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Which is the best High End Razor?

Which High End Razor brand is Best?


  • Total voters
    144
If I had cited a $40 razor made from Zamak, I'd be with you. The Ikon Tech retailed for $70 when it was available and is constructed from aircraft grade aluminum. In other words, a material that with any kind of reasonable care should last a lifetime and beyond. Moreover, new ones have recently sold on the auction site that dare not speak its name for over $250. Guys have been willing to pay that much because, in terms of cutting through a tough maze of whiskers, nothing can top it. Every one of the high-end razors discussed in this thread falls short. That's why people have been willing to pay so much.
$40 / $70... Zamak / Aluminum... It don't matter, IMO it still falls short of what I would consider a High End razor!! Since I've been shaving with a safety razor, Oct 2016, I've only ever seen it available on Maggard's site as a head only option and it retailed at $40 and that is why I used that $ amount. Doesn't matter what they sell for today, same opinion... The example of a $300 Shick Type-O was used earlier, but no matter what way you slice it, its still a $3 razor and it as well falls short of High End especially when it comes to quality!!

I get it that the Tech is one of your favorite razors and you make that known in any thread you post in but I think it just doesn't quite hit the mark of high end and I'm sure there are many others that would think the same...
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
In my opinion, no it doesn't and the reason is because it didn't cost anywhere's near that when it was new and you could probably drop the zero's from that price and that's what the original cost was $3. An example of that is the original cost back in its day would probably be comparable to say a Fatip today which doesn't fall within the parameters, and again I will say, in my opinion... This is probably something that could be debated for quite some time and I'm sure you'd probably never come close to agreeing so its probably not even worth debating any further because the example you give is really reaching out there to try and justify your point!!

I don't even have a point of view about what a high end razor is other than no Zamac, but I hear you saying what I thought.

High End = High Prices.

The more zeroes the better.

To me the best stuff is the best stuff regardless of the zeroes, but it also doesn't matter to me what anybody else does with their money. Since I've not tried every product available in the shaving world I can't possibly say that Product X which cost X amount is not better than Product Y except about stuff I've actually tried myself. Going by what I've tried myself (razors, brushes, soaps, etc) there isn't one to one correspondence between price and value. Certainly not as much as some people loving their zeroes seem to say.

I'm not inclined to think zeroes are the only factor or even a necessary factor in high end products. That's just my point of view. I don't expect anyone to buy it or endorse it or agree with it, but I also don't think I'm supposed to change it to conform to the theory of more zeroes.

You seem intent on limiting the conversation to items you consider high end which is okay with me if those are the rules.

Happy shaves,

Jim
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
If I had cited a $40 razor made from Zamak, I'd be with you. The Ikon Tech retailed for $70 when it was available and is constructed from aircraft grade aluminum. In other words, a material that with any kind of reasonable care should last a lifetime and beyond. Moreover, new ones have recently sold on the auction site that dare not speak its name for over $250. Guys have been willing to pay that much because, in terms of cutting through a tough maze of whiskers, nothing can top it. Every one of the high-end razors discussed in this thread falls short. That's why people have been willing to pay so much.

I have two iKon Techs.

It is not a razor I enjoy using but it is an interesting piece. I bought the first one to try out, and the second kinda by accident. One is barely used. One is new in the box. Eventually, I'll maybe sell both of them, but they're maybe going to become very high end before I do so. I think I actually bought the very last iKon Tech which was sold new by a vendor, but it was just by luck.

I'm sorta kidding about these razors. I don't have any idea if they're what anybody considers high end. They're certainly becoming mythical.

Happy shaves,

Jim
 
I have two iKon Techs.

It is not a razor I enjoy using but it is an interesting piece. I bought the first one to try out, and the second kinda by accident. One is barely used. One is new in the box. Eventually, I'll maybe sell both of them, but they're maybe going to become very high end before I do so. I think I actually bought the very last iKon Tech which was sold new by a vendor, but it was just by luck.

I'm sorta kidding about these razors. I don't have any idea if they're what anybody considers high end. They're certainly becoming mythical.

Happy shaves,

Jim
I don't know about high end , or even what aircraft grade means, but the Tech head is definitely not a piece of solid aluminum. Ask me how I know.

Obviously a sandwich of different metals.
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Esox

I didnt know
Staff member
I don't know about high end , or even what aircraft grade means, but the Tech head is definitely not a piece of solid aluminum. Ask me how I know.

Obviously a sandwich of different metals.
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Now thats interesting.

How did that happen?
 
Where is Paradigm on this list?

1) Paradigm 17-4
2) Raw RS-10
3) Charcoal Level 2
4) Timeless 68OC
5) Karve CB
6) Wolfman Guerilla
7) Blackland Blackbird Jet
8) Wolfman WR1
 
Now thats interesting.

How did that happen?
When I polished the cap (cuz I like to mess with things) the copper layer began to show through. After a while curiosity got the best of me and I went through that layer too.

I have another cap. [emoji41]
 
I get it that the Tech is one of your favorite razors and you make that known in any thread you post in but I think it just doesn't quite hit the mark of high end and I'm sure there are many others that would think the same...

