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

Patiently waiting for mine. You guys are making it tough ..

Today was my first shave with both Ethos soap and the H&S Ti P076 OC razor. Many thanks to Aji and Frank for letting us try these products, and to Dan for organizing the pass around. I'll post some initial thoughts now, but a more in-depth summary after I have used these products for a few days. 

Man, the scent on this soap is terrific! It smells like there is a fresh pineapple in the tub. It was softer than I expected it to be. It made a suitable lather very quickly. I wish the matching splash was in the box. That might have to go on my wishlist. 

My first impressions of the razors were that the polishing job is very well done. They are lightweight and well balanced. I got a great shave with the OC, though it had a little more blade feel than I like. I will use the SB for the next two shaves. In terms of efficiency, it reminds me of a WR1 .80 or a WR2 1.15. 

I have more specific thoughts, but I will save them for after I've used everything for several days. Until then...

I am finishing up the H&S Ti and Ethos pass around. Here are my final thoughts, first about Ethos, but mainly about the H+S Ti razors. 

I have been saying it for a while…I can get a good shave with pretty much any soap. Having said that, I do have a few favorite bases. My top three are Grooming Dept Nai, Wholly Kaw Siero and Barrister and Mann Soft Heart (PP-8). To me, they are the most exceptional bases, however, I use other soaps and get great shaves. I got some great shaves with Ethos. To me, the base did not crack the top three I mentioned above, but it’s not too far off. It is definitely a great product.

Two things really stood out to me. First of all, Ethos is extremely easy to lather. I would say lathers faster and easier than any of the three soaps I mentioned above. It was pretty mindless. Some days, that’s exactly what I want. The main attraction, however, was the scent of Succes. Wow!! I have been smelling the tub the past four days. It smells like there is a fresh pineapple in the tub. It smells so good, it makes me want to try the splash. I am looking forward to Frank getting the Ethos website up and running.

Onto the H&S Ti razors…

As with soaps, I think I can get a good shave with just about any razor. Some are more enjoyable to use than others. I really prefer the weight of Ti more than SS. I have a couple SS razors I enjoy, but I use titanium razors most of the time. I am fortunate to own four Ti Wolfmans, WR2 SBs in 1.05-1.25 and a WR1 SB .61. I have not used any other titanium razors until now, so the basis of my comparison will be with what I have used. I think the comparison to Wolfman Ti is fair. They are roughly the same price.

The polishing job on the H&S razors is extremely well done. All of my Ti Wolves are brushed (polished wasn’t an option), so I don’t have another polished Ti razor with which to compare them. But looking at the H&S razors is enough to know that the finish leaves little, if anything, to be desired.

The weight and balance of the H&S Ti razors is on the money and right in my comfort zone. I would say the balance probably couldn’t get much better. I like the low profile head. It sort of reminds me of the WR1 head.

To me, the big difference between the H&S and the Ti Wolfmans is the machining. The Wolfman lines, to me, are much cleaner and more well defined. Also, I prefer the Wolfman knurling, which feels much gripper to me. The H&S was grippy enough, but I can definitely detect a difference. The H&S is a handsome razor, but the machining on the Wolfman is in a different league, IMO.

I felt like the H&S would benefit from engraving on the baseplate. Not for me…I know what it is. But this razor could be my grandkid’s razor. It would be nice to know who made it. Even if it was small (like Carbon), at least it would be there.

Onto the shave…The H&S Ti razors, to me, are most comparable to a WR1 (.80 ish). The H&S has more blade feel than a WR2 and isn’t as smooth. It’s efficient enough to do the job well, but I don’t think I would want to use it daily. The OC had too much blade feel for me. The SB had slightly too much blade feel to be a daily driver for me. I think the SB version would be a terrific every other day razor for me though.

Because I already have several titanium Wolfmans, I am probably not a buyer. That said, if I didn’t have any, I would strongly consider buying a Ti H&S. I enjoyed using it more than any of my SS razors (other than the BBS-1). If I was advising a friend whether to buy a Ti H&S or wait for a Ti Wolfman, I would probably say “Buy the H&S.” It’s a great razor and it’s actually available. Also, it seems like Aji will actually interact with customers, something that doesn’t really happen with Wolfman anymore. If I didn’t own a titanium razor, I’d rather buy something I can get, rather than wait for something that might never be reality. Like I said, at the moment, they are roughly the same price as one another (in USD). Materially speaking, I think the Wolfman is a better value, so long as you know exactly which gap you want. The fact that it’s customizable is a big selling point. But that might not matter if you can’t actually order one. In that case, the H&S might be a better value, if for no other reason than that there’s no “guessing game” involved and it’s a really great razor in its own right. Pick your poison. They’re both great razors, so the consumer wins with either.

