Tatara Masamune - more shaves - final verdict
I had a few more shaves with the Tatara Masamune.
Three shaves with the closed comb base plate, two with a Feather blade, one with a Dorco Titan blade and finally one shave with the open comb and a Feather blade.
I was planning on a few more shaves over the weekend, but today
Igor arrived and my plans have changed.
What have I learned from those four shaves?
All four shaves were really good. I prefer the closed comb over the open comb. The closed comb is smoother and I'm not keen on the feel of the open comb teeth on my face. I prefer my open comb brass Seygus.
The closed comb shaves with the Feather blade were especially good. The Tatara with the closed comb is not overly aggressive and allows the Feather blade to show off its sharpness without any danger or damage. A very good combination indeed.
The Dorco Titan blade was better than expected, but nowhere near as sharp and smooth as the Feather.
The Tatara Masamune is a beautiful, well crafted and very capable razor.
The box left me cold. They always do. Leave it out and drop the price by a tenner, please.
The razor is one of the prettiest DE razors I have had the pleasure to use. Up there with the Feather AS-D2. Simple and elegant. I really do love that handle. I did want to take some pictures of a 1912 head on that handle over the weekend, but then Igor arrived.
The length of the screw on the top plate means you can't easily use another handle, but why would you?
Balance and weight are spot on for my taste. The stand is quite heavy and does the job, I just wish it was dimpled - like the handle.
Both base plates do the job, but for me the closed comb plate makes this one of the best DE razors I have used. I wouldn't buy the open comb plate - I probably wouldn't use it much.
How aggressive is it? I hate that word - it's for people and dogs - not razors. It didn't bite me, but I could tell there was a blade in it. Somewhere between a Tech and an R41 then. It did a very good job and I didn't feel I needed to concentrate like hell to survive. The open comb is more aggressive than the closed comb - it has a larger blade gap, so that's not surprising. Join the pass around if you want a definitive answer.
The price... about £141 delivered with closed comb only, no stand. That's perfectly acceptable for what you get.
Will I buy one? Of course not! It's a modern DE razor and costs more than £20. I try to stick to vintage SE razors below £20.
Lovely razor though. I'd happily swap one for any of my DE razors any day.
Razor has been cleaned and posted to
@Blademonkey on TSR.
Thanks go to
@Paul for the opportunity.