H&S P076 Ti DE SB & OC Passaround Review–Epitome of Craftsmanship & Efficient Comfort

Thank you to DanLaw , Aji , and Dragonsbeard for the opportunity to try this beautiful razor and soap. 

I will post more detail commentary at the end of the week, but Dan suggested I post a short update before that. 

My view on the Ti P076 is that it is phenomenal razor. I'll post details at the end of the week, but one comment - the finish on this instrument from Aji is incredible. I had no idea that mirror polish to this degree was possible on Ti.

And quick comment on this excellent Ethos soap from Dragonsbeard . DanLaw and Shavemd and others have been praising this soap from day one, and with good reason. It is fantastic. The performance is first rate and the post shave is luxurious. 

More to come at the end of the week.

I ordered Ti SB on July 18th, no shipping notice either.

East coast and North East Coast was battered by a tropical storm Isaias and dozens pf tornadoes Mon-Tue last week. over 700K residents in tiny CT alone without power. I placed my order on 7/31 and am expecting delays.

Spoke with Aji Sunday. He working feverishly to get product out. Have patience please

I got a first run shave with Ethos today and went with Mélange d'agrumes to try out. I used a smear of it in a dry dish and load a 24mm 3 band silvertip and loaded what I tried of a peanut or so size. I shook the brush pretty good so I could try to add as much water later. It take the product well as it is soft enough in texture and made a bit of protolather foam. It seemed a bit light which is what I was hoping for. Fast forward to my last pass, I decided to reload to make a proper coat so my next shave I will use about an almond size smear of Ethos and use the same brush. The lather didn't seem thirsty but I worked it slow and developed a wetter lather and it did take more of the water. I think the first pass lather was fine but while building I probably playing with a bit less that what I needed for 3 passes.

The lather was pretty good first shot and I didn't worry too much about my shave. I got a chance to try a new pass around DE so I used it and it went pretty swell. I was able to avoid razor burn which is pretty complementary in my experiences. That is pretty common with my shaves but overall the shave was nice. I think I like some aspects about this soaps scent but not sure why. Normally grapefruit isn't something I shy or gravitate towards but it was a bit more appealing for my weather to try out the grapefruit scent over the pineapple or lavender. I do like the other two scents but somehow agrumes works for my nose. The lightness of the lather was nice along with the scent strength of the fragrances of the essentials oil. I quite like a soap being perfumed like this and how it is labeled. I will cover more about the ingredients after I try this again but the in shave performance was great.

The residual slickness is nice with a splash of water. At the end of the shave, my face did feel a bit more "pugh" or dry but it wasn't red, or hot, or tight. So I finished with some smears of kokum and mango butter and would say it was a pretty solid shave. I want to see if is using a bit more product helps the post shave a bit next time. Dragonsbeard I do normally have a bit less confidence with creams or cream soap which is why I feel like it's good that the texture allows to be picked up. It isn't like glue off the puck like some super fatted soaps are. The formula of ingredients is really what I was excited about and why I wanted to try Ethos. I just am used to using and loading a harder product so I am glad to try it out again soon. One more note, I did forego my usual preshave oil and mango and kokum butter on my soap. So I gave this shave a solid go at a getting pretty good impression. It performed well today and I look forward to the next shave with it again this week.

Cheers you guys and happy shaving

First shave on the passaround.

Context for my remarks: I use a range of razors, have a collection of two hundred or so which I cycle through, mostly DE, mostly vintage but also own  Wolfman, Paradigm, Timeless, H&S, Homelike, Blackland etc. I'm a head shaver and find judging razor performance is most readily done in evaluating against the grain on my head. I'm not a big believer in differences among most blades, my most used blade is the BIC.  My favorite shaver without hesitation is my Shake Sharp Mk 1.0. 

First impression of the razor is it resembles a fine piece of jewelry, gorgeous mirror finish, rather delicate in appearance as the head is so light and slim. The handle is ok though the balance point is south of where the knurling end suggests it should be. Overall weight is very much according to my liking.

Ethos Lavender lathered up on my head and neck very easily, felt great, scent strength good for me. 

After the two passes I do on my neck ,fresh BIC blade, my thought was, jeez I really should sell the Wolfman. I love how easily (in comparison) the H&S handles, level of aggression spot on for my taste. I generally do a single lather ATG pass on my head with pickups.  The H&S did very well, no tugging or difficulty in handling the rough spots. Not the most efficient razor I own at this task, but on balance a superlative shave. Rather than relather I used my homemade shave oil and felt around for pick ups, which were there in spots. I typically use either my Leaf or my Enders Speed for these, both super efficient razors on my head, I chose the Leaf and quickly dispatched what few spots remained to reach BBS all around.

Post shave feel with the Ethos was just fair, perhaps even a bit drying (as noted I finish up my shave oil which serves as a beard oil as well).

In the books, another go tomorrow.

I have found the Lavender ETHOS REALLY likes more water added slowly.  Originally, it seemed good, not great, in comparison to the other ETHOS soaps but screwed up adding what thought to be excess water and it just went crazy good.  Give the Lavender another shot by over hydrating it during lathering.  The other ETHOS soaps, you will love from first try; they less sensative to water during lathering

I have found the Lavender ETHOS REALLY likes more water added slowly.  Originally, it seemed good, not great, in comparison to the other ETHOS soaps but screwed up adding what thought to be excess water and it just went crazy good.  Give the Lavender another shot by over hydrating it during lathering.  The other ETHOS soaps, you will love from first try; they less sensative to water during lathering

I appreciate the suggestion, will do.

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It has become as loved as Agrumes and Pineapple Noir now to my perspective, which are the best soaps available by far for my skin It responds differently from the other ETHOS soaps even though same base.

Kai blade, first use. Very efficient and pleasurable combination. I just love how easily the H&S handles, it pushes right up to the limit of requiring a more firm grip going against the grain but doesn't require as much attention as lighter aluminum or Bakelite. Efficient enough with the Kai that pick-ups after the ATG were dispatched without a relather or turning to the Leaf or Enders. Some wasted lather which is a shame, I quite like the scent of the Succes soap.

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Got my shipping notification! Supposed to be here Monday, so Tuesday morning I'll get my first shave in. Can't wait!