If I stick with the plain, safety bar Masamune, it’s comparable with the MSRP of 174€ and then it’s sharpened cleats to the trousers for anything else.
Yet Another Journal of Razors and Blades and Stuff
- Thread starter T Bone
- Start date
I've been patting myself on the back because I've avoided buying a few new razor releases.... but I end up buying the Rocnel Elite brass and a Canada pre-war Tech while we're gone.
I can say... I have successfully avoided buying the Tedalus and the Paradigm Ti Diamondback... Does that count for something? I'm afraid very little. <eg>
I can say... I have successfully avoided buying the Tedalus and the Paradigm Ti Diamondback... Does that count for something? I'm afraid very little. <eg>
You two bring up a great point about angles and razors. One really has to know the angle the razor presents the blade at. I ran into this recently when I was trying my vintage Gillette New razors. They have a relatively flat head, so if you hold the handle at a normal angle for some razors, you'd be shaving quite steep. I did that for a couple shaves. It didn't punish me too much, but the alcohol feedback was quite warm. They I realized I was going too steep, so I raised the handle more than I do with most razors and I got a smoother shave. My muscle memory steered me in the wrong direction initially.
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That's awesome news! I was hoping that the Athena would work well for you. Sure, it's a tough call, but that sounds like a lot more fun, right? Plus finding another razor that you can pick up and within a couple shaves be getting those results, that's awesome! Go T Bone!
Dam glitchy server. Hangs for several minutes at a time. Sorry for the double post (above).
A smaller divided fishing box style does look good for odd tucks. At present, I only have 10-12 individual tucks. I fear this will change ;-)
@thombrogan - When I google "sharpened cleats to the trousers", references to Ty Cobb come up. I expected British idioms. There's a 'murican one for you ;-)
@T Bone - So I take it that yourshaving.com is not to be trusted? Never heard of em. When saw your Rocket Guy reference I thought of our "friend" PAA.
... Thom
Dunno. $15 for 12 boxes seems OK to me. I like that they measure only 3x4x1. They'll fit in all sorts of odd corners.
A smaller divided fishing box style does look good for odd tucks. At present, I only have 10-12 individual tucks. I fear this will change ;-)
@thombrogan - When I google "sharpened cleats to the trousers", references to Ty Cobb come up. I expected British idioms. There's a 'murican one for you ;-)
@T Bone - So I take it that yourshaving.com is not to be trusted? Never heard of em. When saw your Rocket Guy reference I thought of our "friend" PAA.
... Thom
The ones to which I was referring are $16 or so from Amazon... just under $6 from Walmart... Not sure why that would be but it is.
@Galibier_Numero_Un , I’m a United States citizen who lives in New England.
- Thread starter
- #588
Picking from a few good options definitely beats picking from a few bad options.
- Thread starter
- #589
It happens, I was just teasing with the "wow" reaction. Didn't figure it merited a troll or spam.
I still didn't find an explanation. I like it though, I think I'll have to start using it randomly.
Yourshaving.com is fine AFAIK. It's a European vendor (Spanish?) so I've never ordered from them but I think it's well-respected.
Ha, yeah, no, I was referring to Amazon. But I suppose that nickname would work for the PAA guy too, he has that kitschy sci-fi schtick going.
Yourshaving is great, they shipped faster to me than PAA did. Their prices are quite a bit lower than state side sources, as long as it's European made items. The Goodfella Smiles Bayonetta is right at $40.00 from Yourshaving, it is pushing $60 from US sources. Throw in some European made soaps or brushes to make the shipping more palatable and you're golden.
- Thread starter
- #591
Lambda Athena
Nacet (1)
AP Shave 24mm G5C rocket engine
La Toja stick
Stirling unscented menthol balm
Southern Witchcrafts Tres Matres splash sample
I'm not going to post every shave for the next 2 weeks if they're similar to today and Wednesday. I did get 3 weepers today, all small (2 barely noticeable at all), but otherwise the shave was much like Wednesday. Took just under 20 minutes, comfortable shave and post-shave, nice close result (9/10 BBS-). And a fantastic result in my mustache/goatee area, most of the missed stubble was on my neck today.
