Tatara Nodachi Ti Passaround - Titanium Makes a Shocking Improvement

Razor: Tatara Masamune Nodachi Ti (open-comb)
Blade: Personna Platinum (d6)

Soap: Australian Private Reserve Fougere Trois
Brush: Heritage Collection Ever-Ready
Bowl: Bluff Cove Pottery

Post 1: P.A.A. Alum No-Slip Grip System w/ Dry Dock System
Post 2: Dickinson's Enhanced Witch Hazel Deep Cleansing Astringent w/ Menthol & Eucalyptus
Aftershave: Pinaud Clubman

What a treat this shave was. The Tatara Nodachi Ti is on loan to me as well as a whole box of unobtainium shaving soaps. More on this so watch my following shave to come.

I decided to jump straight in with the open-comb base plate. I've been having a really attraction to them for a while now so how could I resist?

Immediately I got some blade feel and noticed the razor's efficiency. This was a welcomed realization that put a smile on my face. The feel of the titanium was also nice. It has its own texture of sorts that helps with grip when wet or soapy.

The Australian Private Reserve Fougere Trois is a fantastic soap. The base built up into a nice slick lather quite easily and the scent... Oh man, does this one smell good. It has top notes of lavender, bergamot, clary sage, and petitgrain. Middle notes of geranium, heliotrope, rose, orchid, and carnation. Base notes of oakmoss, tonka bean, musk, vanilla, and hay.

Note that A.P.R. did not use pre-blends or synthetic candle fragrance oils in their designs or products. Every single composition was formulated by them in-house without exception. You know you're dealing with a legitimate quality artisan when you hear that. It's a real shame they went under.

I did a three-pass shave and was guaranteed a bbs face due to the Nodachi's efficiency. I then topped this shave off with some Pinaud Clubman original aftershave and walked away quite content.

Thanks for reading. Have a great Saturday and enjoy your shaves!

Brush: Heritage Collection Ever-Ready

That brush!!

Razor: Tatara Masamune Nodachi Ti
Blade: Gillette Nacet Stainless (d5)

Soap: K Shave Worx Grapelicious
Brush: Yaqi Purple Haze
Bowl: Tillamook Cobalt

Post 1: P.A.A. Alum No-Slip Grip System w/ Dry Dock System
Post 2: Dickinson's Enhanced Witch Hazel Deep Cleansing Astringent w/ Menthol & Eucalyptus
Aftershave: Smilez Elixir The Blues (grooming oil)
Post 4: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel-Cream Extra-Dry w/ Hyaluronic Acid

Today I felt an interest in going with both a fruity and unobtainium soap. This leads me to some wonderful K Shave Worx Grapelicious.

If you don't know this artisan business was run by a couple that started in 2015 and sadly closed in early 2022

Grapelicious was the first soap they started selling in October 2015 and was also re-released as part of their final batch before closing for good.

This soap's base performed very well. It easily whipped up into a nice quality lather. But the scent! This is an awesome grapelicious scent with a bit of barbershop added to it. The grape note is obvious and an easy win for me as I just so happened to love grape, but the subtle complexity of the added barbershop notes make the accord just so wonderful.

I did a three-pass shave with the Masamune Nodachi Ti, this time with the safety bar base plate and was treated with a highly efficient bbs shave. This was just a notch less aggressive than the open-comb base plate I used in my last shave.

Sticking with the fruit theme I applied some Smilez Elixir The Blues multi-purpose grooming oil. This stuff smells great as well with notes of Arabian sandalwood, bergamot, fern, saffron, Egyptian musk, patchouli, and blueberry. Overall it's a really good blueberry scent that I quite enjoy.

Thanks for reading and enjoy your shaves.

Razor: Tatara Masamune Ti
Razor: Tatara Masamune Nodachi Ti
Blade: Gillette Platinum (d4)

Soap: Hendrix Classics & Company Canadian Mafia Le Mafioso
Brush: Omega Boar 10005/80005
Bowl: Bluff Cove Pottery

Post 1: P.A.A. Alum No-Slip Grip System w/ Dry Dock System
Post 2: Dickinson's Enhanced Witch Hazel Deep Cleansing Astringent w/ Menthol & Eucalyptus
Aftershave: Pinaud Clubman (original)

I just had to do it. I had to do a comparison between the Masamune and the Masamune Nodachi. Seeing as the Nodachi is on loan to me and my time with it is just about up. I would regret having not done a straight-up, side-by-side comparison shave. So, here it is...

To keep things equal I used the same blade, swapping razors between uses. I used the Masamune on my right side and the Masamune Nodachi on the left. I made this choice as my left side has just a bit more tough hair to shave. I figured I'd give the more aggressive razor the slightly tougher side.

My soap choice of the day was HC&C's Canadian Mafia Le Mafioso. This is a beautiful duplicate of Le Male Le Parfum by Jean Paul Gaultier, which was released in 2020. It has a top note of cardamom, middle notes of lavender and iris and base notes of vanilla, with some oriental and woodsy notes mixed in.

Let me just say that this soap smells great! It's very alluring and has a premium feel to it. I'll definitely be adding a full size of this to me repertoire. It's just that good!

In total I did a three-pass shave with the end result being bbs on both sides. In all honesty, each razor wasn't that different from the other. Both are very efficient and very smooth. Maybe that's the titanium talking. I will say though that the Masamune Nodachi does have a touch more blade feel and is therefore a bit quicker at achieving said bbs. It's also noticeably heavier than the (regular) Masamune.

