Adjustables: A clash of Shaving Titans….

Great comparison Gus GlazedBoker , I am really enjoying the comparisons. For me, the Ti Taiga is about a level to a level and a half below the Sailor for efficiency. So 3 on the Sailor is closer to a 4 on the Taiga.

Quick update on the shave results. Woke up this morning at 4:30 and had a face feel as I was getting ready for a quick shower. Both sides completely smooth and whisker free. It's now about 7:30am and I can feel the slightest of stubble along the jawline and along the length of the sideburn on the right side where the Taiga was used. Still clean on the left where the Sailor did its work.

There you have it. It's unanimous as the Sailor '21 took this round completely on both performance and duration. I'll skip a day or two and have at it again as the first round could have gone either way but, I called it a draw. The rubber match and round 3 to declare the victor without fail, I hope.......

The rubber match and round 3 to declare the victor without fail, I hope.......

Me too Gus, I'll meet you in the BST for the Taiga after the match is over

  The rubber match and round 3 to declare the victor without fail, I hope.......

Me too Gus, I'll meet you in the BST for the Taiga after the match is over 

Ha-ha-ha!!!!   

Nice try amigo.  

Seriously,  these 2 are too good to let go. These 2 razors bring shave performance to another level with the Sailor forging ahead and showing its pedigree by a bit over the Taiga.....

  The rubber match and round 3 to declare the victor without fail, I hope.......

Me too Gus, I'll meet you in the BST for the Taiga after the match is over 

Ha-ha-ha!!!!   

Nice try amigo.  

Seriously,  these 2 are too good to let go. These 2 razors bring shave performance to another level with the Sailor forging ahead and showing its pedigree by a bit over the Taiga.....

Just finished my shave this evening and honestly, I think it was even better than yesterday’s shave. These two razors are just brilliant performers, plain & simple. I’m just going to say this just to get it out of the way. Whichever razor you chose and if you choose on mere aesthetics of each, neither one will disappoint in the least on just sheer performance. Now let’s get into the shave….

Same razor set up’s on each with the Gillette 7 O’Clock SuperEdge Yellow with a shave each from the day prior. Pulled out the Ethos Grooming Succes shave soap & skin food combo. Fantastic scent and elite performing products. If your a Creed Aventus guy, this will do very nicely. I know I mentioned yesterday and earlier today that I was going to start on the 3 setting on each razor. Well, I scratched that and went up one more size to 4 on each respectively. I had enough stubble to get 2 and perhaps 3 passes for the shaves. I do like a bit of blade feel in my shaves while not sacrificing much in comfort. I think 4 is a pretty decent spot for both to start. Out of the shower and into the shave with both razors and the brush resting in the sink with hot water.

First Pass, WTG: Started with the Taiga today and switched it up and gave it the right side. Grabbed the razor and placed it at the top of the sideburn, just slightly above mid-ear. Brought it down for the first stroke and yes, so smooth with a nice audible signature that the Taiga makes. It’s not a loud noise maker but, just enough to tell you it’s working. Went with a longer stroke while stretching & pulling on the skin to clear good swaths of hair on each stroke. Cleared the cheeks and neck area with ease. Blade feel was there  yet still smooth and easy on the skin. Real good pass on the right side with the Taiga. Went over to the left with the Sailor and placed it identical to the right but, on the left. I let it come down and oh so nice! It’s apparent that on setting IV, the Sailor has a bit more blade feel without losing much in smoothness to the Taiga. And this thing sings with authority yet still feeling comfy on each down stroke. Again, the same long strokes with subtle stretching on the face and jawline. Completed the cheeks and neck area and went for a rinse and face feel to see what I was still left to work with. A great first pass from each but, the Sailor actually had the better first pass as I felt that it had taken my stubble down closer to the skin than the Taiga. I think the blade feel & weight had a lot to do with that. That little bit of extra ass on the Sailor made a difference in this first pass

Second Pass, ATG: Relathered and picked up the Taiga and turned it down to 3. I thought about leaving it on 4 but, I figured it wouldn’t have an issue with taking on the whiskers on the atg pass. Started from the bottom of my neck and up towards the top of the sideburn. Smooth and easy with good audible feedback and cutting action while blade feel was not too prominent. I helped it along the way with some tight skin stretching and facial contortions as I was doing the longer strokes and wasn’t going to go over a spot once I went through it. Cleared face & neck including half the chin and the corner of the mouth/stache area. Went to the Sailor, turned it down to III and went to the bottom of the neck. At the first upstroke, it was clear that the Sailor was on it. It felt nearly like the Taiga on 4 in the first pass with an increase in smoothness and ease on skin. This pass was on the money especially when clearing out the chin and corner stache area. Really a lovely pass that was just awesome with that solid audible feedback that the Sailor delivers. Put it down and went for a face rinse and feel. Nearly there practically with just a patch on both sides of the Adams Apple and some stragglers on the jawline though, I felt a bit more on the Taiga right side. The clean up pass should take care of it. It’s on.