Really this is what I'm looking for - consistent, no/low-drama, efficient, close result - whether it's with an Athena, a TI22, a Tatara, or something else in the end. (I'll rotate a few nice-smelling soaps, or splash in this case, to keep the shaves interesting.)
From these last 2 shaves, Athena seems very much capable of delivering.
Nacet (1)
AP Shave 24mm G5C rocket engine
La Toja stick
Stirling unscented menthol balm
Southern Witchcrafts Tres Matres splash sample
I'm not going to post every shave for the next 2 weeks if they're similar to today and Wednesday. I did get 3 weepers today, all small (2 barely noticeable at all), but otherwise the shave was much like Wednesday. Took just under 20 minutes, comfortable shave and post-shave, nice close result (9/10 BBS-). And a fantastic result in my mustache/goatee area, most of the missed stubble was on my neck today.
Really this is what I'm looking for - consistent, no/low-drama, efficient, close result - whether it's with an Athena, a TI22, a Tatara, or something else in the end. (I'll rotate a few nice-smelling soaps, or splash in this case, to keep the shaves interesting.)
From these last 2 shaves, Athena seems very much capable of delivering.
Standard, non-eventful, no drama, consistent are all words that come to mind as we grow in our shaving journey.Lambda Athena
Nacet (1)
AP Shave 24mm G5C rocket engine
La Toja stick
Stirling unscented menthol balm
Southern Witchcrafts Tres Matres splash sample
I'm not going to post every shave for the next 2 weeks if they're similar to today and Wednesday. I did get 3 weepers today, all small (2 barely noticeable at all), but otherwise the shave was much like Wednesday. Took just under 20 minutes, comfortable shave and post-shave, nice close result (9/10 BBS-). And a fantastic result in my mustache/goatee area, most of the missed stubble was on my neck today.
Really this is what I'm looking for - consistent, no/low-drama, efficient, close result - whether it's with an Athena, a TI22, a Tatara, or something else in the end. (I'll rotate a few nice-smelling soaps, or splash in this case, to keep the shaves interesting.)
- Thread starter
- #595
Lambda Athena
Nacet (4)
AP Shave 24mm G5C rocket engine
Southern Witchcrafts Gothorum Tonstrina
Stirling unscented glacial balm
I'm not prepared to declare Athena better than Henson++, but it’s pretty gosh darn close. Just looking at my recent logs, Athena actually has better numbers right now, and going by my own non-numerical feel, it may well be even better. My google sheet says it's giving me closer shaves, doing it slightly more efficiently, and weeper count and post-shave feel are about the same.
I was noting earlier, Athena feels a little scrapy during the shave (due to shaving at a steeper angle maybe?), but it’s not uncomfortable, nor is it irritating or anything afterward at all. And not that Nacet is a tuggy blade, but in Athena it seems to have even less trouble plowing through my mustache and chin whiskers than it does in other razors.
I'm going to give Athena 1 more week with another Nacet before deciding anything for sure, but it's looking like I'll need to get myself a stainless one. Given the paucity of SS ones produced so far, that'll most likely mean seeing if I can get in if/when Theo drops another batch, since finding one on any BST is probably unlikely. But I'm starting to think it's worth it.
Today's shave: A really close BBS- (9.6/10), neither particularly fast nor slow, with 2 tiny weepers (left mustache corner, chin). This was my second shave in a row on 30-36 hours, when I usually have closer to 48 hours in between, so the fact that I only got a couple of weepers with some very mild skin tightness is quite good.
Nacet (4)
AP Shave 24mm G5C rocket engine
Southern Witchcrafts Gothorum Tonstrina
Stirling unscented glacial balm
I'm not prepared to declare Athena better than Henson++, but it’s pretty gosh darn close. Just looking at my recent logs, Athena actually has better numbers right now, and going by my own non-numerical feel, it may well be even better. My google sheet says it's giving me closer shaves, doing it slightly more efficiently, and weeper count and post-shave feel are about the same.
