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The World Shave Off Showdown

Good morning Frank,
So yesterday I tried a small experiment
I put my Stainless steel polished scalloped top cap on my Titanium Timeless matte finish
.95 Scalloped Titanium Timeless base plate
and had a great time. One of the best shaves
I keep talking myself out of getting the polished Ti and I figured that this set up would be close. Besides the look do you find that the
Polished Ti Timeless is that much better than the matte? I know you have said that the glide is better but is it a big difference between the two ?
26mm Shavemac fan custom rotten wood brush
SC Purposes
Perssona Med Prep
Outstanding results :) 2 pass BBS with a little bit of touch up.View attachment 1008429

Using a SS top cap adds only 6.3 gm to the total (titanium) razor weight so I don't think it would alter the balance, maneuverability or efficiency of the shave. It sounds like a great affordable compromise with the best of both worlds. Personally I do not like the Timeless Ti handle so I use a TiBam handle. I have not used both Timelees Titanium versions to have an opinion regarding the differences in smoothness from a matte vs polished titanium but I do own a matte titanium and cannot "feel" the difference compared to a polished titanium. If you want a nice combo I have had great results pairing a titanium handle with a stainless head such as using the RR GameChanger SS for excellent weight and balance.
 
Though I've never tried both, polished and matte, in Titanium I have tried both in the Stainless version and there was really no difference that I noticed. I have the matte finished Ti95DC and am in the minority that I love the handle that Timeless sells with the Ti model. I thing the balance is perfect and have never had the handle slip in my hand during a shave...
 

Graydog

Biblical Innards
Though I've never tried both, polished and matte, in Titanium I have tried both in the Stainless version and there was really no difference that I noticed. I have the matte finished Ti95DC and am in the minority that I love the handle that Timeless sells with the Ti model. I thing the balance is perfect and have never had the handle slip in my hand during a shave...
I like the handle also, we should start a club or something :)
I like the shape and the weight and have no problem with it being slippery ethier.
 
Good morning Frank,
So yesterday I tried a small experiment
I put my Stainless steel polished scalloped top cap on my Titanium Timeless matte finish
.95 Scalloped Titanium Timeless base plate
and had a great time. One of the best shaves
I keep talking myself out of getting the polished Ti and I figured that this set up would be close. Besides the look do you find that the
Polished Ti Timeless is that much better than the matte? I know you have said that the glide is better but is it a big difference between the two ?
26mm Shavemac fan custom rotten wood brush
SC Purposes
Perssona Med Prep
Outstanding results :) 2 pass BBS with a little bit of touch up.View attachment 1008429

Great looking!! Congrats on the shave! :a14::a14: :a14::a14:
 

Graydog

Biblical Innards
Hi @Graydog @muzichead @AJSharp etc it’s funny this was posted because as we sneak I have both a Titanium.95 Matte finish and High Polished Titanium.95 both with the Scallop baseplate heading my way for a Shave Off that I’ve been more than curious to do! So perfect timing to bring up the subject. I’ve already done the .95 DC SS vs the High Polished Titanium.95 DC comparison and found them to provide the same shave results with the Ti offering up more maneuverability and having just a bit smoother face feel. At least on this puss!
So only having the DC two members pulled together and are sending me their 2 Timeless Scallop baseplate razors so they are identical for the Shave Off. So I can’t wait to do the comparison to satisfy my own curiosity and hopefully give a little insight to other members who are as curious as I am. Of course as always it’s just one mans opinion.

Thanks guys for bring this up! :a14:
Looking forward to your shave.
Used the same set up today but with a Fresh Feather .
Very Nice! I think I like the med prep a little bit more. A bit smoother
00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20190816074854786_COVER.jpg
 
Looking forward to the Titanium knock down. It should be a tie even after points but we shall be waiting anxiously
 
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@Graydog my son in law did the same thing of adding the SS Polished top cap to his Ti and told me it was the best shave he got from any Timeless. Maybe the 2 of you are on to something
 
Hey there, Frank. I see you're still fighting the good fight. This thread is a wonder. 233 pages and still going strong! And you, my friend, are like the energizer bunny. I've not been around in a while. My interest rises and falls but you're always on. I tip my hat to you.
 