Many thanks to Frank, Aji and Dan for the pass around. I enjoyed it!

Forgive the intrusion here - I'm not part of the pass-around, but I did receive my H&T Ti today from Aji and shaved with it. I can't add much to Ben's great detailed review, but I just wanted to say that it is a very pretty razor - nicely finished (I prefer polished to brushed), great balance. It's an SB - has less blade feel than the blackbird (which is a good thing for me) - with a head that's similar to the WR1. 2 passes and a little touch-up - seems to be efficient enough for me. I'll shave with it again through the coming week and am happy to add more to this, but I'm happy with this purchase - a solid, nicely finished, smooth titanium razor!

Forgive the intrusion here - I'm not part of the pass-around, but I did receive my H&T Ti today from Aji and shaved with it. I can't add much to Ben's great detailed review, but I just wanted to say that it is a very pretty razor - nicely finished (I prefer polished to brushed), great balance. It's an SB - has less blade feel than the blackbird (which is a good thing for me) - with a head that's similar to the WR1. 2 passes and a little touch-up - seems to be efficient enough for me. I'll shave with it again through the coming week and am happy to add more to this, but I'm happy with this purchase - a solid, nicely finished, smooth titanium razor!

I only got one shave with H&S Ti. 
Blackbird might have more blade feel, but it is easier and more comfortable to add pressure than H&S Ti. 
I prefer Blackbird over H&S. Both are efficient, but Blackbird is smoother for me.

May I suggest you experiment with angle. Also will suggest trying Nacet as the H&S razors respond well to their use.

I've finished a week of regular shaves with just the Ti and for the next few days I'm going to compare it side by side with my two standouts so far, the Paradigm Diamondback and the WR1 0.61 OC. The N075 is a fantastic mild razor, but I don't think an appropriate comparison piece.

The Ti has worked fantastic for me, I tend to prefer smaller gapped razors as there is less angle variation for me. The shaves have consistently lasted well into the next day and I can't see this ever being a daily driver, it just doesn't leave enough stubble the next day for me to have a full shave. Blade feel is slightly more than I initially perceived, I would say it has present blade feel. You know it's there and it's honest, but I haven't found that it's inclined to bite at all. It helps to guide you, but the effective angles are narrow enough where I never tilted too far and got a nasty cut or anything.

My one criticism of the Ti and this really applies to all very efficient razors, is that it is quite sensitive to prep and lather quality. My WR1 is much more forgiving if my lather isn't perfect, while the Ti can leave some weepers. It seems to work best with a very dense lather for me. At this point, I think this razor is really perfect as an every 2 to 3 day razor for the experienced shaver. It's easily controllable with a high efficiency level, but really shines when all your technique is on point. It won't surprise you and scare you if you stop paying attention, but it also doesn't babysit you. Again, these are just my thoughts over a few shaves, I still have a lot of learning to do with it.

The razor arrived in Friday's mail, and I shaved with it on Saturday morning.  I thought I was getting two separate razors, not one Dual Comb; my mistake.  I rarely use open combs, but yesterday I used one side for each side of my face, and could discern no difference in results between the two, though the OC had a little more blade feel than the SB.  I used a Feather blade, for my first shave since it is my blade of choice.  Tomorrow I'll use the Nacet.  The titanium razor is very light and nimble, which I like, however the handle is a bit too large for my liking.  I did not try any of the soaps, as I tend to do better with non-soap based shaving creams.  I did my usual 1 pass shave across and against the grain with very good results: a very close shave with no irritation that lasted til morning.  More tomorrow.

May I suggest you experiment with angle. Also will suggest trying Nacet as the H&S razors respond well to their use.

I tried with Nacet for a day growth. The shave was OK, too. Still it was a bit aggressive for me. 

Then I used with Gillette Silver Blue for two day growth. It was pretty good. Was much easier to find working angle. 
Also have thick lather. 

Prefer to use it for more than a day growth.

I had my second shave with the Ti Dual Comb yesterday.  This time I used only the SB side of the razor.  I also used one of the Nacet blades supplied by the vendor, and the Ethos Lavender soap.   I usually use Feather blades, and was pleased to find the Nacet comparable.  The Ethos Lavender soap was very impressive; it lathered beautifully and did not dry my face, like most soaps do.  I would probably buy this soap if I knew where to find it.  The razor is one of the best I've ever shaved with, but I prefer a smaller handle.  I've heard it compared to Wolfman, but having never tried a Wolfman I wouldn't know.  I only shave every other day, so this razor works well for me, but if I were a daily shaver I would probably prefer a slightly milder razor.  I'm looking forward to trying their 075 model to compare.  This is going to be a short review, as I am very busy this month, and I'm not very good at comparative reviews.  Thanks to Dan and the vendors for this opportunity.