SE Artist Club Blade Comparisons

I think they shave better with that shallow angle too. What blade do you like most?

I’m still trying to figure that out. (I’ve actually been hoping you would tell me, in this thread.) 

It’s always had more blade feel for me than I would like. But it’s so light, easy to hold, and maneuverable that I want to make it work if I can. 

If you look at Shane’s face (the owner of Blackland), his whiskers look much denser and thicker than mine. It may feel totally different to him than it does to me. But it has such a good reputation that I’m going to try a few different blades again, using my more cushiony, slicker soaps, a shallower angle, and little pressure. 

I will report back to this thread about which is my favorite blade of the four or five I have to use with it, and how close I can get it to what I’m hoping it will be.

The Vector is such a nice nimble little razor and probably why I kept it and passed on other AC razors I've had.
   Just get right in there let us know your experiences as your trying blades too, or anyone else. 
Since everyone has a mix of different factors going on, maybe the more information we can put down and figure out as we go.

The other day I used a Kai Captain Titan Mild blade with one shave on it. This is not the ProTouch guarded blade. I had a pretty nice shave. Pretty darn good, actually. It wasn't as care-free feeling as the Feather ProGuard blade, as I had to be a bit more attentive, but not as "harsh" feeling as a Feather Professional. Those Pros are good blades, but I have to really pay attention in order to not get nicked!

As for angles, I use whatever feels best for that area of my face. Next time I use the Vector, I'll try to pay more attention to the angles I use.

The other day I used a Kai Captain Titan Mild blade with one shave on it. This is not the ProTouch guarded blade. I had a pretty nice shave. Pretty darn good, actually. It wasn't as care-free feeling as the Feather ProGuard blade, as I had to be a bit more attentive, but not as "harsh" feeling as a Feather Professional. Those Pros are good blades, but I have to really pay attention in order to not get nicked!

As for angles, I use whatever feels best for that area of my face. Next time I use the Vector, I'll try to pay more attention to the angles I use.

The Kai Captain Titan Mild "Pink" became my alternative to the Schick Prolines when I discovered the Prolines were not consistently fitting the Vector. Although I ultimately gravitated to the Feather Professional for what I perceived was an additional bump in efficiency. The Feather Professional Supers provided the highest level of efficiency, but I never loved them in the Vector. However the Super Pros are my favorite in the La Faulx Classic plate configuration, as they are offset by the classic plate's relatively mild demeanor. Also have to give an honorable mention to the Feather Pro Soft Guard blades which I tried out briefly. They were surprisingly smooth and comfortable. Unfortunately they could only be used a few times before the reduced efficiency was impractical, at least for my beard profile.

This morning shave was with Schick Prolines and aTi Vector. The blade fit perfect, luckily, and went about like I remembered. 
The Schick was on the smoother side of things smoother for me than the Feather Professional. 
I believe I got about as good a shave is with the Feather Pro.
 Let's see tomorrow.
   It's good to see what others are experiencing.

The Prolines were really good for me, but 2 new dispensers had blades that didn't work out for the titanium Vector 

I think they shave better with that shallow angle too. What blade do you like most?

I’m still trying to figure that out. (I’ve actually been hoping you would tell me, in this thread.) 

It’s always had more blade feel for me than I would like. But it’s so light, easy to hold, and maneuverable that I want to make it work if I can. 

If you look at Shane’s face (the owner of Blackland), his whiskers look much denser and thicker than mine. It may feel totally different to him than it does to me. But it has such a good reputation that I’m going to try a few different blades again, using my more cushiony, slicker soaps, a shallower angle, and little pressure. 

I will report back to this thread about which is my favorite blade of the four or five I have to use with it, and how close I can get it to what I’m hoping it will be.

When someone asks me about AC format razors to consider, either as a new to AC shaver or not, I always include the Vector in a list of recommendations. But I did want to offer a somewhat humbling experience that occurred with the Vector. I had been wetshaving exclusively in the AC format for years when first acquiring a Vector. And my first month with the Vector was challenging. Some days felt like I was back at the beginning of my shaving journey. But the reality was that the Vector woke me from a shaving slumber and forced me to improve process, technique, and products. In many ways the Vector is one of the most important razors in my shaving journey, as it set me on the path I am on today, enjoying the best shaves of my entire shaving career.

While Shane was incredibly supportive during my learning curve with the Vector, all of the standard recommendations were not helpful. I also revisited almost every AC blade variant as well. Ultimately, I developed a working theory that for a small population of shavers (including myself), the Vector's head and minimal footprint made it difficult to intuitively "register" the placement of the head by feel, primarily when starting a stroke. I believe this can be more challenging if you are transitioning from a traditional and larger DE head geometry. Once I started to realize this I slowed down and took extra care to get the stroke initiated with a safe and comfortable angle. Ultimately it became second nature and felt like a complete breakthrough when that happened. After that it was smooth sailing with the Vector. However it took me a couple of weeks to completely break out of the "muscle memory" of how I would place a more traditional shaped head. Improved process and products were helpful as well.

The Prolines were really good for me, but 2 new dispensers had blades that didn't work out for the titanium Vector 

  I better plan on the Schick Prolines not working out in the long run, because of the not fitting issues.

While I was shaving with the Vector today I was thinking this is like the nice Batwing Bush hog, ( or as we say Brush Hog) Dad had years ago. 
A guy could drop both sides of that Batwing Hog, (hydraulics) and take a 15 ft pass, just knock the growth down in a hurry.
That was the Vector today, what a memory it brought back, crazy when that happens.

Okay I've had a couple of shaves with the Feather SoftGuard blade.
  Thanks to DanLaw for sending a SoftGuard blade and resending because USPS didn't get the first one to me. 
   A couple of days ago I had the first pass this blade and man I had a lot of whiskers left after one pass. 
I kept working away at it like a good traditional shaver should. 
By the time I got to the fourth plus plenty of touch up work I had a pretty good shave. Not what I'm used to but let's see where we go.

Second shave this morning with the SoftGuard AC blade.
I had more of an idea of what I was doing with the blade today so I broke it down to more of a traditional three pass type shave.
 
   Lots of times with my more efficient razors I will do with  WTG followed by ATG and then rework areas. 
I think some of my AGT on the second pass is actually a little bit across the grains 
Right or wrong that seems to be a style of developed with success.
   Back to the shave of the day.
 One thing I noticed was I get a lot of tugging on the first pass and like I said plenty of whiskers left over but let's roll with it.
 Subsequent passes went good and especially noticed how much smoothness that guarded blade had.
On the neck AGT with some sensitive areas real really we're very comfortable and I'm not smooth mellow feel. I rarely  get that kind of feeling when shaving that area.
    So I ended up with a pretty comfortable shave which is growing back at a normal rate, middle of the growth rate on the Regrowth O Meter, face check.
    I'll stay with this blade and see where we go.