Thoughts on the Tatara Muramasa Adjustable. Is it worth it?

[Fedsbackhand]

Darren @BelfastBlade - how are you finding the adjustable Tatara? Do let us know before the Black Friday promotion ends

I have to assume the lower settings will appeal to fans of the original Masamune.

 

[BelfastBlade]

Darren @BelfastBlade - how are you finding the adjustable Tatara? Do let us know before the Black Friday promotion ends

I have to assume the lower settings will appeal to fans of the original Masamune.

Hello Matt! I hope you are well! It's funny you should mention, honestly I haven't even tried it yet!

I'd purchased a number of new razors, I've been on sort of an open comb thing as of late, and I've maybe been trying each one out, spending a week or so with each and the Tatara's turn hasn't came around yet!

Then yesterday I just grabbed my Ambassador as it was the first thing I saw. Tonight I was going to use a slant for a change but now you have brought it to my attention. It's been here a few weeks so I really need to give the Tatara a test run ASAP.

It's funny I was worrying about how long the post would be getting to me and it's been here three weeks and I haven't even used it!

I thought maybe you had tried the Muramasa before! I didn't know you'd not tried it yet. I see with the big sale on I was tempted to buy an OC Masamune.. works out at only £110!

I think we still have another few days. So many sales on at the moment not sure what to buy.

I picked up a few razors yesterday but I'll be having another look tonight!

 

[Sausage]

This is a statement that comes up super often when discussing the settings of Muramasa.

Anyone here who loves shaving with setting 1 & 2?

Cheers!

PS: Congrats on your new razor

I use setting 2 often

 

[JAHE]

I use setting 2 often

Do you have another favourite DE razor?
Cheers!

 

[Sausage]

Do you have another favourite DE razor?
Cheers!

Yes Karve Overlander is my favourite too

 

[JAHE]

Yes Karve Overlander is my favourite too

Nice choices

 

[Fedsbackhand]

Hello Matt! I hope you are well! It's funny you should mention, honestly I haven't even tried it yet!

I'd purchased a number of new razors, I've been on sort of an open comb thing as of late, and I've maybe been trying each one out, spending a week or so with each and the Tatara's turn hasn't came around yet!

Then yesterday I just grabbed my Ambassador as it was the first thing I saw. Tonight I was going to use a slant for a change but now you have brought it to my attention. It's been here a few weeks so I really need to give the Tatara a test run ASAP.

It's funny I was worrying about how long the post would be getting to me and it's been here three weeks and I haven't even used it!

I thought maybe you had tried the Muramasa before! I didn't know you'd not tried it yet. I see with the big sale on I was tempted to buy an OC Masamune.. works out at only £110!

I think we still have another few days. So many sales on at the moment not sure what to buy.

I picked up a few razors yesterday but I'll be having another look tonight!

Hey Darren. It is definitely the turn of the Tatara! Can't believe you have waited this long to try it.

No, I haven't tried the adjustable yet. I have been very happy with all the various Masamune and Nodachi combinations and was supposed to be holding out for the SE next year. But I am intrigued by the design/engineering of the adjustable.

The Masamune OC is a great razor and worthy of joining your open combs.

 

[Zule]

I’ve read a lot of complaints online about the numbers indicating the aggression level on the Muramasa being too small and after buying it, I can confirm it’s extremely hard to read. But, it’s only 5 numbers. It’s not that hard to just turn it either to 5 or 1 and then just turn 1-2 times to count backward or forward. If that issue is a sticking point that’s preventing someone from pulling the trigger on this razor, it’s really not that big of deal.

 

[Zule]

I use setting 2 often

I’ll use setting 1if I’ve developed some irritation. Its true you can barely tell you’re getting a shave but when you are done after a 2 pass you’re at an acceptable daily shave level

 

[Amorphous Metal]

My first adjustable was Muramasa, and it's so good, I virtually stopped looking at adjustables. I look at Osprey and Taiga from time to time and daydream a bit ... but then when I take Muramasa in my hands ... I just loose interest to buy another adjustable. To me it's so good it vaccinated me of adjustable razors RAD.

