D
I believe this is the earlier version not the newer kickstarter one, but I’ll let @saj1985 confirm that.I hope you having yours means mine, as a backer, is on its way
so basically youre saving me from losing my fingers by cutting those blades loolYep! It's the first version (full kit).
The head developed that fault whereby the cap would slip off as the plastic became polished and slippy in use. Advice from Rob was to drill a hole where the screw meets the plastic (or return it to him and he'd do it). I gather the next version will have a metal seat for the screw to sit just perfectly.
I think I jumped in right in the middle on 5 but found that my preference was for 7 or 8.
The angle that the blade is held reminded me very much of the injector with the blade practically perpendicular to the handle. It "just worked" right from the off, intuitive and effective. Since @saj1985 was pratting about trying to mangle half DE blades into his injectors, I though it the right thing to do ... and send him a razor actually designed to do that
Nice reviewNow that my MARS razor has arrived, and I've had one use of it, I thought I'd add a few observations to those made by the OP, @saj1985.
Mine is the latest Kickstarter release, with the razor and both sets of plates, for injector and halved DE-(HDE) blades. My original choice was for the blue colour, but I did enquire whether it was possible to have one set of plates in another colour. This wasn't going to be possible, but a circumstance arose, whereby it could be done, so my razor and injector plates are blue, and the HDE black.
The kit arrived in a substantial, flat glossy black cardboard box, with MARS box label and closure. The inner box lid is printed with instructions, recommendations and an invitation, with email address, to contact the creator, Rob Burns, if required. The two sets of 10 plates each are each bagged. They are numbered by perforations through the plate, in Roman numerals I-V (one to five) and Arabic numerals 6-10. I should add that I think I've worked this out correctly, as I haven't noticed it explained anywhere (but maybe I've missed it).
I watched the "how to assemble" YouTube video beforehand, and the box instructions and a bit of common sense should suffice. However, I would recommend watching the video at least once, as it describes assembly and loading techniques in more detail, and advises on what to do and not do. One thing advised against is over-tightening the cap tensioning screw, as it is tempting to snug it up far more than is necessary. I had no trouble in assembling the razor and loading an HDE blade (Shark). The blade needs to be properly aligned on the plate tabs, but this is far easier than with a design like the Focus Dynamic, and the cap closed and tightened up correctly. As the HDE aligns downwards onto the plate tabs, rather than upwards against the cap posts on the Focus, and there is no need to use the "bendy" snapped blade corners, it's quite straightforward, although a bit more work than with the magnetic Twig. The injector blade loading will be even simpler, as it drops onto two plate projections through the blade slots.
The razor, with blade and the No. 6 HDE plate, weighs 30 grams. Although light, the razor doesn't feel it, which is down to the dimensions of the "grippy" handle, and the overall length. It is bigger and heavier than the plastic slant DEs that I have; the Phoenix at 20g, and the Fine Superlite at something less than that.
I'm cold-water shaving at the moment (and will likely be for some time to come, given gas prices), and I lathered up with Signature Manucium and a Razorock 400 synthetic. On a wtg pass, the razor was very smooth, but it does give a fair amount of audible feedback, to enable me to judge its efficiency, and I do like a "noisy" razor. A second touch-up of difficult areas, and I had as smooth a finish as I could expect. Once I got the measure of it, the razor feels very safe, the best angle becomes intuitive, and I didn't need to use any more pressure than I would with a stainless razor; SE or DE. I generally manage to get plenty of lather into any razor, and this is no exception. Loosening and retightening the cap for rinsing mid-shave isn't very practicable, but the razor keeps cutting well, even with lather build-up, and is quick to clear with a bit of vigorous swishing around in the water. Compared to the Focus and the Twig, the MARS gives me a better and easier shave.
All in all, this is a very useable razor, and an ingenious design, with excellent flexibility in offering two single-edge blade choices and 10 plate settings. I'm not sure what the post-Kickstarter plans are for the razor, but to my mind, it's exceptionally good value for something that definitely neither looks nor feels "cheap", and I hope it becomes generally available. The No. 5 plate is recommended as a sort of neutral starting point, but I don't think I'll be using less than No. 6 and up. My plan is to try 7-10 HDE, with a new blade on each, to find my upper limit, and then to use the injector plates from 6-10, but probably not with a fresh blade each time.
All good stuff!
As always, it's a matter of choice and preference. I guess it would be possible to replicate the design in stainless, brass or aluminium, but then the cost of it would have to be considerable, it would be far too heavy in brass or s/s, and it would end up being unfeasible for most people. As it is, the MARS works for me, and is an excellent "take" on the halved DE concept, and dual blade-type use.Nice review
I know some are bothered what material their razors are but it doesn't really bother me but I could see some maybe be thinking if this was like stainless steel would be nice but it's nice the way it is as it makes it that little bit different
Ive still got to try 7 and the higher plates too
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