The World Shave Off Showdown

[Graydog]

I tried to figure out by the past matches and your reviews which way that this was going, if it it would have been me shaving I would have went with the Timeless as the overall winner.
It is by far my favorite Razor that I have ever used. Nice Shave Frank

 

[BigJ]

Shave Off report:

Gibbs Adjustable vs Timeless Ti DC .95 using only the SB

Sorry guys for the long wait but I had to find the time to write up the report on this very busy week so thanks for your patience. So this one was a very close one which I expected out of not only these two but all the of the last 4 and no disappointments here and I'll add on any given day with a different blade in the razors or maybe switching sides or if the Gibbs which is an adjustable were on a higher or lower setting or the Timeless used the OC side instead of the SB side maybe the outcome of this Shave Off would change. Don't know and I set the rules so I went with that.. Timeless is only using the SB side of the DC and the Gibbs is set on # 4.5 so you can be the judge of how the variables may affect your opinion of these two razors especially if your thinking of adding one of them to your den.

Ok so on to the Shave Off and I think I've covered each razors individual specs, properties and shaving proneness in past Shave Offs using them so I won't go over it all again and waste your valuable time.

I decided to do my normal Shave Off 2 pass shave going both WTG and ATG and also to do the Shave Off on 2 days growth with no buffing. Of course using my SSSST as well. I'm using brand new hand stropped Feather blades, Oleo # 11 Barbershop scented soap and aftershave and my WCS black synthetic brush. Also as normal separating my face into 4 sections to make things fair as many of you know my right side of my face is more difficult to shave than my left side and yes whomever made us decided to create us in two separate pieces because my whole left side of my face and body is different than my right and I could most definitely never be a male model as there's no cemetery there! LOL

Gear used:

Gibbs Adjustable
Timeless Ti DC
Feather blade
Oleo Soapworks # 11 Shave soap & Aftershave
WCS Shave brush


1st Pass WTG - I started my N to S pass with the Timeless Ti and decided to just stick to my normal 3 movement short strokes and not do any fancy X patterns or J hook etc. Sometimes I like to think of it like a waltz timing. 1 2 3 and 1 2 3, only straight down center then back up to center and straight down 30 degrees left and then back to center and 30 degrees right. Move downward and repeat.. See the similarities there? Lol Anyway back on topic so the Timeless in the high polished Ti is one smooth a** razor especially on the SB side and because of the lighter weight of the ti very manuverable to say the least. Loaded with the Feather in it the razor just sliced throw my 2 days growth like butter and the #11 provided a nice bit of slickness to add to my downward slide through the bush. I know I've heard some complaints about the size of the head under the nose but I don't have an issue with the Timeless at all and if I did a quick push to the side of my nose would take care of that problem. I've had a Timeless .95 since pretty much the company first launched out. A SS 95 Scallop baseplate which personally is my least favorite which they replaced with the 1st or 2nd DC they ever made as I asked them for it because at the time I had a DC Ikon and I thought a Dualie Timeless would be very cool and I was shocked when they said they'd do it for me... Love that company BTW.. quality product, excellent customer service and a great bunch of guys that own and run the company. So my first pass was excellent as usual with the Ti on my more difficult right side of my face and next up my little French bulldog ( Not Frenchie foo foo! lol ) the Gibbs. What a razor and completely different in every way from the Timeless Ti .. It's head heavy with a short bakelite handle and a short one at that and has 6 parts to it and also is a twist to adjust razor but make no mistakes it's a formidable razor with gobs of efficiency if turned up to max setting and yet still a smooth shaver even at that setting. Tenacious when gobbling up facial hairs like the Tasmanian Devil but being gentle on the skin. Anyway on with the pass and like always it lived up to its reputation taking down my growth while providing smooth face feel. BTW audible feedback on the Gibbs was slightly louder than on the Timeless but blade feel was just about at the same level so a couple of mid leveler's in my books. No issues around my mouth or under my nose and the Chrome finish provides just as good a glide as the high polished Timeless Ti which is also very good. An excellent pass from the Gibbs. So over to the other side for the N to S pass and once again no surprises from the Gibbs and one thing popped in my head was that the Timeless in Ti becomes a very manuverable razor and to me is much better than it's heavier SS brother. The Gibbs is also but not with the same equal balance of the Timeless but being head heavy I feel like I can turn on a dime and I'm sure that a new user would probably find the razor a little awkward for the first couple of shaves. Anyway another excellent pass from the Gibbs and on to the Timeless on my neck for the last WTG section and pass and again no disappointments from the Timeless taking down my growth. Oh and both razor went through the my growth on my tough Adams apple with confidence and without a hitch. So finished up with another excellent pass from the Timeless Ti to end the WTG pass. Rinised and relathered and I like the scent of this take on a barbershop. Vidas Duck fat shave soap to me is very underrated and doesn't get the attention it deserves and I know she's taught a couple of well know soap makers how to make Shave soap so I'm a fan of hers and I like her bath soaps as well which is her real passion. So I'm all ready for the ATG Pass.

