Haircut & Shave N075 SS & Hybrid Al DE Passaround Review – Simply the Best Mild DE

The New York handle sure is a looker! I like that you can specify length with the TiBam handles. I would go with an 80mm length, as well.

Razor: H&S No75 mixed metal
Blade: Nacet
Brush: Paladin Cleo L6 knot
Soap: Wholly Kaw Eroe
AS: Wholly Kaw Eroe

First day using the No75 w/aluminum plate. Initial impressions are that it’s hard for me to get over the look esthetically, being mixed metals. I’ve also never been a fan of how the handle looked. But onto the first shave.

It’s been almost 2 years since I’ve used a razor that has felt this mild (timeless .68). But my journey has taken me from mild to aggressive, and nowadays back to mild razors (as I shave daily). Since the timeless .68 days, my technique has gotten wayyy better. My current daily’s are CG lvl 2, Tatara Nodachi, and vector. This is much milder than any of those. But somehow the efficiency is almost on par with them. I did my usually 2 pass WTG & ATG. Was able to get my cheeks almost BBS and my neck DFS which is mostly what I aim for nowadays as my neck hair grows straight up my neck on the bottom half. There was some extra buffing done during those 2 passes, but this razor is so smooth & mild that it brought on 0 irritation. Blade feel is minimal but still there enough to get the audible feedback of cutting whiskers. I am very pleased with this shave and my face ended up with absolutely zero irritation. It’s one of those razors that if I ever had to look good for pictures or something, I’d reach for because of the low possibility of nicking myself or irritating my skin. The handle proved to be more functional than I thought. The base has the ability to cradle the pinky perfectly when doing my ATG pass. 

I recently read a thread where someone sort of broke down baseplate safety bars into two categories. Thin and geometrically “sharp or defined” edges or a bit bulkier & rounded edges. He stated that with the more “defined” safety bars like the Nodachi, you have to be more precise with pressure and turns, like driving a sports car. But with razors that have safety bars that are more “rounded” they handle more like a boat to where you don’t have to be AS precise with pressure and it smooths out the shave a bit. Don’t know if that is the case but in my simple head it kind of makes sense and to me the H&as No75 al falls into this boat like category. After trying the gen 1 vs gen 2 CG plates I liked the looks of the Gen 1s more, but the gen 2s were ultimately the smoother shave for me. 

The cutting edge soaps were a nice surprise as I had been wanting to try them for a while now. Even tho I didn’t use them for my first run due to just getting the WK matching AS yesterday, I will be using them tomorrow. My wife gave the scents a 9/10 on her wife scent scale, which is a pretty high number only associated with a few other soaps that I own. Will report back once I finish testing this wonderfully mild razor out. 

Pretty brush

Pretty brush

Thanks! She’s a plush soft monster for for luxury days haha.

Final shave today with the H&S al before I send it off. Through the week I used this razor everyday with a Nacet blade and it provided very mild feeling shaves. I shaved off with it between a charcoal goods lvl 1 and lvl 2. The efficiency was better than the lvl 1 but lacked compared to the lvl 2, which is my favorite daily driver. The last shave I swapped out the handle with my CG SS stinger which threw my game off a bit cuz I ended up cutting my face up a bit using too much pressure when I’m my mind I kept telling myself it was mild. Completely user error tho with too much pressure & swipes. Overall I’d say this razor is not for me, I’m looking for something with a bit more efficiency. Have the SS razor incoming from a trade so curious to see if it will kick it up a notch. The biggest takeaways I got from this razor are that Im in the middle of the road to more when it comes to efficiency that I want (this razor was on the 3 or 4 / 10 for me for efficiency) and that I love the handle, which I didn’t think I would at all. I’d say on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being baby face with some light whiskers and 10 being a straight up wolfman, my facial hair falls on a 7. I could definitely  see this razor being great for folks with a 1-4/5 beard, if that makes sense.