Third Pass, clean up XTG: Relathered and again, took the Taiga and brought it down to 2 as there was little to get rid of. I haven’t used the Taiga much under 3 but, I figured it should have no issues with a clean and buff session on its side as both cheeks and majority of the neck was clean. Started from the earlobe and moved it towards my chin feeling for anything while the razor moved behind picking those whiskers up. Did the same from my neck and moved towards my Adam’s Apple and had some extra suds on my off hand as always for re-touching and buff work. Cleared it out and went to the Sailor on the left and followed the same order and process. Placed the dial to II and went to work with a couple quick passes from earlobe to Adam’s Apple while grabbing some extra lather with the off hand for simple buffing and re-touch if needed.  Done and placed the Sailor on the bathroom sink. Did a quick face rinse and feel to make sure I got them all. Yes, nearly perfection but, I still had a few stragglers right next to Sir Adam on the Taiga side and a couple pesky whiskers under the jawline towards the earlobe. Pulled out the Taiga again with some lather and caught the rest of them while moving the skin away from throat area to get a flatter profile for the Taiga to catch the small patch. A few more buff strokes and I got it. But, I can feel a little heat in that area plus under the jawline. Let’s see what the post says.

Post Shave process & thoughts: Full face rinse once again and out comes the Alum stick. Oh yeah, my skin was not happy with the extra buff & clean up session on the Taiga side. I got a couple of Oooo’s & Aaaah’s when I went over them. The Sailor end not a single whimper. My face & neck were clear of nics, cuts or weepers except for a bit of irritation on the Taiga’s side. The Ethos skin food splash confirmed it a bit more but, all was good and comfy by the time I cleaned up and wiped down my gear.

A full on BBS finish on both sides from both these Juggernauts. But, as one can tell the Taiga side encountered a problem on finishing up in the lower settings. Perhaps I can chalk that up to me as to not using the Taiga under the 3 setting more often to get better acquainted with it. Nevertheless it exhibited a much milder feeling with less blade feel than I’m accustomed to and for how I shave, plain & simple. The Sailor still had excellent smoothness that was equal to the Taiga yet had that perfect amount of blade feel to give me the feedback that I required to get the shave done as I’ve come to expect from a razor. To me, it’s clear as day. The Sailor ‘21 took the shave in this round with excellent performance & feedback. Longevity is still yet to be determined and I won’t know until sometime tomorrow in the morning. In the meantime, I’m loving the face feel at the moment……

Someone asked me if I can get a couple of pics up concerning the underside of each top cap from these razors. It won’t determine the outcome of the shave off as no one shaves with the underside of the top cap but, I said I would just for reference. 

Great evening and shaves to all….



Taiga Left, Sailor ‘21 Right……





Taiga


Sailor ‘21

Another brilliant take on these two titans!! I am going to pull out my original Taiga and use the OC plate on 3 or 4 for my shave tomorrow. Haven’t used that one in a while.


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You know, once I'm done with this 3 round match up I'm going to make the swap for the OC base plate on the Taiga and see what that delivers against the Sailor just for kicks & giggles. Great that you brought that up my friend. I hadn't thought of that. Still it wouldn't be fair to include it straight up in the shave off. SB vs SB is the proper way to go between these two.....

Just finished my shave this evening and honestly, I think it was even better than yesterday’s shave. These two razors are just brilliant performers, plain & simple. I’m just going to say this just to get it out of the way. Whichever razor you chose and if you choose on mere aesthetics of each, neither one will disappoint in the least on just sheer performance. Now let’s get into the shave….

Same razor set up’s on each with the Gillette 7 O’Clock SuperEdge Yellow with a shave each from the day prior. Pulled out the Ethos Grooming Succes shave soap & skin food combo. Fantastic scent and elite performing products. If your a Creed Aventus guy, this will do very nicely. I know I mentioned yesterday and earlier today that I was going to start on the 3 setting on each razor. Well, I scratched that and went up one more size to 4 on each respectively. I had enough stubble to get 2 and perhaps 3 passes for the shaves. I do like a bit of blade feel in my shaves while not sacrificing much in comfort. I think 4 is a pretty decent spot for both to start. Out of the shower and into the shave with both razors and the brush resting in the sink with hot water.

First Pass, WTG: Started with the Taiga today and switched it up and gave it the right side. Grabbed the razor and placed it at the top of the sideburn, just slightly above mid-ear. Brought it down for the first stroke and yes, so smooth with a nice audible signature that the Taiga makes. It’s not a loud noise maker but, just enough to tell you it’s working. Went with a longer stroke while stretching & pulling on the skin to clear good swaths of hair on each stroke. Cleared the cheeks and neck area with ease. Blade feel was there  yet still smooth and easy on the skin. Real good pass on the right side with the Taiga. Went over to the left with the Sailor and placed it identical to the right but, on the left. I let it come down and oh so nice! It’s apparent that on setting IV, the Sailor has a bit more blade feel without losing much in smoothness to the Taiga. And this thing sings with authority yet still feeling comfy on each down stroke. Again, the same long strokes with subtle stretching on the face and jawline. Completed the cheeks and neck area and went for a rinse and face feel to see what I was still left to work with. A great first pass from each but, the Sailor actually had the better first pass as I felt that it had taken my stubble down closer to the skin than the Taiga. I think the blade feel & weight had a lot to do with that. That little bit of extra ass on the Sailor made a difference in this first pass

Second Pass, ATG: Relathered and picked up the Taiga and turned it down to 3. I thought about leaving it on 4 but, I figured it wouldn’t have an issue with taking on the whiskers on the atg pass. Started from the bottom of my neck and up towards the top of the sideburn. Smooth and easy with good audible feedback and cutting action while blade feel was not too prominent. I helped it along the way with some tight skin stretching and facial contortions as I was doing the longer strokes and wasn’t going to go over a spot once I went through it. Cleared face & neck including half the chin and the corner of the mouth/stache area. Went to the Sailor, turned it down to III and went to the bottom of the neck. At the first upstroke, it was clear that the Sailor was on it. It felt nearly like the Taiga on 4 in the first pass with an increase in smoothness and ease on skin. This pass was on the money especially when clearing out the chin and corner stache area. Really a lovely pass that was just awesome with that solid audible feedback that the Sailor delivers. Put it down and went for a face rinse and feel. Nearly there practically with just a patch on both sides of the Adams Apple and some stragglers on the jawline though, I felt a bit more on the Taiga right side. The clean up pass should take care of it. It’s on.

Third Pass, clean up XTG: Relathered and again, took the Taiga and brought it down to 2 as there was little to get rid of. I haven’t used the Taiga much under 3 but, I figured it should have no issues with a clean and buff session on its side as both cheeks and majority of the neck was clean. Started from the earlobe and moved it towards my chin feeling for anything while the razor moved behind picking those whiskers up. Did the same from my neck and moved towards my Adam’s Apple and had some extra suds on my off hand as always for re-touching and buff work. Cleared it out and went to the Sailor on the left and followed the same order and process. Placed the dial to II and went to work with a couple quick passes from earlobe to Adam’s Apple while grabbing some extra lather with the off hand for simple buffing and re-touch if needed.  Done and placed the Sailor on the bathroom sink. Did a quick face rinse and feel to make sure I got them all. Yes, nearly perfection but, I still had a few stragglers right next to Sir Adam on the Taiga side and a couple pesky whiskers under the jawline towards the earlobe. Pulled out the Taiga again with some lather and caught the rest of them while moving the skin away from throat area to get a flatter profile for the Taiga to catch the small patch. A few more buff strokes and I got it. But, I can feel a little heat in that area plus under the jawline. Let’s see what the post says.

Post Shave process & thoughts: Full face rinse once again and out comes the Alum stick. Oh yeah, my skin was not happy with the extra buff & clean up session on the Taiga side. I got a couple of Oooo’s & Aaaah’s when I went over them. The Sailor end not a single whimper. My face & neck were clear of nics, cuts or weepers except for a bit of irritation on the Taiga’s side. The Ethos skin food splash confirmed it a bit more but, all was good and comfy by the time I cleaned up and wiped down my gear.

