Titan ACRM-2 razor?

[Oscroft]

I've seen a few versions of the Titan ACRM-2 steel razors showing up on eBay recently - here's a link to one (It's BIN-only, so it should be OK).

They're called "Japan steel", but they're made in China (mainland or Taiwan, not sure - it says "Tai Wai" in the listing, but then there's a lot of wonderful Chinglish there), and claimed at 59-61 HRC.

I've seen a short thread about another model made with a harder steel, but I've seen no discussion of the ACRM-2 ones. Has anyone tried one?

 

[Doc226]

Titan Straigh Razor ​

Brand: TITAN
Place: Tai Wai
Steel: STAINESS STEEL ACRM-2
Steel hardness: 59-61 HRC( The high hardness could sharping sharp)
Handle Material: Green Sandalwood
Package: Paper box and leather case.
Blade: Already sharping by hand ,very sharping , ready to shave
Weight: 65 g.
Notion: Please clean it and put on the dry place prevent to rust.

Nice looking, have no idea about the steel if it can be honed or if it can hold an edge.

The only way to try is to get one, lots folks said GC are crap and we know they can be made to shave and they hold an edge.

You can take one for the team and report back.

TaiWai

 

[Oscroft]

Nice looking, have no idea about the steel if it can be honed or if it can hold an edge.

The only way to try is to get one, lots folks said GC are crap and we know they can be made to shave and they hold an edge.

You can take one for the team and report back.

TaiWai

Ah, so it could be from Hong Kong. Judging by that photo and by the other auctions I've seen, the blade geometry looks fine and it actually looks like quite a nice shape.

But yes, you're absolutely right - it's not too expensive, so I've ordered one! I'll let you know

 

[Doc226]

Ah, so it could be from Hong Kong. Judging by that photo and by the other auctions I've seen, the blade geometry looks fine and it actually looks like quite a nice shape.

But yes, you're absolutely right - it's not too expensive, so I've ordered one! I'll let you know

Awesome. It looks nice

Looking forward to your review.

 

[Gamma]

Interesting razors. Wish they were carbon steel.

I want the model with the brass bolsters - reminds me of a Buck knife I used to have.

 

[totorlekiller]

I was considering buying one too.
40$ with shipping, already shave ready and with decent looking scales.
Seems like a no-brainer for a travel stainless steel razor.
I found out the hard way, that keep a badger in the travel bag with a razor is not a good idea as the badger is never fully dry.

 

[Oscroft]

My Titan arrived today, and I've offered my thoughts on another thread over here.

 

[Willem-Jan]

I bought the cheapest Titan razor with ACRM-2 steel (carbon steel). The razor was kinda warped, but I got a perfect bevel in the end. It honed up really nice and quick after that. In fact it became one of the best if not the best edge I have experienced so far. For me there is nothing wrong with the scales. In fact, I like them. All cheap Chinese razors I bought so far have well centered and tight scales. So I think they are a great choice.
I am also considering buying two more razors from them to see what those steels are about (ACRO and vG10)

 

[totorlekiller]

I did buy one when that thread was started (2013) and I've had no complaints with it. Since it was cheap and easily replaceable, I used it as my travel razor. One thing to mention though is that it is not quite as stainless as others like the Friodur.

 

[Willem-Jan]

I did buy one when that thread was started (2013) and I've had no complaints with it. Since it was cheap and easily replaceable, I used it as my travel razor. One thing to mention though is that it is not quite as stainless as others like the Friodur.

about which razor are you talking exactly? The ACRM-2 ones are not stainless, but carbon.

 

[totorlekiller]

about which razor are you talking exactly? The ACRM-2 ones are not stainless, but carbon.

The basic model was initially sold as being made of ACRM-2 "stainless steel" (see picture above in Doc's post).
Now, I don't have the steel knowledge to confirm or infirm that proposition. A quick internet search yield nothing: the only reference to ACRM-2 steel are all link to Titan razors.
However my experience is that the blade of the Titan was more resistant to oxydation than most Carbon steel I've seen, but it did oxyde if not maintained with care.

