Review Lambda Athena de razor
- Thread starter jimthecamera
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Str8Mug
Forum GOD!
A very good shave this morning with the Athena. However, the Feather blade on its 3rd shave, I felt the slightest of tugging after the first WTG pass was nearly done. Not uncomfortable or harsh but, it wasn’t as smooth as the first two shaves. I completed the shave nonetheless without a single incident as the Ethos soap laid down some excellent lather & protection. The splash was slightly a bit more bracing but, not over the top. Subdued in a few minutes as the ingredients in the splash really does help with irritation and soothes with the best of them. Mission accomplished. Though the blade finished the shave, it will be removed and I’ll run a couple other blades in the Athena to get a more thorough feel for how it works with those different blades and just simply paint a better & clearer picture on how this razor performs for me.
jfim88
Forum GOD!
I only had three shaves with my new Titanium Athena, but I´m struggling to love it.
I have sensitive skin and my beard grows in various directions. Not much coarse. Tends to lie flat.
My actual favourite razor remains the Blackbird Titanium Lite for daily shaves (and Standard plate for more days growth).
I tried the Athena with two blades that are great in other razors for me, Treet Platinum and Personna GEM.
Not bad shaves at all, but I can´t say I am loving it. And I feel that is easier to get some small nicks. Also, I feel like it is scrapping my skin a bit.
Not sure if it is a pilot error or what...
I have sensitive skin and my beard grows in various directions. Not much coarse. Tends to lie flat.
My actual favourite razor remains the Blackbird Titanium Lite for daily shaves (and Standard plate for more days growth).
I tried the Athena with two blades that are great in other razors for me, Treet Platinum and Personna GEM.
Not bad shaves at all, but I can´t say I am loving it. And I feel that is easier to get some small nicks. Also, I feel like it is scrapping my skin a bit.
Not sure if it is a pilot error or what...
Str8Mug
Forum GOD!
Sorry that it’s not been a particularly good experience for you so far. Personally, in my experience so far with the Titanium Athena, this razor does not exhibit a large cutting window for finding that sweet spot without missing it all together. In my 4 shaves including today’s, the cutting angle is very acute and is limited to riding it closer to the cap. For me in that spot it shaves very smoothly & comfortably but, if I lose that angle for a blink of an eye, it either barely cuts or it gets a bit harsh or ”scrape-y“ like if one angles it towards the safety bar. The Athena does not offer a lot of room for adjustment in my estimation and requires a more specific ride the cap like technique to take advantage of its cutting prowess. To me I look at that as a chink in the armor for the Athena as it limits ones use in using varying techniques to adjust to specific shaver requirements concerning skin sensitivity or tolerance to blade feel in executing a comfortable & efficient shave. There are a couple of other things that I’m not a fan of or look as a minor detriment to the overall package but, they are small and mostly aesthetic in nature. I won’t deny though that the craftsmanship & tolerances are world class offered in a spectacular presentation. It has received high praise from many across the shave forums for the quality that it exudes and the performance that it delivers. I’m not there yet in that belief as I own a few other razors that are equally as good and arguably even better in the shave department while offering a broader range of versatility or adjustment steps to accommodate various shaver needs or requirements.
For me, the jury is still out if it’s a keeper or gets moved on.
Last edited:
Str8Mug
Forum GOD!
A good Sunday morning shave. The Athena & Gillette Yellow worked extremely well together producing an easy shave from start to finish. This pairing actually felt smoother over the previous shaves with the Feather blade. Hopefully I’ll get more shaves out of this combo with good results.
jfim88
Forum GOD!
I realized that I had to update this initial statement.
I think something was wrong with my skin the days I got the first shaves with my Athena. I even created a BST thread for it (thanks god it didn’t sell).
I took a break, used other razors, and tried Athena again. Now I am loving it! Many great shaves with the Tithena. Smooth but efficient. It’s a keeper for me, and I think it can be my favorite DE competing with Blackbird Lite.
Str8Mug
Forum GOD!
A good shave with the Athena this morning. Went with a fresh Schick blade for this exercise and the results were quite good. Since owning the Athena I have ran the gauntlet of installing my favorite blades in this razor in the search to matching a blade or blades that would produce that “got it” combo that I find in all of my razors. So far, I haven’t found the one(s) that have released that superb or fantastic feeling shave. The shaves have been fairly good to really good up to this point but, it hasn’t clicked all the boxes for me in its performance. Not saying it’s bad, it just hasn’t been the performer in smoothness that I assumed was standard fair with all the excellent ratings this razor receives among wet shaving enthusiasts across the forums. Perhaps I’m the anomaly in that the Athena never gave me both smooth and comfortable action though it removed the whiskers with ease & very good efficient character. Craftsmanship wise, it’s impeccably done with superb tolerances. The skill is there from this master artisan razor maker that competes with any other razor artisan producer in the market today. Despite the expert craftsmanship, I can say that for me the Athena is slightly under par compared to my other razors in the den, whether vintage or contemporary. If I were to just compare to equal alloy construction, the few that I have in Titanium are better performers for me personally which include the Paradigm Diamondback, ATT Windsor, Aylsworth Apex-Ti, Blackland Osprey, Ascender Skyline, Timeless Ti & the Design 94 Infinity. All these razors mentioned give me a more refined and more natural feeling shave with smoother feel on skin, ease of use at every stage of the shave and just give an overall better overall shave experience with superb comfort. I simply haven’t cracked the code with the Athena yet and probably never will. I’ve made incremental adjustments since acquiring it this past May with shave angle & accompanying technique to find that “sweet spot” but, so far futile. I might have to consider that it just isn’t for me though I will give it a few more try’s to see if the magic appears however, I hold no greater expectations or the shave experience to miraculously materialize instantly. Still a work in progress but, for how much longer I will continue to chase that time is coming very close to the end and moving it on out of the shave den.
