Le Maurice Pass around

My apologies for the absence. I've gone back through all of the different heads and had some wonderful shaves. I think the 1.20 is my favorite. It's the most efficient of the bunch without sacrificing any of the comfort and smoothness of the lower gaps. I'll. Come back with a summation post. In the meantime here's another pic from yesterday's shave. I'll be sending it out to Time Bandit as soon as he gets back to me with shipping info.

My overall experience was great with Le Maurice razor. It provided very smooth shaves with high efficiency especially the 1.20 blade gap, which turned out to be my favorite. The 1.00 gap is a great gap as well and plenty efficient shaver for a daily driver. Since I am an every other day shaver , the 1.20 suits me better. I couldn’t tell the difference in efficiency between the OC and SB in their respective gaps, but it did feel slightly smoother and more precise around the side burn area. No nicks, or irritation to speak of with any of the blade gaps. The 1.20 lasted a good 24 hours for me perfectly for every other day. 1.00 lasted around 13-14 hours for me(ymmv). 

I really liked how well built it is, the presentation is top notch, and I liked this pass-around alot due to the different materials offered and the way it was presented. 

I wish the razor artisan much luck in the future and I can’t wait to see whats next. Already the iterations to this design are very well thought out. I can tell that this machinist takes great pride in his work.

~Merci Beacoup!

Here is the last update of Maurice, this version of the head will not change any more before a good moment...

Here is the last update of Maurice, this version of the head will not change any more before a good moment...

That looks stunning! I think you did a very good job.

Hello everyone, I propose for black friday Friday 25 and Saturday 26 November a promotion of -15% on the whole site.

https://www.atelierdurdan.com/

Pass around arrived yesterday.  I like the box, although I never really know what to do with nice boxes.  I don't really need them but it was simple and clean.  Befits the razor.

So, I pulled out my usual testing soap -- A&E Vacanza Romana -- my all-purpose APShave G5C brush, popped in a Gillette Silver Blue and decided upon starting with the 1.0 steel head.  Before using the razor, I thought the shortness of the handle might not be me to my test but I wanted to try it as it came from Augustin at Atelier DURDAN.   

Summary:  I was incredibly impressed.  I took to this razor like a duck to water.  Just freaking easy to use and -- for me -- completely intuitive.  I felt at home with it from the start.  Without doubt the best first shave I've ever had trying a razor.  To my surprise, and is not typical for me, I did found myself using the OC side more than the SB side. That was because I didn't think I was getting enough efficiency with the SB while I was shaving, but, afterwards, I wasn't so sure. The safety bar side may have been more efficient than I appreciated but I'll revisit that.  I also found less feedback (with either side) than I usually believe I want, but it was so clean and easy a shave that didn't bother.  Not a nick, not an irritation; I was feeling that I couldn't cut myself unless I tried.  The handle length worked but I do think I might want to go a bit longer.  In all events, way, the result was one of the easiest DFS-resulting shaves I've ever had.  Very taken.  

Given today's shave, I'm not sure the .8 head will be sufficiently aggressive but I will try it at least once.  I'm a daily shaver and for tomorrow, however, I'm going with the 1.2 to see what that's like; I will want to try other blades with, at least, the 1.0 and I will also want to try a longer handle that has a bit more weight than the pass-around handle.  But unless something truly dramatically changes, I believe I'm going to be sold on Le Maurice.

So, that's my report from day 1 of my using the pass around.

A huge thanks to Atelier DURDAN and everyone here who has helped with this pass around!

Second shave.  1.20 Bronze.  Otherwise, same soap, same brush, same blade as yesterday.  If anything, even slightly easier a shave.  I feel the razor was made for me and my style.  The 1.2 is more efficient but still as intuitive as the 1.0.  A touch more blade feel, but for a jump of .2 I found the experience to be surprisingly close to the 1.0.  I would not call this 1.2 a highly aggressive razor.  The result was a damn fine damn fine DFS.  Now, I'm a touch sorry that Atelier DURDAN didn't include a 1.4!  Would like to see what that is like.  Next, I'm going to try one of my longer handles and see how that goes. 

Unfortunately, I had to travel for a bit and didn't get to keep testing. But I have the last two days and to crib from HighSpeed the word "Wow" has been my reaction.  I'm not sure there's a great deal more I need to say beyond what others have said and I what I said already:  for me, this razor clicks.  I'll do another two or three shaves, write up a final report, and begrudgingly will send the box on.  Then I'll be facing the hard question of what metal, finish, and gap (gaps?) to get.  That's not going to be easy at all.......but , but the prices have to give pause

My pass-around time is coming to an end.  I’ll be ready to send the box out in the next few days.  

