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Timeless Bronze Pass Around Tour

Third shave

I loaded a fresh Elios INOX blade, Proraso Red Pre Shave, Mystic Water Bay Rum, Omega Boar Brush. Afterwards, Barbero Alum Block.

Wish I had better to say but after three passes I still felt some slight stubble. This razor lives up to its billing as the most aggressive of the Timeless line. Certainly more aggressive than my lot, which includes Game Changer .84OC, Karve D plate OC and Blackbird OC. There were a few red areas on my neck that looked as if they would sprout weepers but they disappeared. One telling thing is I experienced the most awful feedback with the alum block. Nothing like I've felt before.
One final test for me will be shaving on a two day beard Monday. I usually get the best shaves on Mondays.
More to come then.
 
Shave number 4.
As I expected, the .78OC performed much better on my two day beard. Some redemption at least. I was very pleased. BBS and no weepers. There was some irritation (based on the alum) but less that shave 3. I used the same blade while the rest of the set up is in the photo.
Shave 4.jpeg


Do I want to pay the price for a razor that will work one day per week? That's a question I need to answer. Aesthetically, it's a beautiful razor and the machining is flawless but the stainless models I sampled would probably be a better buy.
It's all cleaned up, disinfected and packed. I expect to drop it off at the post office today.
Thanks again to @juno for you generosity in hosting this pass around. I look forward to reading more reviews.
 
Gentlemen, just FYI, USPS tracking states razor should arrive by Thursday 8 pm August 13th. I will post a pic upon arrival. Stay tuned.
 
Okay folks, the first shave is in the books. First let me say that, as expected, this is truly a premium razor. The machining is top notch, probably the most exacting tolerances I've seen in a razor and boy is it heavy! It's also beautiful. This one is forming a patina. Whether you let the luster age or you polish it (which I certainly wouldn't do to someone else's razor) it's...well...a timeless look.

Like most of those preceding me, I started with the straight bar plate. I popped in a first use Astra SP and lathered with proraso. I wanted to minimize the other variables, so used tried and true basic stuff.

The heft of the razor did not bother me at all. The razor head geometry seems to favor a steep angle and I think the heavy handle facilitates this. The .38 solid bar plate was extremely smooth and comfortable. It was as comfortable as my beloved .84 Game Changer SB. It produced a nice shave, just not close enough. I should point out that I am a daily shaver with a very course beard. For me, the .68 Game Changer was too mild and so is the .38 Timeless Bronze.

Next shave will be with the .78 open comb plate. I've heard tell it's a radically different beast. We shall see!
Timeless Day 1.jpg
 
Timeless Bronze 2nd Shave

This was my first shave with the .78 OC plate. I had some trepidation, as I've read many a post indicating experienced shavers couldn't handle the Bronze OC Beast, sold it and opted for the .95 SS Timeless instead.

Well, the short of it is this plate and I got along just fine! Definitely A LOT more efficient than the .38 solid bar, but I did not find it overly aggressive. I really like the head geometry of the razor. At least for me, it's easy to find the angle and provides a smooth shaving experience. Mind you, she's got teeth! I couldn't fly around as quickly or carelessly as I sometimes do with my RR GC .84 SB, but I think the Bronze OC has less blade feel and is more comfortable than the RR GC .84 Jaws (which I don't enjoy).

I had a comfortable BBS 3 pass shave. Had a couple inconsequential weepers but absolutely no irritation. No harm, no foul.
Timeless Bronze Day 2.jpg


As a daily shaver the question will be, can I say the same thing using this plate again tomorrow? We will see.
 
Good to hear on the.78. Have to agree with you on the Jaws. Sold mine. Incredible how the.84SB and.84OC work for me but the Jaws was a failure.
 
Timeless Bronze 3rd Shave

3rd use on the Astra SP blade (which is the limit on a blade for my beard). After such a close shave the prior day, there wasn’t as much stubble for this one. Same shaving experience but with a couple more weepers. (She seems to like to draw a little blood). Again, easy 3 pass BBS shave. But, did notice some redness on my neck an hour after the shave, which generally does not happen to me.

May or may not shave tomorrow. Will play it by ear. Should I use a Nacet or a Feather?
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Timeless Bronze 4th Shave
Threw a 3rd use Nacet in the OC plate with 2 days growth. Again, easy 3 pass BBS shave. No irritation but did have a couple inconsequential nicks. The Bronze beauty with teeth likes to draw a drop of blood or 2. The only other razor I own that consistently does that to me is my Fatboy on setting 6 or higher. With the Bronze OC I suspect it’s positive blade exposure, but don’t know that for a fact. Note: the blade gap is not that big but she is very efficient.

Tomorrow I’m gonna throw a new blade in the SB plate. I think the OC plate is a bit too much for me to shave daily with, so I’ll try alternating them.
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Timeless Bronze 5th Shave
Popped a new Feather blade into the .38 SB plate. I wanted to see how the mild plate would perform with a super sharp blade and see how alternating OC and SB plates worked for my beard. With the Feather (and following the OC plate the day before) the SB plate performed better than it had on day one, but still not quite close enough for me.

I want to again thank @juno for the gracious use of his razor. I truly appreciate the opportunity to try it. I will be cleaning, packing up and mailing out the razor within the next 2 days.

