Shave review of Janus Adjustable razor and Shave Off vs Gillette F4 Toggle

Janus Razors Eric, Thanks so much for taking the time to answer some questions about your new Razor! Your introduction was outstanding, and I also really liked the explanation about the Prototype vs. Production Head and why the changes won’t affect the shave. For someone like me who doesn’t know anything about Razor manufacturing, it seemed the changes would have to change the Shave. Your explanation coupled with Dragonsbeard’s Shave reviews have answered a lot of my questions/concerns regarding this Razor. Unfortunately/Fortunately for me, Franks Beautiful pictures of his Vintage Toggle next to your new Janus Toggle May have sent me down a new Rabbit Hole. I’m currently looking for a clean D1 that I can have cleaned up and re-plated as a close friend of mine says they are wonderful shavers! I’m excited to continue following this thread, and thanks again for sharing your expertise on the subject!

This is great....lots of cool info....just a question on PVD

I googled it and seems like it is similar to coatings like DLC,....I could have sworn Ive heard the term DLC
used with a certain kind of Ikon razor some years ago. Theres also similar coating that Ive heard of which you see in certain
high-end timepieces like IWC/Panerai etc....is PVD the same....is it to protect against scratches? If so, does it protect against the scratches
a blade tends to lead on the blade tray area? And of course does it protect against unintentional bumps?

From the photo I'm thinking it may be a combination of the high polish which actually does have a scientific explanation why it has better glide than a matte finish and if your finisher is going for Wolfman level finish then that surely can't hurt the glide.  Also looking at the angle of the blade against the skin with that curved  polished SB underneath may have something to do with it also I'm thinking.

Just checked the CAD files, and the radius of the round on the Janus SB is much larger (>30%) than that on the F4 SB. How big of a smoothness difference did you notice between the F4 and the Janus prototype at the same settings?

I don't really have a good answer for that.

I believe a good polish adds to smoothness. But I don't have science to back that up. For Janus Production, the polishing vendor has a good 2 step plan to match the Wolfman polish which I think is the gold standard.



The 'large' radius of the Janus SB that contacts the skin during shaving might be a contributing factor to smoothness.

Polished? Is just the bars that will be polished SS? I thought the Janus was PVD coated...or do you mean the polish job done to the base material prior to coating?

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Yes, the Janus is PVD coated. Polishing is surface prep that removes surface imperfections such as machining marks and micro pits that get exposed after machining. The PVD coating which is microns thick needs a defect free surface to stick to. The lower the Ra, the better the PVD coating will look. Without good polishing, the PVD coating will look horrible (patchy & matte). All the parts get polished individually and then PVD coated individually and then assembly.

Oh boy, I'm liking the sound of that. Are there any photos of parts or whole razors that exhibit the mirror? Have I missed them in a newsletter, Kickstarter, etc.?

Are there any pictures of "prototype production" low dome heads you can share...or is the low dome head confined to 1s and 0s at this point?

By the way, the information provided about the exposure and gap adjustments from prototype to production is very much appreciated. Increased exposure is better than gap, to me, but you did both. Given the information Mr. Beard provided about the prototypes shave characteristics, I'm quite certain the changes made will render a final product that exceeds current efficiency caps. Thank you for that...it's not a requirement, really, but if you can, why not? Even if some of the 17-4 smoothness is sacrificed. It's an easy trade for me but I get I'm in the minority here.

I wrote the Janus off my acquisition list, until the newsletter where you announced that you increased gaps/exposure after user feedback. That perked my ears up and put it back on the radar. Now, you throw more gap AND exposure at me? Very nice.

Will the Kickstarter razor serialization be any different than the full retail version? I'm thinking of residual razor value and ways to keep it worth what you paid for it. Low serials, limited serials, color specific serials, etc. A limited edition PVD color scheme for those first 100 razors maybe, would be nice. Heck, upgraded packaging, anything to identify those razors and add some additional cool factor? Maybe I'm overthinking it but I like my gear to be somewhat elusive/exclusive and know I can turn it easily without getting killed on it. Thoughts?

Polished? Is just the bars that will be polished SS? I thought the Janus was PVD coated...or do you mean the polish job done to the base material prior to coating?