Shave Off using the Carbon Shaving vs the Paradigm 17 4


So after reading a written review of the Carbon shave where it was mentioned that the razor seemed similar to the Paradigm 17 4 it sparked my curiosity as I've gotten like 3 shaves with the Carbon in and I've had a lot of shave time with the Paradigm and based on just memory it seemed to me that the 17 4 would win the efficiency battle between these two so I decided to do a quick Shave Off between the Carbon vs the Paradigm 17 4. It was an all around good shave I got from both razors.

like I mentioned I'm very familiar with the Paradigm 17 4 and I've had it since they were first released and it's still one of my favorite SS razors in the mid efficiency category. I did a simple 2 pass WTG and ATG pass using both razors and as I do in all my Shave Offs I split my face into 4 sections so that each razor got one difficult section and one easy section on both sides of my face as my right side is a lot more difficult to shave than my left side. I loaded both razors with a fresh Polsilver blade went at it starting with the Paradigm on my right side and began to head South and as normal it's just one smooth yet decisively efficient razor and a pleasure to use. Blade feel is on the low side for a razor that took down a good amount of stubble on this first pass. I found that the 17 4 was a little smoother than the Carbon and more so around my mouth. Both razors get under the nose no problem so that was not an issue as they both have relatively low profile heads. . So finished that pass and continued downward with the Carbon and on my neck on my nasty cowlick once again the razor did a nice job on it for the first pass like it did on the last shave. No problem going over my Adams apple so a good pass from the Carbon. I did notice right away within the first few strokes that the Carbon has a little more blade feel than the 17 4 but not by a whole lot but definitely noticeable and for some that's a big bonus depending on your preference when it comes to blade feel. So finished up the pass and went right over to my left side right under my sideburns and started my N to S WTG pass. My left side was a very easy pass for the Carbon and a nice pass as well and I'll note that it was on this pass where I noticed the 17 4 was a bit smoother around my mouth. Finished up and grabbed the 17 4 for the finial WTG pass on my neck and this was a very fast easy pass and I remembered why I like this razor so much. BTW Audible feedback on the first pass the Carbon sang a little louder song than the 17 4 just so you guys know who care.

So on to the ATG pass and I started with the Carbon at the base of my neck on my right side and started S to N and this was a very good pass for the Carbon as it seemed to clean up what little stubble was left from the first pass and again I was impressed. Also as you see in the photo I went back to using the handle that comes with it and I have no really issues with it and I like it but I have to say I liked the way the razor felt a little bit better with the Tibam Ti handle I used in the last shave just a bit more but you know I"ve learned that sometimes it just takes more time with a razor handle to forum a final judgement and a perfect example of that is the 17 4 because I remember when I got it I prejudged the handle and said I don't like it and a friend of mine who also had it said give it some time and I think it will grow on you and he was absolutely right. I enjoy the standard handle a lot so I'm sure I'd like the stock handle on the Carbon with more shave time. Finished up the ATG pass and with the 17 4 I worked my way up my face going ATG and again so smooth and on this pass it's also noticeable that the audible feedback quiets down where as the Carbon seems to maintain nice steady feedback throughout the entire shave. Great pass from the 17 4 and went right over to the base of my neck on the other side and this was the fastest pass of all as it was extremely easy for the Paradigm to get through whatever stubble was left from the last pass. Same with the Carbon on the last ATG pass on my face on the left side. Both did a excellent job and I had what I'd call a nice Sunday Shave. The whole Acqua Di Parma set up helped to make it even better as it was a hot muggy day here in NY and a perfect day for a citrus scent.

