Atelier Durdan N°7 razor pass around.....

Good evening gents. I finished up my time with the No 7, and it's on the way to Rudy Vey. 

I'm gathering my notes and thoughts and will post a write-up soon.

Making the rounds Gentlemen. It’s making the rounds.

Side note: I was informed by one of the pass around participants that the blade sample packs were not in the package when he received it. I'm nearly positive it was oversight from someone and just simply left the blade pack out which is a non issue for me. For the following participants still remaining commencing with rudyvey if the general consensus on those still on the list, if you want me to send a blade sampler pack, just request it right here in this thread and I'll  prepare another sample packs ASAP. I only mentioned rudyvey as he is a fellow New Jersian who is quite close to me and I can have it delivered within a day or two. Like I said, just let me know Gentlemen.

Happy shaves....



Pass around update....

N*7 Pass Around list:
1. GlazedBoker - North Brunswick, NJ - Completed
2. Phoenixkh - Gainesville, FL - Completed
3. cigarman - St. Louis, MO - Completed
4. rocket - Denver, CO - Completed
5. Dragonsbeard - Webster, NY - Completed
6. Dtownvino - Philadelphia, PA - Completed
7. Keto _ Aurora, MO - Completed
8. Spacemonkey42 - Williamstown, MA - Completed
9. Calm_Shaver - NY, NY - Completed
10. Big_T - King,NC - Completed
11. ewk - Goose Creek, SC - Completed
12. Bbssboss - Boston, MA - Completed
13. wyze0ne - Farmington Hills, MI - Completed
14. Marhos24 - Armada, MI - Completed
15. Stickshift - Chicago, IL - Completed
16. jbreakfield - Daphne, AL - Completed & shipped
17. Rudy Vey - South Plainfield, NJ - in route too
18. WVShaver - Mason, WV - in the que
19. Lesser - Chappaqua, NY
20. Dave in KY - Williamsburg, KY

I didn't see a blade sample pack when I had the pleasure of trying the No7. Unless I missed it in the box. I wouldn't expect blades to be included, I'd want to use my preferred blades and that is on me. Thanks Gus!

Making the rounds Gentlemen. It’s making the rounds.

Side note: I was informed by one of the pass around participants that the blade sample packs were not in the package when he received it. I'm nearly positive it was oversight from someone and just simply left the blade pack out which is a non issue for me. For the following participants still remaining commencing with rudyvey if the general consensus on those still on the list, if you want me to send a blade sampler pack, just request it right here in this thread and I'll  prepare another sample packs ASAP. I only mentioned rudyvey as he is a fellow New Jersian who is quite close to me and I can have it delivered within a day or two. Like I said, just let me know Gentlemen.

Happy shaves....



Pass around update....

N*7 Pass Around list:
1. GlazedBoker - North Brunswick, NJ - Completed
2. Phoenixkh - Gainesville, FL - Completed
3. cigarman - St. Louis, MO - Completed
4. rocket - Denver, CO - Completed
5. Dragonsbeard - Webster, NY - Completed
6. Dtownvino - Philadelphia, PA - Completed
7. Keto _ Aurora, MO - Completed
8. Spacemonkey42 - Williamstown, MA - Completed
9. Calm_Shaver - NY, NY - Completed
10. Big_T - King,NC - Completed
11. ewk - Goose Creek, SC - Completed
12. Bbssboss - Boston, MA - Completed
13. wyze0ne - Farmington Hills, MI - Completed
14. Marhos24 - Armada, MI - Completed
15. Stickshift - Chicago, IL - Completed
16. jbreakfield - Daphne, AL - Completed & shipped
17. Rudy Vey - South Plainfield, NJ - in route too
18. WVShaver - Mason, WV - in the que
19. Lesser - Chappaqua, NY
20. Dave in KY - Williamsburg, KY

Hi @Glazedbroker, for some reason, I'm unable to reply to PMs.  

Thanks for reaching out to me for the pass-around.  I think I'll skip it.  I'm in a simplicity cycle (gasp), having thinned the  herd down to a Tatara Masamune and an Overlander.  I have to confess however, that if a La Faux floated by, I'd likely cave in to my curiosity :-)

... Thom

Gus, I don't need any blades as I have plenty.

Gus, I don't need any blades as I have plenty.

Same. I’ll use what I have and know best.

Hey guys, the fiber for my Internet was cut, so I'm relegated to my phone until the weekend at least. I have most of my write-up on my laptop and will finish and post once my Internet is back up. Sorry for the delay!

My time with the Atelier Durdan is complete; it has been packed up and is on the way to next on the list Rudy Vey.

I typically only shave a few times per week, so I was not able to try all of the baseplates. I focused on the 0.7mm and the 1.1mm. These are the gaps that I suspected would work the best for me, based on my usual preferences and some of the previous write-ups.

