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

Today was a comparison shave:  the 0.7 base on the No. 7 with the Haircut & Shave N074, which is my single favorite razor -- my touchstone.   I figured this was a good comparison since my prior use of the 0.7 on the No. 7 made it seem similar to the N074.

Well, perhaps it was because of my greater familiarity with the H&S butusing it proved to have the more comfortable and successful passes.  I found it got further down, didn't need a repeat buffing, and was altogether more comfortable.  I was a bit surprised because my earlier shaves with the No. 7 had impressed me, as I've previously described.  

Tomorrow, I'll finish off my time with the No. 7 by trying the 1.1 again, hoping it works as a more efficient razor.  I found that as a daily driver it was too much for me.  I might compare it to my Paradigm Diamondback Ti as a comparator.  

Looks like an N075 pictured? A favorite of mine as well

Today was a comparison shave:  the 0.7 base on the No. 7 with the Haircut & Shave N075, which is my single favorite razor -- my touchstone.   I figured this was a good comparison since my prior use of the 0.7 on the No. 7 made it seem similar to the N075.

Well, perhaps it was because of my greater familiarity with the H&S butusing it proved to have the more comfortable and successful passes.  I found it got further down, didn't need a repeat buffing, and was altogether more comfortable.  I was a bit surprised because my earlier shaves with the No. 7 had impressed me, as I've previously described.  

Tomorrow, I'll finish off my time with the No. 7 by trying the 1.1 again, hoping it works as a more efficient razor.  I found that as a daily driver it was too much for me.  I might compare it to my Paradigm Diamondback Ti as a comparator.  

Looks like an N075 pictured? A favorite of mine as well

What 74? lol.  Yes, of course, N075. (So far as I know, Aji hasn’t done a N074.). My bad.  Can’t even get my favorite razor right in a post….

Last use of the No. 7. Today, I went with the 1.1. The shave was BBS and the passes were smooth and comfortable.  Though, as with the last time I used the 1.1, I did have two small (quite small) nicks and a touch of irritation on my neck. I learned that on the sensitive spots, I need to ride the cap to get it to work best, but I also think I’m trying a bit too hard to get a perfect shave – which, I should know by now, is not really ever a great idea.  I suspect that if I were less greedy, the 1.1 would work as an excellent plate to obtain BBS shaves.  As is, though, I wouldn’t want to use the 1.1 a second day in a row, and it’s now time to pass the box and razor onto Dave in KY .

So, all in all, I did put this razor and the plates through a full week of testing.  My final thoughts are that this is a fine and versatile piece of kit: the workmanship is excellent, as is the design.  The weighting of the razor clicked, the handle was just right for my use, and I really liked the conical handle end and how it fit into the base. The finishing is nearly at the very top – although, for the price of this razor when fully fitted out, it really had better be.  To be very fine-tuned in my analysis, the shaves were, for me, much of “almost there”.  This is demanding a very high level of critiquing but, again, the price for this razor is very premium.  Perhaps I was lucky for my first shave or two, but very other shave came close to exactly what I would have wanted yet always was a tad short. The 0.3 base was too mild for me, the 0.7 was not quite as close as I would have hoped, the 1.1 was nearly exactly right as a BBS shaver but I didn’t quite get a perfect shave, and the 1.5 was surprisingly smooth but too much.  Maybe what I really would have wanted would have been the in-between gaps:  0.5 and 0.9.  Maybe. In any event, I’d suspect for a lot of folks this razor would be an absolute joy and to get it with an extra plate or two would extend its range and versatility.

I so appreciate this community and those in it who take the time to arrange and oversee pass-arounds like this, and I so much even more appreciate those craftsman and artisans who so willingly share their products.  So, a major shout out to GlazedBoker and even bigger one to Atelier DURDAN.  Thanks so much.