Shall i bye a DE again? Tempted!!!!
Hi Matt: Nice SOTD pic... so tell me more about the "Phoenix Sidewinder". I love how it looks. WARHAWK
Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements' "The Phoenix Sidewinder" is a classic 2-piece shaver. The cap is zinc alloy, and the handle is chrome-plated brass. By design, the baseplate is not removable, and I can't confirm whether it's zinc alloy or brass. The cap's stem is relatively short, and the threads catch by just resting the cap on top and then twisting the bottom knob. Of course, if you are loading a blade, you would most likely invert the razor and install the blade on the cap, and then begin threading. It's a pretty quick process since the threads catch so easily. It's not near as awkward as say a Merkur Progress. Speaking of---because someone's going to try it---other caps may work, so you frankenrazor enthusiasts will have fun experimenting. My RazoRock Baby Smooth's cap fit, but the Merkur Progress's stem was too long, and it bottomed-out preventing the cap from even approaching the baseplate. Assembled with the stock cap, my Astra blade had no alignment issues and there was no play even when the bottom was not fully tightened. So, yes, it would be possible to safely tweak your blade gap by loosening the knob. However, I found the efficiency to be spot on with it tightened down as it's designed, but more on that later.There's some obvious tooling marks inside the shaft and what appears to be a transected tension collar just inside the top orifice of the shaft. It's only visible when the razor is disassembled, and I'm told that is normal for this razor. I don't believe the bottom knob is removable by design unlike some other 2-piece razors. There is an obvious spring allowing you to pull down the knob a maximum of about 2mm when the knob is disengaged. When it's tightened down, it doesn't budge.Top to bottom, the finish is flawless. The knurling is finer than PAA's Double Open Comb, but looks like it's still part of the family. It's an elegant spiral knurling with perfect grippiness that is certainly appreciated by shower shavers. The planar surface maintains the signature laser-etched Phoenix logo. The surface is flat so you can balance the razor in a vertical position, but a gentle breeze would be enough to knock it over.I confirmed the Sidewinder's plump handle diameter to be 14 mm and a hefty weight of 104 grams. The length is 4 1/4". While I usually prefer handles on the shorter side, I discovered this is more of an issue of balance. The Sidewinder was quite intuitive to handle. I tend to choke up on the razor in tight spaces like that annoying little patch right above my ears, but while shaving the back of my head, it just felt more natural to hold the distal end of the handle. This is where the length really facilitates head shavers. The angle is also quite intuitive with a surprising amount of audible feedback given the inherent density of the material and relative lack of resonance. There is no drag from the closed bar. It glides effortlessly across the skin.The Sidewinder is very efficient. There was very little clean-up to be done. My usual problem areas (the crown of my head and occipital region) were about 90% BBS prior to any clean-up. I was able to safely and comfortably take long sweeping passes from the nape of my neck to my frontal hairline. PAA markets the Sidewinder as an "above medium/aggressive" razor. While the Sidewinder is very efficient, it accomplishes this without sacrificing comfort.The Phoenix Sidewinder is a beautiful representation of a classic style at an affordable price.
Friday Night, March 18, 2016 SOTDRazor: EverReady StreamlineBlade: GEM PTFESoap: RazoRock Santa Maria del Fiore FirenzeBrush: Simpson Duke 3Dessert: Ice cube rub, refrigerated WH, & refrigerated Santa Maria del Fiore A/SWARHAWK
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Topic: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD) (Read 750458 times)
