H&S P076 Ti DE SB & OC Passaround Review–Epitome of Craftsmanship & Efficient Comfort

I received the H&S P076 Ti DC for this pass around. This H&S offering is much like the others I’ve had the privilege to try… stunning in all aspects. The P076 is one of my favorite aesthetic designs, and the polish work is impeccable. In comparison to the 2020 Diamondback, which has impressive polishing of its own, I would give the nod to H&S. Flawless. I am also a fan of longer handles, and this is another design point in favor of this razor. The slim head is one of the most maneuverable that I’ve used, and I like that the blade tabs are covered.

There were 3 scents of Ethos soap included with the razor. I have been using Ethos products for several months now, so they are no stranger to me. I was excited to try the Lavender and Melange d’agrumes, as I had not been exposed to these scents before. I do have the Succes in my den, and use it on a regular basis. The main thing that I have to say about the Ethos soap is that they are the best soaps that I have used, and are what I use most of the time. The combination of slickness, cushion, and post shave feel, as well as the scents, are just amazing. I still use a couple of other soaps, but they just don’t perform the way that Ethos does. On the subject of scents, Frank (Dragonsbeard) is a wizard with the natural scents. I am very sensitive to scents (as in, I don’t like anything that’s too strong, too synthetic, or that has too many competing notes). I’ve tried some soaps that are great bases, but the scents are an overload (some of the Declaration Grooming scents come to mind, which made me sneeze the whole time I was shaving). One of the things I love about Ethos is that every scent that I’ve tried (which is almost all of them) is that they are natural, subtle, and understated.

This was my first time using any Ti razor, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I have tried one aluminum razor before, and it did not work well for me. With the aluminum, I felt like I had to apply too much pressure to cut the stubble. When I tried to use a very light touch, the razor seemed to just skip across the stubble, and I wound up with nicks and cuts. I will say that I’ve only been DE shaving for about a year and a half or so, so I’m sure that my technique can be improved upon.

I typically shave every other day, and that’s what I did while I had this razors.

Shave #1
Blade: Nacet (Fresh)
Brush: Elite Razor hybrid w/ Odin’s Beard knot
Soap: Ethos Lavender Supreme (included in passaround)
Post: GentlemanJon Alum block
Post: Ethos Replenish
Post: Ethos Skin Food Splash

The Lavender Supreme has an amazing natural lavender scent. My personal experience with lavender fields was a lavender farm on Maui, and this soap smelled just like that fresh lavender.

I have not liked any open combs that I’ve tried, but I tried the open comb side for a couple of strokes of the first pass. I immediately decided to switch over to the straight bar side, as the open comb had a bit too much blade feel for me, and felt a bit harsh. The SB side, though, seemed pretty smooth, and I settled into the shave. Everything felt fairly smooth, and I did enjoy the face feel of the titanium. I could feel the blade more here and there than I would have liked, and the third pass against the grain was not quite as smooth as I would have liked. The efficiency of this iteration seemed similar to the 17-4. After 3 passes and some cleanup, I used the alum block, and had a LOT more feedback than I was expecting. I also had a fair amount of razor burn for a few hours, so I was obviously putting too much pressure due to the light weight of the razor. The shave was DFS+, other than the burn. I did have a couple of weepers that I didn’t notice at all until later in the day.

Shave #2
Blade: Nacet (same from the first shave)
Brush: Graydog w/Maggard’s SHD knot
Soap: Ethos Melange d’agrumes (included in passaround)
Post: GentlemanJon Alum block
Post: Ethos Replenish
Post: Ethos Skin Food Splash
 
Melange d’agrumes is a very nice grapefruit forward scent. I can pick up a few other notes, but it has just the right amount of complexity. I really like citrus scents, but sometimes they can be very synthetic… that’s NOT the case with Melange d’agrumes. This one actually seemed to take a little more water than the other Ethos soaps, but nothing crazy, and pretty easy to dial in. 

For this shave, I tried to focus on easing up on the pressure. Three passes, and it was a bit better this time than the last, but still got some burn for a while after the shave.


 
Shave #3
Blade: Polsilver Stainless
Brush: Elite Razor hybrid w/ Odin’s Beard knot
Soap: Ethos Greenfresh
Post: GentlemanJon Alum block
Post: Ethos Replenish
Post: Nivea sensitive skin after shave balm
 
I received this order of Ethos Greenfresh a week or so ago, but hadn’t used it yet, so I decided to give it a run. It did not disappoint… this may be my favorite scent so far, or at least tied for favorite with Succes. 

This shave was very similar to the last, still getting a little burn afterwards. Added the Nivea sensitive skin after shave balm, and that helped. 
 

