Shave review of Janus Adjustable razor and Shave Off vs Gillette F4 Toggle

Re. reviewing a prototype that probably won't match the end product: Matters not. I still want one. The review showed that the product manufacture quality will be high standard. Good enough for me. The end product may be different gap/dome/etc. wise but it doesn't change my mind about wanting one. OP can do a comparison review when updated unit is available.

Even if I wind up with a razor I won't use regularly I will own a piece of shaving history. It represents individual dedication to a worthwhile goal. Gotta reward that.

Re. reviewing a prototype that probably won't match the end product:  Matters not.  I still want one.  The review showed that the product manufacture quality will be high standard.  Good enough for me.  The end product may be different gap/dome/etc. wise but it doesn't change my mind about wanting one.  OP can do a comparison review when updated unit is available.

Even if I wind up with a razor I won't use regularly I will own a piece of shaving history.  It represents individual dedication to a worthwhile goal.  Gotta reward that.

“Even if I wind up with a razor I won’t use regularly I will own a piece of shaving history.”

How do you figure? If you want a piece of Shaving history you can get it for a lot less than the low low introductory price of $500.

Guys I'm sorry I couldn't comment on all the posts but I had a very busy day at work. So my plans for tomorrow's meeting with Eric is to bring up a bunch of the valid points brought up in this thread. I'm not to get into each and every topic I'm going to be discussing with him but I will report back tomorrow on how it went.

I was given a prototype to Shave with. My intentions were simple. Compare it to a vintage Gillette Toggle and then maybe on or two modern razors and then pass it on to Shavemd aka Mark and let him take if from there with some of his own Shave Offs. Well as you know from an earlier post when Eric told me the production head with be more like a Slim that changed everything for me I love the way the prototype shaves and as I mentioned this morning when a few members were concerned about the head being so big that they wouldn't be able to get under their nose well before going to work I did a quick one pass shave using both the Janus on #7 and the TImeless SS .95 SB and it was actually no problem geting under my nose and the confidence in this razors smoothness I even shaved right onto my top lip on purpose and no nicks or weepers and still butter smooth.. WIth that said I'm going to ask Eric to explain in detail why he's changing the head when this razor shaves so well. Also the Janus was much smoother than the Timeless and it got me back to a basic Level 1 BBS in the one WTG pass where as the >95 Timeless left me with a DFS.

So I'm going to have some answers and I'm going to tell Eric to get his butt over here and clear up some issues that some of the members have and as he needs to have a word with the members on here.

Thanks all

I’m on vacation but wanted to jump In to say Eric will be posting tomorrow and will answer questions on Saturday. He has said that decreasing the dome height will not affect the shave.

I am a little disappointed in this thread in general. Frank has done nothing but donate his time and answer questions. He has tried to remain as impartial as possible and friendly even when the responses to him haven't been. There almost seems to be a team of people working together here ... against Frank? against the Janus? Truthfully I'm not sure. Are we fanboying another product? Truthfully I am ashamed of how off the rails some of this has gone. And I have respected many of the people's opinions on both sides and many have influenced my purchases. I have even bought product from some of you. Can we please be more friendly and raise discussion and be less attacking? Some comments have been less than friendly, but with the comments to Sledge and at Eric it has now become attacking. Some of you have walked the line and would like to think that you haven't attacked. However, your hostile attitude in this thread has led the way and you are equally to blame. I would like to see this conversation continue without admin involvement. Can we please all take a deep breath and tone it down a notch?

There are some very good people posting on this thread, on both sides (of the debate).
But I do not see any intent of a conspiracy, or co-ordination to derail or debunk this thread.
I see a bunch of prospective buyers asking some tough questions, as they should, before
plonking down $600 approx for a razor, because no one wants an albatross around their neck.
If you make a mistake with a Wolfman, there is an easy remedy...but not always.

From what I've seen on forums, there are 3 kinds of buyers for shaving hardware. Those for whom
every new product is an instant buy every time, those who will wait for the early adopters to post their
experiences, and if they trust them, they'll jump in too. And the ones who spend hours doing an unhealthy
amount of research and comparison before gingerly dipping their toe in.

For me, I approach a product like this in stages. Initially, Im not that much into minutiae....I look at whether
the product grabs me visually, the weight or bulk of it and the price relative to those things. If it ticks those boxes,
then I explore deeper. From my perspective, based on what was revealed, this product fell at the first three hurdles.
So I'm struggling to see what is wrong with expressing that thought. Is the current thinking among members that if you
don't like or agree with something, you need keep your mouth shut and leave the discussion?