So all and all a very good shave from both razors and after rinsing my face and drying it I did a face feel and basically it was very close. Fit and finish I'd have to give to the Paradigm by a little bit and I'd say the efficiency on both these razors is very close to each other. I found the 17 4 to be a tad smoother than the Carbon but not by a whole lot. So because it's really not only hard to find a Paradigm 17 4 but if you do find one be prepared to shell out about double of what the Carbon sells for brand new. An there's the good news! The Carbon is obtainable and is less expensive and because they are both very close in how they shave so in my opinion you can't go wrong picking up a Carbon SS razor and if you can find a 17 4 and don't mind spending a bit more it's also an excellent shaving razor.

Thanks guys and great shaves!

DB



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Shave Off using the Carbon Shaving vs the Paradigm 17 4


So after reading a written review of the Carbon shave where it was mentioned that the razor seemed similar to the Paradigm 17 4 it sparked my curiosity as I've gotten like 3 shaves with the Carbon in and I've had a lot of shave time with the Paradigm and based on just memory it seemed to me that the 17 4 would win the efficiency battle between these two so I decided to do a quick Shave Off between the Carbon vs the Paradigm 17 4. It was an all around good shave I got from both razors.

like I mentioned I'm very familiar with the Paradigm 17 4 and I've had it since they were first released and it's still one of my favorite SS razors in the mid efficiency category. I did a simple 2 pass WTG and ATG pass using both razors and as I do in all my Shave Offs I split my face into 4 sections so that each razor got one difficult section and one easy section on both sides of my face as my right side is a lot more difficult to shave than my left side. I loaded both razors with a fresh Polsilver blade went at it starting with the Paradigm on my right side and began to head South and as normal it's just one smooth yet decisively efficient razor and a pleasure to use. Blade feel is on the low side for a razor that took down a good amount of stubble on this first pass. I found that the 17 4 was a little smoother than the Carbon and more so around my mouth. Both razors get under the nose no problem so that was not an issue as they both have relatively low profile heads. . So finished that pass and continued downward with the Carbon and on my neck on my nasty cowlick once again the razor did a nice job on it for the first pass like it did on the last shave. No problem going over my Adams apple so a good pass from the Carbon. I did notice right away within the first few strokes that the Carbon has a little more blade feel than the 17 4 but not by a whole lot but definitely noticeable and for some that's a big bonus depending on your preference when it comes to blade feel. So finished up the pass and went right over to my left side right under my sideburns and started my N to S WTG pass. My left side was a very easy pass for the Carbon and a nice pass as well and I'll note that it was on this pass where I noticed the 17 4 was a bit smoother around my mouth. Finished up and grabbed the 17 4 for the finial WTG pass on my neck and this was a very fast easy pass and I remembered why I like this razor so much. BTW Audible feedback on the first pass the Carbon sang a little louder song than the 17 4 just so you guys know who care.

So on to the ATG pass and I started with the Carbon at the base of my neck on my right side and started S to N and this was a very good pass for the Carbon as it seemed to clean up what little stubble was left from the first pass and again I was impressed. Also as you see in the photo I went back to using the handle that comes with it and I have no really issues with it and I like it but I have to say I liked the way the razor felt a little bit better with the Tibam Ti handle I used in the last shave just a bit more but you know I"ve learned that sometimes it just takes more time with a razor handle to forum a final judgement and a perfect example of that is the 17 4 because I remember when I got it I prejudged the handle and said I don't like it and a friend of mine who also had it said give it some time and I think it will grow on you and he was absolutely right. I enjoy the standard handle a lot so I'm sure I'd like the stock handle on the Carbon with more shave time. Finished up the ATG pass and with the 17 4 I worked my way up my face going ATG and again so smooth and on this pass it's also noticeable that the audible feedback quiets down where as the Carbon seems to maintain nice steady feedback throughout the entire shave. Great pass from the 17 4 and went right over to the base of my neck on the other side and this was the fastest pass of all as it was extremely easy for the Paradigm to get through whatever stubble was left from the last pass. Same with the Carbon on the last ATG pass on my face on the left side. Both did a excellent job and I had what I'd call a nice Sunday Shave. The whole Acqua Di Parma set up helped to make it even better as it was a hot muggy day here in NY and a perfect day for a citrus scent.