 
Shave #4
Blade: Wizamet (first use)
Brush: Graydog w/Maggard’s SHD
Soap: Ethos Melange d’agrumes
Post: GentlemanJon Alum block
Post: Ethos Replenish
Post: Lucky Tiger After Shave Tonic
 
Went back to the Melange d’agrumes, and added a few drops of the extra scent that was included. This definitely turned the scent up a notch, but nothing too crazy. Very nice. 
I decided to try a different blade, and also tried to really focus on lightening up my technique. This was the best shave that I had with the H&S P076 Ti, but still not great. I think that I need a lot of work on technique to be able to use a razor that is this light. I’m really interested to see how I do with the Henson razor when I’m able to try it on the pass around. 

Final thoughts: This is an outstanding piece of kit. I loved how nimble this razor felt, with it’s slim head profile. Incredible polishing, great design, a functional work of art. If you like Ti razors, definitely give this one a try. For me, I need to work on my technique a bit. I got great shaves with the P076 17-4, so for now I do better with a heavier razor. 
 
Huge thanks to DanLaw , Frank (Dragonsbeard) , and Aji at Haircut and a Shave for making this passaround possible. I've said it before, I wouldn't get to try a lot of these razors if not for the passarounds!

I hope this post finds everyone well. I am honored to be part of the current Haircut & Shave Ti P076 DC pass around. I received the razor in the mail yesterday and was excited to open it up and start my testing.


My first impressions upon opening the razor were two things: how well balanced it is and how beautiful the craftsmanship is. You can tell much time and energy went into the design as well as the production of this product. As many have mentioned the fit and finishing are TOP NOTCH. Looking at photos I was a bit concerned that I wouldn’t like the handle, but it turns out it is actually near prefect. The handle’s length is great allowing me to get a finger in the rounded section at the bottom to help with grip. The knurling is also very tight and even giving nice grip without being sharp. I really liked the head geometry and in the hand the razors fells light and nimble. I couldn’t wait to get into my first shave … BUT had to wait till after making dinner for the wife and me.

After getting all settled for the night I started in on my first shave. My head had 2 days of growth and my face 3-4 so it had plenty to work through. My everyday razor currently is a Timeless .68 Ti Open Comb which I use Kai DE blades with. For my first shave with the new H&S Ti DC I wanted to try and get as close to my current setup as possible, so I could see the differences. So, after sanitizing the razor I loaded it up with a brand new Kai blade. Even though I’m super excited to try out the ETHOS soaps that are part of the pass around since this shave was about making things as similar as possible to my normal setup I went with one of my standard rotations of soap Mitchell’s Wool Fat, a classic and great soap. 
Normally to achieve an acceptable shave on my head it takes two passes plus some touchups. For my face to start I do a with the grain pass, then depending on how much growth I had and if it needs it an across the grain, followed up by a against the grain pass to finish up (maybe a touch up here or there last). My problem area is my neck I almost never can get it fully smooth due to its growth pattern and if I try to often it comes out very raw and uncomfortable. So it gets what it gets and is just not as smooth, but that’s life sometimes. 
With the first touch of the H&S Ti to my head I could feel the difference in the razors design and geometry with its more pronounced blade feel….. its hard to describe, it wasn’t that it was aggressive, it was just that you could feel the blade was there. After a pass or so I could tell that it wasn’t going to cut me or “bite” but was there and in a way through the shave I came to find it comforting that I could feel where the blade was and what it was doing. With my Timeless Ti I sometimes feel that I’m not 100% sure what the razor is doing, I feel it on my skin but its just kind of sliding around. This was not the case with the H&S I always knew where it was and if it was doing its job in cutting hair. I do not normally use an dual comb razor and its been 6+ years since I’ve even tried one. I normally use an Open Comb so I started out with that side of the razor. Upon finishing my first pass I was amazed by the fact that frankly…. I could do a touch up and be done with shaving my head… this NEVER happens with any of my other razors, its always at least two passes. Frankly there was only two spots that needed a touch up too. BUT for “science” I rinsed my head off then applied more soap and flipped the razor over to the straight bar side and did a second pass. The SB side had a little less blade feel to it but still comforting and you could feel the blade as well as the bar. This side of the razor I could feel was not quite as “efficient” but also it wasn’t needed as it was the second pass. I could feel/hear the razor finding some hair and “razoring” (haha) through it. By this time I felt much more comfortable with the H&S Ti DC in my hand and closer to my normal shaving speed. I finished off my second pass and splashed my head down and toweled off… wouldn’t you know… BBS shave no need for a touch up MUCH closer than my normal shaves and frankly the BEST shave I can remember in years…. So it was now time to tackle my face with its extra bit of growth.
 
