Tradere SB

[Draco Noir]

After a brief internal debate, I grabbed this opportunity when it came up, and have been waiting excitedly for the postie to ring on my doorbell. It has finally landed, so I have posted a few pics here. Excuse any photographic shortcomings please guys..

The Box :

Contents (1) :

Contents (2) :

Assembled :

The workmanship is impeccable, from the subtle but grippy knurling on the handle to the finishing of the top cap and the way in which it fully encloses the blade.

It has a satisfying heft (I haven't weighed it yet but I'm guessing at round 120gm) and the balance is near perfect in the hand.

The blade gap and amount of blade showing are both significant, but as Leisureguy observed about another razor, it should be comfortable as the blade is "inside the protective envelope formed by the cap and guard".

Tomorrow morning will be D-Day - I'll fit it with a new Voskhod blade and have the inaugural shave. As @alfredus said recently about his beautiful new Wolfman, "if it shaves only half as good as it looks"....

 

[khun_diddy]

Beautiful razor mate. I look forward to your report.

 

[alfredus]

OMG - I can't wait for your report either - what a beauty!

 

[stillshunter]

Oh boy she's looks a beaut. Have you shaved with it yet...

Wait a second, what are you doing getting mail on a public holiday? Hmmmm....

 

[filobiblic]

Lovely razor. Well done on the purchase. They don't make them anymore, so they? I'd be keener for their Open Comb as I've heard it's a beauty. This looks a treat. Well done mate. [emoji106]

 

[Monsta_AU]

Head design is 'interesting' and the finish in a couple of slots is a bit 'ows ya father but that handle. Is. A. Work. Of. Art.

Definitely want to know how it goes.

 

[stillshunter]

Head design is 'interesting' and the finish in a couple of slots is a bit 'ows ya father [....]

I noticed the same thing RM, but I wonder whether @Draco Noir bought this baby used? If so, we might more be witnessing a less than meticulous previous owner rather than any shortcoming on behalf of the manufacturer.

 

[Draco Noir]

The first shave is now history, and I have a big smile on my face. Even the pain in the hip pocket has faded

I'll try to be thorough, so here goes :

Loading was a doddle - the blade drops onto the the slots in the top cap and is further restrained by the side covers that conceal the end tabs on the blade. No finessing or faffing around needed at all - perfect blade alignment with no possibility of movement. My only potential reservation is that the blade may be a little difficult to remove at blade changing time without having physical access to the end tabs. We shall see...

The shave was the smoothest experience ever. I didn't have to look for the right angle at all - the razor seemed to fall instantly into the sweet spot of angle and attitude.. It may well be that the razor is pretty tolerant of a range of angles - the amount of blade gap and blade revealed tends to support this possibility. I didn't want to spoil a sublime first shave by pushing the limits though, so that's a question to be answered later. Shaving was as smooth as silk in any direction - WTG, XTG and ATG in the places I can do it. It offers some audible feedback, but nowhere near as much as the ATT M1 or Ikon Slant DLC - perhaps the only tiny shortcoming in an otherwise brilliant first run. The end result was a very smooth face with zero nicks, irritation or weepers. Very satisfying shave, very satisfying result.

I much prefer LeisureGuys's Effectiveness and Comfort measures to the very subjective aggressive/mild measures. On that basis, I'd give the Tradere a very high score for both Effectiveness and Comfort. It didn't falter at all in mowing down the stubble, and without any particular effort on my part delivered a very smooth result indeed fron 2 passes plus a little mopping up. And all this with a level of comfort that hardly any other razors I've tried could match. The ergonomics of the razor were wonderful, great neutral balance in the hand, and the flared end of that beautiful handle made shaving upwards ATG a secure and precise feeling experience.

Over the next few days I'll use up the Voskhod blade I loaded it with this morning, and consider the next moves. While my gut feeling is that upping the ante bladewise (maybe Polsilver) will be no drama, I'm not at all sure it's necessary. As one of my favourite old sayings goes : "Just because you can doesn't mean you should".

 

[stillshunter]

The first shave is now history, and I have a big smile on my face. Even the pain in the hip pocket has faded

I'll try to be thorough, so here goes :

Loading was a doddle - the blade drops onto the the slots in the top cap and is further restrained by the side covers that conceal the end tabs on the blade. No finessing or faffing around needed at all - perfect blade alignment with no possibility of movement. My only potential reservation is that the blade may be a little difficult to remove at blade changing time without having physical access to the end tabs. We shall see...

The shave was the smoothest experience ever. I didn't have to look for the right angle at all - the razor seemed to fall instantly into the sweet spot of angle and attitude.. It may well be that the razor is pretty tolerant of a range of angles - the amount of blade gap and blade revealed tends to support this possibility. I didn't want to spoil a sublime first shave by pushing the limits though, so that's a question to be answered later. Shaving was as smooth as silk in any direction - WTG, XTG and ATG in the places I can do it. It offers some audible feedback, but nowhere near as much as the ATT M1 or Ikon Slant DLC - perhaps the only tiny shortcoming in an otherwise brilliant first run. The end result was a very smooth face with zero nicks, irritation or weepers. Very satisfying shave, very satisfying result.

I much prefer LeisureGuys's Effectiveness and Comfort measures to the very subjective aggressive/mild measures. On that basis, I'd give the Tradere a very high score for both Effectiveness and Comfort. It didn't falter at all in mowing down the stubble, and without any particular effort on my part delivered a very smooth result indeed fron 2 passes plus a little mopping up. And all this with a level of comfort that hardly any other razors I've tried could match. The ergonomics of the razor were wonderful, great neutral balance in the hand, and the flared end of that beautiful handle made shaving upwards ATG a secure and precise feeling experience.

Over the next few days I'll use up the Voskhod blade I loaded it with this morning, and consider the next moves. While my gut feeling is that upping the ante bladewise (maybe Polsilver) will be no drama, I'm not at all sure it's necessary. As one of my favourite old sayings goes : "Just because you can doesn't mean you should".

Jeez this sounds like a 'king good razor. Great review mate.

 

[khun_diddy]

Sounds great mate.

 

[Draco Noir]

OK, a couple more shaves completed and I think it's about time to wrap this up.

Firstly, I was partly wrong - although the razor is a little forgiving of angle it's by no means open slather. It does seem to fall into the right angle incredibly easily though - no fishing around necessary.

Next, although I haven't drawn any blood with it, I get the feeling that blood loss is possible with sloppy technique or major lack of attention.

The rest of my early remarks stand, even more so in some cases. It is definitely the "silkiest" razor I've ever used that is also high on the effectiveness scale. Only razors that are almost unusably mild come close to matching it in the comfort department.

This morning I tried a one-pass shave - I wondered how good a result was possible from a really careful and thorough single pass. Surprisingly good result in fact - I could certainly settle for it as a working day shave. And in fact I seem to remember settling for a poorer daily result back in the multi-blade cartridge days!

So in conclusion, the Tradere SB is a class act. I would happily run with it as my "desert island razor", and I have no regrets at all about acquiring it

 

[Young Buck]

Beautiful razor [emoji106]