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Timeless Razor - OC - Review
The wet shaving space is getting more and more crowded with new, often stainless steel, offerings w/in DE, SE and injector razors pouring in from companies near and far.
With so many new introductions, that often have rather similar designs, it is becoming increasingly difficult for a company to stand out - and equally difficult for the consumer to figure out which razor(s) to spend some hard earned money on.
Companies tend to differentiate their razor offerings by the key dimensions; design, price and material but previously successful products will of course lead to others trying to replicate that success. It's for instance hard to throw a puck of soap these days and not hit a Mongoose-looking razor made out of stainless steel costing 100-200 dollars.
That brings us to Timeless Razor that entered the wet shaving just a week ago (May 31st, 2016).
Their initial offerings consists of;
- Safety bar razor head and handle ($185), with stand ($225), and
- OC razor head and handle ($285), with stand ($325)
(Handle alone is being sold on eBay for $60).
Matt from Timeless Razor have already indicated that they will be diversifying their offerings going forward - longer/thicker handles, the ability to buy separate top/base plates, etc.
Some data points;
- All parts CNC machined in the US,
- All parts out of Stainless steel 304,
- Blade gap is .95mm on both base plates,
- 30 day money back guarantee
- Availability: Currently (June 6, 2016) all razors are sold out
But, according to Matt the next batch will be ready for ordering already end of this week.
With that out of the way let's take a closer look at the razor itself.
Disclosure
As always I try to fully disclose how I acquired the razor I'm reviewing as for some people it matters and I can fully understand that. This razor came to me as a free of charge review razor. There were no strings attached nor did Timeless Razor ask to see the review before it was posted. What you see here are my own thoughts on the razor and I think and believe I've spent enough on razors over the years to review this as if I had just spent $285 on it.
First Impressions
The razor I received is the Open Comb model with the scalloped top cap design.
The first thing that strikes you is the head design that features a fully scalloped/fluted design. The lines on the top cap aligns perfectly with the open comb teeth and creates a very strong, beautiful visual.
When I saw the handles on their site they didn't do much for me but I will say that in person it looks significantly better.
Design
This section is limited to the OC version I received - not the safety bar version.
Fully scalloped heads (not counting heads such as Grand King Shave razors where the top cap grooves goes fully through the top cap) is of course not a modern design idea as you find the design on quite a few vintage razor models by Kirby, Apollo, etc.
Here's the TR OC (left) next to my Apollo OC:
..the biggest difference is when you view the razors from the side;
..and this is where you have your second "oh that's interesting" realization - the base plate.
Let's look at some stainless steel razors next to eachother:
From left to right we have Tradere OC, Wolfman DC, TR OC, Weber SB and Blackland SB.
From the side:
When viewing the base plate from these two angles it becomes clear that the design difference is not just in the top cap but rather also, and maybe more importantly so, in the base plate and how the open comb is angled up.
I rather like this design idea and can appreciate the effort that went into both design and manufacturing of it.
But wait, there's more.
The base plate also sports rather large, wider than usual, "drain holes" that I am most curious to see how/if they are able to reduce clogging during a shave.
Quite honestly the only thing I at this early point would have liked to see differently is the handle length and width.
The handle measures in at 84.1mm (L) and 12.7mm (W).
This is highly subjective but I would personally love to see a 100mm handle (Hi @Bechet !) and slightly thicker. As mentioned in the beginning they are however working on coming out with something along those lines.
For fun, here's the TR head on;
- a Wolfman WRH7 handle, and
- a Tradere handle;
Quality/Machining
That brings us to machining and overall quality.
I think most people hold Wolfman razors as the gold standard for what can be made using a CNC machine and a block of steel (personally I think it's a tie with Tradere though
). The question is of course here - how does the Timeless Razor compare?
Very well.
Head: Not a scratch or blemish. Solid feel.
But wait, your third "oh that's interesting" presents itself:
the underside of the top cap appeared to have been polished in such a way that the 1/3 middle strip is high polish whilst the outer 1/3s are 'matte'.
Reaching out to Matt he explained that this is actually a visually pleasing side effect from the manufacturing process, and I quote;
"We wire EDM the cap and base, then CNC mill the blade guides and CNC cut the threads (not put on with a thread die) - you are seeing the difference in machining processes"
Here's a photo that tries to show it off but the evening sunlight here in California failed to capture the contrast as well as it appears in person:
Handle: After initially dismissing the handle from looking at the online photos I was happy to see that it looked a lot better in person. As you can see in the group photo a bit above it has a rather distinct look to it.
The knurling is deep and provides a very secure grip. A bit longer and thicker would be great - but I can't really file that as a negative under Machining/Quality as it passes the mark there.
Mount: I'm a nerd when it comes to how much it matters to me how smoothly the head screws onto the handle. I probably sat and screwed and unscrewed the head twenty times tonight along with comparing it with a Wolfman, etc.
I would say it is very close but that the smoothness of Wolfman and Trader is still unbeaten. Great machining and fit.
Blade alignment: TBD (didn't load a blade yet so it will have to wait until tomorrow's shave)
That's it for a "short" initial impression.
The TL;DR version of the above:
"Love the head design - both top cap and base plate have interesting and novel design aspects to them. Machining/quality very high. Handle a tad short for me. So far mighty impressed."
Coming up next
I'll post shave reports along with photos of how the blade sits in the razor starting tomorrow.
Oh, and with Matt / @Timelessrazor being on TSR I will let him field any questions about the product that goes beyond me just reporting how I subjectively feel about the razor.