As many have stated, the fit and finish of this razor are top notch. The design is impressive, and a bit different than most other new designs that I’ve tried recently. The handle/stand interface design works better than I anticipated and has a nice flair. The handle itself also has a nice aesthetic, and although the knurl isn’t deep, it provides a good gripping surface. The razor is pretty hefty in hand but has a decent balance.

For my first shave, I used the 0.7mm base plate. Even though I typically shave about every 3-4-ish days, I prefer razors on the mild-to-medium spectrum. When I focus on my technique and use shorter strokes, I have no problem getting a good shave in 2 passes and a cleanup pass, even with that much growth. Blade was a fresh Wizamet and soap was from a tub of Ethos Vanilla Safi that I picked up on the BST. It took a couple of strokes to get the angle, but it wasn’t difficult to find and almost felt natural based on the shape of the head. It felt much better biased slightly towards the top cap. WTG pass was very smooth, more so than I expected honestly. The No 7 does have a bit of blade feel, but the 0.7mm base plate isn’t too bad at all. The second pass (ATG) wasn’t quite as smooth, but not bad in most areas. I do have a bit of a problem area on my neck below my chin… if I’m going to have any issues, this is where it will happen. With the No 7, I felt an ever-so-slight bit of chatter when going against the grain in this area. One thing I will say is that I’ve experienced this type of problem on other razors where others never had an issue (an example of this is Carbon razors). Overall, it was a very good shave, and I was pleased with the efficiency. I had one very minor weeper on my neck in the problem spot.

Second shave, same setup as the first except for the soap. This time, I was in a hurry, so I used non lathering cream and did a single WTG pass. The efficiency was very impressive for a single pass shave.

My next two shaves were with the 1.1mm baseplate. Same Wizamet blade, back to the Ethos soap. This baseplate had a good bit more blade feel, but not so much that I was too worried during the shave. The WTG pass was smooth for the most part, but I did manage to somehow get a minor cut on my bottom lip when I was shaving my chin. Similar experience as the 0.7 plate on the ATG pass. Felt pretty good for the most part but I still felt a little bit of chatter on my neck below my chin. I think this is partly due to my skin, and partly due to how my hair grows in this area. The ATG pass was a little uncomfortable in some areas, and good in others. I’m surprised I liked the 1.1 plate as much as I did. The efficiency of this plate was great. No weeper on my neck this time, but a very slight one at the corner of my mouth that stopped before I finished with the shave.

Overall, this is a really great razor, and it shaves much smoother than the gaps and geometry would suggest. With a bit more use, I think I could make it work for me even better. That said, it’s probably not something I would consider for myself, as I already have my favorites and have been working on keeping things minimal.


Many thanks to Gus GlazedBoker for arranging this pass around, and to Atelier DURDAN for supplying the razor.

It arrived here at the Vey house today. Will use it tomorrow, I guess I just use the 0.3 and the 0.7 mm bases, the others one seem a bit too harsh and aggressive to me (baby skin....).
Idea is to use at least two different blades with it and not changing soap or brush. Next one in line can send me the address where it goes to next via pm.

Making the rounds, Gents. Please stay abreast of the pass around updates. For those still on the list waiting to sample the No.7, keep checking periodically and be diligent of members contacting you for mailing information. If you don't respond within a timely manner to the request, you will be skipped and we will continue on to the next participant. The pass around can not be held up waiting upon an impending answer from said potential participant. In other words, "if you snooze, you lose" as no one here is responsible for any one's particular responsibility in staying current with this activity. We'll get back to those skipped if time permitting and said individual(s) want to continue in participating.

Thank you, Gents.

Pass around update....

N*7 Pass Around list:
1. GlazedBoker - North Brunswick, NJ - Completed
2. Phoenixkh - Gainesville, FL - Completed
3. cigarman - St. Louis, MO - Completed
4. rocket - Denver, CO - Completed
5. Dragonsbeard - Webster, NY - Completed
6. Dtownvino - Philadelphia, PA - Completed
7. Keto _ Aurora, MO - Completed
8. Spacemonkey42 - Williamstown, MA - Completed
9. Calm_Shaver - NY, NY - Completed
10. Big_T - King,NC - Completed
11. ewk - Goose Creek, SC - Completed
12. Bbssboss - Boston, MA - Completed
13. wyze0ne - Farmington Hills, MI - Completed
14. Marhos24 - Armada, MI - Completed
15. Stickshift - Chicago, IL - Completed
16. jbreakfield - Daphne, AL - Completed & shipped
17. Rudy Vey - South Plainfield, NJ - In hand testing
18. WVShaver - Mason, WV - in the que
19. Lesser - Chappaqua, NY
20. Dave in KY - Williamsburg, KY