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The Ultimate Karve Razor Buyers Guide (REPOST and is a Quote from the Maker)

D

Dave in KY

Shave Newbie
Why would this be the Ultimate Karve Buyers' Guide you ask? Well, for vintage Gillette users, I believe it is. Read through to the end and I think you'll agree.

By way of background, I have found my Gillette Rocket HD 500 and my Aristocrat Jr. razors provide me with superb shaves. I started to wonder whether a Karve Christopher Bradley could compare and if so, what guard to buy. So I wrote to them and asked which guard compared to those razors and how the guards compared to the settings on a fat boy. Here's what Chris Kirchen, the man who designed and who makes the Christopher Bradley wrote back. Read it and I think you'll agree, for those of us who use vintage Gillettes, better advice cannot be had.

Hey There,
I took a quick look online and here's what I've come up with for blade gaps:
  • Gillette Fat Boy
    • 1 - .022"
    • 2 - .025"
    • 3 - .027"
    • 4 - .030"
    • 5 - .033"
    • 6 - .036"
    • 7 - .039"
    • 8 - .042"
    • 9 - .045"
  • Gilette Rocket
    • .020"
  • Gilette Aristocrat
    • .025"
Here are the blades gaps for my baseplates:
  • AA - .018"
  • A - .023"
  • B - .028"
  • C - .033"
  • D - .038"
  • E - .043"
  • F - .048"
I came from Gillette DE razors when I first designed my razor, so for the most part, the cross over is fairly consistent (i.e. gap = gap), except that I designed my razor to have a lower blade exposure than what is 'average', so I find that customers can usually go up to the next plate.

For example, my favorite Gillette is a Fat Tech, which has a gap of .027". That puts me at a B on my razor, but I find that a C plate is good for daily shaving.

Cheers,
Chris Kirchen @karveshavingco

So there you have it. The Ultimate Karve Buyers' Guide.
 
That's very interesting! It definitely gives the information a user needs and the "feel" for what to expect.
 
Good info for those interested in the razor. Thanks for posting.
 
This is not consistent with my experience. One of my Go-To razors is a Fatboy set to 5, which I find very mild with almost no blade feel. That's a .033" Blade gap and corresponds to the Plate C. When I tried the plate C, I found it to be quite aggressive with lots of blade feel, so I question the "lower blade exposure than what is average". I was actually thinking that in order for me to have a good comfortable shave with it, I'd need to go down to a B plate.
 
Spider said:
This is not consistent with my experience. One of my Go-To razors is a Fatboy set to 5, which I find very mild with almost no blade feel. That's a .033" Blade gap and corresponds to the Plate C. When I tried the plate C, I found it to be quite aggressive with lots of blade feel, so I question the "lower blade exposure than what is average". I was actually thinking that in order for me to have a good comfortable shave with it, I'd need to go down to a B plate.
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And yet Josh found C mild with little blade feel. Definitely a YMMV. Many don't consider more then blade gap and there is much more to the total scenario. Just gives some direction from the maker.
 
Dave in KY said:
And yet Josh found C mild with little blade feel. Definitely a YMMV. Many don't consider more then blade gap and there is much more to the total scenario. Just gives some direction from the maker.
Click to expand...

C plate was also super super mild to me. I found the best result with that razor on F plate but since my Fatboy went to the spa i can get a stellar BBS shave with it on 3-4
 
DocHoliday0831 said:
C plate was also super super mild to me. I found the best result with that razor on F plate but since my Fatboy went to the spa i can get a stellar BBS shave with it on 3-4
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Man, I tried one shave with the D plate and that was enough for me. Even the phrase F Plate gives me shivers.
 
I'll reserve comment on this thread until after I've tried at least the D plate and see the difference between it and the C plate....
 
Spider said:
Man, I tried one shave with the D plate and that was enough for me. Even the phrase F Plate gives me shivers.
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This is what surprises me KJ, well not so much surprises me but shows the differences in experience. Your feelings on the Karve and Timeless verses mine and my feeling of Single Rings and old types verses yours. Definitely shows we can't be adamant as to what will or should work for someone else just based on our own experience. I find it all interesting.
 
The Karve is one of my favorite razors, I have tried C, D and E with E being my favorite. For me the C had almost no blade feel and much to mild for me.
Happy shaves
SMURF
 
Got mine coming back this week after it's world tour with C,D and the F plate that I haven't even seen to use yet as it got collected on it's tour. I'll either enjoy it or sell it. Time will tell........
 
Dave in KY said:
Got mine coming back this week after it's world tour with C,D and the F plate that I haven't even seen to use yet as it got collected on it's tour. I'll either enjoy it or sell it. Time will tell........
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You are a patient man sir..
 
GearNoir said:
4 month’s of sleepless nights...”oh what shaves I might be missing out on!” ?
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IKR? I will admit I missed things while gone but the kindness of someone else helped me take a dip in modern razors and I have LOVED them. I may have never gotten the quality shaves I do now if not for Gus' generosity with the Rockwell 6s. I'm happy to help others as I was so they can know before forking out the money if it will work for them. If you ever want to find out about any I have just say the word Chris. You are welcome to try ANY I have. Gus is a great guy that does this regularly with awesome and pricey razors and for much longer a period of a time.
 