I got out a warm towel and wrapped up my face to soften the hair, then applied lather. I did a pass with the Open Comb side with the grain. Sideburns down to jaw line on one side then the other, then under the nose, then under lip to chin. Next the “problem child” the neck, did a with the grain with a nice light touch and I could feel it being very efficient and removing the multiple days of growth, I was pleasantly surprised with the lack of “harshness” that I normally get when working on my neck. So with the first pass finished I splashed down to see how things stood after the first pass. I was very happy with the results, considering I had let it grow out more than normal, due to being busy this week, the first pass was good but needed more…. Maybe in the future if the growth wasn’t so much I could see maybe one pass with touch up being all I need, BUT we will see when I do my next shave with less growth. So re-lathered up and flipped over to the SB side and decided to go with an against the grain follow up pass. To keep things short since this first impressions is already running long the H&S did a phenomenal job! Two points of interest were my neck which I’ve mentioned already normally never gets really smooth and has issues with irritation the left side is almost completely smooth and the right has just a touch of stubble I can find. I think that if I would have spent a little more time and with more experience with the razor I could achieve a smooth shave on my neck most of the time … BUT the biggest thing is that I experienced no irritation/raw/nicks etc like sometimes happens. This is a huge thing for me and I love it. The second thing I would like to mention is that the design of the razor head is great normally with my Timeless TI the head is more … bulky (?) making areas like under the nose or ears sometimes a bit troublesome. The H&S with its profile is very agile and nimble getting in those tight areas with ease. 
 
All this being said, I came out of my first shave with the H&S TI DC with one good thought, one bad thought, and one question. The good thought is that I love this razor and I got a WONDERFUL shave, the bad thought is … the wife is going to hate me when I tell her its time to buy a new razor ;D and the question is… Do I like this DC or would I rather go with a SB or OC… I normally don’t think I would like a DC razor and from my tests years ago I didn’t I felt I was always just using one side or the other. With this razor though its sooooo efficient and does a great job with one pass on the OC and one pass on the SB then touchup I feel it might be balanced … and I might actually like the DC. I’m glad I get a few more shaves with this razor to test it out and figure out what I like.

Next time I'll talk more about the weight and balance and my thoughts on stainless vs titanium, but for now I hope that you liked this first impressions and first shave thoughts on the H&S p076 TI DC

I wanted to post my thoughts on my second shave with the H&S Ti DC this morning after the shave but my day spiraled out of control and ended up rebuilding my wife’s wheelchair ramps coming into the house.

This morning I had 36 hours of growth much less than my first shave with the H&S. I am still amazed at how efficient this razor is without being aggressive. I’ve already decided it’s not if I’m going to buy one it’s when, ... and I also need to decided what head I want SB/OC/DC.... all seem good at this point.

Today, since I had already done my test keeping most things the same as my normal shave, I used the Ethos soap that is part of the pass around. I have nothing but great things to say about it. I used the Succès scent today and it had a wonderful complex scent that I find it hard to describe but that I adore. I used one of the little spoons to scoop out an amount slightly smaller than an almond and found that it produced more than enough lather and I could have used ⅔ that amount. It lathered quickly and took a good amount of what but not a ton, it produced a thick shinny lather that was slick and went well with the razor. I’m for sure going to need to add some Ethos soap to my rotation of soaps.

I finished up my third shave tonight with the Haircut & Shave p076 TI DC. Tonight I used one of the supplied Nacet blades and the Ethos Mèlange d’agrumes.

Tonight’s test was to do half my face with the SB (the left) and the other half with the OC (the right). I hadn’t had time to shave since Saturday so there was a fair amount of growth. Both sides of my face have a great shave. I can tell the OC side feels a bit more .... aggressive, not so much it’s uncomfortable but more. Till now with this razor I have been doing first past OC and second with the SB. This was the first time I’ve done two passes with the OC and maybe a bit too much for my skin, or maybe a difference in the blade I haven’t used before.

The SB side is great no irritation and nice and smooth, if forced to pick right now I would ether order a DC or the SB for my face the combo works great or if I couldn’t go that what I would go SB.

I think I’m in love with these Ethos soaps and will likely gift myself some for my birthday in January. The Ethos Mèlange d’agrumes had a great scent of citrus but not overpowering or clawing. I get notes of orange, lime, and grapefruit to my nose and I adore it. I thought I liked the Succès, and I do, but I like the Mèlange d’agrumes more. It produced the same great lather and does use much to make tons for a shave. The jar is large and I could see it lasting years.

I mentioned in one of my other posts I was originally concerned about the handle and that it ended up being perfect for my hand. I remembered to take a picture tonight.

https://imgur.com/a/apvm51N

I really like how the length of the handle and the shape at the end allow me to grip it between my last two fingers. When I have it upside down shaving the back of my head it allows for a nice firm grip.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk