Headblade ATX

[alaskandave]

I was wondering... if any of you Headbladers out there are having problems with the new ATX. It seems that I just can't get a close shave with it. The blade keeps on coming up. I have to go over the same area twice some times three times. Just wondering if I was the only one or not?

[Mike_412]

You're not alone.  I had a couple of posts in another thread about a few issues I had with it.  Ultimately, I had to apply a bit of pressure and go over a couple of spots a few times.  I chalked it up to being used to not applying pressure with the Headblade Sport, but now being able to with the ATX.

It's good razor, but the jury's still out on it from my standpoint.  I'm going to give it a few more shaves as I remember the Sport taking me about a week or so to get used to.  Good luck.

[tomgallagher]

Applying pressure to a HeadBlade is a scary thought.

[Paul the Headblader]

Applying pressure to a HeadBlade is a scary thought.

hell yea.
I also had problems getting a close shave with the HB, but now it's gone. the HB is not like any razor, it won't do you any harm if you go over the same area twice.

[Tyler]

Which blades are you using? 4 blades or 6?

[valldo]

Tyler, just watched your Youtube video giving feedback about the new ATX. Thanks again, helpful as always

[greatnessinc]

If you're having trouble with certain spot make sure that you are going ATG & WTG for those spots. Every tutorial video I've seen has the demonstrator going front to back around the sides; but that has never worked for me, on the sides I have to go north or south to get a smooth shave.

[alaskandave]

I have been using both the 4 and 6 blade cartridges. It seems when I don't apply any pressure i don't get a close shave and when I do apply pressure I still don't get a close shave because the back of the blade rides up. I'm Todd Greene sent me a email about it and he told me to call him. I'm going to give him a call today.

[tomgallagher]

This would definitely present a problem. Let us know what Todd has to say.

[slydog]

I just received the ATX and have shaved twice this week. I'm going to say I'm disapointed with. It does not give me as close a shave as the regular head blade. Having 4or 6 blades doesn't mean one is going to get a closer shave than the 3 blade HB. The same is said for my DE razor. No blade gets me a closer shave than a DE blade. I'm certainly not about to put more pressure on the ATX on my head and risk a nasty cut.

With that said. I'm just going to use this ATX until the blades run out. Thinking of getting the shadow.

[Tyler]

I just received the ATX and have shaved twice this week. I'm going to say I'm disapointed with. It does not give me as close a shave as the regular head blade. Having 4or 6 blades doesn't mean one is going to get a closer shave than the 3 blade HB. The same is said for my DE razor. No blade gets me a closer shave than a DE blade. I'm certainly not about to put more pressure on the ATX on my head and risk a nasty cut.

With that said. I'm just going to use this ATX until the blades run out. Thinking of getting the shadow.

Before you get the shadow, try your HeadBlade 3 blades on the ATX...I think you'll be happy you did.

[headblade]

(Guys..I posted this on a couple other ATX threads...so I'm posting here, as well.  It's concerning the patchy shave and the difference between the ATX and Sport.  Hope it helps.)

We've had a few questions, and I see a couple posts, about how some people are getting a 'patchy' shave as compared with the complete clean shave from the Sport or S4.  It has to do with getting the pressure correct and finding the 'sweet spot' of the blade when shaving.  With the Sport and S4, the key is no pressure and the blade will pivot (like a see-saw) and will always be at the proper cutting angle.  As we've always stressed with the Sport and S4; no pressure on the blade!!

With the ATX it is different because, by having a forward facing pivot, and the blade in the back, you have to get the blade flush on the head, so you will need some pressure.  If you use to little, or too much, the blade will not be flat on the surface.  With the pivot on the ATX, if you  use too much pressure, the front guard will be pressed on the skin and actually lift, or pivot, the blade OFF your scalp, so  you won't get a clean shave, but again, you will not nick yourself either.

For longtime HeadBladers this will feel a bit strange.  It took me about two weeks to get completely comfortable with the early ATX prototypes last year...but now I prefer the ATX over any previous HeadBlade; mostly because I can shave my face and it's a much better blade.  And the rubber wheels are awesome!

Some existing HeadBladers may still prefer the Sport, and we spent a long time working the HB4 and HB6 adapter so the new blades are compatible with any previous HeadBlade!

For new HeadBladers the ATX is a lot more intuitive and an easier switch from a conventional razor.

We are trying to offer more choices for our existing customers while offering an easier entry into the HeadBlade family.  Some people never accepted, or adjusted, to the original 'blade first' design and stayed with a conventional handle.  The new blade technology, and forward facing pivot,  finally allowed us to design a razor with the blade on the back while retaining our commitment to providing the best headshaving equipment available.

If you've tried the ATX, and have experienced and patchy shaves, remember that there is a 'sweet spot' and even in Jacks' demo, he does lift the wheels towards the end of his stroke.  Personally I keep the wheels down the entire shave, but the new design is a lot more forgiving and easier to customize the shave for your own scalp.  So you can lift the wheels and put some pressure on the blade if that works best for you.

Hope this helps.  As always feel free to send me a note via the HeadBlade site.

Todd
HeadBlade

[120inna55]

I'm was a pretty good fan of the HB sport and Classic.  Neither of which took much of a learning curve, and the Sport was just a better, tighter version of the Classic.  It just felt natural.  The triple-blades were all I'd ever used. 

However, I've found myself preferring the Gillette Fusion ProGlide despite the exorbitant price.  I can't believe I'm saying that, especially since, in the beginning, I was a HB fanboy!  I recently bought the ATX and HB6 blades for myself as well as 3 ATX kits as gifts.  I spent over $100. I gave one kit to a friend who's been head shaving for 15 years. (We both are bald-by-choice with naturally thick hair.) He'd used the HB classic for about a month a good while back and said he never could get the quality shave the ProGlide offered.  I kept telling him how I loved my Sport.  But over time, I've been using the Fusion ProGlide more and more such that I've been using it exclusively for the past 6 months. 

Back in September 2011, I tested the HB4s and eventually the HB6s with the improved adapter and hated them.  Again, I really wanted to like them, and I appreciated the opportunity to test them.  They gave me patchy results, no matter what I did with the pressure. 

So, with the release of the ATX, I made the aforementioned purchase (because I believe in the company and really wanted to like the ATX).  I gave a kit to my friend, knowing he wasn't a fan, but I knew he'd give it a try.  He understood it was a different technique from the Classic. I told him if he didn't like it, just give me the HB6s back if he wasn't going to use them.  We were essentially trying them out at the same time.  My friend brought the whole kit back the next day, saying it didn't compare with the ProGlide.  After trying it twice (once with 48 hrs growth and once with 24 hrs), I have to agree with him.  Patches all over the place.  Lifting the wheels was a must, and still, multiple passes were required.  I will say that despite the multiple passes, there was very little irritation.

Frustrated, I gathered up my Sport and ATX with mulitple packages of HB6s and HB4s and put them in a drawer.  I'd resigned myself to just paying a high price for the ProGlide cartridges.  After reading this post, however, I'll give it a few more tries...

[Mike_412]

I'm was a pretty good fan of the HB sport and Classic.  Neither of which took much of a learning curve, and the Sport was just a better, tighter version of the Classic.  It just felt natural.  The triple-blades were all I'd ever used. 

However, I've found myself preferring the Gillette Fusion ProGlide despite the exorbitant price.  I can't believe I'm saying that, especially since, in the beginning, I was a HB fanboy!  I recently bought the ATX and HB6 blades for myself as well as 3 ATX kits as gifts.  I spent over $100. I gave one kit to a friend who's been head shaving for 15 years. (We both are bald-by-choice with naturally thick hair.) He'd used the HB classic for about a month a good while back and said he never could get the quality shave the ProGlide offered.  I kept telling him how I loved my Sport.  But over time, I've been using the Fusion ProGlide more and more such that I've been using it exclusively for the past 6 months. 

Back in September 2011, I tested the HB4s and eventually the HB6s with the improved adapter and hated them.  Again, I really wanted to like them, and I appreciated the opportunity to test them.  They gave me patchy results, no matter what I did with the pressure. 

So, with the release of the ATX, I made the aforementioned purchase (because I believe in the company and really wanted to like the ATX).  I gave a kit to my friend, knowing he wasn't a fan, but I knew he'd give it a try.  He understood it was a different technique from the Classic. I told him if he didn't like it, just give me the HB6s back if he wasn't going to use them.  We were essentially trying them out at the same time.  My friend brought the whole kit back the next day, saying it didn't compare with the ProGlide.  After trying it twice (once with 48 hrs growth and once with 24 hrs), I have to agree with him.  Patches all over the place.  Lifting the wheels was a must, and still, multiple passes were required.  I will say that despite the multiple passes, there was very little irritation.

Frustrated, I gathered up my Sport and ATX with mulitple packages of HB6s and HB4s and put them in a drawer.  I'd resigned myself to just paying a high price for the ProGlide cartridges.  After reading this post, however, I'll give it a few more tries...

My experience right down to using the Gillette ProGlide mirrors yours.  I've gotten a couple of excellent shaves out of the ATX, but it has required many more passes, lifting the wheels, and playing around with it way too much for my liking.  It takes me much more time to get a good shave.  I'll use it occasionally since I still have a few blades left, but I'm going back to using the ProGlide as that gives me the closest shave with zero irritation.

I'll still support Headblade by using Headslick and Clearhead as I'm a big fan of both.  The ATX and the new blades, while I like the idea of it and want to love it, just isn't for me.

[120inna55]

My second impression:  Much better.  The HB6s are the best cartridges I've ever used.  They surpass even the coveted Fusion ProGlides. Yes, I acknowledge that I claimed to hate them previously, but I now realize, at least in my experience, the adapter is the weak point.

...With the ATX it is different because, by having a forward facing pivot, and the blade in the back, you have to get the blade flush on the head, so you will need some pressure.  If you use to little, or too much, the blade will not be flat on the surface.  With the pivot on the ATX, if you  use too much pressure, the front guard will be pressed on the skin and actually lift, or pivot, the blade OFF your scalp, so  you won't get a clean shave, but again, you will not nick yourself either...

...If you've tried the ATX, and have experienced and patchy shaves, remember that there is a 'sweet spot' and even in Jacks' demo, he does lift the wheels towards the end of his stroke.  Personally I keep the wheels down the entire shave, but the new design is a lot more forgiving and easier to customize the shave for your own scalp.  So you can lift the wheels and put some pressure on the blade if that works best for you...

In my opinion, the "sweet spot" to which Todd is referring is too narrow of a window.  Too light pressure and there's hardly any shaving going on.  Too firm pressure and, as Todd indicated, the cartridge lifts, resulting in no contact.  That said, it's virtually impossible to nick yourself with the ATX/HB6 combo.

However, I just received the closest most comfortable shave ever.  How? I lifted the wheels the entire time.  It was a bit of a balancing act, but having the fulcrum at it's neutral position and transferring that angle to my wrist made all the difference in the world.  This method was more time consuming, though, but I imagine that could be resolved with experience.  At this point, I'm wondering what's the point of the wheels.

Seriously, if you put this cartridge on a standard razor, you've got yourself a direct competitor with Gillette's Fusion line.  Otherwise, I do hope someday, HeadBlade further modifies the adapter to eliminate the inherent lift that occurs with applying pressure.