Weekly Razor Review

[rhodes96]

Thanks Errol.

Never liked the original Taiga, seemed a bit rushed. This one looks promising.

 

[Razor Burn]

Great review as always and great to read that the Taiga continues to produce with the recent release.

Congrats and well done on the auction win. Hope the beautiful @TroyTools brush gives you many a great lather and happy shave!

 

[Razor Burn]

Thanks Errol.

Never liked the original Taiga, seemed a bit rushed. This one looks promising.

See I'm the opposite and regret not getting the original one as it offered 2 plates and from the reviews it shaved super smoothly and you could dial it up to setting #10 without any significant blade feel. Then idiots convinced him to change it to the stage that he made it more expensive and opted for crazy variations like a bejewelled one? WTF!?

Similar to the Janus razor who was onto a winner until so-called experts convinced him to tweak his original only to see it end up a lemon and the same guys ask for refunds!

 

[Holiday]

Thanks @mtpedals and @klinker for the question. I use fishing reel oil; it's a light synthetic oil, comes in a small size bottle, has a long nozzle that can place one dot of oil wherever its required and even when it run under water there is still enough residue remaining to lubricate everything. For a long time I used a brand called Hot Sauce Reel Oil but when it ran out I had to get Protecta Reel Lubricant. I haven't noticed any difference so I would say any reel oil would work. Good luck. You'll notice a marked improvement.

Thanks for the oil advice @Errol is that a Vector always on standby I see in the pic?

 

[Errol]

Gibbs No 15 Adjustable (France)



After recently reviewing two highly respected adjustables that use variations of a spring loaded, two piece base plate design, what better time to check out the razor that introduced this two piece plate design to the shaving world, the Gibbs. Gibbs designed and patented their spring loaded bottom plate around 1930 putting Gibbs at the forefront of adjustable razors. Now that the patent for the two-piece plate has expired it has become the standard feature for many adjustable razors.

The Gibbs No 15 head is not much thicker than that supplied on many three piece razors and to further enhance this compact package, there is a short stubby handle. Quality wise, the Gibbs No 15 has a solid feel about it without being un-necessarily heavy; weight is further reduced by the insertion of a hollow black plastic section in the handle. Gibbs designed their adjustable to be easily disassembled so it was good to investigate the razor’s internals and examine the core details of this masterpiece. All the threads on the Gibbs are right hand therefore the adjuster knob rotates to the left which is contrary to the present normal. Red adjustment numbers 1 – 6 are inscribed on the shoulder of the plate and a red dot is used for the reference point on the front of the adjusting wheel. With a blade fitted the adjuster will not rotate below #2 but does rotates to #1 as it goes past #6. Although I’m a big advocate for oil on my razors, the Gibbs has survived 90 years without oil, so I left it as it was.

Propriety blades were common in the era when the Gibbs was made and quite rightly, Gibbs used their own Mince blade in their new adjustable. Fast forward 90 years and everyone who uses a Gibbs has to perform a small modification to the now standard DE blade for it to fit in the Gibbs razor. Luckily, the mod is simple and involves removing a small half moon section from the blade tabs.

It didn’t take long to figure out that my sweet setting for the Gibbs No 15 is in the area between #N (3) and #4. As the settings increased the amount of blade feel proportionally increased and was always pleasant but what really impressed was just how close the shave was at every setting used. After putting the Gibbs through its paces, I can now understand why there are so many devoted users of Gibbs Adjustable razors. It’s a well executed design that works exceptionally well, delivers an outstanding shave and has stood the test of time. With 90 years of evolution and technical advancement since the Gibbs No 15 rolled down the production line, it still performs better than most of the razors that have copied its spring loaded, two piece, plate design. A great razor.

