H&SCo. Z074-ti

Just got my ZO74 today. I will get a few shaves in and give my results. Here are some pics of it with my other H&S razors 
Left to right
PO76 Ti
ZO74 Ti
NO75 Black Coating
NO75 aluminum base with American Flag SS Top cap and Ti handle. 

That Z finish is perfect to me.

Just had my second 24hr growth shave. This is tied for #1 for 24 hr growth DE now and 2nd overall behind the paradigm se. the tie is shared with the oneblade genesis. I know. I dislike the company for the gimmicky marketing but it I have never had a disappointing shave with it.

The z074 is mild Yet I can get to ATG on pass 2 and be done. Yes there is more buffing involved than when using it’s more aggressive sibling, but it’s very care-free. I even used can soap tonight for science and the shave was irritation free, quick,  and close.

I'll be using mine tomorrow morning on 4 days growth.

Got my first shave in this morning on about 4 days growth. The razor is extremely well balanced and the handle is very pleasant to use with an excellent combination of the right length and grippy knurling. The head is quite nimble with a small safety bar, but the height of the top cap prevents the same level of maneuverability that you would find in the P076 or a Wolfman WR1. Still, I didn't have any areas that were troublesome to reach and this razor is upper echelon for handling.

I would label the razor as mild feeling, but with efficiency extremely similar to the N075. Aji never told me directly that efficiency is between the N075 and the P076, but because it had been mentioned here, I will state that this was not evident in my experience. The P076 is vastly more efficient, but with quite a bit more blade feel, the Z074 shaves like the N075, but lighter. I found the blade feel of the P076 between a WR1 0.80 and 0.86, while the Z074 feels like maybe a 0.61.

I can't really find a fault with the Z074 other than price. I understand it's titanium and I happen to love the finish personally, but $400 for a non-polished razor is enthusiast level for sure. I think this razor will be too mild for a lot of experienced shavers or at least the forum members here, but it's a beautiful product that gave me a really top level DFS shave with no irritation. I'm going to use it for at least a couple weeks to really test it fully, but I'm guessing it won't be efficient enough for me in the long-run. If you've used the N075 and you absolutely love how it shaves, you will love this. If that was too mild, I'm guessing this will be too.

Did you find it any smoother than the N075 or just simply lighter? I was hoping the head would be closer in size to the P076 but maybe that would interfere with the design/geometry of the razor.

looking at Shavemd's side by side pics, the only real difference compared to the NO75 is the bottom of the baseplate has been drilled out. Functionally stack height looks the same.  I would expect the ZO74 to perform like a lightwieght NO75 as a result.

looking at Shavemd's side by side pics, the only real difference compared to the NO75 is the bottom of the baseplate has been drilled out. Functionally stack height looks the same.  I would expect the ZO74 to perform like a lightwieght NO75 as a result.

Similar, of course, to the N0 -- the caps are indistinguishable, for instance -- but I found it markedly smoother; not zero blade feel but close to it.  The N0 always has, for me, blade feel.  A different shaving experience from the weight, the material, the difference in width and amount of metal.  Here are two more comparisons of the baseplates -- the height and gap is obviously different and the Z0 lather channels are larger as well, which I'm beginning to realize does play a role in the shave (I see that I didn't line them up perfectly, but you get the idea)

I did not find it smoother than the N075, just lighter and slightly smaller. The mixed metal N075 is one of the smoothest razors I've ever used, I can't see a way for a razor to be meaningfully smoother. To me, the Z074 replicates the results of the N075 shave in a more nimble, lighter package. Unfortunately, for me it did not represent an increase in efficiency.

The stack height is revelatory....