Paradigm Diamondback Titanium Pass Around

I have been fortunate enough to have a friend that sent me the DB Ti to try. I have now had 6 shaves with it and used a different blade each time. I can honestly say that this razor is spectacular. It is smooth, little to no blade feel, and extremely efficient. The weight of the razor is perfect.  To compare, the BB Ti was too light.  This razor has fantastic balance and grip.  The shape of the handle fits perfectly in the hand and there is no slippage when wet.  The razor glides over your face.  The first few times I had to check that I had a blade installed, yes, it is that smooth.  As for efficiency, it is as efficient as any razor I have tried.  Just for clarification, I am a big Lambda Fanboy and this razor is right there with them.  Visually, the razor is beautiful.  My recommendation to all who are on the fence about this razor is to buy it if it fits into your financial comfort zone.  The razor was selling for $315.00 when I bought it and I can honestly say that after having used it, it is worth much more than that.  I have enjoyed it so much that I have ordered one and taken advantage of the pre order sale. This razor is absolutely a top tier product and if you can afford the price, grab it.  My only regret is that I have to send this one back to my friend and wait on my razor to arrive.  On the other hand, maybe I won't send it back till I get mine

I got the Diamondback Ti, thank you so much to Paradigm Shaveware and dtownvino!  It arrived safely, thanks ewk

It is a beautiful razor and feels great in the hand.  The lightness of the titanium is great, I lean towards lighter if possible, but weight is only a small factor compared to how it shaves.  What is the blade gap and exposure?  It certainly has a positive exposure, but no where near what the Salient has. 

On to the first shave - it is off to a great start!  I try not to make any decisions on the first few shaves, I often have a great first shave and then drop quickly to bad shaves.  That is surely user error, so knowing that I am more cautious about judging razors.  The Diamondback feels great in the hand - the faceted handle is shiny and good looking, yet it has plenty of grip.  The razor was always secure in my hand. 

I started as I usually do - roll from the top cap until the blade engages.  Thus I start shallow and then listen to the razor tell me what it wants.  It has some bladefeel, I put it near the Henson aggressive.  That's great by me, I don't prefer a lot of bladefeel.  Blade rigidity is also important to me, all my favorite razors hold a rigid blade, and the Diamondback is good on this regard.  Rigidity and not much bladefeel give me confidence - I felt quite confident with the Diamondback, especially for a first shave with a new razor, it was smooth. 

It is efficient compared to my razors.  I would put it in good company with my efficient razors - the Athena and Henson aggressive.  I've had more efficient, but that usually equated to more aggressive, which I do not need or like.  I think it is more efficient than a Game Changer 84p, but I'd have to do a shave-off to be certain. 

Terrific start for the Diamondback!  I'm looking forward to a week of shaves to form a more clear opinion and to see if it needs to join my den. 

I found it more aggressive than the GC 84p as well. Beautiful finish right?

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TC, I think he differentiated between aggressive and efficient, saying it was more "efficient" than the GC .84p not more aggressive. I too find it more efficient but smoother for me but it'll be different for everyone I understand.

Good news last night.  UPS is scheduled to pick up the razor on Friday.  

The list as I have it now is:

1.) Dragonsbeard  - NY completed 
2.) TommyCarioca - KY completed
3.) ewk - SC - shipping 7/17
4.) spacemonkey42 - MA
5.) bbssboss - MA
6.) bayourider - LA
7.) Dayman  - GA
8.) Cutty Sharp - KY
9.) cigarman - MO
10.) SinCityAg  - NV
11.) Lesser- NY

I made some minor tweaks here to help with keeping a razor in a region and to keep it moving faster without major impact.

More can sign up as it’s passed around.  Just keep in mind of the rules:

Keep it like new
Always use a washer 
Disinfect before sending on 
Write up with pics 
Try not to keep more than a week (get your 2-7 shaves in with it and move it on).  

Please insure the razor for 300 dollars when you ship it and we may edit the list order to make shipments faster.

Enjoy Gentleman!

I feel lonesome out West.

I feel lonesome out West.

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Second shave with the Diamondback was OK - by design. I have a pattern with new razors - my first shave is great and the second is awful. I have theories about why, it is all user error, of course. So I took it extra easy with the second shave, so as not to set myself back and to keep learning the Diamondback. I think I may have gone a bit too shallow. It seems like the Diamondback prefers a bit shallow, what do you all think?

I haven't seen the specs on this, does anyone know? A search has some people saying it has an 0.8mm gap and "slightly positive" exposure. I did a cardstock test and the exposure is certainly positive with a Nacet. I'd say more than slight too, it has more exposure than the Game Changer 84p. My guess would be the exposure is over 0.05mm, but I don't know how much more.

Bladefeel is a subjective term. The Diamondback may have low bladefeel to folks like cigarman, but it is significant for me. Not what I would call high, but a clear point at which you can feel the blade edge engage. That angle is shallow and the blade rigidity is good enough that I feel quite confident with the Diamondback.

I'm looking forward to my next shave and the rest this week to learn more about the Diamondback!

Second shave with the Diamondback was OK - by design.  I have a pattern with new razors - my first shave is great and the second is awful.  I have theories about why, it is all user error, of course.  So I took it extra easy with the second shave, so as not to set myself back and to keep learning the Diamondback.  I think I may have gone a bit too shallow.  It seems like the Diamondback prefers a bit shallow, what do you all think?

