In late November I gave in and grabbed a polished, solid bar, smooth cap Timeless .95 titanium. The razor certainly feels lighter than stainless steel razors but heavier than aluminum. The weight lends itself well to precise control in my hands. Rather than give the razor a handful of shaves then attempt some sort of review, I decided it would get a full 30 shaves over 30 consecutive days, using 6 different blades, 5 shaves per blade. I felt this would be a more credible way to review the razor, while giving me a sense of how it stacks up to my best daily drivers that I’ve used for years. According to the Timeless website, the solid bar is a good choice for people that shave daily, which I do, so that’s the one I picked. Of the blade gap choices Timeless offers, the .95 seems to be a good compromise between efficiency and smoothness for me, allowing for high efficiency, long lasting two-pass plus touchup shaves. I have a .68 gap Timeless stainless steel SB but never got along with it due to its relative mildness (for me and my technique). All shaves were lathered with my Razorock Disruptor synthetic brush using D.R. Harris Marlborough soap, which I lather build in a bowl while working in about 6-8 drops of vegetable glycerin. For those not familiar with D.R. Harris Marlborough, I find it very similar, if not identical to, Tabac in scent. This is a scent I seem to be able to use year-round without becoming averse to it, as sometimes happens to me with other scents. For about the first 15 shaves I used either Thayer’s WH or 4711 for post-shave but for the latter half of the evaluation I didn’t use any post-shave products (seems to be a cold weather thing for me to not use anything). Each shave was two-pass (WTG/XTG) plus touchup, my usual routine. Following are my impressions using the Timeless .95 Ti and 6 different blades, 5 shaves each. Personna Med Prep (U.S.A.) – The med prep blade felt very sharp out of the wrapper. At the end of the 5th shave, this blade was still going strong, providing smooth and efficient shaves. I felt as though this blade was only getting better with each additional use. I will have to revisit this one and see what it can do for a longer duration test. Wilkinson Sword (Germany) – This is one of my go-to blades in the Rockwell 6S using plates 4 thru 6, and it worked just as good in the Timeless Ti, being very comfortable and efficient. This blade has always performed consistently well for me in high efficiency razors. Still shaving great at the end of the fifth use. Gillette 7O’Clock Super Platinum (India) – Okay for the first few shaves, then began tailing off by shave 4 and became uncomfortable and irritating by shave 5. Kept to 2 or 3 shaves, it’s good. They are not expensive and I have several hundred so no biggie on longevity. Gillette Nacet (Russia) - From first shave to fifth, the Gillette Nacet was smooth, sharp and irritation free. The best matchup to the Timeless .95 yet tested. A very consistent, high performing blade from first shave to last. Feather (Japan) - The Feather felt totally different than any blade tested so far, and I could definitely feel the edge of the blade throughout the shave. However, it also requires care in use or I induce annoying little micro weepers. Going forward, a blade I would only use for shaving intervals of 2 days or more in the Timeless .95, or perhaps for daily use in a milder razor. Overall, I get better, more consistent and comfortable results using other blades such as the Wilkinson Sword or Nacet. Personna Platinum (Israel) – Aka “Israeli Reds”. Smooth, sharp and comfortable. Comparable in performance to the Wilkinson Sword. If this was the only blade I could get my hands on, I would be in great shape. Wrap up – Of the tested blades, the Nacet came out #1 in overall performance in the categories of comfort, smoothness and efficiency. This was followed very closely by the Wilkinson Sword and Personna Platinum. I would like to revisit the Personna Med Prep, but initially I rate this blade high in the Timeless. I would put the Feather and 7O’Clock Super Platinum last. The Feather is simply too sharp for me to use daily in this razor and was not particularly comfortable, and I found the 7O’Clock Super Platinum of average shave quality but poor longevity. I have had no desire to shave with anything else since grabbing this Timeless .95 Ti, and I am normally a razor rotation type of guy. Not saying I won’t eventually get bored with it, but no other razor has made it so easy for me to get such good results, though my Rockwell 6S comes very close and is less than half the price of the Timeless. The Timeless Ti is a fairly pricey razor but much research went into this purchase well in advance. After assessing all of the reviews on record, I went ahead and bought it with zero regrets. Thanks for reading and have a great day!
Thank you sir! In the intervening time I bought a "scratch and dent" polished stainless steel .95 scalloped baseplate and paired it with the cap from my .68 which I never use, threw a Razorock handle on it and now have what is for me, the perfect shaving machine. This combination has taken over completely. Loaded with a Shark SS blade it is mindlessly efficient. I can't NOT shave every single morning. I didn't think I would like the weight of stainless vs Ti but I actually do.
