Chiseled Face Legacy Razor

[kingfisher]

It's been a few months now. Any ideas? I like different.

It has become my favorite DE. I have used it almost exclusively for months now.

I think the differences are:

1) lt has a huge gap
2) It has virtually no exposure
3) The bottom of the safety bar curls upward, which an unusual design feature that I think makes it feel exceptionally smooth

I love it; it's very, very smooth. And yes, it is very angle-dependent. Exceedingly smooth when used at a shallow angle, but at a steep angle, it feels kind of harsh.

But man, what a razor! I love it.

 

[Cal]

Cal @Cal has one of these beauties. He uses a steep angle, always. Hopefully, he will offer his experience using the Legacy at a steep angle.

Too funny, I wondered the same thing when I saw @Cal post pics of his new Legacy.

I love the look and feel of my aluminum Legacy. I'm not overly keen on its neutral blade exposure (meaning [in theory] that steep and shallow angles are the same!).

I do prefer razors with positive blade exposure, so my aluminum Legacy probably won't get that much use.

 

[Keto]

Legacy looks nice but I'm not sure about the efficiency and getting used if I had one.
I seem to let my milder razors sit, the Ti Blackbird has been getting its daily workout as of lately.
I know usually it's a buy to try thing.

 

[LRod]

I'm interested in this razor but only if it works well at a steep angle.



View attachment 1802190



Cal @Cal has one of these beauties. He uses a steep angle, always. Hopefully, he will offer his experience using the Legacy at a steep angle.

Happy shaves,

Jim

When I had it, I used it as designed (very shallow riding the cap angle). If you read the description on the Choseled Face website, it's recommended to be used very shallow. Out of curiosity I tried it at various other angles and it was terrible for me. As soon as the handle went down, it was really really rough!
I guess YMMV though!

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I love the look and feel of my aluminum Legacy. I'm not overly keen on its neutral blade exposure (meaning [in theory] that steep and shallow angles are the same!).

I do prefer razors with positive blade exposure, so my aluminum Legacy probably won't get that much use.

Why'd you buy it?

(Asking for a friend whose name is Cal.)

I certainly don't want to buy one only to discover it really has to be used at a shallow angle. Like you, Cal, I'm not much of a cap rider. So far, everyone who has much experience with the Legacy says they ride the "top" cap.

(Oh, meant to tell you this, Cal. The other day I came across a vendor who referred to the baseplate as the "bottom cap," at least I think that's what they were saying. They also used the term "top cap." In other words, it's not just me with the idiosyncratic nomenclature.)

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Iridian]

I certainly don't want to buy one only to discover it really has to be used at a shallow angle. Like you, Cal, I'm not much of a cap rider. So far, everyone who has much experience with the Legacy says they ride the "top" cap.

I love the Herringbone handle, but I have no other razor that wants to shave so extremely shallow.

 

[wetshaver233]

So, it's a mild and not a super efficient razor? If that's the case, then I will be disappointed. Thanks for saving me the trouble of getting one. So far, nothing beats my Ti Blackbird with the SB plate and the Ti Yates 921 SB and while I'm still curious about new razors, I think I might accept the reality and sell everything else and keep the Bird and the Yates.

 

[kingfisher]

So, it's a mild and not a super efficient razor? If that's the case, then I will be disappointed. Thanks for saving me the trouble of getting one. So far, nothing beats my Ti Blackbird with the SB plate and the Ti Yates 921 SB and while I'm still curious about new razors, I think I might accept the reality and sell everything else and keep the Bird and the Yates.

It is mild but not inefficient. It is only inefficient if you use the wrong angle.

I have used probably well over 100 DE razors since I started this journey 15 years ago, and if you told me I could keep only one, this is the one I would keep.

Having said that, I don't even pretend to believe that my preferences are absolute or that they should apply in any way to others. If you tried it you may well dislike it. But I think it is not fair to characterize it as inefficient. I can take a two-day growth down to DFS with 2 passes and maybe a tiny bit of touch-up.

 

[wetshaver233]

It is mild but not inefficient. It is only inefficient if you use the wrong angle.

I have used probably well over 100 DE razors since I started this journey 15 years ago, and if you told me I could keep only one, this is the one I would keep.

Having said that, I don't even pretend to believe that my preferences are absolute or that they should apply in any way to others. If you tried it you may well dislike it. But I think it is not fair to characterize it as inefficient. I can take a two-day growth down to DFS with 2 passes and maybe a tiny bit of touch-up.

How does it stand compared to the Blackbird and Yates 921 H or EH plate? I've tried a lot of razors myself and it's not that I don't believe you that you've also used a lot of razors as well, but I never take anyone seriously when he uses numbers like ''I've used 100/150/200 different razors etc''.