Snug fit and finish of Muramasa is really something to be in ave off. I do not know if it is just my particular piece, or if it is something that pertains to all Muramasa razors. I deal from time to time with high precision instruments with snug fit and high precision of constituents parts, and I must say Muramasa really reminds me of that. The baseplate fit is really so snug and satisfying. When you assemble it, you have to align the parts perfectly for baseplate to slide in. No free space to wiggle whatsoever. Tatara advertises precision of 0,02mm. But to me it seems that the tolerances for Muramasa baseplate are tighter. I almost suspect that each Muramasa baseplate is "adjusted", fitted and finished by hand. And as a result I get the feeling that we wont be seeing additional OC baseplate for purchase unless if we send the razor to Tatara for fitting the OC plate.

Tatara is very efficient razor on all settings. All levels have it's place in my shave routine. I have a few razors, but of them Muramasa, SuperSlant and Henson are my favourite. I should say I like mild to mid aggresive razors that can be as efficient as possible. All the listed razors fit that requirement.

Regarding the levels 1 and 2, I use them plenty. I know from visiting this and some other forums, that levels 1 and 2 are generally not that well received. But I must say that I find great value in them. I think I would not like Muramasa without current 1 and 2 levels so much as I do now. To put that claim into context. I am an every day shaver. I strive at 365 shaves per year bar some situation or emergency that I have no control over steps in and reroutes all my available daily time allocation to something else. But that notwithstanding I do not have days off shaving wise if I can help it, but I do have days of Muramasa level 1 and 2 so to speak. Very smooth, no nicks and cuts, a fast and easily achievable DFS in 2-3 passes. Those levels do a terrific job at that. Really superior efficiency at achieving that goal. And I do use them any day that I don't pursue BBS, which it does take a toll on my skin if I do it everyday. And if I want BBS I have level 3-5 which easilly let me achieve that. Personally, I have no need for level "6" or beyond.

And to stray into some parallel theme, that is only marginally relevant to the OP theme (I do apologise for that).
What I wrote above in the previous paragraphs, does not mean I do not have some personal view as to what would made the razor (Muramasa) even better to me specifically. I am the same as every man in that regards, finding some design feature that specifically irks me the wrong way and as a result fancy myself how "I" would improve it by leaps and bounds ... which is silly without bounds ... I know. Here goes, the main one for me is ... and that goes for all razors that I own that come with round handles, which means all razor that I own ... I would like the handle not to be round but to have more oblique or pronouced edges (to have some rectagonal aspect inbuilt) so as to prevent the handle to roll off any slightly sloped or non level surfaces. In the bathroom almost every surface in plain view has some slope inbuilt so as to drain water to drain holes of the sink, bathtub, floor ... So to me it happens all too often that the handle rolls of into the sink, off to the floor or anywhere on those sloped surfaces that I put the handle on, especially when I am in a hurry and I forget to limit the movement with a towel or to take care to meticulously position it on some surface. So personally I would wish that handles had a character something more like the image below, that would prevent rolling on sloped surfaces (not that I know if the handle in the image rolls or not, since I do not own it. But that handle would be easily made into one that has that ability even if it currently is not). I wrote this paragraph because today, the Muramasa handle rolled from the sink and fell to the tile flor. Both survived, but damn ...

 

[zhenpixels]

My first adjustable was Muramasa, and it's so good, I virtually stopped looking at adjustables. I look at Osprey and Taiga from time to time and daydream a bit ... but then when I take Muramasa in my hands ... I just loose interest to buy another adjustable. To me it's so good it vaccinated me of adjustable razors RAD.

Snug fit and finish of Muramasa is really something to be in ave off. I do not know if it is just my particular piece, or if it is something that pertains to all Muramasa razors. I deal from time to time with high precision instruments with snug fit and high precision of constituents parts, and I must say Muramasa really reminds me of that. The baseplate fit is really so snug and satisfying. When you assemble it, you have to align the parts perfectly for baseplate to slide in. No free space to wiggle whatsoever. Tatara advertises precision of 0,02mm. But to me it seems that the tolerances for Muramasa baseplate are tighter. I almost suspect that each Muramasa baseplate is "adjusted", fitted and finished by hand. And as a result I get the feeling that we wont be seeing additional OC baseplate for purchase unless if we send the razor to Tatara for fitting the OC plate.