If there is something wrong with a member's post, there is a report button and some really good mods to take care of it.
Personally, I feel that massaging a discussion into a zone where everyone is holding hands and singing kumbaya does
not promote a spirited exchange of ideas. And the larger community, who often read without posting, are usually the poorer
for it.

Civil discussion without snide, passive -aggressive behaviour is the standard to strive for on forums,
and I support it fully. To borrow from a phrase used in football, we play the ball, not the man.

Based on what I see on the Kickstarter page, it looks like there is indeed a blade curvature. Hard to tell if it actually uses the underside of the doors to support the blade. How can dome height NOT change the shave? Honest question. Blade curvature changes, the radius on the dome changes, does the shave angle change? I think the 2g difference in total weight Frankie sees is likely due to the decrease head mass. Does that not change the balance point? The final version is going to shave exactly like the prototype?

Where is jmudrick ? I read a lot of your stuff, sir. You seem to be very knowledgeable on razor design...can you comment please? Apologies in advance for dragging you in here but personally, I'd appreciate you answering until Eric shows up. I'll understand if you don't for fear of being labeled part of the Frank/Janus conspiracy.

This thread is what has brought me to this forum from “across the street”.  My interest is in the Janus as a possibile addition that I know I don’t need.

Dragonsbeard shaveoffs have now become legendary for their level of detail and overall candidness.  Since I am a daily shaver, my ideal razor is not the largest gap but a smooth moderately efficient razor.  My current favorite razor is a Timeless Titanium 0.68.  The idea of occasionally dialing up a more efficient razor and losing little or no smoothness is very appealing. The idea of a modern day toggle is appealing.  Spending $500 to $625 for this razor is acceptable.

I’m trying to decide whether to jump in and fund (and acquire with a nine month wait) this razor.  Based on the prototype shaveoffs I am leaning toward funding.  However, if the prototype is a completely different razor, i’m fearful of being duped by a company taking advantage of the goodwill developed by Frank.  I do not under any circumstances want a Slim.  For me, my E4 Fatboy was head and shoulders better than my almost mint H2 Slim that I have since disposed of.

Please keep us informed about whether this thread is good reading but completely irrelevant as it is describing a razor that will never exist for any of us.

Is the current thinking among members that if you
don't like or agree with something, you need keep your mouth shut and leave the discussion?

Yes.

I've been told/scolded, in private, for voicing an opinion on the Raw one time in a thread across the street. Out of respect for friendships and because I had ZERO interest in the razor from the first time I saw picture of it....I kept my mouth closed in public. And I still managed to lose two very good friends over that stupid razor and some pretty childish behavior by those two grown men...over a damned razor I uttered very few words over. Friendship get terminated over stupidity. Honestly, some people suck all the fun out this hobby by taking it...and themselves way, way too seriously.

The Janus has been a fricking train wreck from Day 1. If I didn't want to be talked into one, I'd gladly sit back and keep my mouth shut. Go drop your $500 on some well done CAD models and poorly done videos if you choose. No way in hell I will. I'll continue to do due diligence before I drop that kind of coin on anything. Choose whatever words from the dictionary you like to describe my behavior and line of questioning. Continue to make baseless accusations of alliances if you chose. Establish your own arbitrary lines for me to cross. I really, really don't care. If I get out of line with DFS rules, trust me, PMs will be inbound. Don't ask how I know.

It's odd....no one really argues or gets upset about Fatboys, Aristocrats or Flare Tips.

So what is it about these high-end, pricey razor that brings out all the aggro?
It's not a rhetorical question, I'd love to know.

When I was entering this hallowed territory 3 months ago, I had to wade through tons
of verbiage. Some of it extremely helpful – some, to be frank, mind-numbingly tedious. The voices that
shone through in their descriptions were members like LOOT, Sharp_Obsession, Kehole, Pork, Glock, Shave MD
and a whole lot of others I'm forgetting. I used to make screenshots of the posts and keep them in a folder
and read them again and again. At last count I had made at least 80 such screen shots. Thanks to these blokes,
I landed on my first piece without screwing it up.

The Wolfman WR2 Head thread is a great example of the power of this forum at work, so it would be good to
move forward keeping that in mind.