HomelikeShaving Taiga Adjustable Razor tester....

First shave with the Taiga - put in a new Polsilver super iridium blade - I have to say, the Taiga has really nice heft and balance - It's been a while since I've used a Rex Ambassador, but I recall not liking the short handle - this handle feels better with great grip. First pass on 5 - some blade feel, but no nicks and felt smooth - did a second pass starting on 3, but I think that was too mild (it's the Neutral setting on this razor) so bumped it up to 4. Probably could have just left it at 5 for both passes and the final touch-up (which calls into question the reason for an adjustable, but hey - it's a pass-around )

I'll use it a couple more times and then pass it on, but on first use it presents as a solid razor at a nice weight with easy blade loading and adjustability.

First shave with the Taiga - put in a new Polsilver super iridium blade - I have to say, the Taiga has really nice heft and balance - It's been a while since I've used a Rex Ambassador, but I recall not liking the short handle - this handle feels better with great grip. First pass on 5 - some blade feel, but no nicks and felt smooth - did a second pass starting on 3, but I think that was too mild (it's the Neutral setting on this razor) so bumped it up to 4. Probably could have just left it at 5 for both passes and the final touch-up (which calls into question the reason for an adjustable, but hey - it's a pass-around )

I'll use it a couple more times and then pass it on, but on first use it presents as a solid razor at a nice weight with easy blade loading and adjustability.

You always surprise me! When did you get an Evo brush haha?

You always surprise me! When did you get an Evo brush haha?

Oh, right - and first shave with the Evo brush - wanted a synthetic for travel (although that's probably done now!) and wanted an alternative to my CH2 synthetic, and these are back in stock at WCS.

FWIW, I like it - softer than most of my badgers, but strong enough backbone - it'll stay for a while

Second shave with the Taiga after not shaving yesterday - I just kept it at 4 for both passes - I have nothing negative to say about this razor - smooth and efficient shave, not much blade feel, but it does the job easily - heavy enough to let the razor do the work, but balanced so that it's maneuverable and not cumbersome. I guess the only question for potential buyers is whether you need an adjustable - this was an easy shave without touching the dial. I know I should play with the adjustability more, but it's hard to imagine a closer or smoother shave than this (the new polsilver blade also contributed ).

Maybe one more shave tomorrow, then heading to Florida!

An unpopular opinion here, but I wasn't too impressed with the Taiga. I found it too mild even when opened up beyond 6. I found the Rex at 1.75 to be more efficient. However, it's definitely smoother than the Rex. I can't use the Rex past 2, and that's already pushing it. The Taiga remained smooth even after 6.
I think the final version of the Taiga has greater efficiency (can someone confirm this?), so my feelings might be different with the final production version.

I'll be sending it off to the next person tomorrow.

Thanks for the pass around

An unpopular opinion here, but I wasn't too impressed with the Taiga. I found it too mild even when opened up beyond 6. I found the Rex at 1.75 to be more efficient. However, it's definitely smoother than the Rex. I can't use the Rex past 2, and that's already pushing it. The Taiga remained smooth even after 6.
I think the final version of the Taiga has greater efficiency (can someone confirm this?), so my feelings might be different with the final production version.

I'll be sending it off to the next person tomorrow. 

Thanks for the pass around

George or shavemd can reply your question better, but I remember he used same head for both prototype and the final version.

I actually loved the prototype but I do
like the final version better. I found both to
have very high efficiency and to be very smooth opened all the way up but everyone will have varying opinions. I do prefer the SB over the OC plate though. I am still highly impressed with the Taiga.


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For me the OC baseplate stepped up the efficiency without compromising the smoothness. I am really enjoying mine.

Razor arrived yesterday and I put its parts through an alcohol bath. I noted that the lower limit of the dial is on "2" so I set the Taiga to 4.5 as a starting point. (I like using my Gibbs at N + 0.5). I had a very smooth 2-pass shave with a new Polsilver blade. It could have been a little bit closer, so I'm going to open it up tomorrow.

Third shave with the Taiga today. Setup was GD Preshave and Saponificio Varesino/Asylum Flying Mango. I was interested to check out how the Taiga opened all the way would compare to my favorite ultra-close razor, a Charcoal Goods Level 3 SB. I used a Polsilver SI with 3 shaves on it, switching the blade between razors after each razor's half pass. After a 3-pass shave, there was no comparison. The CG was much closer than the Taiga. While the Taiga felt smoother on my face, I couldn't argue with the results - at least from the standpoint of the closeness of the shave.