2nd Pass ATG - Switching things around and starting at the base of my neck on my left side with the Ti Timeless I gave my neck a good stretch and began my upward S to N pass and because the Timeless took down a significant amount of my whiskers on the first pass there wasn't a lot to take down on this pass so the razor went quickly through my predictable growth and it was a quickest pass of this Shave Off. Excellent pass. Moving on up with the Gibbs after a couple of strokes I notice the Gibbs has just a bit more blade feel than the Timeless on this ATG pass and to match it I would have probably had to turn it down to a lower setting by a little bit knowing the razor well. I noticed one other thing but I'll comment on that on the other side of my face. I did ATG all around my mouth with no problems and once I got to my chin I did the same with no issues at all. So another excellent pass from the Gibbs. Now to the difficult side and with the Gibbs in hand I started my S to N pass at the base of my neck and once again I gave my skin a good stretch and the razor was slicing through whatever stubble was left like a champ with almost complete disregard for my nasty cowlick and weird beard growth and finished off the pass quite quickly. Grabbed the Timeless for the last ATG pass on my right side face and what can I say a smooth, smooth, smooth take down of whatever remaining stubble was left from the last pass. I gave me skin a good stretch in the area next to my ear as it's one of my tougher to shave areas and the Timeless passed right through it. I'll stop for a moment and say to anybody whos having trouble with irritation or having to do 3 passes or more and some buffing to achieve a perfect shave please try skin stretching and if you don't know how to do it either watch some Youtube Videos of some Italian barbers wielding their STR8 razors or check out page two or 3 ( can't remember ) to check out the graphics and explanation on how to do it as it made a huge difference in my shave results on so many levels. Anyway sorry I seem to be getting side tracked a lot in this Shave Off but anyway I finished up the last pass of this very good Shave Off with another excellent pass from the Ti Timeless.

Post shave:
I rinsed with warm then ice cold water and then heading to the fridge to get a splash of Thayers unscented witch hazel and let it dry while I cleaned up my gear. After that I did a Cotton test which told me what I thought. I had a Level 2 BBS all over my face and neck and so from an efficiency level I had to wait to see which areas of my face grew out sooner. Well after 24hrs I knew the answer to that question so it's time to go to the scoring system.

Gibbs Adjustable

1. Smoothness = 55 1/2 points
2. Efficiency = 14 1/2 points
3. Balance = 4 points
4. Maneuverability = 4 1/2 points.
5. Glide = 4 1/2 points

Total score = 83 points


Timeless .95 DC Titanium

1. Smoothness = 56 points
2. Efficiency = 14 points
3. Balance = 4 1/2 points
4. Maneuverability = 4 1/2 points.
5. Glide = 4 1/2 points

Total score = 83 1/2 points



Summary:

Ok when I said this was close I meant it and the difference was only by a half a point.. Gibbs was more efficient and Timeless a bit smoother and a 1/2 point going to the Timeless for better balance and the tie breaker. So congrats to the Timeless for the win and moving on to the final round against the Raw Shaving RS 10 for the Championship!