Adjustment Range – #1 - #6

• #1 – Won’t adjust that low – adjuster stops at #2
• #2 – Karve CB Level #C minus – little blade protrusion
• #N (#3) – Karve CB Level #C – little blade protrusion
• #4 – Karve CB Level #D – pleasant blade protrusion
• #5 – Karve CB Level #D plus – blade feel
• #6 – Didn’t go there

Blades Used – Ladas and Tatra
Blade Tab – Covered
Weight – 70g
Head Width – 43.5mm
Handle Length – 73.67mm
Handle Diameter – 12.3mm
Availability – Out of production
Final Word – Nothing to prove

 

[Razor Burn]

Many thanks @Errol for reviewing this classic adjustable!

 

[Gargravarr]

Thanks for the oil advice @Errol is that a Vector always on standby I see in the pic?

Well spotted - a polished one at that...

 

[rhodes96]

Well spotted - a polished one at that...

I was looking that the APR - Racontuer soap.

 

[mtpedals]

Thanks @mtpedals and @klinker for the question. I use fishing reel oil; it's a light synthetic oil, comes in a small size bottle, has a long nozzle that can place one dot of oil wherever its required and even when it run under water there is still enough residue remaining to lubricate everything. For a long time I used a brand called Hot Sauce Reel Oil but when it ran out I had to get Protecta Reel Lubricant. I haven't noticed any difference so I would say any reel oil would work. Good luck. You'll notice a marked improvement.

Thanks so much, Errol. Will pick it up ASAP.

 

[Errol]

Tatara Muramasa Adjustable (Portugal)



Gibbs pioneered a revolution when they designed their two-piece rising base plate to provide differing efficiencies for their adjustable razors. Just about every razor manufacturer producing an adjustable is now hell bent on flogging that Gibbs legacy to death. It’s about time someone came up with another method to vary the blade gap and blade exposure; enter Tatra with their Muramasa Adjustable. Something completely different, their base plate opens and closes in the horizontal plane. By expanding and contracting in the horizontal plane the plate can be made thinner than many adjustable razors and is similar in dimensions to that of a three piece razor. Wide blade clamping surfaces are machined at the edge of the cap and these mate with permanent surfaces on the plate; the sliding sections work under the blade clamp. Tatra provide two lather channels on the sliding sections of the plate, they may only be narrow but at least they are there and they work. There are only seven pieces to the Muramasa razor and each has been individually sand blasted. Looking very much like the date window on a watch, the chosen setting number is viewed through a hole in the shoulder of the handle; the idea sounds neat but even with glasses on I had difficulty reading the setting number, they need to be larger and contrast more. The Muramasa is fitted with a shortish handle that facilitates a very maneuverable razor but an interesting feature of the handle is the Tatra signature pop holes fade as they spiral down the length of the handle; by the time they reach the end of the handle they are almost non existent. All bead blasted Tatras share a fine dull sheen finish that is almost titanium in appearance and feel, the Muramasa finish matches the rest of the pack.

My shaving preference is for a bit of blade feel and I am not overly keen on milder razors so by checking out the chart provided, it looked like the ideal setting for me to start was level #4. Why start in the middle? Setting #5 felt about Karve CB level #D with a pleasant amount of blade feel. A very small increment of rotation on the adjuster dial had the Muramasa set back to #4 and the efficiency dropped back to the lower side of Karve CB #C level efficiency and again there was a pleasant amount of blade feel. Back to #3 and the efficiency had dropped to about Karve CB level #B and like the chart suggested, neutral blade exposure. Below setting #3 the razor was, to put it nicely, useless; mild and with no blade exposure, these settings are not for me. Within its very narrow window of usability the Muramasa performed reasonably well but it was always mild and had a low level of blade exposure. I came away very disappointed with the performance of the Muramasa adjustable. I find it astonishing that a manufacture can design such an innovative razor and then blow the whole lot out the door by failing to get even close when it came to delivering a satisfactory shave over a range of settings. There’s many better adjustable razors available and I’d like to hope that Tatra can reconfigure their settings to provide more efficient offerings.

