Haircut & Shave P076 17-4 SB & OC Passaround Review – World Class Artisanal Craftsman

SOTD 05.07.2020

H&S 17-4 OC/SB

Mozingo ZT1

GD Pre-Shave

Milksteak Soap

Personna (etched)

GD Post Serum

I've used each of the heads once.  Yesterday, I put the SB to 2-3 growth and I used the OC just now on 24hrs growth.  This is my first exposure to H&S razors and I don't really follow the threads.  I jumped on the pass around get a feel for the quality of the product and of course, to see how they shave. For background, after several years of trial and error, my modern razor lineup is limited to Wolfman WR1/WR2, BlackBirds SB/OC, and Rocnel Adjustables. 

The H&S 17-4 is very well put together. The tolerances are tight as the fit indicates.  The finish on the top cap great.  It's very close to my mirror SS Wolfman razors.  I've really got to study them to tell a difference.  DuFour tells me his polished Ti is 95% mirror.  He leads me to believe that about as far as Ti will get and it is terribly time consuming.  It doesn't meet his standards, so he doesn't really offer the service.  This H&S 17-4 is above the Ti and slightly below DuFours mirror...so I'd say it's 98% mirror.  It's a real beauty.  Solid A on the finish.

One of the things I liked about the 17-4 from photos is the head looks similar to a WR-1.  Having compared them, they are a little different.  The 17-4 is slightly longer and has a taller dome height.  Both heads weigh exactly the same 27g.  The knurling on the 17-4 handle is sharp, not BBS-1 sharp but it's sharper than a WRH1.  The knurling will grab a microfiber towel.  It's executed well, grippy, and I quite like it. A+ on the knurling

I did my standard 2.5 pass shave with both razors.  Both easily produced a BBS. The SB, yesterday, lasted about 6.5 hours. Perfectly acceptable for a daily shaver, to me, although all of my 3-piece razors cut closer.  The published info on the 17-4 says positive exposure with a .76mm gap.  It is slightly positive.  The blade is definitely there but it's slight. Cheat to the cap and I can lose it.  Fortunately, I'm a bar rider so I was able to locate and maintain the blade throughout the shave.  Less blade exposure and a taller dome height than my WR1 .80mm OC makes it smoother.  This 17-4 reminds me a lot of my Paradigm 17-4 (sold it) both in smoothness and efficiency.  I totally get why the Paradigm is so sought after but here comes a razor that, to me, performs just as well. A on performance.  It would make a very good daily shaver for most.

The OC does increase blade feel slightly.  My gut says there is little difference in efficiency SB to OC but I will be sure and monitor regrowth throughout the day.

The H&S website says the MSRP for their 17-4 is $300.  A damned good value for the quality and performance, IMO.  Excellent product and a solid performer.  Thanks to Dan and H&S for doing this for the community.  I do appreciate the opportunity to play with gear I normally may not.  

Great review my man!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Beautiful brush handle. 

The open comb was a little to rough on my skin compared to the straight bar

Great review and that brush gives me wood!

Down boy!

Great review my man!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks G.  Can't wait to hear your thoughts on this one.

Beautiful brush handle. 

Thank you, sir.  Brett does good work!

I have the 17-4 pass around and I used the OC yesterday. Absolutely loved it and I was going to pass on this one and just get the titanium DC version when available. I used a Feather blade and loved the feel of this razor. I shaved around 2pm yesterday and got an extremely close 2.5 pass BBS. The shave was just as smooth as my No75 stainless but the efficiency is higher on this one and I love the thinner head design! The polish on this is absolutely ridiculous and as good as the mirror polish on Wolfman. I will now most likely get both the 17-4 head in a DC and the titanium razor in a DC. I don’t think I can pass on these! Aji did an amazing job on these and, as usual, I am highly impressed with his build quality and designs! Of course Mohammad’s soaps from GD are outstanding and I already have 2 tubs of each of the soaps included with this pass around. If you have never tried these soaps, you are in for a treat! I will use the SB version tomorrow and then send it on to the next person on the list. I am including the link to my SOTD post on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAgJS6knWUd/...hb6fpevxat


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Apologies for the repeated info, guys.  I wrote this originally for Facebook!


Images:
https://imgur.com/WbEvgEO
https://imgur.com/jx10V9I
https://imgur.com/J98CrX1


H&S Co P076 17-4

Razors: P076 OC (1st pass) and SB (2nd)
Blade: Personna 74 (15th use)
Brush: Shavemac Purple Sumo 26mm 2-band
Soap: B&M/The Club Passiflora
Post: various ybf product

I was lucky enough to catch wind of a pending passaround of Haircut & Shave Co's new razors, the P076 in OC and SB versions, organized by Dan Law, who was kind enough to let me in at more or last the last moment.

