Shavemd Thank you for a detailed and thoughtful post. I agree with everything you have written, and also with the other guys that have chimed in on a titanium Javelin. Aluminum is on the soft side, and it doesn't do well with falls. Titanium is my favorite metal for razors.
We are back to the age old debate: smoothness or efficiency? Yes, you can have them both, but they do tend to conflict with one another. In a safety razor, you are also somewhat limited by the availability of blades and the relatively steep shave angle. I've mainly given up straight razors, but there are those magic days with a straight when it feels like you just wipe down your face, and your toughest growth disappears. People see Feathers as sharp, and that’s true by comparison with other DE blades. A properly honed and stropped straight is quite a bit sharper and smoother, however, and I've got the microscope photos to prove it. As compared with the high angle of about 30 degrees when shaving with a safety razor, you are usually in the 11 to 17 degree range with a straight. The effect is both more efficient and milder — when the stars are aligned just right.
Back in DE land, where most of us live, the stars don't quite line up like that. You get a much more consistent skin stretch, and the worst you can do is nick yourself, but the trade off between efficiency and smoothness is more pronounced.
Enter Javelin. I considerably reduced the thickness of the blade guard for a better skin stretch. That pre-stretch is one of the most overlooked advantages of a safety razor. And it worked. But let's be real. That razor will shave you very close, and comfortably, but you better be on your game with technique. I got blow-torched by some testers who found it terribly aggressive, especially in stainless.
Hence Diamondback. The head geometry is the same, except for that thicker blade guard. It's a more conventional razor. It's not quite as efficient, but it's a great deal more forgiving, and it will get you to BBS quite easily. Stylistically, the handle is more in keeping with the Paradigm aesthetic. The handle on Javelin was also a bit divisive (have made some changes on it behind the scenes). For most users, most of the time, Diamondback will be smoother, and quite efficient enough. I've been using it quite a bit of late with my usual Feather blade. I rate it second in efficiency in the Paradigm line-up behind the original Titanium I, and second in smoothness behind the Artist Club SE. It's a very well-balanced design.
All that said, you guys are stimulating my creative juices. I had pretty much written off the Javelin head design as non-viable, at least commercially. But who am I to fight the voice of the people lol. I'm a little surprised, but very pleased, to see the support for that design. Maybe we'll see it in titanium in future.
So I decided to go with a mellower shave.