A full on BBS finish on both sides from both these Juggernauts. But, as one can tell the Taiga side encountered a problem on finishing up in the lower settings. Perhaps I can chalk that up to me as to not using the Taiga under the 3 setting more often to get better acquainted with it. Nevertheless it exhibited a much milder feeling with less blade feel than I’m accustomed to and for how I shave, plain & simple. The Sailor still had excellent smoothness that was equal to the Taiga yet had that perfect amount of blade feel to give me the feedback that I required to get the shave done as I’ve come to expect from a razor. To me, it’s clear as day. The Sailor ‘21 took the shave in this round with excellent performance & feedback. Longevity is still yet to be determined and I won’t know until sometime tomorrow in the morning. In the meantime, I’m loving the face feel at the moment……

Someone asked me if I can get a couple of pics up concerning the underside of each top cap from these razors. It won’t determine the outcome of the shave off as no one shaves with the underside of the top cap but, I said I would just for reference. 

Great evening and shaves to all….



Taiga Left, Sailor ‘21 Right……





Taiga


Sailor ‘21

Another brilliant take on these two titans!!  I am going to pull out my original Taiga and use the OC plate on 3 or 4 for my shave tomorrow.  Haven’t used that one in a while.


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You know, once I'm done with this 3 round match up I'm going to make the swap for the OC base plate on the Taiga and see what that delivers against the Sailor just for kicks & giggles. Great that you brought that up my friend. I hadn't thought of that. Still it wouldn't be fair to include it straight up in the shave off. SB vs SB is the proper way to go between these two.....

Another excellent review Gus. The Sailor for me has taken me to a whole new place and I’m actually considering getting rid of my beloved Gibbs ( am I crazy ) and I thought about getting a Taiga but in Ti but I may just hold back and save my pennies for the Ti Sailor if and when it comes out.

Totally forgot to post this earlier. Shaved with my original Taiga with the OC plate this morning and had a wonderful shave. This thread got me thinking about the stainless and titanium Taiga which I keep neglecting because of the 2021 Sailor. The new Sailor is the best razor on the planet right now but I still love my Taigas and the new Muramasa. I am salivating over the pics and video that Home Like released of the slant adjustable that they are working on. If I was to sell all of my razors and keep my Adjustables and SE’s, I would be happy and satisfied! Just not ready to do that yet!
Here is a link to my SOTD with the Taiga OC this morning.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CRRTCj9n0Jf/...=copy_link


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A quick apology to all as I wanted to get the 3rd round in a day or two ago but, life is always throwing us curveballs and I could not get a proper shave in with these two KoTH adjustable razors in wet shave land. Today though, I got in a real good early morning shave and there was no doubt on this being the best shave to date with these razors. We’ll make it short & sweet and just get to the shave and some thoughts….

This morning I wanted to change out the Gillette Yellow in both razors and decided to go with the Big Kahuna, Feather in each one. I think the Feather was made for the Taiga and wanted to see if the Sailor ‘21 benefited from the change as well. Software today was the Ethos Chill Collection Greenfresh for both the soap & splash and went with the Lacoste Essential as it’s a light and clean scent considering that the day was going to be hot & a steamy one. As soon as I got out of the shower, the APShaveCo. brush with it’s 28mm Silksmoke knot was ready to create some bodacious lather sitting in some hot water with both razors ready to get this done on nearly 3 days growth.

First Pass, WTG: The Sailor started on the right side and I went with setting 6 to get it started. Blade feel is apparent and you know how a fresh Feather feels on it’s initial shave, a bit harsh but, with light pressure and a steady hand starting at the top of the burns the Sailor bulldozed right through the 3 day growth and on down to the jawline & half the chin with seamless ease. From there went to the neck and cleared out the right hand without a single issue never going over a spot twice, especially with the vaunted Feather blade. Grabbed the Taiga and moved the dial to 6 and proceeded with the same action but, on the left side. Wow, so super smooth and easy. The blade feel is there but, it is a bit less than the Sailor yet it cuts nearly identical to it as it wiped away the whiskers on my face with ease. Cleared it and went to the neck and half the chin just as I did on the right side and cleared that as well. Quick rinse and face feel and man oh man! These two knocked down some serious whiskers. Feel was practically identical on both sides. Yeah, this was gearing up to be a hell of a shave and not to forget that the Ethos lather was smoking good. Luscious, well hydrated and copious amounts of slickness and glide. So good….

