It's sharp and it cuts. I like it...
Northeast, USA
Just putting up my thoughts on the Lupo .95 & Timeless Slim .5 SS. A member on another forum asked me if I’d compare the two razors and if there were any similarities between the two. Besides price point, they’re a lot closer in performance than I thought.
For those that follow the RR Lupo thread you have heard me sing its praises for the tremendously affordable yet stout performer that the Lupo is. In whatever configuration that fellow members have tried it in, it has garnered well deserved praise & accolades from the masses or the far majority with a few reports from some that found the series either too aggressive or too mild (yes, I’ve read from those whom have considered the .95 Lupo too mild of a shaver and perhaps for their particular beard it could possibly be. Helping of salt always needed in whatever razor thread you may follow) of a tool. Regardless, in my humble opinion, I find it to be an extremely well crafted razor with tolerances and performance to go neck and neck with some of the more expensive and “luxury” brand razors out there. I was asked by a fellow forum member what my thoughts were on the .95 Lupo on how it shaved compared to a .5 Timeless SS Slim. I thought I had done a shave off between the two and apparently I have not. So, I wanted to do a quick shave comparison between these two without having to start a new thread as there are many that follow here. I apologize to the OP as I know this thread is mainly for the RR Lupo series and relevant discussions about its abilities in wet shave world. Perhaps I’ll link this post to a Timeless thread as well for Timeless followers for good measure.
Quickly on the Timeless SS .50 Slim. I’ve had it since its first release and I consider it to be an excellent shaver on par with the Timeless .95 version in the SB configuration. It carries a thinner head height from base plate to top cap with a slight change in shave geometry that encompasses blade reveal & exposure. I find the .5 Slim to provide just the slightest increase in blade feel over the .95 version while retaining near identical shave feel & comfort. Both razors are very efficient while retaining very good comfort and skin feel during one’s shave. Personally, I consider the Timeless SS variants to be arguably the best 3 pc. razors in the “luxury division” when a shaver wants to upgrade or consider an heirloom quality tool in a Stainless Steel alloy.
So, how does the RR Lupo .95 stack up against the Timeless .5 Slim SS? Can it hang with a tool that cost 3 times as much and is equally as crafted that provides smooth, efficient and consistently great results nearly every time out? In a word, yes. And personally, I was shocked at how good of a showing it rendered. How did it do it? Read on.
As always, my shaves are a 3 pass affair when I’m pitting mano a mano shave tool face offs just to get a full shave in and really get to feel the differences between each razor. Each razor gets a side of the face and you just get in tune with the nature of the shave and searching for differences. Nothing special or getting a Zen like quality moment or concentration. It’s just a normal shave with your senses tuned up for feel & sound. Criteria is simple with performance (cutting ability within each pass in efficiency or effectiveness), comfort (the ease of feel on the skin in connection with how it feels in hand as balance and ease of movement plays a big roll in overall comfort in what is occurring during the shave) and quality of shave which encompasses whether there was or wasn’t any irritation, nics, cuts or weepers encountered during the shave process.
Cold morning so, I went with Wholly Kaw Project leather for the suds and splash and installed fresh new Wizamet blades in each razor. The table was set, the lather was ready and it was on as both these razors were taking on 2 days growth.
Pass 1 WTG. Went with the Lupo .95 first on the right and just let it drop. Easy cutting with enough audible sounds to tell one clearly that it was doing some serious cutting. First time use of the Wizamet Iridium Super in this razor and it was eye opening. So smooth yet so effective in cutting those whiskers down to skin level. I mean from the burns on down to my neck and Adam’s Apple, it was like riding on Lard while effectively removing lather & whiskers. Hell of a first pass with the Lupo .95. Grabbed the .5 Slim and went over to the left side. Again, placed at the burns and just let drop down. Simply a gorgeous feel with this Wizamet blade installed in the Slim (1st time as well in this razor). The cutting effect was equally as good as well as the smoothness on face feel though, I think it sounded a bit bore muted versus the Lupo .95 on this WTG pass. Burns to neck was identical in feel and both razors removed a tremendous amount of whiskers that quite frankly was just about identical. Marvelous first pass from both of these whisker whacking contenders. On overall smoothness and feel on skin on this first pass, I’d slightly give it to the .5 Slim. By the width of a whisker.