A Note: I would have lost a chance at the prizes if I was picking for them as my personal picks can now be revealed which was the Gibbs vs the RS 10 for the championship so I was wrong. LOL

Great Shaves my friends!

DB


View attachment 1041269

Great match!! Two lovely razors!!

 

[DSR]

Yes you are!! Good luck in the finals

When is the big final taking place??

 

[User 306]

I tried to figure out by the past matches and your reviews which way that this was going, if it it would have been me shaving I would have went with the Timeless as the overall winner.
It is by far my favorite Razor that I have ever used. Nice Shave Frank

Hello my friend! Well when these match ups are as close as the last few the scoring system helps me figure out which razor is the winner because it it were only based on one thing like efficiency for example then out of all of the last 4 the Gibbs would have won for sure but “ Smoothness “ gets the most points in the scoring system ( up to 60 ) then efficiency is next with balance, maneuverability and glide making up the rest of the points.
I’m hoping this helps members figure out better the overall shaving characteristics of razors that they be looking to acquire. A good example would be if someone was looking to pick up and trying to choose between a Gillette President and the 1st Gen # 15 British Aristocrat they can look at the scoring system and see that the President is a bit smoother than the #15 but not as efficient but very close in all the other categories.

So now we are down to the last 2 and I’m kind of mad at myself for not putting both the baseplates that both the Timeless and Raw Shaving RS 10 in this competition right from the start because we now have 2 razors left and one is wearing its most efficient baseplate and the other it’s least efficient and yet it’s kind of late to change the rules.
Sorry for the long rant I’m just a little disappointed in myself for letting this senecio happen.

Thanks for your input! You know it’s always respected and appreciated my friend!

 

[Calm_Shaver]

Shave Off report:

Gibbs Adjustable vs Timeless Ti DC .95 using only the SB

Sorry guys for the long wait but I had to find the time to write up the report on this very busy week so thanks for your patience. So this one was a very close one which I expected out of not only these two but all the of the last 4 and no disappointments here and I'll add on any given day with a different blade in the razors or maybe switching sides or if the Gibbs which is an adjustable were on a higher or lower setting or the Timeless used the OC side instead of the SB side maybe the outcome of this Shave Off would change. Don't know and I set the rules so I went with that.. Timeless is only using the SB side of the DC and the Gibbs is set on # 4.5 so you can be the judge of how the variables may affect your opinion of these two razors especially if your thinking of adding one of them to your den.

Ok so on to the Shave Off and I think I've covered each razors individual specs, properties and shaving proneness in past Shave Offs using them so I won't go over it all again and waste your valuable time.

I decided to do my normal Shave Off 2 pass shave going both WTG and ATG and also to do the Shave Off on 2 days growth with no buffing. Of course using my SSSST as well. I'm using brand new hand stropped Feather blades, Oleo # 11 Barbershop scented soap and aftershave and my WCS black synthetic brush. Also as normal separating my face into 4 sections to make things fair as many of you know my right side of my face is more difficult to shave than my left side and yes whomever made us decided to create us in two separate pieces because my whole left side of my face and body is different than my right and I could most definitely never be a male model as there's no cemetery there! LOL

Gear used:

Gibbs Adjustable
Timeless Ti DC
Feather blade
Oleo Soapworks # 11 Shave soap & Aftershave
WCS Shave brush