I haven't seen the specs on this, does anyone know?  A search has some people saying it has an 0.8mm gap and "slightly positive" exposure.  I did a cardstock test and the exposure is certainly positive with a Nacet.  I'd say more than slight too, it has more exposure than the Game Changer 84p.  My guess would be the exposure is over 0.05mm, but I don't know how much more. 

Bladefeel is a subjective term.  The Diamondback may have low bladefeel to folks like cigarman, but it is significant for me.  Not what I would call high, but a clear point at which you can feel the blade edge engage.  That angle is shallow and the blade rigidity is good enough that I feel quite confident with the Diamondback. 

I'm looking forward to my next shave and the rest this week to learn more about the Diamondback!

It is your blade angle - it is designed to shave A little steep for smoothness.  Optimal angle is 25 degrees, not 30 for it.

Update below as to not crowd the thread:

Look at this article https://sharpologist.com/blade-angle/

If you are riding the cap you are definitely irritating your skin.  You want to slightly ride the safety bar or guard.   That is a steeper angle or as cigarman said, bring the handle slightly closer to your face.  It’s ever so slight… but it’s there.  

With this razor, I cannot ride the cap (handle away from the face).  I know everyone gives all of this advice on riding the cap, etc.  but don’t believe it, shave where the razor feels comfortable which should be slightly steep at 25 degrees.

It is your blade angle - it is designed to shave A little steep for smoothness.  Optimal angle is 25 degrees, not 30 for it.

Interesting is that past neutral?  


I'm one that doesn't believe that we humans can tell the difference between a few degrees.  When you think about it, 6 degrees is one tick of the minute hand on a clock.  I don't think I could tell that difference in practice while shaving.  But I think I can tell if I am trying to ride the cap or neutral or steeper than neutral.

I shaved with it in a steep angle that is to say the razor handle was closer to my face .  When I tried it at a shallower angle I found it presented a more pronounced blade feel.

These thoughts are less about the quality of the razor. The razor is exceptionally high quality, let that be clear. I love the weight, the balance, and the feel. I am trying to figure out how it wants to be used on my face. Normally I take several weeks to do that, trying angles and blades, and carefully assessing along the way. With this passaround, that's all crammed into a week, so I am trying to accelerate.

Third shave -- I normally start with a razor using the method that is outlined on the sharpologist article and how I was taught - rotate down until the blade engages then play with the angle to see what the razor wants. This time I did the opposite, I started with the bar on my face and rotated up until the blade engages, so I could try the steeper end of the Diamondback's shaving angle. I normally don't do this, so I played it very careful and safe. I got about the same quality of shave as when I went too shallow on my second shave. Both of those shaves were fine, just not as good as the first shave or what I get with my favorite razors. The Diamondback is fully capable of doing much more, I'm just working to figure that out for myself.

So for the rest of the week's shaves I need to test the angles between those two extremes. I'm pondering how to approach this, do I roll up from the bar or down from the cap. Since I usually do that latter, and that seems to be the common wisdom, I likely try from that side. The goal is to get a little bit steeper, but not to the point of causing irritation. I'm enjoying chatting about this with y'all.

These thoughts are less about the quality of the razor.  The razor is exceptionally high quality, let that be clear.  I love the weight, the balance, and the feel.  I am trying to figure out how it wants to be used on my face.  Normally I take several weeks to do that, trying angles and blades, and carefully assessing along the way.  With this passaround, that's all crammed into a week, so I am trying to accelerate. 

Third shave -- I normally start with a razor using the method that is outlined on the sharpologist article and how I was taught - rotate down until the blade engages then play with the angle to see what the razor wants.  This time I did the opposite, I started with the bar on my face and rotated up until the blade engages, so I could try the steeper end of the Diamondback's shaving angle.  I normally don't do this, so I played it very careful and safe.  I got about the same quality of shave as when I went too shallow on my second shave.  Both of those shaves were fine, just not as good as the first shave or what I get with my favorite razors.  The Diamondback is fully capable of doing much more, I'm just working to figure that out for myself. 

So for the rest of the week's shaves I need to test the angles between those two extremes.  I'm pondering how to approach this, do I roll up from the bar or down from the cap.  Since I usually do that latter, and that seems to be the common wisdom, I likely try from that side.  The goal is to get a little bit steeper, but not to the point of causing irritation.  I'm enjoying chatting about this with y'all.

https://youtu.be/DRT7KpTcEOg?feature=shared

5:15 seconds - Shane did a great job with this.  It’s not magic to find it, but the diamondback does not have a lot of blade feel.  It’s not like a blackbird or Wolfman for blade feel and it’s definitely not like an Overlander.  Biggest mistake people make with it, too much pressure.  Second classic, riding the cap (only if you want an aggressive razor). Final one I know - using blades at the hyper end of the spectrum (feather, KAI and derby).  

I have owned the 2019, 2020, and Ti so I have had 100’s of shaves with one and I’m sure about this.  It’s a moderately aggressive razor that shaves well for my sensitive skin.

Take a day off in between shaves, let your skin heal up and go back at it.