Another creation

I still vape. One of my mods, the 'Dominus Fecit,' has a side firing magnetic button. Best mechanical mod I ever owned, for a variety of reasons. It's one of the few I've seen that were actually innovative.

Any time, Tom. Except during the day. I work graveyard shift.

Not much to report on day two. At setting two, there is noticable blade feel. Not quite what I would call "bitey," but not far short, either. I'm willing to concede that this might be due to improper angle.

I'm going to dial it back down to 1.5 and see how that shaves tomorrow. I'll go to max settings later this week. Just because I prefer mild razors, doesn't mean that I can't shave with aggressive ones.

"I ain't skeered."

 

Inside diameter of the handle or the magnet? Neodium magnets are notoriously brittle. Another possibility is incorporating them into the centering pins on the head, which would give you more flexibility on the magnet size, but would double the number of magnets used.

Either way, sign me up for one when you do decide to make the razors.

 

Day 3. Setting 1.5.

I think 1.5 is my preferred setting with this razor. I still get blade feel, but not any sense of 'skin cutting' potential.

I'm sold on the weight. I think there is an untapped market for 'sledgehammer' razor builds. What I'm less sure about is the width of the handle. Dialing it back just a tad would make the razor look more proportionally aesthetically pleasing. On the other hand, the size of the handle is one of the bigger (pun intended) talking points of this razor, as well as making it instantly identifiable. We'll call the handle issue a wash.

I am a fan of the vertical groove grips (aka corduroy) on the handles. From a design standpoint, it's one of the better non-slip handle treatments. It's used to good effect on this razor, as well as the Blackland Blackbird and the original 1st generation Shake Sharp.

Still very happy with the shaves I'm getting from this razor.

Switching back to the Aluminum version tomorrow to test out the higher settings. I'm hoping the lighter weight will offset some of the increased edge exposure.

 

There's probably a proper name for it, like "greco-roman column groovature," but all I could think of was corduroy wales. Lol

Edit: Looked it up. The proper term is "fluted."

I knew that. *facepalm*

 

I've decided to put off today's shave until this evening.

There is one thing that's been bugging me.

The outer teeth are very thin, compared to the inner teeth. Not sure if that's a stylistic or artistic choice, but from a practical viewpoint, the outer teeth should be the thickest on the razor, as they are the most prone to drop damage. Something to consider on future versions of these razors.

 

Changed my mind again and shaved this morning instead of this evening. Setting 6 on the Alumi-TAR.

As expected, the aluminum razor performed better on it's second outing. In fact, it went so well I decided to crank the brass TAR to 6 and give that a try as well.

...that lasted for half a pass. And yes, I now have razor burn on that spot.

Finished the shave with the aluminum TAR. Had to go back and do a second pass on my neck, as the first pass left stubble.

For me, at least, a heavy mild razor is a more efficient shaver than a light aggressive razor. The actual shave feel between the brass @ 1.5 and the aluminum @ 6 is about the same.

I should note that I was riding the cap on the aluminum razor, whereas I just used the natural shave angle on the brass razor. Most likely I used the same shave angle on both razors, but I didn't pay any attention to it when using the brass razor on previous shaves.

 

Today's shave was just for fun. Switched out one variable, the KmF shaving cream, and choose to go with Saponifico Verisino's Felce Aromatica instead.

Brass TAR, setting 1. Fifth shave with the Astra SP blade. No tugging or other indications that the blade is slowing down, but I did have to do a second pass on the neck.

For my final shave tomorrow, I'll change out the blade for a feather instead. To say I've enjoyed my time with these razors is a gross understatement! Thank you Tom for letting us try these.

 

It's rather aggressive with a feather. Brass razor, dialed down to 1, BBS shave, three weepers despite my best efforts.

I shall miss this razor.

Some final observations on the brass version. At the end of my time with these, I was starting to develop razor fatigue. Some of this is due to the weight, but I think part of it is due to the balance point. In it's current incarnation, the balance point is approximately an inch below the head. Just about all DE razors have a balance point just below the head, down to about a quarter inch below the head. This makes them 'head heavy,' and lets the razor's weight do much of the work of shaving. The TAR is 'handle heavy,' which would usually be a bad thing. In this case, the overall weight of the razor offsets any disadvantage.

Thinner handle walls or a narrower handle would resolve this. I almost typed "resolve this issue." I'm not convinced it is an issue. It might only be an issue to me. I'd not use it as a daily driver as it currently is, but I would certainly take it out for the occasional shave.

Despite my criticisms, this is the most fun I've had with a razor in quite some time, and it was very exciting to shave with a razor that incorporates so many untraditional design elements. I'm not sure I would be as patient as Tom has been with me if somebody nitpicked my razor design to death.