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

Wow, the depth of colour on that Ebonite is stunning, between it and Loot’s new brush, I’m sitting here empty handed with nothing to open.  I feel like I’m at someone else’s birthday party....

He has cool red ebonite one: https://www.bradsearsshaveworks.com/coll...ts/chalice

I skipped this one and not regretting it. James and Andrew almost had me regretting not jumping in on this one but I’m good. I am enjoying reading everyone’s take on it though. I’m sure it’s a great shaver and I commend Eric for taking on this massive project and I’m sure if he brings this out as a full production razor or if he releases something else, it will be great! Have fun guys and keep the comments and reviews coming!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I would have been in on it had he not painted the red dots onto the razor. Hearing that the production model is more blade forward has eased my sense of regret at not getting in on it for such a trivial reason.

I'm sure many more reviews are coming, and it may well become a favorite razor for some, and if it goes into full production I may well still buy one. But for now I will sit back and enjoy the ongoing reviews.

Ok I'll make this short and to the point after a two pass Shave on setting #9 with a once used Feather and with a touch up pass just to feel setting #5 I will say as much as I like Eric and consider him a friend I'm very disappointed in this production model and all my preliminary concerns came true. I'm sure I'm going to take slack for this but I'm calling a spade a spade and giving my honest opinion.  This production version of the Janus is like a completely different razor from the prototype in many ways and most definitely the Shave. To begin with opening the box I immediately noticed the finish on the razor was not nearly as good as the prototype. I know Eric went to another manufacture and maybe he should have stayed with the first one as I have machine marks and fine line scratches all along the doors and on the SB's. There are also a bunch of them on the top part of the toggle knob and under the doors as well. One of my red dots is crooked. The numbers on the dial are not crisp and clear. The dial moves ok but when your hand is wet and has soap on it as I skin stretch it was impossible to move it to another setting without rinsing and drying my hand. The one thing that really got to me is if you run your fingertips across the doors lightly over the line in the middle that separates one door from the other they do not close evenly and you can feel it. I've talked to one other person who also talked to another owner who had the same problem with uneven doors so that's 3 I know of.   As Gus mentioned the knurling could have a little more depth but that I can live with.  I do agree that this version of the Janus has better balance than the prototype due to size reduction and for me that's about the only improvement over the prototype.. The finish on the razor is definitely not in the same league as a Wolfman, Paradigm DB, H&S or a few others that have already been mentioned and sorry but not as good as the prototype. I also experienced some blade chatter on the ATG pass. The wonderful balance of both efficiency & smoothness that the prototype exhibited is totally gone and yes if you bring it down to # 2 or #3 setting it may be a smooth shaver but this razor doesn't even feel like the prototype at any setting and the prototype was smooth as heck even on max setting # 9 . I'll repeat myself once again this Janus is ike a completely different razor and honestly if I could trade it for the prototype I'd do it in a NYC heartbeat right now. . I agree with James LOOT efficiency is in the WR2 1.45 range and maybe even the 1.55 but not as smooth and in fact for me comparing it to the last shave I had with an Icon Tech which was also on 3 plus days of growth this razor felt harsher on my skin. Yes I have a lot more shaves with the Tech but I can pretty much evaluate a razor on the first shave and I doubt I'll change my mind on this razor. I'm hoping this Janus shaves better for the rest of the 50 other owners but for me this is not a keeper. 

I know this is a pretty harsh review and it's hard for me to post up so much negativity on a razor which if you know me I rarely do. I really was looking forward to this razor as I loved the prototype and a strong supporter of the project and has I've mentioned in other posts I also consider Eric a friend so this was very hard for me to post up this review but I can't as James said sugarcoat this review. This was what i'd call not a good shave experience at all and I've got to call it like it is. It wasn't the soap SV Colonia in a different container btw. I can't blame it on the blade as a Feather on its 2nd use is my favorite. I know my technique well and as soon as I took a couple of strokes I went into extreme skin stretching mode which is what I do with razors like the Ikon Tech so I know it wasn't my technique that was off. 

I will get in touch with Eric and try to get some answers to some of the questions I have about this Janus. 

The one thing that really got to me is if you run your fingertips across the doors lightly over the line in the middle that separates one door from the other they do not close evenly and you can feel it. I've talked to one other who also talked to another owner who also had the same problem with uneven doors so that's 3 I know of.   

If another owner is not me, you can add one more. I have the same problem.

The one thing that really got to me is if you run your fingertips across the doors lightly over the line in the middle that separates one door from the other they do not close evenly and you can feel it. I've talked to one other who also talked to another owner who also had the same problem with uneven doors so that's 3 I know of.   

If another owner is not me, you can add one more. I have the same problem.

