Tatara Blades Arrived

Tatara blades arrived today. Was hoping to receive a full set of 100 with the intent of sharing with all for test and review but only received 10. Am retaining 1 for test and review but will mail out the remaining 9 to the first 9 people residing in ConUS requesting via PM

"In the Kamigata area they have a sort of tiered lunch box they use for a single day when flower viewing.
Upon returning, they throw them away, trampling them underfoot.
The end is important in all things."

Hagakure

As with all Tatara products, the branding and packaging surpasses anything else in the industry. They are more professionally packaged than most artisan razors and brushes costing hundreds of dollars. The cardboard tuck is embossed richly, securely recloses and even has side ears - small details but consciously executed reflecting the owners' pride in craftsmanship. Within each tuck, individual blades are wrapped in an envelope - kid you not - which contains a waxpaper wrapped blade sans glue dots as best can determine. Each blade is subtly yet elegantly laser engraved.

Many will wonder why so much emphasis is placed on the description of a tuck of blades.  My response is that this is just how masterfully Tatara executes branding. Anybody familiar with Japanese culture will understand that the presentation of a gift is as important, if not moreso, than the underlying gift.  One could literally gift somebody a rock and it would be received as though a gold brick provided it was packaged beautifully, a foreign concept to most Westerners.

Will not have an opportunity to shave with the blade until likely next week where it will be mated with a Nodachi Ti. Report to follow.

Tatara blades arrived today. Was hoping to receive a full set of 100 to share with all to test and review but only received 10. Am retaining 1 for test and review but will mail out the remaining 9 to the first 9 people residing in ConUS requesting via PM

"In the Kamigata area they have a sort of tiered lunch box they use for a single day when flower viewing.
Upon returning, they throw them away, trampling them underfoot.
The end is important in all things."

Hagakure

As with all Tatara products, the branding and packaging surpasses anything else in the industry. They are more professionally packaged than most artisan razors and brushes costing hundreds of dollars. The cardboard tuck is embossed richly, securely recloses and even has side ears - small details but consciously executed because the owners have pride in craftsmanship. Within each tuck, individual blades are wrapped in an envelope - kid you not - which contains a waxpaper wrapped blade sans glue dots as best can determine. Each blade is subtly yet elegantly laser engraved.

Many will wonder, why so much emphasis is placed on the description of a tuck of blades?  My response is that this is just how masterfully Tatara gets branding. Anybody familiar with Japanese culture will understand that the presentation of a gift is as important, if not moreso, than the underlying gift.  One could literally gift somebody a rock and it would be received as though gold brick provided it was packaged beautifully, a foreign concept to most Westerners.

Will not have an opportunity to shave with the blade until likely next week where it will be mated with a Nodachi Ti. Report to follow.

Looking forward to hearing your views Dan .

Sent from my V2040 using Tapatalk

First shave in with the new Tatara blade.

Tatara Nodachi Ti
Tatara blade
DG B8 Thunderhead
ETHOS Agrumes soap
Geologie Scrub Unscented
Alum block
ETHOS CUSTOM Skin Food
Pitralon Classic

Firstly, have not used a Tatra blade in at least a year and never paired with a Tatara. The next shave will mimic as much possible the reviewed Tatara blade undertaking but substituting a fresh Tatra blade.

Hitherto have tried about a dozen blades in various Tatara razors over the years, settling on Personna Israeli Red, followed by Astra SP and Feather as most compatable for the razor geometry and design.

However, this shave was a revelation. Whether they engineered the Tatara blade to perfectly match the Tatara razor characteristics is unknown but it was maybe the best DE shaving experience ever. The shave was absolutely BBS with zero weepers and hardly any blade feel. That the blade was extremely sharp was proven when trying to shave the periphery of the ear, where despite extreme care, blood was drawn on both sides.

Shall follow up with a shave mimicking the review above excepting Tatra blade, then shall try this blade in a few other non Tatara razors.

Again, any wanting a blade to sample, please reach out via PM.

When they are available in a single package I will probably add them on the list of blade that I will try, considering that they are made with Swedish stainless steel, as my standard blade (Rapira) and who have tried them seem to be happy about them.

When they are available in a single package I will probably add them on the list of blade that I will try, considering that they are made with Swedish stainless steel, as my standard blade (Rapira) and who have tried them seem to be happy about them.

Hi Alex, what do you mean as a single package, a 5 pack or a 100 pack? 

You can find a single pack of 5 blades for sales in the US.

Catholicism has the concept of sinning thru commission but equally thru omission; affirmatively committing transgressive acts as well as passively taking no action when there clearly an opportunity to do right.  In the present case, it was equally wrong attributing credit to Tatara for unique packaging as it was unfair neglecting to laud Tatra for initiating and possessing the identical features. With that precept in mind, shall open this post with apologies to Tatara and Tatra.  Lord God of my Fathers, forgive me my most egregious sin and have mercy upon my soul.

Specifically, had only tried one Tatra Platinum blade hitherto, sans tuck and sans full wrap is it happens. Thanks to a forum member, was blessed with a full tuck of Tatra Platinum blades. Everything stated regarding the Tatara packaging applies: the recloseable and eared tuck and the double wrapped blade in envelope and wax paper.  To be fair, the Tatra blade is heavily glued to the wax paper whereas the Tatara has hardly if any glue; this quite a contentious matter in fora debates if unimportant to my reckoning.  Finally, find the graphics on the Tatara tuck, envelope and blade more elegant than the Tatra and in keeping with the Japanese branding theme of Tatara. 

But the most important factor to all is the quality of Tatra shave vis-a-vis the Tatara. Am happy to report the Tatra is every bit as perfectly matched to the characteristics of the Nodachi Ti as was the Tatara. These two shaves have been the most perfect, nick free, weeper free, irritation free BBS shaves ever from a DE. Nothing else in the routine has changed in the past year so it really only can be attributed to the razor and blade combination. Moreover, have shaved in 80°F humid and now 40°F dry conditions followed by 10 mile runs - extremes regarding consecutive shaves. 

Credit to Tatara for selecting the absolute perfect blade to brand; this no small accomplishment. 

Shall followup with shaves in a Wolfman WR1, BBS1 and Merkur 28 to determine if the blades' excellence transfer to other razors and follow up with concluding posts. 

Various forum members have a Tatara blade sample en route and hoping they will submit reviews in service to the community. 

Have known Tatra to be good for some time. If I didn't have so many of my favorite Wizamets I'd use them more

Have known Tatra to be good for some time. If I didn't have so many of my favorite Wizamets I'd use them more 

Were these hundreds from before you switched to the Wizamet?! 

Have known Tatra to be good for some time. If I didn't have so many of my favorite Wizamets I'd use them more 

Were these hundreds from before you switched to the Wizamet?! 

No, but when you try a good blade and see it for $9.99 for 100 you stock up (100 here, 100 there) before word gets out and drives the price up. Same thing I did with Wizamet before they got popular

So the Tatara is the same as the Tatra?