Executive Summary:  Incredibly smooth mild razor.  Loved it.  Want one.

Fuller version:  As my two prior posts have made clear, I’m taken by the Maurice.  I found it intuitive, and I took to it more quickly and comfortably than any other razor I’ve tried.  I find the shave to be essentially effortless in terms of feel – there is enough blade sense that I know when it’s cutting, and even though I’ve had some quite small nicks when using the 1.2 base, I feel that it would be impossible to do any real damage.  From that perspective, it’s really a bit of a joy, and a razor I would readily grab when in a bit of a hurry.  In the last week, I’ve played with blades in the various gaps, and this is the first razor in which I like using a Feather.  However, after trying several, my favorite blade was a Gillette 7 O’Clock Yellow.  Seemed to provide efficiency with maximal smoothness.  When I was testing the various gaps and using various blades (GSB, Feather, Polisilver, the 7 O'Clock), for consistency, I kept the soap constant (A&E Recipe) and used the same synthetic brush (a AP Shave with G5C) ever da.  All, in all, the Maurice readily gives DFS shaves, and, if you want to work a touch, BBS. 

The feel of the shave is particularly worth noting:  I never felt as though my skin was being scraped. If anything, my skin felt undisturbed.  For a daily shaver like myself, that is an important attribute.  When I’ve gone for BBS with some razors, I’ve often felt that my face might need a few days to recover.  The Maurice leaves the face feeling almost unshaven, but the hair is gone.  This is one smoother – really smooth – razor.  That’s what makes it so attractive.  And another point of note is that this is the first razor in which I found the open comb just as enjoyable to use as the safety bar side.  A dual comb would be the way to go here as the slight change in efficiency from OC down to SB is slight but worth having for differing parts of one's face.

I flipped back and forth in terms of my likes and dislikes of the three gaps.  The .86 (titanium) felt nice on the face but that gap wasn’t efficient enough.  As others have pointed out, the difference between the 1.0 and 1.2 was not substantial. The 1.2 was a touch more efficient but after a few days with each, I noticed that I had had a few small nicks with it, as I I mentioned above.  Now, (1) these were really tiny and (2) it might have been the bronze, but I don’t think so.  In the end, I found the 1.0 in brushed steel to be my favorite.  It provides a effortless shave.  My experience seems to be the flip of GlazedBoker's -- with the 1.0 I simply didn't, and don't think I could have, drawn blood; with the 1.2 a few nicks.  Today, for instance, I was in a hurry, used the 1.0, and got a BBS- without a nick, without a hint of irritation, altogether without any issues at all -- and quickly.  I’m sorry that there was not a 1.4 in the passaround because that should be another step up in efficiency that could work well.  I’d very much like to try a 1.4 (maybe even a 1.6, but I'm thinking 1.4 might be a sweet spot for increased efficiency).

As to the handle, I did find the supplied 83 mm a bit short. The weight (56g)was also perhaps a touch lighter than I might have preferred.  I used other handles I have and liked them.  What is now being offered by Augustin as a “long” -- a 95 mm -- in the 66g configuration should work quite well.

One last honest observation:  the Maurice is not cheap.  And compared to similarly priced razors, the finishing is not as fine.  In fact, if you want a Maurice in polished finishes, it’s going to be pricy:  polished titanium, with stand, would run 570€; a polished brass would be 525€; and bronze, well, that’s 665€.  That’s Rocnel territory (or nearly twice many other fine competing titanium razors) and in the price range of the highest level of polish from, say, H&S.  And, frankly, the titanium base/head in the pass-around isn’t close to the quality of finish of an H&S finish, or show the workmanship of a Rocnel.  Also, unlike some other artisans, such as Aji at Haircut & Shave or Shane Swartzlander at Blackbird, it does not appear that Augustin offers a return option. 

Having said all that, I want a Maurice.  For me, it’s been a joy using it for the last two weeks.  A 1.0 would be a lovely addition to my collection for an every-day quality mild and smooth shave.  While I’m tempted by the idea of bronze, I think I’d get it in steel and probably brushed because that’s so practical, and also because I’m not sure a polished finish would warrant the additional cost.  However, I’d be sorely tempted to also get a 1.4 at some point (once some folks have reviewed it or I could get my hands on it to try) because I’ve a suspicion that could be another fabulous shaver.

In short, I truly recommend that everyone might well consider this fantastic (for me) razor. 

I'm contacting keto as I believe he's next (last?) and will send it to him.

And many many thanks to Atelier DURDAN - Augustin - for making this pass-around happen! That's incredibly generous of you and so appreciated!  

Lesser  And andrewjs18 I'll have to drop off the passaround list.
  I've had a shoulder replacement surgery on my dominant hand, and shaving with the other.
   Thanks all