Adjustment Range – #1 - #5

• #1 – Useless
• #2 – No better than useless
• #3 – Karve CB Level #B - useable
• #4 – Karve CB Level #C minus – pleasant blade feel
• #5 – Karve CB Level #D – pleasant blade feel

Blades Used – Ladas and Gillette Wilkinson
Material – 316L Stainless Steel
Blade Tab – Covered
Weight – 106g
Head Width – 43.90mm
Handle Length – 79.4mm
Handle Diameter – 11.68mm
Availability – Tatra
Final Word – Such potential wasted

 

[klinker]

Tatara Muramasa Adjustable (Portugal)



Gibbs pioneered a revolution when they designed their two-piece rising base plate to provide differing efficiencies for their adjustable razors. Just about every razor manufacturer producing an adjustable is now hell bent on flogging that Gibbs legacy to death. It’s about time someone came up with another method to vary the blade gap and blade exposure; enter Tatra with their Muramasa Adjustable. Something completely different, their base plate opens and closes in the horizontal plane. By expanding and contracting in the horizontal plane the plate can be made thinner than many adjustable razors and is similar in dimensions to that of a three piece razor. Wide blade clamping surfaces are machined at the edge of the cap and these mate with permanent surfaces on the plate; the sliding sections work under the blade clamp. Tatra provide two lather channels on the sliding sections of the plate, they may only be narrow but at least they are there and they work. There are only seven pieces to the Muramasa razor and each has been individually sand blasted. Looking very much like the date window on a watch, the chosen setting number is viewed through a hole in the shoulder of the handle; the idea sounds neat but even with glasses on I had difficulty reading the setting number, they need to be larger and contrast more. The Muramasa is fitted with a shortish handle that facilitates a very maneuverable razor but an interesting feature of the handle is the Tatra signature pop holes fade as they spiral down the length of the handle; by the time they reach the end of the handle they are almost non existent. All bead blasted Tatras share a fine dull sheen finish that is almost titanium in appearance and feel, the Muramasa finish matches the rest of the pack.

My shaving preference is for a bit of blade feel and I am not overly keen on milder razors so by checking out the chart provided, it looked like the ideal setting for me to start was level #4. Why start in the middle? Setting #5 felt about Karve CB level #D with a pleasant amount of blade feel. A very small increment of rotation on the adjuster dial had the Muramasa set back to #4 and the efficiency dropped back to the lower side of Karve CB #C level efficiency and again there was a pleasant amount of blade feel. Back to #3 and the efficiency had dropped to about Karve CB level #B and like the chart suggested, neutral blade exposure. Below setting #3 the razor was, to put it nicely, useless; mild and with no blade exposure, these settings are not for me. Within its very narrow window of usability the Muramasa performed reasonably well but it was always mild and had a low level of blade exposure. I came away very disappointed with the performance of the Muramasa adjustable. I find it astonishing that a manufacture can design such an innovative razor and then blow the whole lot out the door by failing to get even close when it came to delivering a satisfactory shave over a range of settings. There’s many better adjustable razors available and I’d like to hope that Tatra can reconfigure their settings to provide more efficient offerings.

Adjustment Range – #1 - #5

• #1 – Useless
• #2 – No better than useless
• #3 – Karve CB Level #B - useable
• #4 – Karve CB Level #C minus – pleasant blade feel
• #5 – Karve CB Level #D – pleasant blade feel

Blades Used – Ladas and Gillette Wilkinson
Material – 316L Stainless Steel
Blade Tab – Covered
Weight – 106g
Head Width – 43.90mm
Handle Length – 79.4mm
Handle Diameter – 11.68mm
Availability – Tatra
Final Word – Such potential wasted

Don't beat around the bush @Errol. Tell us how you really feel.

 

[Razor Burn]

A fantastic review @Errol and really appreciate the frank assessment as all the early indications were that this one was going to shave on the milder side.

 

[rhodes96]

Thanks @Errol for your review.

Is it Tatara or Tatra the name of the company?