Pass 2 XTG. This pass is always from ear to stache on the face and from the neck just under the ear to my Adam’s Apple. Started with the Lupo .95 and the audible clarity that it gives is just a real pleasure to hear. No drama as it just went about its business bringing the hairs down even further. Easy good strokes with smooth blade feel and a feel in hand that was near perfect. Transitioning from one side of the razor to the other is just flawless. The Radio Knob handle gives superb feel with the knurling with a very neutral feel in weight bias from head to the bottom of the handle. Cleared out the right and went to the left with the .5 Slim. Just an amazing pass as well. Like I said previously, the .5 Slim is a bit more muted than the Lupo .95 yet it still gives you enough sound to clear out whiskers. Again, just a very smooth feel on the face that was just a tick smoother than the Lupo .95. Balance and feel in hands is equally as good though the grippiness is slightly lacking on the Timeless Ti handle. Overall it is slightly the lighter razor though not by much. Balance feels almost neutral with a slight weight bias towards the head, barely. Transitions are just about perfect as well on the flip from one side of the razor to the other. Cleared the left out and did a cold water face rinse. I’m astounded at how both sides feel identical to the touch and at this stage I could declare a DFS feel from face to neck. Both razors have locked horns in a ferocious fight on who is going to get the upper hand. Think of it as two bulls during rut season. Neither one is giving an inch. Just a fabulous shave so far from these two. Well, you know what’s left and that is pass 3 and chasing the little one’s buttocks.
Pass 3 ATG. My ATG pass is from South to North, bottom of my neck to the sideburns, mid-ear level. Both of these razors shined in this pass as many consider (myself included) the ATG pass the make or break moment for any razor to be considered a darn good one. The Lupo demonstrates a bit more blade feel just by the slightest over the Slim and when your skin stretching to get those last bit of hair straggler hold outs in the tough spots, trust me it is an added bonus to hear that it has cleared it. I love when a razor sings and they both do. The Lupo sings slightly better. The Slim though with that smooth feel just does a fabulous job of cleaning up the tough spots just as well. It hums but, it hums beautifully. I put the razors down when I felt I was complete and went for the final face rinse and feel. Almighty! This was as good a shave as I’ve given myself between two razors in quite some time. Felt my face for any spots or stragglers and absolutely nothing including the tiny nooks around Sir Adam. Flawless face smoothness including the neck that was a BBS finish of the highest order. Better yet was a quick alum pass and not a single spec of irritation. Cleaned up and threw some splash on to seal the deal. Fabulous, fabulous and simply fabulous shave result. I could not have asked for a better shave off in terms of performance, comfort and quality of shave.
I’m writing this post now and it is about 2:30pm eastern time, give or take 5 minutes. I shaved this morning at about 7am. I couldn’t call it back then on which gave the closer shave and now as I feel my face, I still can’t call it as I’m still clear of the whiskers on both sides with equal face comfort to boot. These two are stellar performers and will give individuals consistently great shaves day in, day out. I liked the feel of the Lupo .95 in hand with its great knurling and nearly neutral razor balance a notch better over the overall feel in hand of the Timeless .5 Slim. Though I prefer weight bias toward the razor head in which to me the Timeless exhibited, I still preferred the overall maneuverability of the Lupo .95 just a tad bit more. They are both supremely comfortable tools when it comes to mid aggressive razors and up, as clearly these two do not feel like a Mamba .70 or a Feather AS-D2 in practice. The Timeless puts a bit more of a bend on the blade over the Lupo with a down tick in gap while still providing very good blade exposure/reveal leading to an inherently smoother feeling shaver. Not by much but, to me it was apparent. The Lupo .95 is still a very smooth shaver but, with it’s larger gap and not as much bend will lose out on the smoothness part to the Timeless slim. But, that’s is not a bad thing at all. Not by a long shot. The Lupo feels more direct in feel and that is evidenced by the razors nature in giving a much more acute audible feel that translates, at least in theory to a more aggressive attacker of whiskers. Whether that is true or not it has to account or mean for something because when you are shaving, sound & feel tell you/me at least subconsciously, that this thing is doing a number on the whiskers.
The Lupo is $70. The Timeless Slim .5 SS is $200+. So far 7 hours into my shave the Lupo matched the Timeless in every facet of the shave and so far during post shave longevity. That’s a hell of a statement from a sub $100 razor. We’ll see how long the shave lasts and I’ll post an update once I feel stubble returning. Call it a draw for now.
