Well, like many others here I could not resist a modern TTO. So I ordered a Cadet TTO-15 from Shaveabuck. It arrived today and cost just under $28 shipped. Packaging is very simple, which is good in my book. Put the money into the product, not the box.
The razor looks great out of the box. Very nice finish up to the head. The head is slightly less nice compared to the handle, but is not terrible and is perfect in operation. The finish on the head of my unit was a bit rough in spots and the end caps had some indentations. Also, the doors didn't line up perfectly on one side, but by the tiniest of margins and certainly not enough to effect operation.
The handle is superb. Large and very well knurled without being prickly. Very secure grip on this tool. Beautiful plating too. I am not a huge fan of large handles, but on this razor the handle is sized perfectly. While shaving I found myself gripping the razor almost halfway down the handle, which is not usual for me, but it felt the perfect way to handle this thing and it worked just great as far as balance and weight.
Aggressiveness is great for me. A bit more aggressive than the Red Tip by my estimation (I no longer have a Red Tip, so can't do a side by side), which is excellent. Not too aggressive, but aggressive enough. Very effective. Very loud, too. The sound this razor makes is in the same character as the Red Tip. Buzzy and loud. Great feedback, but I think after listening to Merkur Progress not too many razor can compare. Still, Cadet has great audio feedback.
The shave was excellent with a Personna Super (Med) on second shave. Lathered up with 3P soap (classic Italian style soap) and Ever-Ready 100T with an Omega boar knot. Very smooth and effortless shave. Excellent razor for the price. I would say not a bginner razor because of the aggressiveness, but certainly something to go past the EJ DE89 and Merkur 34C in terms of aggressiveness. I saw what looks like an identical razor sold on Italianbarber.com as RazorRock TTO and it costs $20 there, which, if the same thing, is even more of a deal. So if anyone out there trying to score a Red Tip, but not willing to pay the price for scarcity, this is an excellent option. It's new, it's good quality and shaves a little better than the Red Tip (more aggressive).
Here are some pictures.
The razor looks great out of the box. Very nice finish up to the head. The head is slightly less nice compared to the handle, but is not terrible and is perfect in operation. The finish on the head of my unit was a bit rough in spots and the end caps had some indentations. Also, the doors didn't line up perfectly on one side, but by the tiniest of margins and certainly not enough to effect operation.
The handle is superb. Large and very well knurled without being prickly. Very secure grip on this tool. Beautiful plating too. I am not a huge fan of large handles, but on this razor the handle is sized perfectly. While shaving I found myself gripping the razor almost halfway down the handle, which is not usual for me, but it felt the perfect way to handle this thing and it worked just great as far as balance and weight.
Aggressiveness is great for me. A bit more aggressive than the Red Tip by my estimation (I no longer have a Red Tip, so can't do a side by side), which is excellent. Not too aggressive, but aggressive enough. Very effective. Very loud, too. The sound this razor makes is in the same character as the Red Tip. Buzzy and loud. Great feedback, but I think after listening to Merkur Progress not too many razor can compare. Still, Cadet has great audio feedback.
The shave was excellent with a Personna Super (Med) on second shave. Lathered up with 3P soap (classic Italian style soap) and Ever-Ready 100T with an Omega boar knot. Very smooth and effortless shave. Excellent razor for the price. I would say not a bginner razor because of the aggressiveness, but certainly something to go past the EJ DE89 and Merkur 34C in terms of aggressiveness. I saw what looks like an identical razor sold on Italianbarber.com as RazorRock TTO and it costs $20 there, which, if the same thing, is even more of a deal. So if anyone out there trying to score a Red Tip, but not willing to pay the price for scarcity, this is an excellent option. It's new, it's good quality and shaves a little better than the Red Tip (more aggressive).
Here are some pictures.
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