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Yes, the Janus is PVD coated. Polishing is surface prep that removes surface imperfections such as machining marks and micro pits that get exposed after machining. The PVD coating which is microns thick needs a defect free surface to stick to. The lower the Ra, the better the PVD coating will look. Without good polishing, the PVD coating will look horrible (patchy & matte). All the parts get polished individually and then PVD coated individually and then assembly.

Oh boy, I'm liking the sound of that.  Are there any photos of parts or whole razors that exhibit the mirror?  Have I missed them in a newsletter, Kickstarter, etc.?  

Are there any pictures of "prototype production" low dome heads you can share...or is the low dome head confined to 1s and 0s at this point?

By the way, the information provided about the exposure and gap adjustments from prototype to production is very much appreciated. Increased exposure is better than gap, to me, but you did both.  Given the information Mr. Beard provided about the prototypes shave characteristics, I'm quite certain the changes made will render a final product that exceeds current efficiency caps. Thank you for that...it's not a requirement, really, but if you can, why not?  Even if some of the 17-4 smoothness is sacrificed.  It's an easy trade for me but I get I'm in the minority here.

I wrote the Janus off my acquisition list, until the newsletter where you announced that you increased gaps/exposure after user feedback.  That perked my ears up and put it back on the radar.  Now, you throw more gap AND exposure at me?  Very nice.

Dragonsbeard asked me the same question yesterday. It is a good question. I don't have a prototype production hybrid. I plan to make the low profile doors & bridges and do a swap by early August. Why so much further out? I wanna produce these low profile doors & bridges the way they will be produced in production. Remaking these two parts the way they would be in production will eliminate hesitations like..."the new low profile doors & bridges were not produced the way they would be in production so performance of production units could be different".

From the photo I'm thinking it may be a combination of the high polish which actually does have a scientific explanation why it has better glide than a matte finish and if your finisher is going for Wolfman level finish then that surely can't hurt the glide.  Also looking at the angle of the blade against the skin with that curved  polished SB underneath may have something to do with it also I'm thinking.

Just checked the CAD files, and the radius of the round on the Janus SB is much larger (>30%) than that on the F4 SB. How big of a smoothness difference did you notice between the F4 and the Janus prototype at the same settings?

Eric if I were to use a percentage scale with the Janus at a 10 then I'd say the Toggle is an 8 1/2 . Hope that helps and looking back I now wish I had done an ATG pass to see if those numbers would change.

Will the Kickstarter razor serialization be any different than the full retail version? I'm thinking of residual razor value and ways to keep it worth what you paid for it. Low serials, limited serials, color specific serials, etc. A limited edition PVD color scheme for those first 100 razors maybe, would be nice. Heck, upgraded packaging, anything to identify those razors and add some additional cool factor? Maybe I'm overthinking it but I like my gear to be somewhat elusive/exclusive and know I can turn it easily without getting killed on it. Thoughts?

I'm open to suggestions. Perhaps I can do an interesting color combination incorporating all the PVD colors. The crowd here can give input on what color each part will be for this unique razor that will never be made again after Kickstarter. I will then do a render of this unique color combination for folks to see before firming up that option.

Alternatively, a unique texture pattern on the dial and handle might be the way to go. I'm open to suggestions.

From the photo I'm thinking it may be a combination of the high polish which actually does have a scientific explanation why it has better glide than a matte finish and if your finisher is going for Wolfman level finish then that surely can't hurt the glide.  Also looking at the angle of the blade against the skin with that curved  polished SB underneath may have something to do with it also I'm thinking.

Just checked the CAD files, and the radius of the round on the Janus SB is much larger (>30%) than that on the F4 SB. How big of a smoothness difference did you notice between the F4 and the Janus prototype at the same settings?

Eric if I were to use a percentage scale with the Janus at a 10 then I'd say the Toggle is an 8 1/2 . Hope that helps and looking back I now wish I had done an ATG pass to see if those numbers would change.

Thanks.

Hello Eric, Thank you for making yourself available. Can you please explain any design features which you improved from the Toggle to keep it free of clogging up? Can you please explain any regular cleaning and maintenance you would recommend for the razor? Can you please explain how one would have to go about refurbishing/cleaning the razor? I understand that Janus Razors is a new company, but is there any guarantees or services that the company will offer?

Thanks!