I was noting earlier, Athena feels a little scrapy during the shave (due to shaving at a steeper angle maybe?), but it’s not uncomfortable, nor is it irritating or anything afterward at all. And not that Nacet is a tuggy blade, but in Athena it seems to have even less trouble plowing through my mustache and chin whiskers than it does in other razors.
I'm going to give Athena 1 more week with another Nacet before deciding anything for sure, but it's looking like I'll need to get myself a stainless one. Given the paucity of SS ones produced so far, that'll most likely mean seeing if I can get in if/when Theo drops another batch, since finding one on any BST is probably unlikely. But I'm starting to think it's worth it.
Today's shave: A really close BBS- (9.6/10), neither particularly fast nor slow, with 2 tiny weepers (left mustache corner, chin). This was my second shave in a row on 30-36 hours, when I usually have closer to 48 hours in between, so the fact that I only got a couple of weepers with some very mild skin tightness is quite good.
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- Thread starter
- #596
Lambda Athena
Nacet (4)
Wald A1 Nimbus
Southern Witchcrafts Gothorum Tonstrina
Stirling unscented glacial balm
Finished my 4th shave with another Nacet in the Athena. After kicking butt and taking names with the first blade, there was a little bit of regression to the mean with the second. First 2 shaves were still incredibly close, but I got a few weepers, mostly in the mustache/goatee area. I think I just got overconfident and tried to do too much too quickly. Last 2 were slightly less close, but still excellent, with 1-2 weepers, but also too slow.
Overall though, I feel like Athena is my Henson++'s closest competition. If you have any interest in innovative modern razors, beautiful design, or mild yet efficient razors, then you owe it to yourself to sign up for the Athena pass-around happening now.
Based on my records so far (I still need to give a couple of razors a second week with a Nacet so I have the same amount of data for each), Athena is easily the closest shaver I've tried, and also the most efficient. The weeper rating took a hit from this second blade, but is still in the same ballpark as the rest. And post-shave feel is still middle of the pack despite that.
This Athena experiment wasn't part of the pass-around, but it is borrowed, so I'll be returning it next week. Right now I feel like Henson++ and Athena are my top 2, with the Tatara Masamune with either plate a half-click behind. So in order to return to Athena eventually, I'm seeing about acquiring my own. My preference is for steel rather than bronze, so I contacted Lambda yesterday, and he expects to have a small batch of SS and TI Athenas ready in a couple of months. I suspect the TI will be more than I'm looking to spend, but I got my name on the list for both just in case!
Next up, I'll be trying a couple new blades in the Tale Of Two Bridges blade PIF. It'll be more about the blades than the razors, so it'll be a bit of a detour, but it should be fun!
Nacet (4)
Wald A1 Nimbus
Southern Witchcrafts Gothorum Tonstrina
Stirling unscented glacial balm
Finished my 4th shave with another Nacet in the Athena. After kicking butt and taking names with the first blade, there was a little bit of regression to the mean with the second. First 2 shaves were still incredibly close, but I got a few weepers, mostly in the mustache/goatee area. I think I just got overconfident and tried to do too much too quickly. Last 2 were slightly less close, but still excellent, with 1-2 weepers, but also too slow.
Overall though, I feel like Athena is my Henson++'s closest competition. If you have any interest in innovative modern razors, beautiful design, or mild yet efficient razors, then you owe it to yourself to sign up for the Athena pass-around happening now.
Based on my records so far (I still need to give a couple of razors a second week with a Nacet so I have the same amount of data for each), Athena is easily the closest shaver I've tried, and also the most efficient. The weeper rating took a hit from this second blade, but is still in the same ballpark as the rest. And post-shave feel is still middle of the pack despite that.
