Haircut & Shave Ti 083 DFS passaround

The razor arrived today about noon.  I didn't shave this morning in it's anticipation.  Instead I shaved at 1 pm, after a hot towel rather than after a hot shower.  I used a new Feather blade and my favorite Tibam Ti handle.  I also used Nivea canned foam instead of building my own lather.  This resulted in a less comfortable shave than is usual for me.  It was however a very close 1 pass shave.  I will try again on Saturday, in my usual 6 am routine, and see if I get a better result.  It is a lovely razor, but maybe a little too aggressive for me.  We shall see.

Much better shave this morning, using the same Feather blade (now on it's second usage) and the same (80 mm 35 g) Tibam handle.  I don't know if it was the hot shower or the brush built lather that made the difference.  Whichever, it was a much more comfortable shave.  This is a very beautiful and thoughtfully built razor, but it is way too light headed and a bit too aggressive for my personal shaving needs.  I tend to prefer a stainless steel head matched with a titanium handle; that gives me the 1 to 1.5 head to handle balance that I like.  

As I have gotten older my skin has gotten thinner as my white beard has gotten coarser, so that very aggressive razors like the 2011 Mühle R41, the iKon Tech, and even this razor no longer work well for me; as I now favor more mid range razors like the Blackbird and the Weber.  That said, I will shave with it again Monday morning using a different blade soap and brush, before sending it on to the next participant.

draebeard  that interesting to me about skin thinner and tougher whiskers.
So the skin doesn't take aggressive razors as before, I get that.
What about blade choices, has that changed for you, over time?

Much better shave this morning, using the same Feather blade (now on it's second usage) and the same (80 mm 35 g) Tibam handle.  I don't know if it was the hot shower or the brush built lather that made the difference.  Whichever, it was a much more comfortable shave.  This is a very beautiful and thoughtfully built razor, but it is way too light headed and a bit too aggressive for my personal shaving needs.  I tend to prefer a stainless steel head matched with a titanium handle; that gives me the 1 to 1.5 head to handle balance that I like.  

As I have gotten older my skin has gotten thinner as my white beard has gotten coarser, so that very aggressive razors like the 2011 Mühle R41, the iKon Tech, and even this razor no longer work well for me; as I now favor more mid range razors like the Blackbird and the Weber.  That said, I will shave with it again Monday morning using a different blade soap and brush, before sending it on to the next participant.

I’m surprised you consider the Blackbird to be a medium-aggression razor. I think the Blackbird is quite a bit more aggressive than the H&S Ti 083. But maybe it depends on technique or shaving angle.

keto  
No, not really.  Feather remains my first choice in DE blades.  No other DE blade gives me a cleaner shave.

Moriarty 
The Blackbird has a lot of blade feel, but because of how significantly the blade is torqued, combined with a Feather blade, it gives me a remarkably close and irritation free one pass shave.  The same holds true for the Yates 921 H, which has a considerably larger blade gap (1.02 mm)  than the Blackbird (.58 mm), but a similarly highly torqued blade.  

The singular design flaw in the Blackbird is its inadequate blade vice, but I don't shave against the grain, so it never bites me.  By comparison the Mühle R41 has almost no blade vice, and a nearly flat blade, is very quick to bite.  Whereas all the H&S Co razors have very tight blade vices and don't torque the blade.  So it all comes down to YMMV.

The singular design flaw in the Blackbird is its inadequate blade vice, but I don't shave against the grain, so it never bites me.  By comparison the Mühle R41 has almost no blade vice, and a nearly flat blade, is very quick to bite.  Whereas all the H&S Co razors have very tight blade vices and don't torque the blade.  So it all comes down to YMMV.

What exactly is inadequate about how the Blackbird clamps the blade? The Blackbird in general clamps the blade better than 99% of the razors on the market today. Have you contacted Shane about your razor? Though I've only had my Ti Blackbird for just under a year now I've never noticed anything inadequate about how it clamps the blade. Mine is clamped evenly and very tight as far as I can tell...

muzichead 
On the Blackbird the distance between the blade vice and the blades edge is about 7 mm.  The only reason it holds the blade securely is because of the blade curvature caused by the inside of the topcap.  Comparably the distance between the blade vice and the blades edge on the Era is less than 1 mm.  

If you push down hard on the blade of a Blackbird with a flat head screwdriver, it will touch the baseplate; likewise with a Mühle R41.  You can't do that with the Era, the H&S Co razors, the Tatara Masamune, and many other razors that clamp the blade much closer to the edge of the baseplate, making it more secure.  

Please understand, I am not disparaging the shave quality of the Blackbird.  I own one, and it is among my favorite shavers.  However the Blackbird blade vice is very much dependent only upon the enforced curvature of the blade, and in my mind that is a design flaw.  I hope that answers your question.

I have decided not to shave with this razor tomorrow morning, but to send it on to the next participant after only two shaves.  It is a well designed, well made, superbly finished razor, that just doesn't shave comfortably for me.  I don't see a good reason to give it a third shave.  Razors are a matter of personal preference.  Someone who loves the Gillette Tech would likely find the iKon Tech downright dangerous.  Someone who loves the iKon Tech, would find the Gillette Tech woefully inadequate.  Contrary to political correctness, all faces and all razors are not created equal.  This razor will doubtless please some people more than it pleased me.  My thanks to Aji at H&S Co. and DFS for the opportunity to try this razor.

I have received the razor today - thank you draebeard

I'll post my thoughts after a few shaves and will send the razor to Shavemd next week.

Thanks Aji and andrewjs18 for the passaround.

Razor is safely packed and on its way to Shavemd . Thank you to Aji and andrewjs18 for sponsoring this passaround. 

I enjoyed my time with this razor. A few observations:

• Razor has relatively high blade feel. I like this. Of the razors currently in my den, and I may be off but this is what came to my mind, it reminded me of a gen 1 or gen 2 Charcoal Goods level 3 or even an H&S Po76. 
  
• Razor was very efficient.
  
• I like the design of the new handle. It is less elaborate than the OG H&S handle but I like it. 
  
• The weight of the titanium was excellent. A very well balanced razor. 
  
• Polish, fit, finish was first class. 
  
• Another excellent offering from H&S. 
  

Below is my SOTD using Dragonsbeard and Andrew's collaboration - DFS Ethos Colonia. An excellent shave.