Janus Razor Shave Experience

First, a little background.  I’m not a seasoned reviewer and my photograph was with an iPad and no light box or real setup expertise.  My go to daily driver for well over a year has been a Timeless Titanium 0.68 SB, which gives an easy comfortable and DFS or better 3 pass shave.  I also occasionally venture to an Old Type, Goodwill, New, Red and Flare Tip Superspeed, and Tech.  My typical blades are GSB, Nacet, Personna red and Feather in no particular order.

On to the shave.  I used the Janus at setting 3, Simpson Duke 3 best brush and D R Harris Arlington soap.  The Janus has a nice weight and felt well balanced to me, but surprisingly slippery which was easily cured by running my slightly wet fingers over the alum block.

This razor has significantly more blade feel and blade exposure than I am used to.  But not uncomfortably so.  My first with the grain pass made it very clear that even at 3 this razor can cut.  One pass with the grain was better than socially acceptable.  My next pass ear to nose (ATG on my neck, XTG everywhere else) easily got me to DFS.  However I saw blood for the first time in a very long time.  Next pass partially ATG and partially XTG made my face feel like glass.  The styptic pencil easily took care of the nicks and weepers.  Testing with the alum block was surprisingly sting free. 

My overall impression without having dialed in this razor is that it can cut, has some blade feel and probably a lot at the higher settings , but was still smooth overall.  It can easily deliver a BBS shave.  I will likely dial this back to 2 next time.

With more and more ultra efficient razors coming to market, I felt relatively secure in knowing that the adjustable aspect would allow for the flexibility that an ultra efficient 3 piece razor would not.  I feel confident that I can use this as a daily driver and as I dial it in avoid the styptic pencil

There was just too much blade feel for me and as a daily shaver decided to return the razor. The refund was processed quickly and I have no regrets about trying this razor.

Today decided to go with a Lord Super Stainless blade and went up another 2 sizes and set it at #4. A bit more blade forward feel that still has a good smooth feel to it on each pass. Performed a 3 pass shave without any buffing or touch ups to get a BBS finish. The Lisa’s provided tremendous suds to give the blade & razor some serious glide and slickness to work with. No nics, cuts, weepers or irritation to speak of in the end. This is a really good shaver at the lower settings so far that have resulted in great long lasting shaves. I’ll skip a day and push it up another size or two and see if the smoothness starts to deteriorate or not. 

Happy shaves, Gents....

Today was my first shave with the Janus. I loaded it up with a new GSB, a blade I find very reliable. So I started on 3 and I noticed that this razor even on that setting had some juice to it, over the 3 passes I became more comfortable with it by the end I’d dialed up to 5 I got a mostly bbs shave. I’d agree that this razor is not the smoothest in my collection but with practice I think it’ll be tamed, I’ve had many razors over the years that the first shave wasn’t the best. If nothing else I can applaud that no one has tried a design like this in over 60 years.


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Great picture!!

Lots of discussion about why Eric changed the razor from the prototype design specs.  I don't care about that since I didn't get a chance to shave with the prototype.   I judge the razor with no preconceived notions or bias.

I wrote several reviews over 4 days on another forum.  At first I thought that the Janus Toggle had too much blade feel. I got a good shave on 3 but nothing to write home about.  That changed today when I dialed it up to 9 on a lark.  Bear in mind I have never used any adjustable razor on 9 before today.  All I can say is:  Wow.  Perfect, one of the best shaves I have ever had.  I settled on 9 for with the grain and 3 for against the grain.  Today I used a Gillette Silver Blue and lathered up with Cella after rubbing a few drops of shave oil into my beard.

Suggested improvements:
Darker etching for logo, serial number, and dial settings.  Hard to read, not enough contrast.
Sharper knurling on adjustment ring.  Hard to turn the ring with soapy fingers.

I encourage new users to spend a few days getting used to the razor before drawing any conclusions.  I'm glad I took the time to try a few combinations of prep, blade, soap, and settings.  It made a world of difference.

I shaved with the razor on setting # 3 and used a milder Astra blade and had a nice 2 pass BBS shave. There was still blade feel but not excessive.

I tried #1, #2 and #3, too. All with sharp blades.
My favorite up to now is #1 (0.8mm gap) with Gillette SharpEdge (Yellow). Got BBS, and the razor is very smooth.
Will try milder blades with high setting.

I'm still trying to figure out how I got the best shave so far on the scariest setting.  The gap looked as wide as the Grand Canyon.

I'm still trying to figure out how I got the best shave so far on the scariest setting.  The gap looked as wide as the Grand Canyon.

Perhaps some combination of exposure and angle at that gap.

Still waiting on mine.

A great shave this morning. Went back to the twice used Gillette Platinum, set the Janus to #6 and it was on. Wanted a face chiller shave this morning and went with the Florida Freeze from Lisa’s & the CF Cryogen. Perfect combo of soap performance and splash to get one’s face chill on. The Janus on 6 with the GP was still a bit of a blade feeler and forward but, it still delivered a more than acceptable shave with relative smoothness. No pressure with easy strokes letting the razor&blade do its thing left my face clean with an irritation free BBS finish. We’re getting there. A great day and shaves to all...