In conclusion, both Tatara razors, the HC&C soap, and the Clubman aftershave came together in perfect harmony to provide me a fantastic shave. I genuinely recommend all of the gear that I used.

Well, that's it. I hope you enjoyed reading. Happy Saturday everyone and enjoy your shaves.

First off, thanks to DanLaw for organizing and letting me in on this pass-around!

Alright , I am one shave down with the Nodachi Ti - first impressions are that, like my SS Masamune, this is a beautifully crafted razor. As others have said, Tatara dots their i’s and crosses their t’s. The razor is on the longer side, yet the fact that it’s Ti keeps it light and nimble feeling. I just finished a full month exclusively committed to my Ti Vector, so it’s not quite that light, but the Ti takes the edge off what would otherwise be a very heavy razor.

I, for one, love the design ethos of Tatara, all the way down to the bead blasted finish. I remember when I first saw the Muramasa and how I was drawn to it. The first sale I jumped.  Apart from the Ti Vector, which might start taking the front spot on my shelf, my Muramasa was the razor I reached for the most. The Nodachi is obviously a brethren to the Muramasa. I also like its additional handle length a bit more.

Ok, on to the shave.

Soap: B&M lavanille
Blade: feather
Post: lavanille splash
Razor: Nodachi Ti with SB

I only had one day’s worth of stubble, so not really a challenge for the razor. I found the razor was able to handle it quite well. I didn’t detect any blade feel, and may call it equivalent to a 3-4 on the Muramasa. I had a bit of difficulty finding the right angle, not sure why. I tried riding the cap, then the guard. I was able to get a very effective 2-pass shave, but not without a bit of confusion along the way. I think I attribute this to coming off the Vector for a month straight - that razor shaves nothing like a DE. Maybe I had…lost my touch or something. I will come back though over the next shave or two (or three….)

I will say it again here. I love the Tatara finish.  I also think it grips very well. Some knurled razors feel “vague” to me. The Nodachi (especially the dimpled part near the head) is rock solid. It doesn’t have the “bite” of my ambassador, but I don’t really need that - I just don’t want to feel y confident in my grip throughout the shave. Nothing like that with the Nodachi.

That brings me to another point - why have the dimples only towards the head? My Muramasa, which is admittedly shorter, has dimples along its entire length. I tried gripping the dimpled part vs the smooth part of the Nodachi, and there’s a distinct difference. Is Tatara forcing users to grab the razor near the head? It was fine for me as that’s about where I grab my razor, but I understand others grab lower down the handle. Why then make the handle long anyways? Balance? Hmm…anyways.

I’m looking forward to my next shave with this razor - I’ll be a bit more back in the DE swing of things. I also want to wait a few days between two of my shaves to really try the OC base plate out. I don’t have a whole lot of experience with OC shaves and have been wanting to try one out. 

I see the Tatara Masamune Nodachi Ti is now in Inspirado's hands but I did want to take a moment to say that my experience with the razor was highly enjoyable and enlightening.

I want to thank both DanLaw and tatararazors. I'm very much into learning, exploring and finding things out for myself. So, allowing me the opportunity to gain first-hand experience with the Masamune Nodachi Ti was educational, fun and satisfying.

Thank you both very much!

Am I able to get in on this passaround? I don't know how to sign up, I have never done it before.

A brief note before my next shave review - I like the weight of the Ti much better. I originally thought I would generally like a heftier razor, but I’m finding that the lightness of Ti is much better for me than the heft of SS. Would I have ever noticed I prefer lighter if I hadn’t tried Ti? What if I had only used tungsten razors then was wowed by the relative lightness of SS?

The world will never know….

I would love to join this pass around. Please let me know if that is possible and what I need to do. Thanks!

Hey all,

Sorry for going dark for a week - there was a delay in shipment to me and the razor arrived close to when I was to be on leave for a week. I discussed with DanLaw  and he graciously let me keep the razor here while I was away. Normally I would have asked to have been moved back to another slot but it was unpredictable given the shipping delay.

Well this gave me the opportunity to shave with the Ti Nodachi with about 4-5 days of growth. Specs below:

Razor - Ti Nodachi SB
Blade - feather, second use.
Soap - Zingari Man The Watchman (sample)

This was a very nice shave. After my previous comments about the grip on the handle, I choked down on the grip and grabbed the razor further from the head. This, coupled with remembering some of my forgotten DE skills, led to a very nice 3-pass shave. In contrast to my previous comments, I was able to confidently hold the razor even outside of the dimpled region. The first pass was a bit rough and granny, but I haven’t found any razor for me which really handled 3+ days of growth without some grabbing. I’ve just learned to not force it and just return for passes 2-3.  The Nodachi Ti handled it better than most.


I continue to echo my comments previously that this is smooth, mild, and efficient. I think this razor shines on passes 2 and 3.

One thing I note - which is consistent with the marketing materials - this razor likes a very narrow range of angles. I’m not sure what in the design/geometry leads to this, but it’s quite apparent to me. If I’m a bit off the angle it doesn’t cut nearly as efficiently.

I’d like to try this razor once with the OC plate (I absent-mindedly forgot about it for todays 4-5 day growth which would have been perfect but alas) then off to the next!