Tatara Masamune Nodachi DE Passaround Review - A Notable Evolution of the Original

Enzo has been out of town. He will be submitting his review shortly passing off to next in line

Enzo has been out of town. He will be submitting his review shortly passing off to next in line

Thanks Dan, anxious to read more thoughts from testers

Don’t want to mitigate nor marginalize his thoughts but suspect it will serve to pique your interest even more

I recently was able to participate in a second Tatara pass around, this time the Nodachi, what follows is my experience
and opinion from 2 weeks usage. Again, let me start by thanking Tatara for facilitating this opportunity to experience a
relatively rare razor with unique design elements. Design is an important element of all things for Italians; we view it as
an integral part of our visual and tactile life experience – this commitment to unique yet elegantly simplistic design
makes Tatara really stand out. Their unique treatment of the design elements of the handle texturing and blast finish
are nicely done, as is the engineering of the cap threaded shank, which although no longer stress relieved at the critical
juncture where razors break when dropped still provides for an absolutely solid cap-blade-baseplate interface
unmatched in any other razor I have tried. They have significantly increased the handle length from the diminutive
Masamune to a generous proportion but have continued the lack of finishing on the underside of the cap that signals a
less than a positive impression of quality when compared to some other high-end razors. Given a choice, I probably
would err on more aggressive knurling of the handle but it never slipped despite using some the slickest soaps on the
market. Funny thing is that despite the significant increase in handle length, the Nodachi felt as equally perfectly
balanced as the Masamune.

As with the Masamune, my favorite characteristic of shaving with this razor is the auditory feedback; I like to hear the
blade working even if some attribute this to blade vibration as it really helps me get a better shave. Another element
that I thought positive was the razor's low head stack height. My current everyday razor is a custom Wolfman 0.61DC
with long WRH2 handle that is the best shaver I have ever used when paired with a Timor blade; I find it shaves
marvelously and is easily maneuvered around tight areas such as the nostrils and a goatee. The Tatara was equally
super agile and able to quickly and effortlessly get in places that are nearly impossible to access with some other well
regarded and otherwise quite good razors. Without ranting, there seems to be a trend toward ever more stack height in
razor heads; congratulations to the Tatara designers for bucking the industry and sticking to their design principles!
This may be the most agile modern razor I have used along with the BBS1 and Wolfman WR1.

Feather, PolSilver, and Timor blades were used with the razor. Unlike the Masamune, which I decried as far too mild
even when using super aggressive blades, the Nodachi is solidly mid aggressive and when paired with a Feather blade
is simply too much for my skin and beard type. I found the best results to come from milder blades, having my best
results with Timors. Even paired with a Timor, this razor is sufficiently aggressive that I would have to skip a day
between shaves were it in my rotation. The shaves were BBS every time, no matter what angle was attempted, no
matter what blade used, the results were always the same and it was impressive indeed.

My conclusion is that the Tatara Nodachi razor would be ideal for somebody with the desire to shave every other day
or seeking a mid-aggressive razor: the quality of its design amongst DE razors is superior, the production quality is
outstanding if not on a level with Wolfman (but what on Earth is?), the handling is a tactile treat and the shave quality is
just a tad beneath Wolfman – these are huge complements given that it costs about a quarter of the price of the
Wolfman and is readily available. Again, thank you for the chance to try this razor and I would be interested in
following up with future offerings from Tatara.

Is it too late to participate?


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New OC plate coming soon!

We are getting the new oc baseplate sent to the next user. So it should get reviewed forthwith. Irrespective, the SB plate is superb

This is exciting news about an OC. The SB Nodachi has rather easily taken over the # 1 position in my rotation; and I’ve tried most DE razors across the spectrum. It is in my personal opinion the best DE razor I’ve had the pleasure of using.

Is it too late to participate?


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I’d be interested as well if not too late.

Me too please, if not too late.