Tatara is very efficient razor on all settings. All levels have it's place in my shave routine. I have a few razors, but of them Muramasa, SuperSlant and Henson are my favourite. I should say I like mild to mid aggresive razors that can be as efficient as possible. All the listed razors fit that requirement.

Regarding the levels 1 and 2, I use them plenty. I know from visiting this and some other forums, that levels 1 and 2 are generally not that well received. But I must say that I find great value in them. I think I would not like Muramasa without current 1 and 2 levels so much as I do now. To put that claim into context. I am an every day shaver. I strive at 365 shaves per year bar some situation or emergency that I have no control over steps in and reroutes all my available daily time allocation to something else. But that notwithstanding I do not have days off shaving wise if I can help it, but I do have days of Muramasa level 1 and 2 so to speak. Very smooth, no nicks and cuts, a fast and easily achievable DFS in 2-3 passes. Those levels do a terrific job at that. Really superior efficiency at achieving that goal. And I do use them any day that I don't pursue BBS, which it does take a toll on my skin if I do it everyday. And if I want BBS I have level 3-5 which easilly let me achieve that. Personally, I have no need for level "6" or beyond.

And to stray into some parallel theme, that is only marginally relevant to the OP theme (I do apologise for that).
What I wrote above in the previous paragraphs, does not mean I do not have some personal view as to what would made the razor (Muramasa) even better to me specifically. I am the same as every man in that regards, finding some design feature that specifically irks me the wrong way and as a result fancy myself how "I" would improve it by leaps and bounds ... which is silly without bounds ... I know. Here goes, the main one for me is ... and that goes for all razors that I own that come with round handles, which means all razor that I own ... I would like the handle not to be round but to have more oblique or pronouced edges (to have some rectagonal aspect inbuilt) so as to prevent the handle to roll off any slightly sloped or non level surfaces. In the bathroom almost every surface in plain view has some slope inbuilt so as to drain water to drain holes of the sink, bathtub, floor ... So to me it happens all too often that the handle rolls of into the sink, off to the floor or anywhere on those sloped surfaces that I put the handle on, especially when I am in a hurry and I forget to limit the movement with a towel or to take care to meticulously position it on some surface. So personally I would wish that handles had a character something more like the image below, that would prevent rolling on sloped surfaces (not that I know if the handle in the image rolls or not, since I do not own it. But that handle would be easily made into one that has that ability even if it currently is not). I wrote this paragraph because today, the Muramasa handle rolled from the sink and fell to the tile flor. Both survived, but damn ...

View attachment 1791114

This ability to roll seems like a small achilles heal for perfectly round "minimal" style razors. It's a common problem with pens as well that are meant to be placed in a pen holder of some type.

 

[WetShaveVet]

I have had mine now for about three weeks. I use all of the settings except 5. 1 and 2 are great for that quick shave I sometimes need. 3 and 4 deliver very close shaves. 4 is BBS for sure. I have not noticed any difference between Nacets, GSB's, or Platinums. They all worked just fine.

My only beef; why are the numbers so small!!? Ridiculous.

Other than that, I love it.

 

[Zule]

Agr

I have had mine now for about three weeks. I use all of the settings except 5. 1 and 2 are great for that quick shave I sometimes need. 3 and 4 deliver very close shaves. 4 is BBS for sure. I have not noticed any difference between Nacets, GSB's, or Platinums. They all worked just fine.

My only beef; why are the numbers so small!!? Ridiculous.

Other than that, I love it.

Agreed. I basically rotate to 1 or 5 and then work my way up or down, not looking at the number so much.

I wonder if anyone has tried putting a mini cyclops magnifier on it.


I’d definitely pay money for one.

 

[abies]

Regarding the levels 1 and 2, I use them plenty. I know from visiting this and some other forums, that levels 1 and 2 are generally not that well received. But I must say that I find great value in them. I think I would not like Muramasa without current 1 and 2 levels so much as I do now. To put that claim into context. I am an every day shaver. I strive at 365 shaves per year bar some situation or emergency that I have no control over steps in and reroutes all my available daily time allocation to something else. But that notwithstanding I do not have days off shaving wise if I can help it, but I do have days of Muramasa level 1 and 2 so to speak. Very smooth, no nicks and cuts, a fast and easily achievable DFS in 2-3 passes. Those levels do a terrific job at that. Really superior efficiency at achieving that goal. And I do use them any day that I don't pursue BBS, which it does take a toll on my skin if I do it everyday. And if I want BBS I have level 3-5 which easilly let me achieve that. Personally, I have no need for level "6" or beyond.