 

[Willem-Jan]

I bought the cheapest Titan razor with ACRM-2 steel (carbon steel). The razor was kinda warped, but I got a perfect bevel in the end. It honed up really nice and quick after that. In fact it became one of the best if not the best edge I have experienced so far. For me there is nothing wrong with the scales. In fact, I like them. All cheap Chinese razors I bought so far have well centered and tight scales. So I think they are a great choice.
I am also considering buying two more razors from them to see what those steels are about (ACRO and vG10)

I followed through and did actually buy Titans in three different steels. The cheap ones are ACRM-2. This steel reminds me of the Kure Nai HH928G (also branded as Zertone on amazon). Not sure if it is the same, just an impression that they are similar (and different from Gold Dollar). The VG10 one is fine stainless steel. The most interesting one is the Acro steel that they use for their most expensive razors, and I think also for all the Naked Armor models. This steel looks kinda funny, very shiny. At first during honing, it got these weird stains (like the slurry from the chosera or something) that are very hard to remove. I almost gave up thinking there was no hope for this weird razor. In the end the edge turned out great, very sharp, with still some of those weird spots. I think they might come of eventually. But this, in combination with the massive hone wear make it look pretty bad. With good geometry and without those stains it would make a pretty fancy blade. At any rate that steel takes a great edge.

@Doc226 Kinda late, but I guess I took 3 for the team

 

[daveysprocketbrew]

I have a Titan on order from China in the Japanese ACRO steel. I have no idea what that steel actually is since I can find no info on it, but Aliexpress' 11-11 sale made it too irresistible not to try. Hopefully it comes in soon so I can evaluate.

 

[Willem-Jan]

Cool, I didn't find info about any of their steels. I asked and all i got was: acrm steel is carbon, acro is stainless. Curious about your experience!

 

[daveysprocketbrew]

Well. I have finally received the razor and it is very nice. It is well worth the sale price I paid for it. Some quick notes: The strop that came with it was missing a rivet, so I had to fix that. The blade itself is extremely shiny, but there are still some rough grind marks on both sides near the stabilizer (not the cutting edge). The blade arrived very sharp, but not sharp enough to shave with. I've stropped it quite a bit, but that metal is very hard, so I will wait for my stone to come in and hone it so I can try again.

 

[rbscebu]

I have been using my Titan ACRM-2 (my first SR) since early December 2019 costing under USD 20. Once I set the bevel and refined the edge, I initially maintained this blade using the Titan supplied pasted denim strop with a clean leather stropping before each shave. Later I started maintaining the edge using a 0.1u pasted hanging balsa strop. The Titan pasted denim strop did a good job and I was happy with the results but after switching to the pasted balsa, my SR shaving entered a whole new world.

Early March 2020 I received my Titan ACRO costing under USD 80. That was a different beast compared to the ACRM-2. The steel of the ACRO was noticeably harder by quite a lot. Fortunately the bevel on my ACRO was pretty well correctly set. All I had to do was refine the edge to my shave-ready standard. I used the lapping film progression to refine this edge, finishing off with 0.50u, 0.25u and finally 0.10u pasted balsa strops. It took some work due to the much harder steel but the end result was worth it!

Both razors are my current rotation and each is maintained after each use with 50 laps on a 0.1u hanging balsa strop. The edges of both blades are still improving (or is it just my technique?) with each shave. The ACRO's edge is improving slower than the ACRM-2, however I expect this to be due to the ARCO's harder steel.

The ACRM-2 has fairly good corrosion resistance, but the ACRO's corrosion resistance is outstanding.

Titan 1918 ACRM-2


Titan 1918 ACRO

​

I am still waiting to receive my Titan 1918 VG10-HZ costing under USD30. It is stuck at the local post office which has closed until the pandemic restrictions are lifted.