Second Pass, ATG: Went back to the Sailor and dropped it down to about 4.5 on the dial and went to the skin from bottom of the neck working my way up. Amazingly good feel yet great feedback & feel from the razor and blade. A real nice audible tone telling one that the angle was spot on and the Sailor was in a groove. Long strokes with good skin stretching to get whiskers in the path of this whisker demolishing juggernaut. Done quickly and efficiently. Still felt the blade but not as prominent as it was on 6. The smoothness is great on 4.5 on the Sailor. The Taiga was up and I copied the same steps as with the Sailor and also dropped it down to 4.5. Oh man, this thing is so nice and ridiculously smooth. Yes, smoother than the Sailor on this particular pass but, still just as efficient in eliminating the whiskers on both neck and cheek. Blade feel is slightly toned down but, it cuts with a deceptive authority almost Gibbs like but, I think better. Done and a full face rinse and feel and I was oh so close to BBS all around. A couple of stragglers on the bottom of the jawline on the Sailor side and a very light patch under the chin on the Taiga’s end. Plus the normal holdouts around Sir Adam.  Got ready for a 3rd clean up pass.

Third Pass/Clean Up, XTG Hybrid: Took the Sailor and again turned it down to 3.5. With the Feather that is still plenty efficient feeling to let one know that it’s chopping whiskers and the smoothness really showed in the Sailor in this setting though just a measly few whiskers left but, cleared the jawline of the stragglers and cleaned up the right side of Sir Adam with some skin stretching and contortions. Got’em. Went to the Taiga and brought that down to 3.5 as well and performed the exact same thing on the left side. I won’t lie, it was easier with the Taiga on this particular clean up pass than it was with the Sailor just for the simple fact that it is nimbler feeling razor to hold and wield around one’s face especially on clean ups. Not that the Sailor was clumsy feeling or inadequate, just that for me the Taiga just moved easier with a better feel in transition and performing small hooks and reversals. That’s just me though.

Post shave feel/thoughts: Full face rinse and feel and Holy Moly! What a shave. No red dots, weepers, cuts or nics. Nothing. Nada. Zilch! What irritation?? Did a quick alum pass and not a single heater. Cleaned my gear, dried and put them away. Grabbed the skin food splash with a healthy helping of liquid and splashed it on. Just an awesome finish with the Ethos splash.

This shave was done at 4:30 in the morning and it is now nearly 8pm EST here in Joisey. Still, not a single whisker detected from either side. That’s how good a shave was had with these superb performers. I’m approaching Asylum Rx SE territory here in the next couple of hours in terms of face free stubble duration here. My skin still feels rubbery soft and supple and just great to the touch. I’ll see in the next bit and write in an edit to this particular post whenever a bit of any semblance of stubble shows up.

My post summation to follow as well…..

Edit: 
* Well, I finally felt the the long overdue whisker(s) and it was a feint couple of strands along the back jawline heading towards my earlobe. And it was on the Taiga side just too be real. The Sailor ‘21 side is still clean and smooth as a newborns. So, the shave was completed at about 5am this morning and the first remnants of stubble at approximately 9pm. That’s nearly 16 hours on one side and the other side is still going strong. 

How to make the call? Well, the Sailor has given me the longer lasting shave while the Taiga was the more comfortable shaver. Not by leaps and bounds but, enough to be noticed. Yet, you get an easy shave with the Sailor with a good combination of efficiency & smoothness. A trade off that a few would not mind having, myself included though not most of the time. I still do prefer a smoother shave with a razor that can still deliver efficiency. And the Taiga does just that. The Taiga is awesome from 3 and up for me and at 1 & 2 well, it kind of lacks a bit of oomph but, for the milder shaver crowd it could be the right range. While the Sailor is great at 5 and above, it is amazing at 4 and below matching the smoothness of the Taiga in its whole range of adjustment. I think the far majority of users will probably keep the Sailor at 1-5 and most won’t go past that size range as there is no real gain, for me at least. I mean really, what does one gain at shaving at 1 to 2 full turns with the Sailor? Braggings rights that you shaved with a 5.0 gap size? Same with the Taiga although it is smoother in the upper ranges but, again what’s the endgame for reaching for gaps in the stratosphere? Smooth, comfortable & efficient with consistent results. That to me is the endgame for my wet shave experience. And both of these razors do it in abundance with quality, craftsmanship and utterly brilliant execution. 

The Sailor ‘21 by a nose at the tape. It just does everything from good to awesome as a premium shave tool.

I’m clearing out my den soon. With the Sailor & Taiga in the arsenal there really is no need for much of anything else except perhaps for sentimental value razors or from a sheer collector’s point of view, monetary gain down the road. They’ll be some good ones in the b/s/t soon enough gents….

I wish these two razors could be combined and then it would be my dream razor. I prefer the head of the Taiga and the handle of the Sailor.