H&S Copper P076 DC

or how about the “sticker shock” when the Feather AS-D2 first arrived on the scene at $180? I remember comments such as: Stainless steel is overkill for this application, I’ll never pay more than $100 for any razor, my $30 Merkur shaves just as well, etc... Almost seems comical by today’s standards  .

I can only comment on the finish of the first release H&S 76 17-4 to Wolfman. The H&S presented an odd ripple in the flat areas of polish that you don't see in Wolfman, and there were ridges in the transition and valley areas at the top and bottom of the handle that I've not ever seen with multiple Wolfman by James. You can see these ridges in both the 17-4 and Cu pictures on the H&S website. Without shaving with it, I returned it, so I can only comment on the finish. I do see a handful of new models, materials, and finishes from H&S so I may give it another go. But, I'll probably stick to non-polish finishes from H&S, which appear to me to be a bit better in consistent appearance. I'll also stick to a lower-priced H&S edition and save the $600+ investments for Wolfman. In my experience there are many great makers and models—both machined or polished—in the $200-300 price range, so I'm hesitant to encourage $600+ to become a new standard for that tier.

Your experience with uneven finishes on H&S does not comport with mine and have probably personally handled more of his razors than anybody short of Aji. As well, have owned probably a dozen Wolfman razors over the years, back when his finishing was at its zenith, still retaining 4 custom high polish “vintage” razors. At a minimum, H&S fit and finish the equal of the best of duFour razors.  While I have yet to handle a less than perfect H&S razor, I have handled at least one duFour that would never have left my shop with my name on it.  I love my Wolfman razors but also equally love my H&S razors (my standards of machining are almost impossibly high having received a masters fellowship overseeing a manufacturing center operated by one of the very top elite engineering schools in the world).  One can argue Wolfman has an advantage attracting a wider swath of customers by offering various gaps which is an undeniable core strategic advantage but the matter of QC yet remains, at a minimum, a tie.  Those are facts that, while anecdotal, are none the less real. Finally, I have zero financial interest in either firm nor any shaving related business

  I hate to see price increases but that is the cost of metals going up and I think Aji underpriced his craftsmanship of his razors early on. 

The price of raw material has nothing to do with the final price of a razor, the cost of a razor is almost solely based on the machining and finishing.
The machining depends on the raw material itself, making it more tedious to work with. But the price of the raw material going up has zero influence on the price.

Maybe a 5-10$ increase, but not in the hundreds.

Thanks for the reply DanLaw! My Wolfman include mirror polished 316L, titanium, and 316L w/ satin finish. I trust your perspective and hope to pick up another H&S for another personal review. I mention the 316L steel because, perhaps, the ripple reflection was due to the 17-4, which I understand is difficult to polish. Here's a short video I captured the day I received it: https://d.pr/v/vBCQQT. I should mention that Aji was great to work with, and the Cu pics from the OP are quite nice. I'll try to report if I have a chance to compare a future H&S finish to the Wolfman, Blackland, and Paradigm on my shelf.

I’m currently cross-shopping the H&S Ti vs Carbon Ti vs Timeless Ti vs Henson Ti... It’s going to be close!

I’m currently cross-shopping the H&S Ti vs Carbon Ti vs Timeless Ti vs Henson Ti... It’s going to be close!

Do the right thing. Buy them all! 

Your experience with uneven finishes on H&S does not comport with mine and have probably personally handled more of his razors than anybody short of Aji. As well, have owned probably a dozen Wolfman razors over the years, back when his finishing was at its zenith, still retaining 4 custom high polish “vintage” razors. At a minimum, H&S fit and finish the equal of the best of duFour razors.  While I have yet to handle a less than perfect H&S razor, I have handled at least one duFour that would never have left my shop with my name on it.  I love my Wolfman razors but also equally love my H&S razors (my standards of machining are almost impossibly high having received a masters fellowship overseeing a manufacturing center operated by one of the very top elite engineering schools in the world).  One can argue Wolfman has an advantage attracting a wider swath of customers by offering various gaps which is an undeniable core strategic advantage but the matter of QC yet remains, at a minimum, a tie.  Those are facts that, while anecdotal, are none the less real. Finally, I have zero financial interest in either firm nor any shaving related business

Dan do you know if the same level of polish is given to the NO75 as the various PO76 iterations (Interesting to note the price hasn't gone up on NO75 yet)? Also, any telltale signs one can look at to differentiate the NO75 high polish vs electropolish via pictures?

Your experience with uneven finishes on H&S does not comport with mine and have probably personally handled more of his razors than anybody short of Aji. As well, have owned probably a dozen Wolfman razors over the years, back when his finishing was at its zenith, still retaining 4 custom high polish “vintage” razors. At a minimum, H&S fit and finish the equal of the best of duFour razors.  While I have yet to handle a less than perfect H&S razor, I have handled at least one duFour that would never have left my shop with my name on it.  I love my Wolfman razors but also equally love my H&S razors (my standards of machining are almost impossibly high having received a masters fellowship overseeing a manufacturing center operated by one of the very top elite engineering schools in the world).  One can argue Wolfman has an advantage attracting a wider swath of customers by offering various gaps which is an undeniable core strategic advantage but the matter of QC yet remains, at a minimum, a tie.  Those are facts that, while anecdotal, are none the less real. Finally, I have zero financial interest in either firm nor any shaving related business

Dan do you know if the same level of polish is given to the NO75 as the various PO76 iterations (Interesting to note the price hasn't gone up on NO75 yet)? Also, any telltale signs one can look at to differentiate the NO75 high polish vs electropolish via pictures?

Aji has a new N075 coming out next Spring. Redesigned so haven’t asked him if there will be a price increase yet. The new design looks pretty cool!


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Aji has a new N075 coming out next Spring.  Redesigned so haven’t asked him if there will be a price increase yet.  The new design looks pretty cool!


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saw the IG post. Might be why the price hasn't gone up yet.