Aji Sunjaya, the owner of H&S, first introduced the N075 mixed metal: an SS razor with an aircraft-grade Al baseplate, a 0.75mm blade gap and Neutral (the 'N') blade exposure. Next he came out with an all-SS version of the same razor. The handle on the all-SS N075 had no (or not nearly enough, I forget) knurling to speak of, so the pinky constantly had to supprt the very slippery razor, and Aji proved very open to feedback, producing a handle with excellent feedback. With these two razor's, Aji's goal was to produce a razor which delivered a very close, comfortable, but less aggressive shave. It was a fine balance to strike, but the razors did deliver and the reception was very positive.

With the new P076, H&S has moved forward on a number of fronts. Here we have an ever-so-slightly increased blade gap with just a bit of positive blade exposure. The goal with this one was to increase the efficiency of the shave without introducing too much aggression. The other major design change is the use of 17-4 stainless, a grade of martensitic precipitation hardened stainless steel. The name comes from the chemical makeup which includes approximately 17% chromium and 4% nickel. 17-4's typical applications are in the petroleum and chemical industries, as well as for aircraft parts. It is a very hard, corrosion-resistant grade, and extremely hard to work with, Paradigm and now H&S Co being the only ones to have tried.

The razors are magnificent. Lately I've been doing 1st pass with an OC and 2nd with a SB, so this fit into my recent routine nicely. As I was shaving, I noticed a little bit of blade feel, just enough but not too much. The shave is wonderful, and the OC is noticeably a touch more aggressive than the SB, tho manageably so.  I got a complete BBS shave in just 2 passed.

And the look! These are polished to a mirror shine comparable only to Wolfman's razors. These are gorgeous razors, and I'll be looking for the SB upon release (and possibly the OC if Aji releases the plate for separate purchase). In terms of sheer beauty, these are two of the most stunning razors I've ever seen. And they rank very near the top of all the fixed-gap razors I have tried (that's a lot of razors). With this level of performance at the presumed price point, Haircut & Shave Co seems positioned as a strong competitor in the space currently dominated by the Wolfman WR1 and WR2; the soon-to-ship new Tradere from Blackland; the Level 2 offerings from Charcoal Goods; and the SS razors from the relatively new Carbon Shaving.

Thanks Aji for supplying the razors, and thanks Dan for managing the passaround. It was really special to be able to try these ahead of release. I can't believe Aji pulled off a 17-4 Open Comb razor! That's got to be hard on the tools!

I have the 17-4 pass around and I used the OC yesterday.  Absolutely loved it and I was going to pass on this one and just get the titanium DC version when available.  I used a Feather blade and loved the feel of this razor.  I shaved around 2pm yesterday and got an extremely close 2.5 pass BBS.  The shave was just as smooth as my No75 stainless but the efficiency is higher on this one and I love the thinner head design!  The polish on this is absolutely ridiculous and as good as the mirror polish on Wolfman.  I will now most likely get both the 17-4 head in a DC and the titanium razor in a DC.  I don’t think I can pass on these!  Aji did an amazing job on these and, as usual, I am highly impressed with his build quality and designs!  Of course Mohammad’s soaps from GD  are outstanding and I already have 2 tubs of each of the soaps included with this pass around.  If you have never tried these soaps, you are in for a treat!  I will use the SB version tomorrow and then send it on to the next person on the list.  I am including the link to my SOTD post on Instagram. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAgJS6knWUd/...hb6fpevxat


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Love that handle!!

I had the pleasure of trying the H&S P076 (17-4) DE this week. I don't typically use open comb razors, so I stuck with the solid bar variant. Prior to trying this new razor, I've been the proud owner of a NO75 with aluminum base plate and have been using it as my daily driver.


In my previous review of the NO75al, i had mentioned that I have the hair of an ape. I’m eastern European and I’ve got straight, incredibly thick hair (thanks mom). My 5 o’clock shadow can feel like sandpaper which is why I prefer to shave daily. I always shave with 3 passes - WTG, XTG and AGT. Historically, I’ve preferred what some shavers refer to as “aggressive” razors with some noticeable blade feel such as the Blackland Blackbird and Dart, Timeless .95, CG lvl 2, etc.

The H&S P076 DE improves upon the NO75 in every way, at least for me. The redesigned head design and geometry make this an incredibly efficient razor without sacrificing smoothness or overall comfort. It's got the same efficiency as the Dart with about as much blade feel but dear lord is this thing smooth. I love how nimble the head is on this one. I didn't have to be as careful as I normally am with the Dart and was surprised when my first shave had resulted in barely any irritation. No nicks or cuts. Just BBS. For post-shave, i used an alcohol-based splash and didn't experience even a minor "kiss".

