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Homelike Start razor

gvw755

gvw755

0
I just received the Homelike Start razor in in a pass around. This razor supposedly is the first machined stainless steel razor coming from Russia. This kit came with a handle, top cap, and four base plates, which I believe is the complete set that Homelike sells. I am pretty sure it is the polished finish. The four base plates are a .69, .90, and 1.18 mm smooth bar plates, and a .90 Open Comb plate. Tonight I started with the .90 SB plate. Overall, just examining the build of the razor, I am very impressed by the workmanship.The razor has good balance and weight. As some have mentioned though, the handle does feel like it may be a problem concerning the grip being too smooth.

Unlike my usual practice of starting with a blade that is nearing mid to end of life, I loaded a new Gillette Nacet blade, only because I tossed the blade I was hoping to use after shaving with it last night. I started with my regular angle and after the first stroke I immediately adjusted it to ride the cap more. It can be an aggressive razor if you allow it to be. I am not sure if more efficiency comes with more aggression, however for me, once I adjusted the angle, it was a very smooth and efficient shaver both WTG and ATG. I was able to finish with a two pass plus minimal touch up BBS. Comparing this to my RR GC 84, the shaves are comparable with the GC being slightly smoother and more accommodating with angles, but the Start being more efficient.

Considering that this was my first shave with the Start, I was quite impressed. The concerns I had with the handle never turned out to be an issue, although it is not my favorite grip.

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Now they also have an adjustable, the Taiga, that according to reviews is similar to the Gibbs. It's pricey but so is the Rx and this is reportedly smoother across all bands, like the original Gibbs is.
 
HMan said:
Now they also have an adjustable, the Taiga, that according to reviews is similar to the Gibbs. It's pricey but so is the Rx and this is reportedly smoother across all bands, like the original Gibbs is.
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Yeah, I got busy and bowed out of that pass around and now regret not getting to at least try it.......
 
Tonight I shaved with the .90 OC plate. I am not sure if I benefited form the lessons learned in last night's have, or if the plate was definitely a better match for me, but I immediately found the right angle and the shave was as comfortable as the SB plate. I did find that the OC plate did better using short deliberate strokes, especially going ATG on my tougher areas. Tonight I was rewarded with a two pass BBS with no touch up, which was too bad since I lathered with one of my better soaps and had too much left over.
 
I'm on the passaround list as well. I prefer my handle lengths between 3 and 3.3 inches (76 to 85mm), so the adjustable doesn't interest me as much. I also tend to use all of my adjustables at their highest settings, so if I can find a fixed blade that works well, that's probably better for me anyway.
 
This razor continues to amaze me. Tonight's shave was with the 1.18 base plate and I was totally blown away. I thought last night's shave with the .90 OC plate was about as good as you could get and I was hesitant with the 1.18 plate as I just recently received a 1.17 WR2 Wolfman, which took me a couple of tries to get right. The Start just surpassed all of my expectations. Using the same angle as the previous nights, the razor was completely smooth and efficient. I could have gotten away with a one pass plus touch up shave tonight, but decided to do an ATG pass just to see the possibilities. As the previous night, I used short and deliberate strokes for the ATG pass and ended up with a two pass BBS.

Tomorrow I will try out the .69 plate just to see what it is like. I know how the higher gaps perform, so now it is time to see what the medium/mild plate can do.
 
gvw755 said:
This razor continues to amaze me. Tonight's shave was with the 1.18 base plate and I was totally blown away. I thought last night's shave with the .90 OC plate was about as good as you could get and I was hesitant with the 1.18 plate as I just recently received a 1.17 WR2 Wolfman, which took me a couple of tries to get right. The Start just surpassed all of my expectations. Using the same angle as the previous nights, the razor was completely smooth and efficient. I could have gotten away with a one pass plus touch up shave tonight, but decided to do an ATG pass just to see the possibilities. As the previous night, I used short and deliberate strokes for the ATG pass and ended up with a two pass BBS.

Tomorrow I will try out the .69 plate just to see what it is like. I know how the higher gaps perform, so now it is time to see what the medium/mild plate can do.
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Nice stuff Les. I was amazed how smooth the 1.18 was too.
 
Final shave with the Start. Tonight was with the .69 plate. Again, I was surprised as the shave went very smooth as the other shaves, but not quite as efficient. This time it took me two full passes and a half pass for under my chin area. Still, I ended up with an effortless BBS. The shave was closer to that of a Mamba 70. This is the plate that one uses when he is in no rush and just want a relaxing three pass effortless shave.

Overall, I am very impressed with this razor set as the razor itself allows different angles depending on what kind of shaver you are. If you are one of those that "want to feel the razor mowing down my kevlar coated beard", this razor with a slight angle adjustment will do it. If you want a "ghost shave" where you have to check to see if you remembered to load a blade and end up with a two pass BBS, it can do that too.

If you don't have much invested in many different razors, this set is perfect as on one end you have a ghost shaver similar to a Mamba 70, in the mid range, you have something equivalent to the Game Changer 84 (both SB and OC), and on the high end, you have something equivalent to a Wolfman WR2. I probably will not be picking up this set because I have all those razors already.
;)


Still, I think others will be satisfied with the purchase.
 
Based on trialing bothe the Start and the Taiga from Homelike both of which gave very smooth shaves I ordered the Taiga which goes from .5 up to 1.5 gap Don’t think you could go wrong with either, but I’m a sucker for adjustables
 
ShaveMD said:
Based on trialing bothe the Start and the Taiga from Homelike both of which gave very smooth shaves I ordered the Taiga which goes from .5 up to 1.5 gap Don’t think you could go wrong with either, but I’m a sucker for adjustables
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Still waiting my turn on the Taiga. What's the differences if any other than the gap adjustment amounts.
 
ShaveMD said:
Based on trialing bothe the Start and the Taiga from Homelike both of which gave very smooth shaves I ordered the Taiga which goes from .5 up to 1.5 gap Don’t think you could go wrong with either, but I’m a sucker for adjustables
Click to expand...
I'm the same way. I really wish that adjustable handle wasn't so long. I'm awaiting my turn with the Start. Maybe the 1.18 will be enough.
 
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