tried a few other Brand Razors in the meantime, this one does do a pretty good job with not cutting you. I have two other reputable brand razors that are much more prone to nicks. From what I gather, this has to do with the spacing between the blade and the guard. If that is indeed the case, then the Viking's blade has good spacing.
The razor itself is of very high-quality construction and definitely has some weight to it. It's very comfortable to hold and it's easy to clean.
All in all, I would say the Vikings Blade was a good choice to learn the ins and outs of traditional shaving, and I would definitely recommend it to other beginners - but I don't think my shave quest ends here.
Buy it:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011L8WJIA
OR
http://www.julianvue.com
I held off quite awhile before posting this review because this was my first safety Razor and experience with traditional shaving. I didn't want to give it a rating until I was sure I knew what I was doing, and not blaming the razor for any lack of skill/practice on my part.
The Viking's Blade definitely does the job, however, it's not always consistent. I've tried it with several different blades, etc. and have had good results for the most part, but it doesn't seem to hold the blades perfectly straight. I have to spend a minute or two each time I'm installing a new blade to make sure to position it just right before tightening the butterfly mechanism, else I get an uneven shave or more-than-usual nicks. Even when the blade is sitting right, I have to make several passes and reapply more cream before it gets it all (I'm talking 5, 6, sometimes more). Now, before writing that, I made sure it wasn't the blades I was using or my technique. I've tried several brands of blades and I've been using a few different razors with moderate success, so I can safely say that this is an issue with the razor itself. It may have something to do with the guard/comb part of the head, and it may work better for others with different types of facial hair, but it's consistently not giving me a close shave without multiple attempts.
I will say that, having tried a few other Brand Razors in the meantime, this one does do a pretty good job with not cutting you. I have two other reputable brand razors that are much more prone to nicks. From what I gather, this has to do with the spacing between the blade and the guard. If that is indeed the case, then the Viking's blade has good spacing.
The razor itself is of very high-quality construction and definitely has some weight to it. It's very comfortable to hold and it's easy to clean.
All in all, I would say the Vikings Blade was a good choice to learn the ins and outs of traditional shaving, and I would definitely recommend it to other beginners - but I don't think my shave quest ends here.
Buy it:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011L8WJIA
OR
http://www.julianvue.com