[MOD Note - corrected, thank you]

Everything I was concerned about with this razor appears to be true. The previous blade exposure and blade gap numbers had me worried at the top end of the efficiency scale, and now after your shave review has confirmed my concerns. Such great innovation by three young lads, yet they failed to focus on the broader shave communities needs. The shift from setting 2 back to setting 1 and adding just that bit more blade exposure and gap on setting 5 would have satisfied a lot more potential customers such as myself.

 

[mtpedals]

Tatara Muramasa Adjustable (Portugal)



Gibbs pioneered a revolution when they designed their two-piece rising base plate to provide differing efficiencies for their adjustable razors. Just about every razor manufacturer producing an adjustable is now hell bent on flogging that Gibbs legacy to death. It’s about time someone came up with another method to vary the blade gap and blade exposure; enter Tatra with their Muramasa Adjustable. Something completely different, their base plate opens and closes in the horizontal plane. By expanding and contracting in the horizontal plane the plate can be made thinner than many adjustable razors and is similar in dimensions to that of a three piece razor. Wide blade clamping surfaces are machined at the edge of the cap and these mate with permanent surfaces on the plate; the sliding sections work under the blade clamp. Tatra provide two lather channels on the sliding sections of the plate, they may only be narrow but at least they are there and they work. There are only seven pieces to the Muramasa razor and each has been individually sand blasted. Looking very much like the date window on a watch, the chosen setting number is viewed through a hole in the shoulder of the handle; the idea sounds neat but even with glasses on I had difficulty reading the setting number, they need to be larger and contrast more. The Muramasa is fitted with a shortish handle that facilitates a very maneuverable razor but an interesting feature of the handle is the Tatra signature pop holes fade as they spiral down the length of the handle; by the time they reach the end of the handle they are almost non existent. All bead blasted Tatras share a fine dull sheen finish that is almost titanium in appearance and feel, the Muramasa finish matches the rest of the pack.

My shaving preference is for a bit of blade feel and I am not overly keen on milder razors so by checking out the chart provided, it looked like the ideal setting for me to start was level #4. Why start in the middle? Setting #5 felt about Karve CB level #D with a pleasant amount of blade feel. A very small increment of rotation on the adjuster dial had the Muramasa set back to #4 and the efficiency dropped back to the lower side of Karve CB #C level efficiency and again there was a pleasant amount of blade feel. Back to #3 and the efficiency had dropped to about Karve CB level #B and like the chart suggested, neutral blade exposure. Below setting #3 the razor was, to put it nicely, useless; mild and with no blade exposure, these settings are not for me. Within its very narrow window of usability the Muramasa performed reasonably well but it was always mild and had a low level of blade exposure. I came away very disappointed with the performance of the Muramasa adjustable. I find it astonishing that a manufacture can design such an innovative razor and then blow the whole lot out the door by failing to get even close when it came to delivering a satisfactory shave over a range of settings. There’s many better adjustable razors available and I’d like to hope that Tatra can reconfigure their settings to provide more efficient offerings.

Adjustment Range – #1 - #5

• #1 – Useless
• #2 – No better than useless
• #3 – Karve CB Level #B - useable
• #4 – Karve CB Level #C minus – pleasant blade feel
• #5 – Karve CB Level #D – pleasant blade feel

Blades Used – Ladas and Gillette Wilkinson
Material – 316L Stainless Steel
Blade Tab – Covered
Weight – 106g
Head Width – 43.90mm
Handle Length – 79.4mm
Handle Diameter – 11.68mm
Availability – Tatra
Final Word – Such potential wasted

Thanks, as always, Errol. Appreciate your detailed and easily understood reviews. You've saved me a considerable amount of $ with these candid reviews!