Dave in KY said:
IKR? I will admit I missed things while gone but the kindness of someone else helped me take a dip in modern razors and I have LOVED them. I may have never gotten the quality shaves I do now if not for Gus' generosity with the Rockwell 6s. I'm happy to help others as I was so they can know before forking out the money if it will work for them. If you ever want to find out about any I have just say the word Chris. You are welcome to try ANY I have. Gus is a great guy that does this regularly with awesome and pricey razors and for much longer a period of a time.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the very kind words Dave, I’m truly humbled by them. Why not help a shaving brother? The way I see it is if you see someone in need of food or clothing, you help without any hesitation. Shaving is such a small thing when looking at the bigger picture on what life is. There’s a lot of crazy things going on in the world and honestly sometimes you just don’t want to see or hear all the negativity spinning around. You do the best you can and move on helping others along the way.

With shaving, it’s a hobby that is shared with others that you have in common with. Cool gear whether vintage or new and we share a common ground and partake in a act of necessity or indulgence. The shave and with that shave there’s some pretty cool and neat looking tools to admire and drool over. The best part of the hobby is the people you meet that share that same interest. Newbie or Vet, all the same to me. Just help a shave brother out and perhaps give them some insight that will help that individual along the way on their shave journey. We say it’s the shave and we’re in it for all the cool stuff but, I’d like to think that it’s about the cool people we meet along the way that share experiences and a passion for this particular hobby. And in that is where I enjoy this hobby the most. The people, the good laughs and gentlemanly banter that goes on. It’s a pretty cool thing.....

The only thing I won’t share Dave, is my truck. Nope. Nada. Ain’t happening. But, if you happen to be in need of a vehicle in the near future, I would gladly offer up this baby:

Yup. A 1977 AMC Gremlin 4x4 with the highly sought after 401 V8 engine! And she’s a looker!! Two-Tone!
 
GlazedBoker said:
Thanks for the very kind words Dave, I’m truly humbled by them. Why not help a shaving brother? The way I see it is if you see someone in need of food or clothing, you help without any hesitation. Shaving is such a small thing when looking at the bigger picture on what life is. There’s a lot of crazy things going on in the world and honestly sometimes you just don’t want to see or hear all the negativity spinning around. You do the best you can and move on helping others along the way.

With shaving, it’s a hobby that is shared with others that you have in common with. Cool gear whether vintage or new and we share a common ground and partake in a act of necessity or indulgence. The shave and with that shave there’s some pretty cool and neat looking tools to admire and drool over. The best part of the hobby is the people you meet that share that same interest. Newbie or Vet, all the same to me. Just help a shave brother out and perhaps give them some insight that will help that individual along the way on their shave journey. We say it’s the shave and we’re in it for all the cool stuff but, I’d like to think that it’s about the cool people we meet along the way that share experiences and a passion for this particular hobby. And in that is where I enjoy this hobby the most. The people, the good laughs and gentlemanly banter that goes on. It’s a pretty cool thing.....

The only thing I won’t share Dave, is my truck. Nope. Nada. Ain’t happening. But, if you happen to be in need of a vehicle in the near future, I would gladly offer up this baby:

Yup. A 1977 AMC Gremlin 4x4 with the highly sought after 401 V8 engine! And she’s a looker!! Two-Tone!
Click to expand...

My thoughts too Amigo !!!

Mods can we move this to the BST section please !!!!!!!!!!!! ?
 
GlazedBoker said:
Thanks for the very kind words Dave, I’m truly humbled by them. Why not help a shaving brother? The way I see it is if you see someone in need of food or clothing, you help without any hesitation. Shaving is such a small thing when looking at the bigger picture on what life is. There’s a lot of crazy things going on in the world and honestly sometimes you just don’t want to see or hear all the negativity spinning around. You do the best you can and move on helping others along the way.

With shaving, it’s a hobby that is shared with others that you have in common with. Cool gear whether vintage or new and we share a common ground and partake in a act of necessity or indulgence. The shave and with that shave there’s some pretty cool and neat looking tools to admire and drool over. The best part of the hobby is the people you meet that share that same interest. Newbie or Vet, all the same to me. Just help a shave brother out and perhaps give them some insight that will help that individual along the way on their shave journey. We say it’s the shave and we’re in it for all the cool stuff but, I’d like to think that it’s about the cool people we meet along the way that share experiences and a passion for this particular hobby. And in that is where I enjoy this hobby the most. The people, the good laughs and gentlemanly banter that goes on. It’s a pretty cool thing.....

The only thing I won’t share Dave, is my truck. Nope. Nada. Ain’t happening. But, if you happen to be in need of a vehicle in the near future, I would gladly offer up this baby:

Yup. A 1977 AMC Gremlin 4x4 with the highly sought after 401 V8 engine! And she’s a looker!! Two-Tone!
Click to expand...

 
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