1st Pass WTG - I started my N to S pass with the Timeless Ti and decided to just stick to my normal 3 movement short strokes and not do any fancy X patterns or J hook etc. Sometimes I like to think of it like a waltz timing. 1 2 3 and 1 2 3, only straight down center then back up to center and straight down 30 degrees left and then back to center and 30 degrees right. Move downward and repeat.. See the similarities there? Lol Anyway back on topic so the Timeless in the high polished Ti is one smooth a** razor especially on the SB side and because of the lighter weight of the ti very manuverable to say the least. Loaded with the Feather in it the razor just sliced throw my 2 days growth like butter and the #11 provided a nice bit of slickness to add to my downward slide through the bush. I know I've heard some complaints about the size of the head under the nose but I don't have an issue with the Timeless at all and if I did a quick push to the side of my nose would take care of that problem. I've had a Timeless .95 since pretty much the company first launched out. A SS 95 Scallop baseplate which personally is my least favorite which they replaced with the 1st or 2nd DC they ever made as I asked them for it because at the time I had a DC Ikon and I thought a Dualie Timeless would be very cool and I was shocked when they said they'd do it for me... Love that company BTW.. quality product, excellent customer service and a great bunch of guys that own and run the company. So my first pass was excellent as usual with the Ti on my more difficult right side of my face and next up my little French bulldog ( Not Frenchie foo foo! lol ) the Gibbs. What a razor and completely different in every way from the Timeless Ti .. It's head heavy with a short bakelite handle and a short one at that and has 6 parts to it and also is a twist to adjust razor but make no mistakes it's a formidable razor with gobs of efficiency if turned up to max setting and yet still a smooth shaver even at that setting. Tenacious when gobbling up facial hairs like the Tasmanian Devil but being gentle on the skin. Anyway on with the pass and like always it lived up to its reputation taking down my growth while providing smooth face feel. BTW audible feedback on the Gibbs was slightly louder than on the Timeless but blade feel was just about at the same level so a couple of mid leveler's in my books. No issues around my mouth or under my nose and the Chrome finish provides just as good a glide as the high polished Timeless Ti which is also very good. An excellent pass from the Gibbs. So over to the other side for the N to S pass and once again no surprises from the Gibbs and one thing popped in my head was that the Timeless in Ti becomes a very manuverable razor and to me is much better than it's heavier SS brother. The Gibbs is also but not with the same equal balance of the Timeless but being head heavy I feel like I can turn on a dime and I'm sure that a new user would probably find the razor a little awkward for the first couple of shaves. Anyway another excellent pass from the Gibbs and on to the Timeless on my neck for the last WTG section and pass and again no disappointments from the Timeless taking down my growth. Oh and both razor went through the my growth on my tough Adams apple with confidence and without a hitch. So finished up with another excellent pass from the Timeless Ti to end the WTG pass. Rinised and relathered and I like the scent of this take on a barbershop. Vidas Duck fat shave soap to me is very underrated and doesn't get the attention it deserves and I know she's taught a couple of well know soap makers how to make Shave soap so I'm a fan of hers and I like her bath soaps as well which is her real passion. So I'm all ready for the ATG Pass.

2nd Pass ATG - Switching things around and starting at the base of my neck on my left side with the Ti Timeless I gave my neck a good stretch and began my upward S to N pass and because the Timeless took down a significant amount of my whiskers on the first pass there wasn't a lot to take down on this pass so the razor went quickly through my predictable growth and it was a quickest pass of this Shave Off. Excellent pass. Moving on up with the Gibbs after a couple of strokes I notice the Gibbs has just a bit more blade feel than the Timeless on this ATG pass and to match it I would have probably had to turn it down to a lower setting by a little bit knowing the razor well. I noticed one other thing but I'll comment on that on the other side of my face. I did ATG all around my mouth with no problems and once I got to my chin I did the same with no issues at all. So another excellent pass from the Gibbs. Now to the difficult side and with the Gibbs in hand I started my S to N pass at the base of my neck and once again I gave my skin a good stretch and the razor was slicing through whatever stubble was left like a champ with almost complete disregard for my nasty cowlick and weird beard growth and finished off the pass quite quickly. Grabbed the Timeless for the last ATG pass on my right side face and what can I say a smooth, smooth, smooth take down of whatever remaining stubble was left from the last pass. I gave me skin a good stretch in the area next to my ear as it's one of my tougher to shave areas and the Timeless passed right through it. I'll stop for a moment and say to anybody whos having trouble with irritation or having to do 3 passes or more and some buffing to achieve a perfect shave please try skin stretching and if you don't know how to do it either watch some Youtube Videos of some Italian barbers wielding their STR8 razors or check out page two or 3 ( can't remember ) to check out the graphics and explanation on how to do it as it made a huge difference in my shave results on so many levels. Anyway sorry I seem to be getting side tracked a lot in this Shave Off but anyway I finished up the last pass of this very good Shave Off with another excellent pass from the Ti Timeless.

