Titanium Is it a good metal for Razors?

I like titanium for eyeglasses frames and other things that are better light, but my personal preference is for heavy razors, like the Merkur 39c Vorschlaghammer, or the Merkur Futur. I don't begrudge anyone their choices, but titanium razors are not for me.

I was unaware of the environmental toll, and I'm glad I read this thread if for that reason alone.

All human activity takes a toll on the environment. The key is to do as good a job as we can and clean up when we're done. Unfortunately not all countries play by the same rules. In Canada we have a very high standard when it comes to environment, health and safety. So high that its not all that profitable to actually mine here and natural resources is what we have plenty of, its pretty much all we have. Some other countries will attract investment for resource extraction by setting a very low standard of environment health and safety performance and its our mining companies that are going over there for the profit and environment health and safety be damned. You can read all these glowing motherhood statements about how environmentally responsible they are in their annual reports but if you ask them about their foreign projects they'll tell you that they comply with all local laws and regulations. The fact that in some of these countries there are no laws and regulations or that the bar is set so low that there virtually aren't any is not important to them. I understand capitalism and profit is obviously important but why is it ok to rape the planet in Asia, South America or Africa while boasting of your high corporate responsibility in North America and Europe? Isn't this just another form of colonialism?

I will now step down off my soapbox (made of the finest Canadian douglas fir) and return to our regularly scheduled programming - Titanium. Is it a good metal for razors? The answer seems to be yes. There is a demand and people are willing to pay a premium so the market will be served.

The next thought is whether there is a test to determine if these premium priced titanium razors are actually made out of what they say they are. There is always the problem of counterfeit consumer goods and counterfeit spec parts where unscrupulous persons will pass off inferior grades of materials at a premium. Counterfeit aircraft parts have been identified in investigations of failures/crashes. While I would question the ethics of someone passing off counterfeit titanium razors imagine the sort of person who would seek to profit from passing off counterfeit, inferior grade aircraft parts?

There's titanium... And then there's titanium. I have a BBQ in my back yard made from the combustion chamber of an X-15 (yes, the rocket plane) that hasn't aged a day - and it's been used and sitting outside for 35+ years. Regular drill bits fear titanium. It's hard to even bend it.

All the other stuff ends up in watches, fountain pens... And razors.

I will now step down off my soapbox (made of the finest Canadian Douglas fir)


Marko! Love it!

There's titanium...  And then there's titanium.  I have a BBQ in my back yard made from the combustion chamber of an X-15 (yes, the rocket plane) that hasn't aged a day - and it's been used and sitting outside for 35+ years.  Regular drill bits fear titanium.  It's hard to even bend it.

All the other stuff ends up in watches, fountain pens...  And razors.

You read my mind even before I knew I had the thought 35 years ago. That has to be the coolest BBQ on the planet. I had been thinking about whether there'd be interest in razors (or grills or whatever) made from say, titanium salvaged from decommissioned space shuttles or other historically significant things. It would be like getting a brick from a historically significant building in your home town. Now seriously, I know that nobody is going to be making razors from decommissioned space shuttles - there aren't very many of them and they will survive as exhibits forever but think of the possibilities? Puts a whole new spin on reduce-reuse-recycle.

I have been shaving with the Paradigm Titanium razor for 4 days straight , and , to be honest , shaves as good as any of my other brass , stainless steel or aluminum ones , but not better or worst.

At the end , is going to be what you want or are willing to pay for a razor and how exclusive the razor could or might be.

Something I have to say about Titanium is that I truly like its color , or in this particular case , the color of the Paradigm.I dont know if the Wolfman Titanium shares the same color.

As a wet shaver , Im just grateful that we have so many options these days : double edge , single edge , brass , aluminum , stainless steel and now another Titanium one.We didnt have all these options back in 2009 , when I started following the shaving forums and the options were Merkur , Edwin Jagger/Muhle , vintage and few obscure others.The Pils was the most expensive at that time.Now , we are in a golden era of artisan made shaving soaps and razors.There is democracy in wet shaving : no matter how much (or less) money you spend , the shaves could be great.Let the party continue

The advantages of titanium are not imaginary. Titanium is as hard as steel but less dense than either steel or aluminum -- so you'll have a razor that has all of the advantages of stainless and all (and more) of the lightness of aluminum, and for that privilege you will pay a price. Since I generally favor heavier razors, I doubt that I'd pay the premium that titanium commands -- after all, I put a humongous (150g) Maggard MR8 stainless handle on my aluminum Colonial General SE and love it. But I will say this: titanium makes a great watch bracelet. My titanium Citizen Eco-Drive is the most comfortable watch I have -- light, yet durable. Another thing about titanium, not relevant to razors but important for watch bands: it's a poor conductor of heat.

For me at least SS is heavy enough that I can truly use no pressure and let the razor do all the work. I don't really have an interest in usuing aluminum or titanium. I'm sure any of them can produce a great shave in the right hands.

There have been a couple of instances where I have seen someone say that they are grateful for titanium razors, because that is the only material their skin gets along with. In that sense, titanium has its place in the razor market. However, people with such skin sensitivities are probably quite few and far between, so it doesn’t really warrant the production of titanium razors at their current scale.

Another group of shavers who might benefit from this lighter-than-steel material are those with muscular issues, arthritis, etc.

I prefer light razors to heavy razors, which makes titanium attractive to me. However, I’m not happy to hear about its environmental impact, or the requirements it places on tooling, etc. I’ve been quite happy with the aluminum razors that I have used, and hope that even more aluminum razors appear in the near future.

There have been a couple of instances where I have seen someone say that they are grateful for titanium razors, because that is the only material their skin gets along with. In that sense, titanium has its place in the razor market. However, people with such skin sensitivities are probably quite few and far between, so it doesn’t really warrant the production of titanium razors at their current scale.

Another group of shavers who might benefit from this lighter-than-steel material are those with muscular issues, arthritis, etc.

I prefer light razors to heavy razors, which makes titanium attractive to me. However, I’m not happy to hear about its environmental impact, or the requirements it places on tooling, etc. I’ve been quite happy with the aluminum razors that I have used, and hope that even more aluminum razors appear in the near future.

Matsilainen its true about skin sensitivities but you'd have to be extremely sensitive to react to the brief contact from a razor. I suppose day after day over time it could be a problem. I have a sensitivity to nickel I think, in eyeglass frames. I had a pair of nice glasses a few years back and over time the coating wore off the arms where they contacted my temples and I developed a rash there. The solution was more expensive glasses of course.