Haircut & Shave Ti 083 DFS passaround

Its been a week since this razor was shipped to the next participant so has it been received yet? Is it still in transit? what's going on with this pass around?

It had to go from California to Rhode Island and there is no mail service today so it may still be awaiting delivery.

I was under the understanding that pass around razors were to be sent USPS Priority mail which is 3 days coast to coast. It's been 7 days so far and no one has said anything other than it was shipped!! Maybe this is the reason I don't do pass arounds as most people just don't care...

I shipped it on the 15th and it was delivered on the 18th:

Delivered
June 18, 04:00PM
Lincoln, RI


Let’s have a little compassion and patience for other people. It’s a razor not an organ transplant.

Got it! Working on my initial thoughts but may have it ready tomorrow depending on when I can get it done

I shipped it on the 15th and it was delivered on the 18th:

Delivered
June 18, 04:00PM
Lincoln, RI


Let’s have a little compassion and patience for other people. It’s a razor not an organ transplant.

If it were just an organ transplant I wouldn't worry, but this is a razor, damnit!

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

First, a little background on me as a shaver , I have had 1 prior experience with a H&S razor with the N075 pass around which was very smooth but not as efficient as I wanted. My current razors are a WR2 1.20 Wolfman, Timeless Ti Slim SB, and a Paradigm DB. My favorite razor is the Wolfman which is quite efficient and smooth and I have been looking for another razor to match its characteristics with a slight bump in smoothness for days when my skin is feeling a little irritated. I shave every other day typically and I shave just my neck as I have a short beard terminating at my jawline. So here goes...

Aesthetics/Design: 
This is quite a premium feeling and looking razor right off the bat. It feels very much like a surgical instrument, light and finely tuned for it's purpose. It is light but not overtly so and the polishing is top notch. My nitpicks about this are that the post feels a little short and I feel that the blade clamping is a little lacking but I will address that in the shave. I appreciate the case that it comes with and can see how it would be helpful to use especially when traveling. However, if I was to nitpick on the case, I wish that the foam were installed the other way around so that the case opens like a book. Currently, when you open the case with the clasp facing to the right, the razor is upside down. I would flip the foam so when opening the case like a book, the razor would be head side up and not down. But these are very minor details and do not impact the most important thing which is the shave. 

Shave Experience: 
To be honest, I'm not sure how to feel about this razor. I have two shaves with it so far and on one hand, I think it does a fairly decent job at shaving FOR ME but on the other hand, I think there are some aspects of the razor that just don't work. Overall, I think my early impressions are that I won't be looking to buy this one or the new Ti efficient. My first shave went like this: 

Blade: 2nd Use Polsilver SI (switched to new unused Polsilver SI)
Soap: Noble Otter Rawr (one of my favorite sentimental soaps as it reminds me of my daughter picking "dandies" in the field out behind our house.)
Brush: Dogclaration B11
Aftershave: Noble Otter Rawr

Starting out the shave WTG, the razor felt a little rough as I was trying to dial in the angle. I figured it might be the blade so I switched to a brand new Polsilver SI. The shave got marginally better but I wondered if this was me becoming accustomed to the razor/user error.  As I continued the shave, I still felt that the razor had a tendency to skip and then dig into my skin. It did seem to have difficulty going ATG and I felt a little raw with it. When I was done, I expected to have a lot of irritation and maybe some weepers but much to my surprise, no weepers and about mild/medium amount of irritation. It left me DFS as well. 

Fast forward to the second shave: 

Blade: brand new Personna Med Prep
Soap: Gentlemans Nod Ernest in the new C4 cooling base
Brush: SOC Butterscotch Boar
Aftershave: None

Slightly better shave today but I'm attributing this more to using it a second time and becoming familiar but still ran into the same problems mentioned before. So rough patches with the razor on all 3 passes with particular difficulty going ATG for me. Overall, this razor shaves okay for me but is definitely not as smooth as my other razors and the difficulty while shaving (even though the outcome is not half bad) makes this a no-go for me. I mentioned the blade clamping as above and I think this is a design issue for me. I say this with no experience in razor design or engineering but comparing other razors to this one, I think the clamping is lost on the bottom base plate with the overly large lather channels. The blade is only clamped top/bottom on the ends of the baseplate and supported only by the top cap where the cutting edge of the razor sits. I'm wondering if this is contributing to the aggressiveness I was feeling with the shave? Yes I know the razor is marketed as aggressive but other razors can be aggressive and smooth. Heck, my Wolfman is a larger gap but shaves far better than this razor for me. So there must be something about the way this head is designed but just doesn't work for me. I'll be passing it along in the next day or 2 for sure. 

On a side note, I'm quite impressed with the new C4 base from GN. My only prior experience had been the original release of Zaharoff signature and no matter what I tried, I could not get a good lather out of it. But this new base was phenomenal and the slight cooling from the WS23 was great. Will definitely be looking to add some GN to the den. 

Thanks for the opportunity to participate in the pass around!