Great shaves to all….
![[Image: y7aEBfv.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/y7aEBfv.jpg)
For those that follow the RR Lupo thread you have heard me sing its praises for the tremendously affordable yet stout performer that the Lupo is. In whatever configuration that fellow members have tried it in, it has garnered well deserved praise & accolades from the masses or the far majority with a few reports from some that found the series either too aggressive or too mild (yes, I’ve read from those whom have considered the .95 Lupo too mild of a shaver and perhaps for their particular beard it could possibly be. Helping of salt always needed in whatever razor thread you may follow) of a tool. Regardless, in my humble opinion, I find it to be an extremely well crafted razor with tolerances and performance to go neck and neck with some of the more expensive and “luxury” brand razors out there. I was asked by a fellow forum member what my thoughts were on the .95 Lupo on how it shaved compared to a .5 Timeless SS Slim. I thought I had done a shave off between the two and apparently I have not. So, I wanted to do a quick shave comparison between these two without having to start a new thread as there are many that follow here. I apologize to the OP as I know this thread is mainly for the RR Lupo series and relevant discussions about its abilities in wet shave world. Perhaps I’ll link this post to a Timeless thread as well for Timeless followers for good measure.
Quickly on the Timeless SS .50 Slim. I’ve had it since its first release and I consider it to be an excellent shaver on par with the Timeless .95 version in the SB configuration. It carries a thinner head height from base plate to top cap with a slight change in shave geometry that encompasses blade reveal & exposure. I find the .5 Slim to provide just the slightest increase in blade feel over the .95 version while retaining near identical shave feel & comfort. Both razors are very efficient while retaining very good comfort and skin feel during one’s shave. Personally, I consider the Timeless SS variants to be arguably the best 3 pc. razors in the “luxury division” when a shaver wants to upgrade or consider an heirloom quality tool in a Stainless Steel alloy.
So, how does the RR Lupo .95 stack up against the Timeless .5 Slim SS? Can it hang with a tool that cost 3 times as much and is equally as crafted that provides smooth, efficient and consistently great results nearly every time out? In a word, yes. And personally, I was shocked at how good of a showing it rendered. How did it do it? Read on.
As always, my shaves are a 3 pass affair when I’m pitting mano a mano shave tool face offs just to get a full shave in and really get to feel the differences between each razor. Each razor gets a side of the face and you just get in tune with the nature of the shave and searching for differences. Nothing special or getting a Zen like quality moment or concentration. It’s just a normal shave with your senses tuned up for feel & sound. Criteria is simple with performance (cutting ability within each pass in efficiency or effectiveness), comfort (the ease of feel on the skin in connection with how it feels in hand as balance and ease of movement plays a big roll in overall comfort in what is occurring during the shave) and quality of shave which encompasses whether there was or wasn’t any irritation, nics, cuts or weepers encountered during the shave process.
Cold morning so, I went with Wholly Kaw Project leather for the suds and splash and installed fresh new Wizamet blades in each razor. The table was set, the lather was ready and it was on as both these razors were taking on 2 days growth.
Pass 1 WTG. Went with the Lupo .95 first on the right and just let it drop. Easy cutting with enough audible sounds to tell one clearly that it was doing some serious cutting. First time use of the Wizamet Iridium Super in this razor and it was eye opening. So smooth yet so effective in cutting those whiskers down to skin level. I mean from the burns on down to my neck and Adam’s Apple, it was like riding on Lard while effectively removing lather & whiskers. Hell of a first pass with the Lupo .95. Grabbed the .5 Slim and went over to the left side. Again, placed at the burns and just let drop down. Simply a gorgeous feel with this Wizamet blade installed in the Slim (1st time as well in this razor). The cutting effect was equally as good as well as the smoothness on face feel though, I think it sounded a bit bore muted versus the Lupo .95 on this WTG pass. Burns to neck was identical in feel and both razors removed a tremendous amount of whiskers that quite frankly was just about identical. Marvelous first pass from both of these whisker whacking contenders. On overall smoothness and feel on skin on this first pass, I’d slightly give it to the .5 Slim. By the width of a whisker.