Did you tell Mark you had the problem to? If so then you are the 3rd person if not then that's 4 who do. lol

The one thing that really got to me is if you run your fingertips across the doors lightly over the line in the middle that separates one door from the other they do not close evenly and you can feel it. I've talked to one other who also talked to another owner who also had the same problem with uneven doors so that's 3 I know of.   

If another owner is not me, you can add one more. I have the same problem.

Did you tell Mark you had the problem to? If so then you are the 3rd person if not then that's 4 who do. lol

Yeap, that is me.

Wow, I am sorry guys! These are NOT the reviews I was hoping to hear from such a cool project. The whole thing was fun to watch and I regretted not buying one many times. I hope this gets sorted out but I don’t see how that will happen. Eric did the final assembly of each razor with his own hands, correct? If so, he had to see the machine marks and off center red dots etc.

Ok I'll make this short and to the point after a two pass Shave on setting #9 with a once used Feather and with a touch up pass just to feel setting #5 I will say as much as I like Eric and consider him a friend I'm very disappointed in this production model and all my preliminary concerns came true. I'm sure I'm going to take slack for this but I'm calling a spade a spade and giving my honest opinion.  This production version of the Janus is like a completely different razor from the prototype in many ways and most definitely the Shave. To begin with opening the box I immediately noticed the finish on the razor was not nearly as good as the prototype. I know Eric went to another manufacture and maybe he should have stayed with the first one as I have machine marks and fine line scratches all along the doors and on the SB's. There are also a bunch of them on the top part of the toggle knob and under the doors as well. One of my red dots is crooked. The numbers on the dial are not crisp and clear. The dial moves ok but when your hand is wet and has soap on it as I skin stretch it was impossible to move it to another setting without rinsing and drying my hand. The one thing that really got to me is if you run your fingertips across the doors lightly over the line in the middle that separates one door from the other they do not close evenly and you can feel it. I've talked to one other person who also talked to another owner who had the same problem with uneven doors so that's 3 I know of.   As Gus mentioned the knurling could have a little more depth but that I can live with.  I do agree that this version of the Janus has better balance than the prototype due to size reduction and for me that's about the only improvement over the prototype.. The finish on the razor is definitely not in the same league as a Wolfman, Paradigm DB, H&S or a few others that have already been mentioned and sorry but not as good as the prototype. I also experienced some blade chatter on the ATG pass. The wonderful balance of both efficiency & smoothness that the prototype exhibited is totally gone and yes if you bring it down to # 2 or #3 setting it may be a smooth shaver but this razor doesn't even feel like the prototype at any setting and the prototype was smooth as heck even on max setting # 9 . I'll repeat myself once again this Janus is ike a completely different razor and honestly if I could trade it for the prototype I'd do it in a NYC heartbeat right now. . I agree with James LOOT efficiency is in the WR2 1.45 range and maybe even the 1.55 but not as smooth and in fact for me comparing it to the last shave I had with an Icon Tech which was also on 3 plus days of growth this razor felt harsher on my skin. Yes I have a lot more shaves with the Tech but I can pretty much evaluate a razor on the first shave and I doubt I'll change my mind on this razor. I'm hoping this Janus shaves better for the rest of the 50 other owners but for me this is not a keeper. 

I know this is a pretty harsh review and it's hard for me to post up so much negativity on a razor which if you know me I rarely do. I really was looking forward to this razor as I loved the prototype and a strong supporter of the project and has I've mentioned in other posts I also consider Eric a friend so this was very hard for me to post up this review but I can't as James said sugarcoat this review. This was what i'd call not a good shave experience at all and I've got to call it like it is. It wasn't the soap SV Colonia in a different container btw. I can't blame it on the blade as a Feather on its 2nd use is my favorite. I know my technique well and as soon as I took a couple of strokes I went into extreme skin stretching mode which is what I do with razors like the Ikon Tech so I know it wasn't my technique that was off. 

I will get in touch with Eric and try to get some answers to some of the questions I have about this Janus. 

This sucks. Hate your doors are not even. Mine are even, at least. Agree with the red dots, mine on the turret is uneven. I remember questioning Eric about his claim that changing the dome height would not change the smoothness of the razor. Like the 2 step mirror polish, I didn't believe it but hey...he is the razor designer, not me. One day I'll learn to go with my gut and quit listening to the "experts".

One thing you mentioned that perplexes me. You said the Janus was harsher than the Ikon Tech? I recall the ITech as being a face full of blade feel, much like the 2019 Rocnel Sailor. My Janus didn't feel like that at all. I wonder what is going on here? Granted, it's been a couple years since playing with the ITech.

James LOOT I’ll explain on the Ikon Tech vs Janus statement later on as I’ve got to head to work right now as it deserves more details than the simple statement I made in my review.

Glad your doors are even at least. I wonder if there’s more than the 3 I know of that aren’t?

BTW that Crome Toggle is a beauty!