Post shave:
I rinsed with warm then ice cold water and then heading to the fridge to get a splash of Thayers unscented witch hazel and let it dry while I cleaned up my gear. After that I did a Cotton test which told me what I thought. I had a Level 2 BBS all over my face and neck and so from an efficiency level I had to wait to see which areas of my face grew out sooner. Well after 24hrs I knew the answer to that question so it's time to go to the scoring system.

Gibbs Adjustable

1. Smoothness = 55 1/2 points
2. Efficiency = 14 1/2 points
3. Balance = 4 points
4. Maneuverability = 4 1/2 points.
5. Glide = 4 1/2 points

Total score = 83 points


Timeless .95 DC Titanium

1. Smoothness = 56 points
2. Efficiency = 14 points
3. Balance = 4 1/2 points
4. Maneuverability = 4 1/2 points.
5. Glide = 4 1/2 points

Total score = 83 1/2 points



Summary:

Ok when I said this was close I meant it and the difference was only by a half a point.. Gibbs was more efficient and Timeless a bit smoother and a 1/2 point going to the Timeless for better balance and the tie breaker. So congrats to the Timeless for the win and moving on to the final round against the Raw Shaving RS 10 for the Championship!

A Note: I would have lost a chance at the prizes if I was picking for them as my personal picks can now be revealed which was the Gibbs vs the RS 10 for the championship so I was wrong. LOL

Great Shaves my friends!

DB


View attachment 1041269

Another Great Shave Off Frank! I am out as I picked the Gibbs, But will follow the Finals very closely. Any chance of having a video for the Finals? That would be awesome! Thank You my Friend for making this awesome thread

 

[Ray Settanta]

Very, very close, Frank. I suggest that your final Shaveoff be held at Gillette Stadium in Fox-borough, MA.

 

[muzichead]

Don't beat yourself up Frank... If memory serves me correctly the majority of people that have an RS-10 use the mild plate over the aggressive plate anyway so the right plate is in the final shave off. I'm still rooting for the Ti95 to take it all though!!

 

[AJSharp]

Great semis so far Frank. Looking forward to the championship finals - I'm rooting for the RS10 which on either plate I expect will be smoother. As far as your mug on video maybe your new hire can do some video magic ? Happy shaving dude

 

[DSR]

I’m hoping this helps members figure out better the overall shaving characteristics of razors that they be looking to acquire...

Yes, it certainly does help, thank you.
And this is one of the reasons why I’m rooting for the .95 Ti Timeless....
Sounds like RS 10 is a great razor, incredibly smooth, but it would be very difficult to acquire at this point... not many people will be keen to sell theirs anymore, and, if they do, it will be for a hefty price...
Whilst Timeless is in production and easily available from the company, although still not cheap by any means...

 

[BigJ]

UPDATE: Championship Shave Off Round Complete!

Timeless Ti .95 SB vs Raw Shaving RS 10 mild plate

Ok this was a very close one and I’m going to have to let this one grow out till morning to go to the scoring system because right now I’m a BBS Level 2 on my whole face and neck and I’ll explain how I got there when I do my report.

Great shaves my friends!

YIKES!! This is close (literally!!)