The cutting edge soaps were superb and I plan on getting myself his Calm (essential oils only). The residual slickness is great and when I’m working on skin stretching for my neck, my checks were still slippery. The citrus wood was my favorite of the two and my wife said it reminded her of some kind of japanese bath soap. Not too citrusy, not too woodsy, a perfect blend. Razor is off to the next shaver. Big thanks to dan and Aji for making this passaround happen.

The Citrus Wood also appealed more with time. David definitely a top three soap straight out of the blocks to my estimation. Balance is his product’s strength with solid execution

Gents,

Thank you [font=Roboto, sans-serif]DanLaw and Aji for the opportunity to try this razor.[/font]

My remarks:

• Cutting Edge Soap: First let me make a few comments on Cutting Edge soap. I thought it was outstanding. It lathered up very easily and the lather was, rich, thick and protective. Residual slickness was good. Both scents were pleasant and of the two, I preferred the Lemongrass & Lavender. 
  
• Blade Selection and Shaves: On to the razor. I shaved with this razor three times. For the first, I used a nacet (1), second a perma sharp (1), and the third a feather (1). I had my best shave with the feather. When using a mild razor, I tend to have the best results when using a very sharp blade. 
  
• Feel: As Dan mentions in his review, this razor has a .75mm gap and neutral blade exposure. For those who like a smooth shave where you can’t feel the blade, this razor might be ideal. I am looking forward to comparing it to the 17-4 SB and which has positive blade exposure.
  
• Aggressiveness-to-Feedback Ratio: It is definitely a mild razor, yet it is quite efficient. So, I would say it is a bit more aggressive than it feels.  And so while the razor feels very safe, it may be possible to over-shave. When testing new razors, I like to use alum. I had a bit of alum irritation after each shave. But less on the third than the first. I suspect that after a few more shaves, I could reduce the alum burn to a negligible amount. 
  
• Balance: The balance point on the razor was right in the middle of the knurling on the handle so I found it comfortable to hold from that perspective. It felt a bit handle heavy; it will be interesting to compare to the Ti, which may be more evenly head-to-handle balanced. 
  
• Shaving Against the Grain: This is one of the things I look for in a razor, as it is typically a challenge for me. The first two passes (WTG, XTG) are easy but the ATG is the litmus test. This razor passed this with flying colors. In addition to the head geometry, I think the ease of shaving ATG had to do with the relative lightness of the head. I was able to maintain minimal pressure while shaving ATG.
  
• Build Quality and Aesthetics: Build quality is excellent. Some have commented on the aesthetics of the mixed metal; that did not bother me - I actually thought the black base plate looked cool. Also, the blade tabs are completely covered. While not a big deal for me I prefer it slightly vs. exposed tabs. 
  
• In summary, an extremely well-built razor ideal for anyone looking for a smooth, mild, yet efficient razor with minimal blade-feel.
  

I will write more after testing out the 17-4 and the Ti.

Dan - thanks again for letting me in on this pass around. I await your instructions on where to send it next. 

I've had my aluminum baseplate N075 for a few days now. The blade feel is almost nonexistent, drastically less than my 1.05 WR2 for point of reference. Unbelievably smooth and forgiving, but the rigidity and efficiency make tough spots easy. It really requires almost no thought and easily gets me to BBS without worry. I have the Ti P076 coming in a few weeks and if it shaves anywhere near as well as this I'm going to be very happy. The machining quality is phenomenal and I like the sort of smokey look to the steel. I was worried the black baseplate would bother me, but I actually like it now, it strikes me as more tool-like than some of my other razors. If you're looking for the perfect daily driver, this is it. Easily enough efficiency to get to BBS, but so mild and forgiving.

Just purchased a haircut & shave co. N075 mixed metal with the new titanium coated stainless steel top cap and handle. It's going to look so dope! Can't wait. Selling my tatara in favor of it.

I recently bought for myself. I asked to replace handle. I am very happy with razor. Very gentle and very effective. A lovely razor.