The reason for that, is because I've been a DE shaver for a very long time and I've started with vintage razors and I've shaved with most Gillette models from Single Ring, New Improved, pretty much all US and British NEW models including the New De Luxe, almost all US, British, a couple of Canadian and German Tech as well as the Hybrid Tech, almost all British and US TTO Aristocrats, ''Standard'' Gold Toggle, most of the British Rockets and US Super Speeds, Slim, Fatboy, Super Adjustable and many other Gillettes as well. I've also used at least 6 different GEM models, many Schicks and Pals, many known and unknown vintage DE razors like Gibbs 15/17, Eclipse Red Ring, Swedish Matador and Swing and many, many others along with a large number of the high end modern razors (from brands like Wolfman, Timeless, Blutt, Charcoal Goods, Rocnel, Homelike Shaving, Barbaros, Le Murice, Drakkant, Lamda Athena, Blackland Blackbird, Vector, Dart, Osprey, ATT, Rockwell 6S just to name a few) on the market. Yet despite all of this, I still don't think that all of those razors together score 100, which is why I don't bother counting them or use numbers.

So given all that, I really have hard time believing anyone who claims that he has used 100 or more absolutely different and unique razors, because having doubles or razors that share the same head geometry, but with a different handle doesn't really qualify to me as different razors or just because someone owns piles of razors, most of which are duplicates. Or perhaps, that person has access to parallel universes and is using razors that I haven't heard of.

 

[Cal]

Why'd you buy it?

(Asking for a friend whose name is Cal.)

I love the look of the Herringbone Handle. The only way I could get an aluminum one was to buy the Aluminum Legacy.

As I was curious about the Legacy head I went ahead and purchased the Aluminum Legacy razor (with the Herringbone handle).

I certainly don't want to buy one only to discover it really has to be used at a shallow angle. Like you, Cal, I'm not much of a cap rider. So far, everyone who has much experience with the Legacy says they ride the "top" cap.

It shaves fine, steep. (But it is a very mild razor.)

(Oh, meant to tell you this, Cal. The other day I came across a vendor who referred to the baseplate as the "bottom cap," at least I think that's what they were saying. They also used the term "top cap." In other words, it's not just me with the idiosyncratic nomenclature.)

They were obviously confused as the "bottom cap" would be the handle.

 

[LRod]

It is mild but not inefficient. It is only inefficient if you use the wrong angle.

I'd have to totally agree with this!
It's definitely very efficient but at the right (shallow) angle.

 

[kingfisher]

How does it stand compared to the Blackbird and Yates 921 H or EH plate? I've tried a lot of razors myself and it's not that I don't believe you that you've also used a lot of razors as well, but I never take anyone seriously when he uses numbers like ''I've used 100/150/200 different razors etc''.

The reason for that, is because I've been a DE shaver for a very long time and I've started with vintage razors and I've shaved with most Gillette models from Single Ring, New Improved, pretty much all US and British NEW models including the New De Luxe, almost all US, British, a couple of Canadian and German Tech as well as the Hybrid Tech, almost all British and US TTO Aristocrats, ''Standard'' Gold Toggle, most of the British Rockets and US Super Speeds, Slim, Fatboy, Super Adjustable and many other Gillettes as well. I've also used at least 6 different GEM models, many Schicks and Pals, many known and unknown vintage DE razors like Gibbs 15/17, Eclipse Red Ring, Swedish Matador and Swing and many, many others along with a large number of the high end modern razors (from brands like Wolfman, Timeless, Blutt, Charcoal Goods, Rocnel, Homelike Shaving, Barbaros, Le Murice, Drakkant, Lamda Athena, Blackland Blackbird, Vector, Dart, Osprey, ATT, Rockwell 6S just to name a few) on the market. Yet despite all of this, I still don't think that all of those razors together score 100, which is why I don't bother counting them or use numbers.

So given all that, I really have hard time believing anyone who claims that he has used 100 or more absolutely different and unique razors, because having doubles or razors that share the same head geometry, but with a different handle doesn't really qualify to me as different razors or just because someone owns piles of razors, most of which are duplicates. Or perhaps, that person has access to parallel universes and is using razors that I haven't heard of.

Good point. I probably exaggerated. My razor history is similar to yours. Old type, New Improved, New Deluxe, LC New, SC New, Toggle, Slim, Fatboy, Black Beauty, every variety of Tech, every variety of Superspeed, at least six models of iKon, three models of Merkur (maybe four), lots of different Razorocks, Blackbird, H&S, three different Wolfman razors, Darwin, Stahly, Tradere, and a bunch of others I don't even remember. Maybe it is closer to 40 or 45.

So I guess I lied. But you and I both know that it doesn't negate my original point, which is that I have tried many different styles and varieties of DE razor and this one stands out to me. It has something (for me) that the others don't have.

