Paradigm Diamondback Titanium Pass Around

Next time I want to go after another rookie like me.  Cutty Sharp reviews were amazing.  I feel like George Selkirk with a lot less talent.  I am bringing to bat my Oliblade, Merkur 34C, and a Schick Krona for comparison.  I am also going to dust off my thesaurus to at hopefully at least find unique adjectives to dazzle you with.  

Next time I want to go after another rookie like me.  Cutty Sharp reviews were amazing.  I feel like George Selkirk with a lot less talent.  I am bringing to bat my Oliblade, Merkur 34C, and a Schick Krona for comparison.  I am also going to dust off my thesaurus to at hopefully at least find unique adjectives to dazzle you with.  

Too funny.

I've been doing a lot of razor and blade testing this year in an effort to sell off the collection and decrease clutter. So although I now have less razors, the downside is I have more words and opinions!

Shave 4 - I attempted a 1st pass atg with the razor and called it quits after a few strokes. It didn't go well but I don't hold that against the razor. I did finish the shave up with 2 wtg passes and I did feel a bit more blade feel. I think this had to do with the fact that this was the first time I did a shave around the 24 hour mark vs my others which were around 48  hours.

Final Thoughts

Pros -  

Plug-in-play - I like that this razor is completely functional to me as it comes. It's already polished and the handle is not too heavy. With my Overlander I had to hand polish to top cap to reduce drag and I'm using a titanium handle because the 90mm one that came with it is too heavy. The razor is also perfectly balanced.

Efficiency - this has been the most efficient razor I have used in a long while...perhaps ever. I have used a lot of more aggressive razors but I have never really noticed any increased efficiency.... Certainly not any that would justify the aggression. The comfort to efficiency ratio is just superb.

ATG - this one of 3 razors of the 40 I have used that I can go atg with comfortably. This is probably the most important factor to me and it is impressive.

Blade tabs are covered - that's how I roll. 

Cons - 

Aggression - I barely noticed this when I was waiting 48 hours between shaves but when compared to my Overlander, there is a slight increase in blade feel. This was more noticeable when I did a shave with it at ~24 hours. If you have super sensitive skin, you may not enjoy this. I would say this was at the upper threshold of what I was willing to tolerate as I like as minimal of blade feel as possible.

Handle - as much as I liked the light weight I prefer more grip. 

Titanium - this is a double-edged sword. I love the weight and balance but don't like the increased price and scratches. Honestly, I think stainless steel would be my choice and preferably at a lower price. If I found the handle too heavy, I have a few titanium ones in the collection that I could use - no biggy. 

Blade Rigidity - I honestly felt (what I would call) "chatter or vibration" with this razor and I felt it on every shave. I didn't notice an increase in aftershave burn, tugging, or irritation but it was just very annoying. I just didn't like the feel of it. When comparing the blade support and blade reveal of the Overlander vs. the Diamondack - the Overlander won in both categories. I don't know if this is a subjective preference or what, but I just don't like that feeling and I wish there could be a v2 or extra rigid version of this razor that had both an extended baseplate support and extended top cap to reduce blade reveal. I would take the trade off in less lather slots any day of the week. I'll post some pics to illustrate this.

Aesthetics - this is completely subjective and doesn't really play a roll in much but it is not as attractive to me as my basic polished Wolfman WR2 with WRH1 handle. It is, however, on par to the Overlander to my eye!

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Overall - Given the fact I have some razors already that I really like and have been trying to downsize - this is tough. I think that this is where I stand. I went to website to see about the pre-order and it was sold out - ha! Classic! I suppose that makes my life a bit easier. At the regular price, I would probably be a pass. At the pre-order price, I would be "seriously considering" it. If this was stainless steel (preferably 316L), I would be  "probably buying it." If it was stainless steel and a little more rigid, I would definitely be buying it.

Thanks to dtownvino  and Paradigm for this passaround. It was an epic one. Definitely within the top 2 or top 3 in my collection!

Just to illustrate blade rigidity - I am assuming these two factors play a roll in this but I suppose its anyone's guess.