So all and all a very good shave from both razors and after rinsing my face and drying it I did a face feel and basically it was very close. Fit and finish I'd have to give to the Paradigm by a little bit and I'd say the efficiency on both these razors is very close to each other. I found the 17 4 to be a tad smoother than the Carbon but not by a whole lot. So because it's really not only hard to find a Paradigm 17 4 but if you do find one be prepared to shell out about double of what the Carbon sells for brand new. An there's the good news! The Carbon is obtainable and is less expensive and because they are both very close in how they shave so in my opinion you can't go wrong picking up a Carbon SS razor and if you can find a 17 4 and don't mind spending a bit more it's also an excellent shaving razor.

Thanks guys and great shaves!

DB



proxy.php

Great shave off!! Two tough contenders!! :a11::a11:
 
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Shave Off using the Carbon Shaving vs the Paradigm 17 4


So after reading a written review of the Carbon shave where it was mentioned that the razor seemed similar to the Paradigm 17 4 it sparked my curiosity as I've gotten like 3 shaves with the Carbon in and I've had a lot of shave time with the Paradigm and based on just memory it seemed to me that the 17 4 would win the efficiency battle between these two so I decided to do a quick Shave Off between the Carbon vs the Paradigm 17 4. It was an all around good shave I got from both razors.

like I mentioned I'm very familiar with the Paradigm 17 4 and I've had it since they were first released and it's still one of my favorite SS razors in the mid efficiency category. I did a simple 2 pass WTG and ATG pass using both razors and as I do in all my Shave Offs I split my face into 4 sections so that each razor got one difficult section and one easy section on both sides of my face as my right side is a lot more difficult to shave than my left side. I loaded both razors with a fresh Polsilver blade went at it starting with the Paradigm on my right side and began to head South and as normal it's just one smooth yet decisively efficient razor and a pleasure to use. Blade feel is on the low side for a razor that took down a good amount of stubble on this first pass. I found that the 17 4 was a little smoother than the Carbon and more so around my mouth. Both razors get under the nose no problem so that was not an issue as they both have relatively low profile heads. . So finished that pass and continued downward with the Carbon and on my neck on my nasty cowlick once again the razor did a nice job on it for the first pass like it did on the last shave. No problem going over my Adams apple so a good pass from the Carbon. I did notice right away within the first few strokes that the Carbon has a little more blade feel than the 17 4 but not by a whole lot but definitely noticeable and for some that's a big bonus depending on your preference when it comes to blade feel. So finished up the pass and went right over to my left side right under my sideburns and started my N to S WTG pass. My left side was a very easy pass for the Carbon and a nice pass as well and I'll note that it was on this pass where I noticed the 17 4 was a bit smoother around my mouth. Finished up and grabbed the 17 4 for the finial WTG pass on my neck and this was a very fast easy pass and I remembered why I like this razor so much. BTW Audible feedback on the first pass the Carbon sang a little louder song than the 17 4 just so you guys know who care.