Yup, one of my favorite razors and therefore, in my opinion, deserving of high-end status. Isn't that the point of this thread?
 
Finally, we get an easy question on the forum! No brainer here, Timeless. If you find a better razor, that shaves better than a Timeless, I pay you $200.
 
I think an interesting companion poll would be how many people have actually tried all the razors in the poll, and which ones they have tried. Should I vote for the one I've tried, or the one I've heard is the best :)
 
I'm really enjoying the discussion, great thread OP (and participants)!

I haven't used the full array of razors listed but voted anyway. I've used ATT Calypso, Wolfman, Timeless, Blackland Blackbird and Dart, and Rockwell 6S.

My Titanium Wolfman WR2, for me, it's a great combination of smoothness, efficiency, and well, just the cool factor to me that I have with owning a Wolfman. Now that said, this razor takes more effort and concentration for a great smooth shave, if I'm not on my game with lather or technique, it feels rough (but still produces well). I think of it somewhat like a Ferrari.

I have the Timeless 0.95 OC (used to have a 0.68 OC too) and Blackland Blackbird and Dart. The rigidity of the Timeless compared with the head just makes for a wonderful shave experience. The Timeless I find the easiest of my favourites to use, a mindless shave with zero irritation that's great for early morning or rushed shaves. The Timeless I find very insensitive to blade or lather, it just does shaves well. The Blackbird, I find is slightly more efficient than my Timeless 0.95 OC but requires a bit more concentration. I find it's in the middle of the Wolfman and Timeless. The Rockwell and ATT didn't quite do it for me and have been moved on from my den, however I can definitely see how these razors would work really well for others.

The Wolfman, Timeless, and Blackland are all great razors and find them high end in their own way.

The biggest thing to remember with any "high" end razor is that it's no silver bullet for poor technique. It doesn't matter how much a razor costs if the operator is poor, it'll shave poorly.

I have found this discussion very interesting, from people's perspective of best vs favourite. This is what I like about this forum and shaving (as a hobby for me), is that there can be such discussion about running a razor blade over our faces to remove whiskers.
 
I'm really enjoying the discussion, great thread OP (and participants)!

I haven't used the full array of razors listed but voted anyway. I've used ATT Calypso, Wolfman, Timeless, Blackland Blackbird and Dart, and Rockwell 6S.

My Titanium Wolfman WR2, for me, it's a great combination of smoothness, efficiency, and well, just the cool factor to me that I have with owning a Wolfman. Now that said, this razor takes more effort and concentration for a great smooth shave, if I'm not on my game with lather or technique, it feels rough (but still produces well). I think of it somewhat like a Ferrari.

I have the Timeless 0.95 OC (used to have a 0.68 OC too) and Blackland Blackbird and Dart. The rigidity of the Timeless compared with the head just makes for a wonderful shave experience. The Timeless I find the easiest of my favourites to use, a mindless shave with zero irritation that's great for early morning or rushed shaves. The Timeless I find very insensitive to blade or lather, it just does shaves well. The Blackbird, I find is slightly more efficient than my Timeless 0.95 OC but requires a bit more concentration. I find it's in the middle of the Wolfman and Timeless. The Rockwell and ATT didn't quite do it for me and have been moved on from my den, however I can definitely see how these razors would work really well for others.

The Wolfman, Timeless, and Blackland are all great razors and find them high end in their own way.

The biggest thing to remember with any "high" end razor is that it's no silver bullet for poor technique. It doesn't matter how much a razor costs if the operator is poor, it'll shave poorly.

I have found this discussion very interesting, from people's perspective of best vs favourite. This is what I like about this forum and shaving (as a hobby for me), is that there can be such discussion about running a razor blade over our faces to remove whiskers.

Which Wolfman do you have? I rated the Wolfman last among razors from the eight companies that I own, not because it's not a magnificent razor, but rather because it's the wrong version for me. I bought it directly from James a very long time ago, when the .74 blade gap was the "aggressive" version. To me, it can only deliver a good shave if I luck into the correct angle for the duration of the shave. I'm not very good at maintaining the same angle throughout, even assuming I find the right angle in the first place. Razors from the other seven companies are more forgiving about angle, in my experience. I'll keep trying to swap my Wolfman for one with a better blade gap for me, but it's a beautiful piece of art from a very skilled artisan.
 
Which Wolfman do you have? I rated the Wolfman last among razors from the eight companies that I own, not because it's not a magnificent razor, but rather because it's the wrong version for me. I bought it directly from James a very long time ago, when the .74 blade gap was the "aggressive" version. To me, it can only deliver a good shave if I luck into the correct angle for the duration of the shave. I'm not very good at maintaining the same angle throughout, even assuming I find the right angle in the first place. Razors from the other seven companies are more forgiving about angle, in my experience. I'll keep trying to swap my Wolfman for one with a better blade gap for me, but it's a beautiful piece of art from a very skilled artisan.

I have the 1.25 mm WR2. I've seen others say it's between the 0.86 and 0.94 WR1. I haven't tried the WR1, but from what I've heard maintaining the angle of a Wolfman is key. I'd say mine has similar blade feel to the Timeless but is more sensitive to angle than Timeless.
 
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