This has been fun and I've learned a few things:
1. I don't mind very heavy razors. In fact, I find it helpful, especially when using a steep angle. This helps cement my WR2 order for a solid handle.
2. If Timeless were to put out a bronze plate that's a little less aggressive than the .78 OC, I'd likely buy it. But, I'm not buying this one. I like to shave daily and this is simply a bit too much for me to do that with.
3. The craftsmanship of Timeless lives up to their reputation. In spite of the fact that this razor isn't quite a fit for me, I'm a big fan of the company and their products.

Now a question for all you wolfies out there - my current WR2 order is a 1.25 SB. Given that the Timeless Bronze .78 OC was a bit too much for daily shaving, is that the "right" WR2 configuration for me? (The never ending search for the shaving unicorn lol).

Day 5.jpg
 
Timeless Bronze 5th Shave
Popped a new Feather blade into the .38 SB plate. I wanted to see how the mild plate would perform with a super sharp blade and see how alternating OC and SB plates worked for my beard. With the Feather (and following the OC plate the day before) the SB plate performed better than it had on day one, but still not quite close enough for me.

I want to again thank @juno for the gracious use of his razor. I truly appreciate the opportunity to try it. I will be cleaning, packing up and mailing out the razor within the next 2 days.

This has been fun and I've learned a few things:
1. I don't mind very heavy razors. In fact, I find it helpful, especially when using a steep angle. This helps cement my WR2 order for a solid handle.
2. If Timeless were to put out a bronze plate that's a little less aggressive than the .78 OC, I'd likely buy it. But, I'm not buying this one. I like to shave daily and this is simply a bit too much for me to do that with.
3. The craftsmanship of Timeless lives up to their reputation. In spite of the fact that this razor isn't quite a fit for me, I'm a big fan of the company and their products.

Now a question for all you wolfies out there - my current WR2 order is a 1.25 SB. Given that the Timeless Bronze .78 OC was a bit too much for daily shaving, is that the "right" WR2 configuration for me? (The never ending search for the shaving unicorn lol).

View attachment 1141580

That’s a good question about the Wolfman. I was the first in the pass around, and I’m also an owner of a Wolfman WR2 1.25 SB, which is my daily driver. The Wolfman paradoxically seems both smoother and more efficient than the .78. To me, the WR2 seems to be incredibly smooth regardless of gap—I’m talking British Aristocrat levels of smoothness.

That said, I tend to prefer higher gaps and, what some people think are, aggressive razors. To be on the safe side, you may want to go with the 1.15 or 1.05 gap.
 
That’s a good question about the Wolfman. I was the first in the pass around, and I’m also an owner of a Wolfman WR2 1.25 SB, which is my daily driver. The Wolfman paradoxically seems both smoother and more efficient than the .78. To me, the WR2 seems to be incredibly smooth regardless of gap—I’m talking British Aristocrat levels of smoothness.

That said, I tend to prefer higher gaps and, what some people think are, aggressive razors. To be on the safe side, you may want to go with the 1.15 or 1.05 gap.
Thank you!
 
Razor arrived today. I just finished cleaning and sanitizing it, as shown below (stand not pictured). I'll load up a blade and use it for the first time tomorrow morning. I'll provide a review once I'm able to get a good feel for it.

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I was able to get 4 shaves with the razor over the last week, two shaves with the 0.38 baseplate and two with the 0.78 plate. I used a Polsilver blade for all of the shaves, which is consistently good for me across many different razors. The 0.38 plate is very mild and had little blade feel. It was very comfortable, but the shave wasn't very close and left some stubble here and there. Therefore, I can't quite call it a great shave since I've found many other razors that are equally comfortable but produce a better quality shave (for example Pils, Masamune, RS-10 mild, CG level 1).

On the other hand, the 0.78 OC plate definitely had a lot more blade feel. It was relatively comfortable on my cheeks but I did feel some harshness on my neck. I may have missed some spots because I was trying extra hard to shave with absolutely no pressure. Overall, I felt that there was a bit too much blade feel and harshness for me to get comfortable shaving with it. Again, I can't quite say it was a great shave since I've found other razors (like the Blackbird) that are blade forward but still manage to feel comfortable and not like they are ready to bite at any second.

I like the head design of the Timeless razors--they fit really well together and clamp the blade nicely. Build quality and finish is excellent. This is my first bronze razor ever and I'm liking the material here. I like the color a little better than brass and the patina seems to be a bit more subtle and less spotty than brass. The handle design is fine but not my favorite. I would have preferred something with just a little more texture and grip.

For reference, I tend to like milder razors with minimal blade feel. My current favorites are the Pils and CG level 1. Others that I've liked a lot but didn't end up keeping include the Masamune and the RS-10 mild plate. I tried the Timeless 0.68 (smooth cap and scalloped SB baseplate) a few years ago but didn't end up keeping it because it didn't really exceed the smoothness or efficiency of my other razors and I felt that it had a relatively small cutting angle where it worked well. With me seeing a ton of people who have been singing the praises of Timeless in the last few years, I've been mildly eager to try them again.

I'm planning on shipping the razor along on Tuesday. juno, thanks for the generous opportunity to try this razor.

Since everyone likes pictures, here's a few that I took of the razor:

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