I have obviously been afflicted by RAD for a very long time but at least for now I think this may me the razor I was looking for all that time.

I apologize for the exaggeration. It SEEMED like 100 razors in my mind.

 

[John Stetson]

It has become my favorite DE. I have used it almost exclusively for months now.

I think the differences are:

1) lt has a huge gap
2) It has virtually no exposure
3) The bottom of the safety bar curls upward, which an unusual design feature that I think makes it feel exceptionally smooth

I love it; it's very, very smooth. And yes, it is very angle-dependent. Exceedingly smooth when used at a shallow angle, but at a steep angle, it feels kind of harsh.

But man, what a razor! I love it.

This is my experience exactly. Unique razor. Huge gap, no exposure, very smooth, mild, but very efficient once you dial in the angle consistently. I found it did indeed need quite a shallow angle, riding the cap. I’ve never nicked or cut myself with it. Once I find that angle and maintain it, it glides across the top of my skin and cuts closely. It does require focus-not so that I don’t cut myself, but so that I get a close shave. It’s fun to use if you enjoy getting skillful with a tool.

 

[wetshaver233]

Good point. I probably exaggerated. My razor history is similar to yours. Old type, New Improved, New Deluxe, LC New, SC New, Toggle, Slim, Fatboy, Black Beauty, every variety of Tech, every variety of Superspeed, at least six models of iKon, three models of Merkur (maybe four), lots of different Razorocks, Blackbird, H&S, three different Wolfman razors, Darwin, Stahly, Tradere, and a bunch of others I don't even remember. Maybe it is closer to 40 or 45.

So I guess I lied. But you and I both know that it doesn't negate my original point, which is that I have tried many different styles and varieties of DE razor and this one stands out to me. It has something (for me) that the others don't have.

I have obviously been afflicted by RAD for a very long time but at least for now I think this may me the razor I was looking for all that time.

I apologize for the exaggeration. It SEEMED like 100 razors in my mind.

Nothing to apologize, we all do mistakes from time to time.

Like you said, the razor has a negative blade exposure and uses a shallow angle and to me that indicates that it probably won't work well for me and the way I enjoy shaving. I've tried other razors like that, such as Lambda Athena, Blutt 1.20, Karve Overlander, Drakkant with the plus plate etc. They were all intended to be gentle and mild with a decent amount of efficiency, but that efficiency is just not enough for me and the Legacy sounds like a similar razor from the reviews I see around the shaving forums and Youtube.

 

[Cal]

Like you said, the razor has a negative blade exposure ...

I find that it has NEUTRAL exposure:

 

[wetshaver233]

I find that it has NEUTRAL exposure:
View attachment 1803002

My bad. I was thinking about neutral, but wrote negative instead. Still, judging by the guard, I doubt that it would have a decent blade feel on the face. The head geometry looks decent and if the guard was a bit shorter, I would have probably give it a shot.

 

[Phoenixkh]

It's nice there are so many options out there now. I only have a few razors but almost all of them didn't exist prior to 2021. During my razor search, I used much older designs and several "standard" razors from Merkur, etc. I started to go down the Vintage Gillette path but decided I preferred the CNC modern razors so that's what I have. I do have a Y2 1953 birth year and quarter SuperSpeed and the Merkur Progress in both handle lengths.... and my mother's two Schick G injectors.

I don't seem to require the more efficient razors as I'm getting shaves that last 12 hours with the upper level mild razors to the lower level medium razors..... I'm very glad they exist. It's a great time to be a wet shaver... for us newbies.

 

[kingfisher]

My bad. I was thinking about neutral, but wrote negative instead. Still, judging by the guard, I doubt that it would have a decent blade feel on the face. The head geometry looks decent and if the guard was a bit shorter, I would have probably give it a shot.

That guard shape is part of its magic, but you are probably right that this razor wouldn't suit you very well.

No razor is the best for everybody, because what we are looking for in a razor is not always the same thing.

 

[Iridian]

It's a great time to be a wet shaver... for us newbies.

Almost two years since you registered here. You already decided to pass down razors to your kids who likely don't really want them. You are already deep down the rabbit hole, you can no longer claim newbie status.

Are you comfortable with advanced shaver and when do you think expert is warranted?

P.S. if you take me serious you made a serious mistake.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Almost two years since you registered here. You already decided to pass down razors to your kids who likely don't really want them. You are already deep down the rabbit hole, you can no longer claim newbie status.

Are you comfortable with advanced shaver and when do you think expert is warranted?

P.S. if you take me serious you made a serious mistake.

I'm holding fast to my shaving white belt.

There may be a progression but white looks good to me.

Suzuki-roshi nailed it.

Happy shaves,

Jim