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Homelike Razors Start

gvw755

Well-Known Member
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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Thank you for the review! I am very curious what your findings will be about the 1.18 plate.
 
Thanks for this review.
Seems the Taiga, an adjustable, has just become available too.
It just became available, however at $250 + shipping, it is not in my future. It does, however, come with two base plates, a SB and OC. I don't know if folks on your side of the pond gets any kind of better deal than if you were to get the REX from the USA, but it might be worth looking at on your end.
 
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. :daumenhoch
 
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.
 
Very positive reviews that contradict the experiences of some Dutch users who find him more Middle of the Road but as always YMMV.
 
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 (and because I said no more razor purchases for a while).;)

Still, I think you will be satisfied with the purchase.
 
The conclusion for the Start 1.18 I dare say now.
It is definitely not a bad razor and a strong point is the friendly price which is only $ 75 ex shipping costs for this razor.

So the only base plate I could test was the 1.18 and it didn't appeal to me, I find it too raw, so to speak, uncomfortable to shave.
Somehow I think it looks a bit like the R41-2013. Pretty effective but it clearly lacks shaving friendliness.

But considering what @gvw755 writes above, the old YMMV will be applicable here as well. ;)

When I the shaving comfort compare it to the Paradigm, Charcoal and for example Wolfman, it's a long way from the These. But that's also allowed considering the price difference, so a comparison with these razors might not be entirely realistic.

For this amount of money you'll get a nicely finished razor that doesn't show any unevenness, as far as that's concerned it overloads the new Paradigm Diamondback completely.

For newcomers who are still at the beginning of their shaving journey, this razor would be a good next stop after the almost usual E&J 89.
 
I think you will enjoy the .90 plates better. they are very comfortable and efficient. for a person starting out with an EJ 89, the .64 plate would be a good option because of the build quality and material and it is both comfortable and efficient.

The 1.18 plate I compared to my 1.15 Wolfman and both were razors not for beginners. The Start allowed more angles and was easier to find a comfortable place, however it was not the mildest razor I have tried.
 
Thank you for the review Hans. I totally agree with your opinion.


I think you will enjoy the .90 plates better. they are very comfortable and efficient. for a person starting out with an EJ 89, the .64 plate would be a good option because of the build quality and material and it is both comfortable and efficient.

The 1.18 plate I compared to my 1.15 Wolfman and both were razors not for beginners. The Start allowed more angles and was easier to find a comfortable place, however it was not the mildest razor I have tried.

This afternoon I had a telephone conversation with Kingjack and he also endorsed my experiences with the Start 1.18 in its entirety.

By the way, at first I thought I had been a bit clumsy but when I had used it 4 times I had some small wounds of 1 to 2 mm. at the most.
Kingjack himself starts talking about the fact that he also suffered small wounds when using the 1.18 plate for inexplicable reasons.
 
@gvw755 I'm not entirely clear but I also meant the set of $ 150 with the three ascending bottom plates.

Then you can slowly increase the level of efficiency and end up where you keep finding it comfortable.
 
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