 

[Ray Settanta]

Excellent! Another very close one. If I remember correctly, the last few were all close. Anyone of them would be a great choice to use as a daily shaver. Thanks for doing all that work, Frank. It was very enjoyable to read the whole series.

 

[kingfisher]

Wow! I got 'em all right!! That's exciting even though my name didn't get picked out of the hat.

Nice shave offs, Frank. Thanks for your work on this thread. It has been thoroughly enjoyable.

 

[Music]

Great shave off! And I feel much better now, since I wouldn't have won anyway, even if I hadn't picked the President to win in the semi-finals, since I picked the Timeless to win it all. Would love to try the RS10, but don't see that happening any time soon.

 

[UserNameTaken]

Was the Wolfman WR2 not in this battle? would’ve been interesting to see where it lands between these razors.

 

[Shavemd]

Excellent shave off my friend, and for me probably hits closest to home since I shave daily and smoothness is paramount. Great job and very informative to anyone looking for a smooth efficient shave.

 

[UserNameTaken]

Hi
That was a strong consideration for this competition but at the time I had sold my WR2 .95 DC and my WR1 .61 which I think looking back would have played nicely on this field and would probably have gotten deep into the final 6 but I’m not sure where they’d go from there as I don’t have any low gap Wolfman razors anymore just the high gaps.
I’ll bet a WR2 .95 in Titanium would be a very smooth razor for sure and if I had one I would have put it in this Shave Off for sure.

thanks for your input

would you say the Timeless .95 and RS10 are your preferred razors over the WR2? Thanks for your work with this thread, lots of great info

 

[DSR]

No not really I would put it more like this. When I have 3 days of growth or more I would be more inclined to use a razor which is more efficient than either razor like my WR1.94 DC or WR2 DC 1.25/1.35, Ikon Tech, 2011 R41 Charcoal Goods Level 3 OC and 1st Gen Tradere OC or Paradigm Ti 1 for example. Of course the RS10 with the more efficient plate can handle 3 days growth no problem as well as the .95 Timeless DC especially if I start my 1st Pass with the OC side of the DC. More than 3 days and I go to the other more efficient razors I mentioned. I did just get this past Thursday what may be my most efficient razor a WR2 Titanium DC 1.45/1.55 and because of doing the Shave Off I haven’t used it yet but I will for my morning work shave on Wednesday morning. I’ll have to do a side by side with my Ikon Tech to measure the efficiency of the new razor though before naming it my most efficient razor.

Are you in line to get a Wolfman? If so what blade gap are you going with?

Would you say, from your experience, that .95 Ti Timeless (SB side, let’s say..) works well as a regular daily shaver?
Or is it a bit too efficient for that, and it’s better for 2+ days growth?

 

[Joncr]

So much information, so much time, so much effort, an awful lot to digest and use for all our members.
In the end I am expect some of us will save money not buying a razor that would end up disappointing, but more of us have been inspired to hunt out a razor that better fits our shaving preferences.
Great idea, painstakingly executed.
Thanks again Dragonsbeard for all you have brought to our hobby.

 

[AJSharp]

@Dragonsbeard As always great shave off Frank. I think the finals with the bracket challenge made it fun for all and congrats to @Darktrader. I have learned so much through this thread and appreciate the effort you and all the contributors have put in so far. So I’m looking forward to the next chapter in this World Shave Off.

Also it’s very interesting how different companies have made these “smoothest” of DE razors. In the RS10 it was marketed as a high end expensive razor made by a serial entrepreneur with less than 500 made over a very short time. The Timeless is always available in multiple metals and configurations with exceptional customer service. And the Gibbs is a vintage razor made decades ago that has inspired others which may be similar yet not quite as good (IMHO). Looks like one can get similar results with different business strategies. We certainly enjoy an ever changing hobby.

 

[Joncr]

another Shave Off series !!!!! good grief you have already done so much for Badger and Blade......if your up for it, I am sure your devoted followers will certainly be ready to start the next journey. Look forward to your ideas and reading your write ups.