This Athena experiment wasn't part of the pass-around, but it is borrowed, so I'll be returning it next week. Right now I feel like Henson++ and Athena are my top 2, with the Tatara Masamune with either plate a half-click behind. So in order to return to Athena eventually, I'm seeing about acquiring my own. My preference is for steel rather than bronze, so I contacted Lambda yesterday, and he expects to have a small batch of SS and TI Athenas ready in a couple of months. I suspect the TI will be more than I'm looking to spend, but I got my name on the list for both just in case!
Next up, I'll be trying a couple new blades in the Tale Of Two Bridges blade PIF. It'll be more about the blades than the razors, so it'll be a bit of a detour, but it should be fun!
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A Ti Athena for $400 might be enough to get my attention! Maybe you too? 
My journey of discovery with this quartet of razors (Overlander, Athena, Tatara Masamune/Masadachi) continues …
The TL;DR is that while I’m still in the early stages of blade experimentation, I’m comfortable that there are two razor pairs that can mimic each other with the “right” blade. This is for my taste and face, since I can’t tolerate high exposure coupled with sharp blades.
The fellow with a leather face who thinks a Feather isn't quite sharp enough wouldn’t find enough headroom in the Masadachi to mimic the Athena. They're likely candidates for a Nodamune or full-on Nodachi. I'll leave that to those with experience of those razors.
Blades that have shared all three razors have been limited to the German Personna Platinum Chrome and the Astra SS (India).
Since I picked up my first Overlander last September, I’ve been through several Russian Gillettes with it (GSB, Gillette Platinum, Nacet), but I’ve been keeping them out of this recent cycle to keep the confusion level down.
One challenge I’m having with these comparisons is my schedule. It’s haywire and I can’t control my shave interval as closely as I’d like. My target is to be kind enough to my face to where I can shave every 24 hours (I don’t like stubble).
Occasionally (mostly due to pilot error) I’ll run into situations where I need another 12 hours to heal. Things will spin out of control, and I won’t shave for 48. This is a big variable to my way of thinking and I can’t bring it under control.
Equivalancy?
With those caveats, and reserving the right to change my mind at the drop of a hat (Galibier Rule #1) …
I think everyone knows how much I loathe the Athena handle. The balance is wrong and the grip is worse (no accounting for taste, eh?) It sits in the Athena's box, out of sight.
The Masamune handle really surprised me. Out of the box, it feels slippery in my hand, but when wet, it's secure. There's some genius in it's design. I suspect those golf ball like dimples create some surface tension.
The Masamune/Masadachi is really nimble. I whip it around in an intuitive fashion. It took a few shaves to dial in the angle. The Athena and Overlander seem to like a very similar angle, and muscle memory came into play, as I kept reverting to the Overlander/Athena angle.
So what?
I struggle to articulate these characteristics in ways that translate to experience others might have. The best way I can express this, is to comment how close to my daily shaver goal each of these four razors are (shaving 6 days/week).
The Athena is at best, two days in a row and switch. At the 3rd shave, things begin to spiral out of control. It’s plainly too much for me. I love the closeness of the shave and there’s a self-destructive lure to use it a 3rd and a 4th day in a row. I always end up regretting it.
Working down the heat scale, the Masadachi seems to allow me 4 shaves – perhaps 5 in a row.
The Overlander and Masamune … my daily drivers.
Onward!
I think the time has come to limit my exploration to the Overlander and Masamune, as well as to return to my Gamechangers - most likely the .68-P and .76-P base plates.
It’s been a while since I’ve run a Nacet, and I just picked up a batch of Permasharps, and there are some OG Wizamets in my immediate future. I suspect this will cure any hankering I have for an Athena or Masadachi.
It bears repeating that I reserve the right to change my mind at a moment's notice ;-)
At this point, I think there's little case to justify hanging on to the Athena, but I'll do at least one more lap with it.
If I decide to post the Athena on BST, I'll post something over here, since I'd prefer to deal with followers of @T Bone and then there's @APBinNCA and his crew ;-)
… Thom
The TL;DR is that while I’m still in the early stages of blade experimentation, I’m comfortable that there are two razor pairs that can mimic each other with the “right” blade. This is for my taste and face, since I can’t tolerate high exposure coupled with sharp blades.