So on to the ATG pass and I started with the Carbon at the base of my neck on my right side and started S to N and this was a very good pass for the Carbon as it seemed to clean up what little stubble was left from the first pass and again I was impressed. Also as you see in the photo I went back to using the handle that comes with it and I have no really issues with it and I like it but I have to say I liked the way the razor felt a little bit better with the Tibam Ti handle I used in the last shave just a bit more but you know I"ve learned that sometimes it just takes more time with a razor handle to forum a final judgement and a perfect example of that is the 17 4 because I remember when I got it I prejudged the handle and said I don't like it and a friend of mine who also had it said give it some time and I think it will grow on you and he was absolutely right. I enjoy the standard handle a lot so I'm sure I'd like the stock handle on the Carbon with more shave time. Finished up the ATG pass and with the 17 4 I worked my way up my face going ATG and again so smooth and on this pass it's also noticeable that the audible feedback quiets down where as the Carbon seems to maintain nice steady feedback throughout the entire shave. Great pass from the 17 4 and went right over to the base of my neck on the other side and this was the fastest pass of all as it was extremely easy for the Paradigm to get through whatever stubble was left from the last pass. Same with the Carbon on the last ATG pass on my face on the left side. Both did a excellent job and I had what I'd call a nice Sunday Shave. The whole Acqua Di Parma set up helped to make it even better as it was a hot muggy day here in NY and a perfect day for a citrus scent.

So all and all a very good shave from both razors and after rinsing my face and drying it I did a face feel and basically it was very close. Fit and finish I'd have to give to the Paradigm by a little bit and I'd say the efficiency on both these razors is very close to each other. I found the 17 4 to be a tad smoother than the Carbon but not by a whole lot. So because it's really not only hard to find a Paradigm 17 4 but if you do find one be prepared to shell out about double of what the Carbon sells for brand new. An there's the good news! The Carbon is obtainable and is less expensive and because they are both very close in how they shave so in my opinion you can't go wrong picking up a Carbon SS razor and if you can find a 17 4 and don't mind spending a bit more it's also an excellent shaving razor.

Thanks guys and great shaves!

DB



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Glad to see the comparison between these two. Thanks for doing a shave-off!
 
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Hello my old friend and thank you for the kind and encouraging words! They are very much appreciated! Yes it's been awhile since you've been around and I asked Scott where you've been as I always enjoyed your posts and our talks on here. I understand your interest being on and off and I'm sure all of us have a bit of that now and then. For me it's not lack of interest it's my work schedule as I have 3 projects going on at the same time and it's hard to put 2 hrs into doing a Shave Off so I've temporarily slowed the pace down by only doing one a week until things clear up a bit and I'm not so overloaded with work. One thing I've noticed as far as making shaving even more interesting is not only changing what razors I use but things like soaps, brushes, times of day I shave and also playing with my technique and trying different types of strokes. I'm also going to get myself a decent Straight razor in the near future and use that like once in a while just for a change of pace.

Thanks for touching base and don't be a stranger my friend!

:thumbup1:
A straight razor? Used them a while back and enjoyed it but found them difficult to hone. It's something that could be in a post-retirement bucket list as the time involved is off the charts for now. Now way to do a five-minute shave with those wicked things and maintaining the edge is a world unto itself.
 
I know what you mean but I'm going to go a different route and some may call me lazy but I'm willing to learn how to strop but not to sharpen them. So I've talked to a few members who use a STR8 and their advice for someone like me is buy a professionally sharpened razor and since I'm only going to use it maybe once a month just learn how to strop and when it needs a sharpening just send it out to a pro as I hear it's not very expensive. This way I get to shave with one when I have the time and patience and I won't have the high maintenance they require. I know some have multiple STR8's They use like this so when one is away being sharpened they have others to use. I'm not going down that rabbit hole. I need another case of RAD like I need a hole in the head! :hand:
You're so good at making the most of this hobby.
 
Me too! Who knows they may be in the mailbox when I get home and I absolutely need a shave.
Didn’t want to start and then stop the
“ Smoothest Razor “ Shave Off and then have to stop and start again so I’m hopeful they are here!

I’m not sure it’s going to be good for my bank account, though.... :) :)
The more I read about the Titanium Timeless, the harder it gets to resist ordering one... :001_unsur
 
I’m not sure it’s going to be good for my bank account, though.... :) :)
The more I read about the Titanium Timeless, the harder it gets to resist ordering one... :001_unsur
Once I got the polished Timeless Ti I sold off the rest of my Timeless collection, it’s that good IMHO
 
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