Weekly Razor Review

[Pbgoose]

We could probably have a hundred reviews of modern GEM razors, and we would probably end up with a hundred different impressions. @Errol has given us a less than glowing review of the Sabre V1 L2, and now likewise for the V2 L3. For a while I had wondered if he just didn't get along with that blade format, but his impressions of the Vestige, and to an extent the WR3 belied that. (Page 88 of this thread: I can't see it in the index, which is mostly out of date now.)

The Vestige (++) BTW is still my #1 choice for GEM.

Yes, the Vestige is very good. Next on my shopping list which is dormant at the moment.

 

[Vittoria]

Kampfe KaiTian Ultra Light (China).



Your head would never stop spinning if you tried to keep up with every new razor release from China, the online retailers are brimming full of them. I was checking to see if one of the more reliable suppliers on AliExpress had any new product releases when I stumbled onto this, the Kampfe KaiTian Ultra Light razor. Borrowing a recognised manufacturers design has never bothered any Chinese company, but why stop at pirating their design, might as well steal a name from the past as well, let’s call it a Kampfe. At least this Kampfe is a double edged design, but they appear to be materialising in plague proportions so it is inevitable that a single edged razor will eventuate; ah shit, they already have.

Being titanium was only part of what drew me to the KaiTian Ultra Light, its head design looked very familiar and appeared that it might work, after all, the head design has Blutt written all over it. There was no information available on performance, but the blade gaps on offer were familiar so I selected the 1.2mm option over the alternate 0.9mm, time will tell. That long neck on the handle is reminiscent (reminiscent – bull shit, it is a dead set copy) of the one fitted to Blackland’s Vector SE razor, it will be interesting to see if a thin, long necked handle can successfully be utilized on a double edge razor, I’d not seen that done before. Being a copy of the Swiss designed Blutt, the head has all the usual Blutt features; wide flats positioned at the outer extremities of the cap for blade clamping, elongated blade posts on the cap mating to blind holes in the plate all in an ultra-thin profile. Where Kampfe have really excelled is in the polishing department, beautiful deep lustre with not a sign of a machine mark, all complimented by the underside of the cap and the top of the plate being bead blasted.

It was half way through the first pass before it dawned on me that I was using a pencil thin handle that I’d previously only used on the machine downed AC bladed single edge razors, no problem, it was working a treat. Whoever done the CAD drawings for the Kampfe could not read a vernier or mixed the measurements up during the transcription; efficiency was around Karve CB Level #C and the blade feel was only just on the positive side of neutral, but by hell it was smooth. On reflection, I’m pleased I purchased the 1.20mm gap, otherwise the KaiTian would have been way too mild for me. This is not the titanium Blutt that so many of us were calling for, but it will suit those who appreciate a beautifully made and polished titanium razor delivering a smooth shave with mid-range efficiency and only a little positive blade; if this is you, go for it, but I was left wanting.

Blades Used – Gillette Rapira and Willy’s

Material – Titanium

Weight – 52.7g

Blade Tab - Covered

Head Width – 43.35mm

Handle Length – 90.27mm

Handle Diameter – 10.99mm

Availability – AliExpress

Final Word – Everything borrowed

Firstly great review mate I enjoyed the read it brought a smile to my face and reminded me just how many design and name ripoffs there are out there.
One that springs to mind is the Chinese copy of the The Goodfellas' smile Syntesi (they even use the same name!) on aliexpress
It even says "Italy Precision-engineered " apart form the small differences in the top cap and base plate its a very close copy.
If you haven't seen it it's worth a look just to see how similar this ripoff is the the fine Italian original.
Cheers.

 

[Gargravarr]

If you haven't seen it it's worth a look just to see how similar this ripoff is the the fine Italian original.

It used to be a bit breathtaking to witness the brazenness of their outright theft of artisans' designs. But now we are inured to the comprehensive theft carried out to feed so-called artificial intelligence, we are forced to helplessly shrug our shoulders.

There are NEVER any consequences. EVER.