And to stray into some parallel theme, that is only marginally relevant to the OP theme (I do apologise for that).
What I wrote above in the previous paragraphs, does not mean I do not have some personal view as to what would made the razor (Muramasa) even better to me specifically. I am the same as every man in that regards, finding some design feature that specifically irks me the wrong way and as a result fancy myself how "I" would improve it by leaps and bounds ... which is silly without bounds ... I know. Here goes, the main one for me is ... and that goes for all razors that I own that come with round handles, which means all razor that I own ... I would like the handle not to be round but to have more oblique or pronouced edges (to have some rectagonal aspect inbuilt) so as to prevent the handle to roll off any slightly sloped or non level surfaces. In the bathroom almost every surface in plain view has some slope inbuilt so as to drain water to drain holes of the sink, bathtub, floor ... So to me it happens all too often that the handle rolls of into the sink, off to the floor or anywhere on those sloped surfaces that I put the handle on, especially when I am in a hurry and I forget to limit the movement with a towel or to take care to meticulously position it on some surface. So personally I would wish that handles had a character something more like the image below, that would prevent rolling on sloped surfaces (not that I know if the handle in the image rolls or not, since I do not own it. But that handle would be easily made into one that has that ability even if it currently is not). I wrote this paragraph because today, the Muramasa handle rolled from the sink and fell to the tile flor. Both survived, but damn ...

I only use mine between 1 and 2 so far.

I'm glad the rolling incident wasn't more destructive; it gives me some faith in the weight although I never thought about it rolling off the sink before. I agree about your idea for a handle design.

 

[ERS4]

And to stray into some parallel theme, that is only marginally relevant to the OP theme (I do apologise for that).
What I wrote above in the previous paragraphs, does not mean I do not have some personal view as to what would made the razor (Muramasa) even better to me specifically. I am the same as every man in that regards, finding some design feature that specifically irks me the wrong way and as a result fancy myself how "I" would improve it by leaps and bounds ... which is silly without bounds ... I know. Here goes, the main one for me is ... and that goes for all razors that I own that come with round handles, which means all razor that I own ... I would like the handle not to be round but to have more oblique or pronouced edges (to have some rectagonal aspect inbuilt) so as to prevent the handle to roll off any slightly sloped or non level surfaces. In the bathroom almost every surface in plain view has some slope inbuilt so as to drain water to drain holes of the sink, bathtub, floor ... So to me it happens all too often that the handle rolls of into the sink, off to the floor or anywhere on those sloped surfaces that I put the handle on, especially when I am in a hurry and I forget to limit the movement with a towel or to take care to meticulously position it on some surface. So personally I would wish that handles had a character something more like the image below, that would prevent rolling on sloped surfaces (not that I know if the handle in the image rolls or not, since I do not own it. But that handle would be easily made into one that has that ability even if it currently is not). I wrote this paragraph because today, the Muramasa handle rolled from the sink and fell to the tile flor. Both survived, but damn ...

I place one of these mats on the countertop where I organize my razors.
It's just a regular silicone stockpot potholder with a matrix of raised surfaces.

It prevents anything from rolling off or making a clanging sound, and it also makes it easier for me to pick up the blade without it being flat against the countertop.

Many "barber work mats" serve a similar purpose.

 

[Relitaliano]

“We’ve created the following table to give you a clear overview of our models.”

“Check out the Tatara razor scale to find the perfect razor that matches your preferences.”

Chart from recent Tatara email is quite helpful when considering overall performance from their razors

Owning all three razors, Muramasa gives consistent BBS shaves with Personna Med Prep blades with First pass on setting 4 (WTG) Second pass on setting 4 (ATG) and another WTG Pass on setting 5 will provide the closest shave with No irritation.

Nodachi razor (Closed) is quite aggressive and best used every other day or limited to two passes. Masamune is a Mild everyday shaver and similar to Feather AS-D2 Razor