Closed 'Complete' Pass Around - Russian Adjustable 'Black Jack' DE Razor

Arrived safe and sound this morning.Thanks Andy & Nico!.I have been sitting here sniffing the testers!,have to laugh,when I saw 'The Kraken' the first thing that popped into my head was 1970's 'Shield' bath soap....Then I smelled it,it IS Shield bath soap!,Happy days!.
Will try it out in a day or two.
:)
 
Thanks for the update DrT. Feel free to give it a good few runs and let us know what you think of it.

1. Whosthedaddy
2. MrK1
3. AndyMc133
4. DrTerror*
5. SeanC

*Currently with
 
I had the first shave with it today,loaded up a fresh Sputnik,and after a hot shower,got down to the business of removing 4 days growth.
Setting 7 to start,but that was struggling,so up to 9 it went.The difference was immediately noticeable!,very much how I remember my1970 109 SA shaving,but that was on 7,so I don't think the Black-Jack is quite as aggressive,but I will have to revisit the 109 SA for a real comparison.
It seems to shave very much like the SA too,which is always a good thing!,along with the 1966 Slim,Schick Krona,Vision 2000,and 66# Aristocrat,the 1970 109 SA is in my top 5 TTO's of all time.
All in all,an excellent bargain bucket razor,it goes from exceedingly mild,to fairly aggressive,seems well made,the finishing could be better,and the blade gap did seem slightly out on one side,but that seemed to sort it self out with a press down with the finger,I also had no problem with the handle,not quite as grippy as the original,but nothing to start crying about!.I tend to hold the handle right at the bottom,between finger and thumb,and had no slippage issues.
To sum it up,a very good,well made,cheap and cheerful razor,that I would recommend to anyone,whether an old DE hand,or a newbie.
As a side note.....Maybe you should change the name to something else,as I first wrote ' The BJ was quite aggressive'...:eek:

EDIT- Super smooth 2 pass touch up,BBS was had!.
 
I have not had a chance to test it further,as I have been under the weather and not had a shave till this morning,and I was supporting the 'wildman of the woods' look again,so I used a 7 O'clock 'new' to hack that down,with one of the blades SeanC gave me.There would have been no point in using the Black-Jack,as the verdict would of been about the same!.I will give it another go Thursday/Friday with only mild stubble,and post my thoughts!.
Will bung a couple of small sample creams in,TOBS Sandalwood,Old Spice Shave Cream,and a handful of blades,and post it of to SeanC either Saturday,or Monday at the latest....:)
 
Right....Attempted a shave first thing this morning,but TBH,there really wasn't much there to shave off...I could of carried on,but I was really wasting my time,so,I have posted the Black Jack of to SeanC.
I threw in a Tobs Sandalwood cream,and Old Spice cream testers,and also 10 various blades for you all to enjoy.
All in all,the Black Jack is one fine razor!.
A big thanks to Martin for making it possible to 'try before we buy'......;)
 
'Black Jack' was safely received yesterday. Initially I compared the head and blade gap against my Black Beauty. The business end of the head is virtually identical to a BB and I struggled to see any clear difference in blade gap, so I decided to jump straight in this morning.

This razor has a very good solid feel and build, whilst it lacks some of the finesse of a Gillette, it is by no means a nasty sweatshop ripoff. TTO and blade adjustment work exactly as you would expect. Whilst keeping one variable constant from my recent shaves, Diamonds Pro Excell Blades, I also lathered up some of the Mickey Lee Drunken Goat soap which was kindly supplied in the box. My first WTG pass was with the razor set at 6. This felt very similar to a BB at 7 or 8, so maybe there is a shade more aggression or efficiency, depending on your point of view, but the razor performed very well with no nasty surprises lurking. For the second pass I went largely XTG and after a quick touch up it was job done. Inspecting the results more thoroughly as I got dressed revealed a DFS bordering on BBS.

Whilst I will test the razor further for the next few days, my initial impressions are very positive and lets say that I don't anticipate testing will be a chore. A final word on the soap too. Lathered easily and has great cushion and glide and the fragrance is something else 'notes of chocolate, oats, molasses and chestnut'.

Nice one @Nico1970
 
I continued through the week with Black Jack and the Diamonds Pro Excell Blade varying the software using the wide range in the pass around box. A little variation due to the latter, but a very good solid 2.5 pass DFS bordering on BBS each day.

For the weekend I mixed things up slightly. A blade from the Black Jacks motherland, a Sputnik and Razorock XXXX kindly PIFed by @flobberdob. The soap lathered up an absolute treat (see below) and once again very good results with the Sputnik, possibly a fraction sharper, but a fraction less smooth. It's best part of 16 hours now since I shaved and my face is still in pretty good shape.

b8c113b59fbf197762dce345dbb44979.jpg


My first hardware pass around and all in all its been a very good experience. A razor which in my opinion shaves as well as a BB, albeit a tad more aggressive and some other interesting toys in the box to play with too. Highly recommended and thanks again @Nico1970 for setting this up.
 
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