You can see that Overlander (right) has 4 tabs that extend past where the Diamondback's support is. Please note however, the two center tabs are doing all the work as the two outer tabs miss clamping the blade that far out. That being said, it seems to work adequately, although I wish all 4 clamped the blade.



With regards to blade reveal, you can also see that the Overlander top cap extends further revealing less blade as well. This is not the best picture set as the angles for both are a little off and not the same. The focus is also a little blurry. However, you can get the idea if you look at the amount of blade you can see. I think the bottom part of the inside-facing blades are the clearest.

Great shave today, smooth and efficient… Two pass glass!

Great shave today, smooth and efficient… Two pass glass!

TPG FTW!

The razor arrived today.  As noted by others, it is gorgeous!!!  Cutty Sharp did an outstanding job cleaning it.   He even provided a washer—thank you!  In terms of build quality, it is top-drawer.  I can definitely tell it is an elite razor by simply holding and admiring it.  Thank you dtownvino for allowing me the opportunity to try it.  

My first shave will be in the morning.  But tonight, I drink bourbon!!

The razor arrived today.  As noted by others, it is gorgeous!!!  Cutty Sharp did an outstanding job cleaning it.   He even provided a washer—thank you!  In terms of build quality, it is top-drawer.  I can definitely tell it is an elite razor by simply holding and admiring it.  Thank you dtownvino for allowing me the opportunity to try it.  

My first shave will be in the morning.  But tonight, I drink bourbon!!

Glad it arrived safe! Enjoy!

I used the Ti Diamondback for the first time yesterday.  Anticipating it would be more efficient and aggressive than the Merkur 34c and the Oliblade at settings 2 to 2.5, I used exclusively ETHOS products from pre-shave to post-shave.  I knew ETHOS would provide me the best protection and post-shave experience.  I went with Vetivert, which is an amazing scent.  I also used my new top blade that Mike introduced me to--the Personna Israeli Red.

The easy part of the review is talk about the razor's build and aesthetics.  It has been covered in detail, but I have to join the crowd in saying that the razor is truly stunning.  The finish is nothing like I have ever seen.  The handle length is also perfect for me.  It made it much easier to hold and eliminated the need for aggressive knurling.   I expected the razor to weigh less than the Merkur and Oliblade, and that turned out to be true.  The balance of the razor, however, really surprised me.  It it excellent, which resulted in the razor feeling both perfectly balanced and weighted.  The titanium finish is exquisite and slick, which allowed the head to easily glide across my face.  This is simply an ELITE razor period!!!   

Now the hard part of the review...describing a shaving experience that was entirely new to me.  As a relatively new convert to wet shaving who is using very mild razors, I am not used to much or any blade feel.  I also usually do not experience the feel of a blade slicing through facial hair.  The Diamondback provided the most feedback I have ever experienced from a shave.  I did anticipate a somewhat unique experience.  I, therefore, went slow and concentrated on technique.  The blade easily mowed down my stubble without any weeper or rash.  I did have some redness of my cheeks close to my nose, but that was most likely due to a breakdown in technique.  That is something I have also experienced with other razors when I am a bit off on the correct angle or mistakenly apply pressure.

I limited the shave to two passes.  A WTG and a XTG.  Based upon the feel, I knew that two passes would leave me with very close shave.  It did!  The shave was precise and efficient and left me with what I view as a DFS.  I was not trying to even attempt a BBS.     

My second shave will be tomorrow morning and I expect my enjoyment of the razor to increase with each shave.  My thoughts will not be so focused on the new "experience."  Regardless, the first shave exceeded my expectation and I look forward to using it the remainder of the week.  Thank you dtownvino for giving me the opportunity to test drive this extraordinary razor. 

To hopefully give you an understanding of any difference in blade exposure between the Diamondback and the Merkur 34c and the Oliblade at settings 2 to 2.5, I will attach some pictures after this post.

Thank you for taking the time to read my first review of the razor.

The Ti Diamondback 



The Merkur



The Oliblade at 2 and 2.5 settings