 

[Errol]

Alpha Claymore Evolution (Hong Kong)



Alpha’s Claymore Evolution is the result of another partnership between Alpha and Executive Shaving, you buy from either supplier and get their brand stamp on the exact same razor. I want to point out straight up that it was not the design of the handle that attracted me to the Alpha Claymore Evolution. I’ve seen the handle described as futuristic – others have called it old school, someone even described it as handsome; Mmmmmmm, don’t know about that. But to me, it’s plain ugly. Some people should not be allowed near a lathe if this design is the best that can be accomplished. Alpha must have known how bad the handle looked because they offered to swap the handle with others from their catalogue, I decided to stick with the standard handle and see how it would perform. Looking past the handle, the design of the Claymore is not all bad though and is said to have been modelled on the Executive Shaving Claymore. I’m thinking it would be the Version 3 because that was machined and the last Claymore made even if it was only available in limited numbers, however I see more RazoRock Hawk V3 and maybe a bit of Stando Single Edge influences in the design. There is a flowing curve over the handle post section of the head after a lot of unnecessary material has been removed from the top corners, permitting the head to be nice and thin; not Vector thin though. Alpha’s Claymore Evo may have a horrid looking handle but the thread engagement with its post is first class, smooth and firm. There is not a machine mark to be seen anywhere on this razor and it has been shot-peened to a smooth and bright satin finish.

Feather Professional Blades are recommended for the Claymore and to back this up, a pack was included with the razor, what better blade to fit first up; the second blade selected was the Feather Proguard and that worked well also. There was concern that some early Evos could not be fitted with all brands of AC blades, the blade posts were too wide. Mine was preordered so I checked that my Evo would accept other fodder that I might try to feed through it. I never used the razor with these blades but they were fitted into the razor: Schick P-30, Feather Professional Super, Kai Captain Titan Mild Pink. Despite the negative wrap I gave the poor handle, it worked surprisingly well. It actually felt very nice in the hand so one should not judge a book by its cover. Something inherent with the Claymore line of razors is that they all provide a very audible shave; the Evo proved nowhere near as vocal as the Claymore V2 but it could be heard humming along as the blade went about its business. Efficiency wise, the Claymore Evolution was on the high side of Karve CB level #D and with positive blade exposure the shave was certainly close, 12 hours later and I was still rubbing my chin in satisfaction. This is an excellent razor to use and I immediately felt comfortable shaving with it, but don’t become complacent, there is plenty of potential there to bite. Alphs’s Claymore Evolution is an outstanding piece of kit.

Blades Used – Feather Professional and Feather Proguard.
Material – 316L Stainless Steel
Blade Tab - Covered
Weight – 109g
Head Width – 50.94mm
Handle Length – 91mm
Handle Diameter – 13.50mm
Availability – Alpha Shaving and Executive Shaving
Final Word – Bloody good

 

[Mark1966]

Another great review @Errol !

Note the discussion on oiling razors has been moved here.

 

[Razor Burn]

What a wonderful writeup @Errol and glad for Steve & Brian that they made improvements to the previous version/s as this one looks good especially as @Vlasta offers the option to buy just the head as that handle looks off putting.

I'll be looking to grab a bullet stand for my Outlaw DE and might just add a Claymore head as the newest ones work with a majority of AC blades.

 

[rhodes96]

What a wonderful writeup @Errol and glad for Steve & Brian that they made improvements to the previous version/s as this one looks good especially as @Vlasta offers the option to buy just the head as that handle looks off putting.

I'll be looking to grab a bullet stand for my Outlaw DE and might just add a Claymore head as the newest ones work with a majority of AC blades.

I held off from purchasing due to all the issues experienced where Kai and Proguard blades would not fit. Good to see the issues resolved, now to redesign the handle with something classy looking.

 

[Razor Burn]

I held off from purchasing due to all the issues experienced where Kai and Proguard blades would not fit. Good to see the issues resolved, now to redesign the handle with something classy looking.

Yeah I was put off for both reasons but happy to see Steve offer a replacement head as many find Feathers way too harsh. I read him mentioning how many recommend the Proguards as super smooth yet efficient.
Á shame about the handle as his Bravo one is a favourite of mine.

 

[rhodes96]

Yeah I was put off for both reasons but happy to see Steve offer a replacement head as many find Feathers way too harsh. I read him mentioning how many recommend the Proguards as super smooth yet efficient.
Á shame about the handle as his Bravo one is a favourite of mine.

Likewise for the bravo, terrific knurled design.