Pass 2 XTG. This pass is always from ear to stache on the face and from the neck just under the ear to my Adam’s Apple. Started with the Lupo .95 and the audible clarity that it gives is just a real pleasure to hear. No drama as it just went about its business bringing the hairs down even further. Easy good strokes with smooth blade feel and a feel in hand that was near perfect. Transitioning from one side of the razor to the other is just flawless. The Radio Knob handle gives superb feel with the knurling with a very neutral feel in weight bias from head to the bottom of the handle. Cleared out the right and went to the left with the .5 Slim. Just an amazing pass as well. Like I said previously, the .5 Slim is a bit more muted than the Lupo .95 yet it still gives you enough sound to clear out whiskers. Again, just a very smooth feel on the face that was just a tick smoother than the Lupo .95. Balance and feel in hands is equally as good though the grippiness is slightly lacking on the Timeless Ti handle. Overall it is slightly the lighter razor though not by much. Balance feels almost neutral with a slight weight bias towards the head, barely. Transitions are just about perfect as well on the flip from one side of the razor to the other. Cleared the left out and did a cold water face rinse. I’m astounded at how both sides feel identical to the touch and at this stage I could declare a DFS feel from face to neck. Both razors have locked horns in a ferocious fight on who is going to get the upper hand. Think of it as two bulls during rut season. Neither one is giving an inch. Just a fabulous shave so far from these two. Well, you know what’s left and that is pass 3 and chasing the little one’s buttocks.
Pass 3 ATG. My ATG pass is from South to North, bottom of my neck to the sideburns, mid-ear level. Both of these razors shined in this pass as many consider (myself included) the ATG pass the make or break moment for any razor to be considered a darn good one. The Lupo demonstrates a bit more blade feel just by the slightest over the Slim and when your skin stretching to get those last bit of hair straggler hold outs in the tough spots, trust me it is an added bonus to hear that it has cleared it. I love when a razor sings and they both do. The Lupo sings slightly better. The Slim though with that smooth feel just does a fabulous job of cleaning up the tough spots just as well. It hums but, it hums beautifully. I put the razors down when I felt I was complete and went for the final face rinse and feel. Almighty! This was as good a shave as I’ve given myself between two razors in quite some time. Felt my face for any spots or stragglers and absolutely nothing including the tiny nooks around Sir Adam. Flawless face smoothness including the neck that was a BBS finish of the highest order. Better yet was a quick alum pass and not a single spec of irritation. Cleaned up and threw some splash on to seal the deal. Fabulous, fabulous and simply fabulous shave result. I could not have asked for a better shave off in terms of performance, comfort and quality of shave.
I’m writing this post now and it is about 2:30pm eastern time, give or take 5 minutes. I shaved this morning at about 7am. I couldn’t call it back then on which gave the closer shave and now as I feel my face, I still can’t call it as I’m still clear of the whiskers on both sides with equal face comfort to boot. These two are stellar performers and will give individuals consistently great shaves day in, day out. I liked the feel of the Lupo .95 in hand with its great knurling and nearly neutral razor balance a notch better over the overall feel in hand of the Timeless .5 Slim. Though I prefer weight bias toward the razor head in which to me the Timeless exhibited, I still preferred the overall maneuverability of the Lupo .95 just a tad bit more. They are both supremely comfortable tools when it comes to mid aggressive razors and up, as clearly these two do not feel like a Mamba .70 or a Feather AS-D2 in practice. The Timeless puts a bit more of a bend on the blade over the Lupo with a down tick in gap while still providing very good blade exposure/reveal leading to an inherently smoother feeling shaver. Not by much but, to me it was apparent. The Lupo .95 is still a very smooth shaver but, with it’s larger gap and not as much bend will lose out on the smoothness part to the Timeless slim. But, that’s is not a bad thing at all. Not by a long shot. The Lupo feels more direct in feel and that is evidenced by the razors nature in giving a much more acute audible feel that translates, at least in theory to a more aggressive attacker of whiskers. Whether that is true or not it has to account or mean for something because when you are shaving, sound & feel tell you/me at least subconsciously, that this thing is doing a number on the whiskers.
The Lupo is $70. The Timeless Slim .5 SS is $200+. So far 7 hours into my shave the Lupo matched the Timeless in every facet of the shave and so far during post shave longevity. That’s a hell of a statement from a sub $100 razor. We’ll see how long the shave lasts and I’ll post an update once I feel stubble returning. Call it a draw for now.
Great shaves to all….
