Dave in KY's Videos and Hangout

Tuesday July 25, 2023
Razor: Tatara Masamune
Blade: Feather
Brush: Dragonsbeard by Knothead Brushworks/Badger
Soap: Ethos Dragonsbeard V3
AS 1: Witch Hazel
AS 2: Ethos Dragonsbeard SFS
Fragrance: Ethos Dragonsbeard EDP
Consecutive Daily Shaves - # 1,723

I used the Feather blade that came with these and got a close BBS shave but not the most comfortable. It wasn't bad but not comfortable like I'm used to. I've always found the Feathers rough. I'm not doing the corking or handstropping that is recommended as last I looked, I'm not on their payroll and expect purchased razor blades to come ready for me to use. I'll try my go to Wizamet blades next. Have a great day everyone !

FWIW I get good results with the straight from the wrapper Feathers in my Masamune, which is the only razor I have used them with these days (so far, at least). Generally speaking though, the Wizamets are my go to too

FWIW I get good results with the straight from the wrapper Feathers in my Masamune, which is the only razor I have used them with these days (so far, at least). Generally speaking though, the Wizamets are my go to too

Could be all in my head but it's the only one I have to think with I was expecting to NEED the Nodachi top cap to get what I wanted but was happy with this razor as is. Of course, I'll still experiment with everything in the kit to see if any improvement is possible for me. Thanks Mike !

To be clear, I was just chalking it up to YMMV Dave in KY.

To be clear, I was just chalking it up to YMMV Dave in KY.

Absolutely, that's how I took it

Wednesday July 26, 2023
Razor: Tatara Masamune
Blade: Wizamet
Brush: Graydog/Synbad
Soap: Wholly Kaw Pasteur's Alchemy
AS 1: Witch Hazel
AS 2: Wholly Kaw Pasteur's Alchemy Splash
Fragrance: Wholly Kaw Pasteur's Alchemy EDP
Consecutive Daily Shaves - # 1,724

Wednesday July 26, 2023
Razor: Tatara Masamune
Blade: Wizamet
Brush: Graydog/Synbad
Soap: Wholly Kaw Pasteur's Alchemy
AS 1: Witch Hazel
AS 2: Wholly Kaw Pasteur's Alchemy Splash
Fragrance: Wholly Kaw Pasteur's Alchemy EDP
Consecutive Daily Shaves - # 1,724

Any thoughts on how it went using the Wizamet? I am hoping for Great, but faces are all so different, if you ever noticed!  (didn't want to fall back on that much used acronym we see all the time!!)

Wednesday July 26, 2023
Razor: Tatara Masamune
Blade: Wizamet
Brush: Graydog/Synbad
Soap: Wholly Kaw Pasteur's Alchemy
AS 1: Witch Hazel
AS 2: Wholly Kaw Pasteur's Alchemy Splash
Fragrance: Wholly Kaw Pasteur's Alchemy EDP
Consecutive Daily Shaves - # 1,724

Any thoughts on how it went using the Wizamet? I am hoping for Great, but faces are all so different, if you ever noticed!  (didn't want to fall back on that much used acronym we see all the time!!)

A better shave as far as more comfortable but still feel it leaves me slightly not raw but closer feeling on my skin but quicker returning stubble. I know that doesn't make sense but that's the feeling I'm getting. It's nice razor and I can get a decent shave but I have others that give much better shaves as far as I'm concerned. Still need to play with some head and cap mixing to see if anything changes.

Wednesday July 26, 2023
Razor: Tatara Masamune
Blade: Wizamet
Brush: Graydog/Synbad
Soap: Wholly Kaw Pasteur's Alchemy
AS 1: Witch Hazel
AS 2: Wholly Kaw Pasteur's Alchemy Splash
Fragrance: Wholly Kaw Pasteur's Alchemy EDP
Consecutive Daily Shaves - # 1,724

Any thoughts on how it went using the Wizamet? I am hoping for Great, but faces are all so different, if you ever noticed!  (didn't want to fall back on that much used acronym we see all the time!!)

A better shave as far as more comfortable but still feel it leaves me slightly not raw but closer feeling on my skin but quicker returning stubble. I know that doesn't make sense but that's the feeling I'm getting. It's nice razor and I can get a decent shave but I have others that give much better shaves as far as I'm concerned. Still need to play with some head and cap mixing to see if anything changes.

We often talk about the tradeoffs between smooth, comfortable, user friendly razors versus razors that are efficient,  close cutting, and may require unflagging concentration.  To me, the thing that makes Tatara great is that the Masamune, with its narrow gap and deeply recessed negative exposure, cuts as well as it does, whereas the Nodachi, with its wide gap and significant positive exposure, cuts as comfortably as it does. 

I am currently six shaves in on my Ti Masamune.  Three of the last four were BBS, and they've all been relaxing, irritation free, and bloodless (2 of the four), or trivially close to bloodless.  Yet even the BBS shaves did not last as long as shaves with my favorite, more efficient razors.  I do not yet know if the Masamune, in my hands,  will ever reach that level, but I am already loving what I know the Masamune does bring to the table.

In any case, your experience makes perfect sense to me, and I may simply be at a stage in my journey where the forgiving nature of the Masamune stands out for me more than it would for a razor meister like yourself.

Thursday July 27, 2023
Razor: Tatara Masamune Top Cap/Nodachi Base Plate
Blade: Wizamet
Brush: Unbranded Burma Shave/Boar
Soap: Ethos Peppermint
AS 1: Witch Hazel
AS 2: Ethos Peppermint
Fragrance: 
Consecutive Daily Shaves - # 1,725

HighSpeed Mike, Thanks for your comments and what works for you. I'm certainly no razor meister and I have no doubt that the Titanium would make a difference for me as it has on other razors such as the Blackbird etc. Unfortunately the cost on getting every razor in Titanium is cost prohibitive for me especially with all the plates to experiment with, This SS complete setup in the BST gave me that option. That siad, I did a little Googling and that lead me to a discussion in another neighborhood. With my aging skin I seem to be leaning away from very aggressive razors and seeking smoothness followed by closeness or efficiency. I still seek that longer lasting shave and it's becoming more of a challenge to have those ends meet to my satisfaction. Comments from Tester28 started the conversation and caught my attention quoted below:

"So here are my options:

1. Masamune top cap with Nodachi baseplate
This marries a milder top cap to a more aggressive plate. Blade gap is high, blade exposure is low.
(Gap: 0.90mm / Exposure: -0.03mm)

2. Nodachi top cap with Masamune baseplate
This marries a more aggressive top cap to a milder plate. Blade gap is low, blade exposure is high.
(Gap: 0.63mm / Exposure: 0.00mm)"

This is a chart of sorts that Fedsbackhand added that helped me as blade exposure is a key I believe for me more than blade gap:

"Ranked purely for smoothness I find it pretty much follows the change in blade exposure

Masamune plate/cap -0.13
Nodachi plate/Masamune cap -0.03
Masamune plate/Nodachi cap neutral
Nodachi plate/cap +0.13

For my face, they are not the same, I could absolutely tell the difference between neutral and -0.03. I place less stock in gap than blade exposure. I also have the Hone Type 15, large gap (1.2mm) and neutral exposure."

I will say that this mornings shave was much more comfortable and smooth than yesterdays. The Nodachi Base Plate with Masamune Top Cap seems to have actually given me a closer shave but time will tell with the longevity of the shave. perhaps being more smooth afforded me a better control of the shave results. Again time will tell as I experiment but I think this is my best bet for the mashup of parts for me at least with Stainless Steel. Hope everyon has a greaat day !