Other things worth nothing are the overall build quality, tolerances, and handle design. The polishing job on this razor is the best that I've ever seen. In fact, I actually wasn't comfortable handling this one for fear of adding the tiniest blemish. It's actually too nice for me and something that I'm simply not used to. I'm not a "functional art" guy that requires cotton gloves and special handling. Tolerances were incredibly tight as you'd expect from a razor of this quality. Handle design is definitely well thought out. It's ergonomic, comfortable and grippy due to the knurling. It also looks beautiful. Aji spent a lot of time making sure that this razor would feel just right in the hands.

The head design reminds me of the carbon razor, but i definitely prefer the P076. I find it to be more efficient and even a tad more comfortable. Maybe it's just me or maybe i've only used the more mild Carbon razor version/base plate.

Now the million dollar question: is this razor for me? Sadly, no. It's one of the best razors that I've ever used but outside of my price range. I can definitely afford this razor at $300+ but I'm just not the type of person that purchases these types of razors. I don't use razors that expensive out of principle and is why i dont own a Wolfman. Once you go past $200 for a razor, I feel like you always need to be careful with it. I don't cheap out on razors, but definitely don't need a razor made of this grade stainless steel with this degree of polishing. This thing belongs behind glass in a display case, not as a tool you rinse off in the sink every day.

Most of the razors in my den are over $150, but were purchased for less than $200. I like well built products that I don't have to be too careful with. I actually sold off my polished blackbird for the machined finish version and have no regrets. no worries dropping it in the sink. If this razor was made of a different, cheaper grade of stainless steel and came with a machined polish or unpolished finish for around $150, i wouldn't think twice. I would have instantly purchased it. I really hope that Aji offers this razor at the same price point as the H&S N075 or less.

If you're an existing Wolfman owner or want to splurge on a razor, go for it. It's well worth the $300 but again, not for me.

Special thanks to Aji of H&S for designing this outstanding razor, and to Dan Law who organized this passaround, and was kind enough to let me use it a bit longer than I was supposed to.

[edit] - Shipping with the razor were two soaps from Grooming Dept. One had a Donkey on it and i have no idea what version or what formula this is. The other was Aion. No idea what base or version this is (Kai, Kairos?, Nai, Mirus, Fai, Fo, Fee?) I had only used Aion for my shaves with the 17-4 and it performed well, but not great. I'm not a big fan of Grooming Dept, which is frustrating because Mohammad is a master soap maker. This guy is literally a soap genius. I'm not a fan of the scents, there are never any matching splashes, and I always feel like I'm using an unfinished product that's constantly in beta or alpha. What I can say about Aion is that it performs pretty well (not as well as sierro, sego, or milksteak) and the scent profile is actually pleasant. I prefer the base that he had used for the DFS 2017 or 2018 limited edition soap.

Greetings Fellow DFShavers,

Thanks to Aji Sunjaya and Dan Law I had a chance to shave with these two beautiful razors. Everything about them screams class and quality. While one could still see some machining marks, the final polishing is impeccable. The razors seat very nicely in the hand and are very maneuverable and easy to learn. I very much liked both heads and handle design.  Weighing close to 110gr the razors are hefty but not excessively heavy. 

I only had one shave, so I used the razors each on either side of my face. The razors performed wonderfully on the 48 hours growth, giving me almost BBS shaves after three passes (WTG, XTG, ATG) with minimal clean up. Both shave very closely without applying much pressure, though the OC head felt a bit more aggressive. There is one benchmark for me when it comes to DE razors - the First Generation Blackbird. So naturally I compare all other razors to my favorites. The H&S P076 offers an incredibly close shave, but without being as present and entertaining as my BlackBirds. The head geometry allows the H&S P076 to slide effortlessly without much feedback but with great results.  Efficiency-wise these razors are close to how the BlackBirds work for me but slightly less efficient. I need much less clean up after the BlackBirds and regardless of the amount of time between shaves, I never get any irritation. I did not get much irritation after the H&S P076 either, though I only shaved with them after 48hr, when my skin was fully recovered after the previous shave.

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]And of course the soap of the shave was the Aion by Grooming Dept, which for me is one of the best soaps on the market.[/font]

I feel very grateful to Aji and Dan for offering me this opportunity to try two wonderful razors!

Haven’t used the .76 in a few weeks.  Loaded a fresh Nacet and this razor knocked down 3 days growth and gave me the closest thing to a single pass BBS I have ever experienced.