The fellow with a leather face who thinks a Feather isn't quite sharp enough wouldn’t find enough headroom in the Masadachi to mimic the Athena. They're likely candidates for a Nodamune or full-on Nodachi. I'll leave that to those with experience of those razors.
Blades that have shared all three razors have been limited to the German Personna Platinum Chrome and the Astra SS (India).
Since I picked up my first Overlander last September, I’ve been through several Russian Gillettes with it (GSB, Gillette Platinum, Nacet), but I’ve been keeping them out of this recent cycle to keep the confusion level down.
One challenge I’m having with these comparisons is my schedule. It’s haywire and I can’t control my shave interval as closely as I’d like. My target is to be kind enough to my face to where I can shave every 24 hours (I don’t like stubble).
Occasionally (mostly due to pilot error) I’ll run into situations where I need another 12 hours to heal. Things will spin out of control, and I won’t shave for 48. This is a big variable to my way of thinking and I can’t bring it under control.
Equivalancy?
With those caveats, and reserving the right to change my mind at the drop of a hat (Galibier Rule #1) …
- The Overlander and Masamune are close, with the Overlander being slightly more efficient.
- The Masadachi and Athena are close, with the efficiency nod going to the Athena.
I think everyone knows how much I loathe the Athena handle. The balance is wrong and the grip is worse (no accounting for taste, eh?) It sits in the Athena's box, out of sight.
The Masamune handle really surprised me. Out of the box, it feels slippery in my hand, but when wet, it's secure. There's some genius in it's design. I suspect those golf ball like dimples create some surface tension.
The Masamune/Masadachi is really nimble. I whip it around in an intuitive fashion. It took a few shaves to dial in the angle. The Athena and Overlander seem to like a very similar angle, and muscle memory came into play, as I kept reverting to the Overlander/Athena angle.
So what?
I struggle to articulate these characteristics in ways that translate to experience others might have. The best way I can express this, is to comment how close to my daily shaver goal each of these four razors are (shaving 6 days/week).
The Athena is at best, two days in a row and switch. At the 3rd shave, things begin to spiral out of control. It’s plainly too much for me. I love the closeness of the shave and there’s a self-destructive lure to use it a 3rd and a 4th day in a row. I always end up regretting it.
Working down the heat scale, the Masadachi seems to allow me 4 shaves – perhaps 5 in a row.
The Overlander and Masamune … my daily drivers.
Onward!
I think the time has come to limit my exploration to the Overlander and Masamune, as well as to return to my Gamechangers - most likely the .68-P and .76-P base plates.
It’s been a while since I’ve run a Nacet, and I just picked up a batch of Permasharps, and there are some OG Wizamets in my immediate future. I suspect this will cure any hankering I have for an Athena or Masadachi.
It bears repeating that I reserve the right to change my mind at a moment's notice ;-)
At this point, I think there's little case to justify hanging on to the Athena, but I'll do at least one more lap with it.
If I decide to post the Athena on BST, I'll post something over here, since I'd prefer to deal with followers of @T Bone and then there's @APBinNCA and his crew ;-)
… Thom
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How about I help you stick to rule #1 and change your mind again?
Have you tried reverse shimming the Athena? It’s a rigid enough design and that might reduce blade exposure just enough. The nice thing about reverse is you don’t have to futz with it every time you change the blade because it’s on the bottom(or top once assembled). You will need to be careful careful how you cut the shim, for it to be effective, due to the tiny blade reveal on the Athena.
- Thread starter
- #600
TBH, that's the price point that I'm most afraid of!A Ti Athena for $400 might be enough to get my attention! Maybe you too?
It's really more than I want to pay for a razor, but I'm already expecting to pay $300 for SS. Another $100 is significant, but not an unreasonable premium for TI. $350 - yeah, I'm probably in. $500 - no way, too much. But $400 would be a tough call, I'm not sure what I'd do, apart from spending a lot of energy hemming and hawing over it.Similar threads