Razor is in route to me and showing Wednesday arrival. Messaged muzichead for his shipping already.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

First, a little background on me as a shaver , I have had 1 prior experience with a H&S razor with the N075 pass around which was very smooth but not as efficient as I wanted. My current razors are a WR2 1.20 Wolfman, Timeless Ti Slim SB, and a Paradigm DB. My favorite razor is the Wolfman which is quite efficient and smooth and I have been looking for another razor to match its characteristics with a slight bump in smoothness for days when my skin is feeling a little irritated. I shave every other day typically and I shave just my neck as I have a short beard terminating at my jawline. So here goes...

Aesthetics/Design: 
This is quite a premium feeling and looking razor right off the bat. It feels very much like a surgical instrument, light and finely tuned for it's purpose. It is light but not overtly so and the polishing is top notch. My nitpicks about this are that the post feels a little short and I feel that the blade clamping is a little lacking but I will address that in the shave. I appreciate the case that it comes with and can see how it would be helpful to use especially when traveling. However, if I was to nitpick on the case, I wish that the foam were installed the other way around so that the case opens like a book. Currently, when you open the case with the clasp facing to the right, the razor is upside down. I would flip the foam so when opening the case like a book, the razor would be head side up and not down. But these are very minor details and do not impact the most important thing which is the shave. 

Shave Experience: 
To be honest, I'm not sure how to feel about this razor. I have two shaves with it so far and on one hand, I think it does a fairly decent job at shaving FOR ME but on the other hand, I think there are some aspects of the razor that just don't work. Overall, I think my early impressions are that I won't be looking to buy this one or the new Ti efficient. My first shave went like this: 

Blade: 2nd Use Polsilver SI (switched to new unused Polsilver SI)
Soap: Noble Otter Rawr (one of my favorite sentimental soaps as it reminds me of my daughter picking "dandies" in the field out behind our house.)
Brush: Dogclaration B11
Aftershave: Noble Otter Rawr

Starting out the shave WTG, the razor felt a little rough as I was trying to dial in the angle. I figured it might be the blade so I switched to a brand new Polsilver SI. The shave got marginally better but I wondered if this was me becoming accustomed to the razor/user error.  As I continued the shave, I still felt that the razor had a tendency to skip and then dig into my skin. It did seem to have difficulty going ATG and I felt a little raw with it. When I was done, I expected to have a lot of irritation and maybe some weepers but much to my surprise, no weepers and about mild/medium amount of irritation. It left me DFS as well. 

Fast forward to the second shave: 

Blade: brand new Personna Med Prep
Soap: Gentlemans Nod Ernest in the new C4 cooling base
Brush: SOC Butterscotch Boar
Aftershave: None

Slightly better shave today but I'm attributing this more to using it a second time and becoming familiar but still ran into the same problems mentioned before. So rough patches with the razor on all 3 passes with particular difficulty going ATG for me. Overall, this razor shaves okay for me but is definitely not as smooth as my other razors and the difficulty while shaving (even though the outcome is not half bad) makes this a no-go for me. I mentioned the blade clamping as above and I think this is a design issue for me. I say this with no experience in razor design or engineering but comparing other razors to this one, I think the clamping is lost on the bottom base plate with the overly large lather channels. The blade is only clamped top/bottom on the ends of the baseplate and supported only by the top cap where the cutting edge of the razor sits. I'm wondering if this is contributing to the aggressiveness I was feeling with the shave? Yes I know the razor is marketed as aggressive but other razors can be aggressive and smooth. Heck, my Wolfman is a larger gap but shaves far better than this razor for me. So there must be something about the way this head is designed but just doesn't work for me. I'll be passing it along in the next day or 2 for sure. 

On a side note, I'm quite impressed with the new C4 base from GN. My only prior experience had been the original release of Zaharoff signature and no matter what I tried, I could not get a good lather out of it. But this new base was phenomenal and the slight cooling from the WS23 was great. Will definitely be looking to add some GN to the den. 

Thanks for the opportunity to participate in the pass around!

GREAT thorough review !!!

The Eagle has landed a day early. On deck for tomorrow!

Wednesday June 29, 2022
Razor: H&S Ti .83 Aggressive
Blade: Wizamet
Brush: Trotter Kickflip/Synthetic
Soap: Ethos Vanilla Safi
AS 1: Humphrey's Alcoholado Maravilla 70
AS 2: Winter Reserve Small Batch Shave Tonic
Fragrance:
Consecutive Daily Shaves - # 1,330

Yesterday was for the most part a low budget shave. Today took it to the other end of the spectrum and was just flat out luxurious. Reserving thoughts for another shave or 2 but Davey liked the .83 Aggressive Ti by H&S !! Have agreat day !

Thursday June 30, 2022
Razor: H&S Ti .83 Aggressive
Blade: Wizamet
Brush: SV 2.0 Cocobolo
Soap: SV 70th Anniversary
AS 1: Humphrey's Alcoholado Maravilla 70
AS 2: SV 70th Anniversary
Fragrance:
Consecutive Daily Shaves - # 1,331

2nd shave with the H&S 0.83 Aggressive and I have to say it has been a nice experience. The packaging is something I always like about H&S and the machine tolerances and finish are to be admired. Aji keeps refining and improving his releases and this one was a great smooth shave. Still more than I need as a daily shaver but one I could use as such. It was a pleasure and privilege to use and I thank Aji and andrewjs18 for making it available in this way. Mailing this morning to muzichead because I am anxious to try the Lamba which arrived yesterday and don't want to hold either razor up. Have a great day Everyone !