Good day all,
Pre Shave:
Pears Transparent Bar Soap warm wash to soften and clean
Apply Proraso Refreshing Pre Shave Cream
Brush: Progress Vulfix 404 (Mixed Badger & Boar)
Lather: TOBS Sandalwood shaving cream
Blade: BIC Chrome Platinum
Razor: Tatara Masamune
Post Shave:
Cold water Face Wash with OSMA alum block, followed by TOBS Sandalwood after shave gel.
Wow what an enjoyable first shave with my Tatara Masamune closed comb razor! Bearing in mind that I am a fair skinned ginge, there are not an awful lot of DS razors to suit me, especially if I require a quality finish, good design and balance etc. My previous razor of choice was a Feather AS-D2, which I was/am very happy with and highly recommend, but after today I am lucky enough to have an even better razor (for me).
I had my first shave this morning with my newly acquired Tatara Masamune (closed comb). I chose my favoured DS blade as used in my AS-D2, a BIC Chrome Platinum and prepared as normal to do a 3 pass leisurely shave (WTG, XTG & ATG). Found the ‘bite’ angle almost immediately and did my WTG with no incidents or surprises. Re-lathered and continued with a very pleasant and easy XTG. Now for my ATG and cleanup. What a surprise, there was nothing felt, nothing heard and no resistance! I continued to gently remove the remaining shaving cream from my face (with the Masamune) but there was no stubble left ATG or for clean-up. I inspected my jaw line, under the nose, corners of the mouth and edges of my lips, nothing, BBS all over, my first perfect shave, which could have been completed in just two passes. I reached for my alum block and ran it all over the shaved areas. That proved to be a waste of time, absolutely no sting anywhere.
For anyone wanting an exciting edge of the seat shave, finishing with styptic pencil and alum block, this shaver is not for you, it is far too leisurely and boring with absolutely no incidents or excitement. But for me it is just perfect. My wife is happy too, not because I am BBS, but because I have now stopped looking for my perfect razor!
Why do I believe this razor is better than my Feather AS-D2. Well initially I was concerned that the Masamune felt slightly lighter (88g) than my AS-D2 (92g) and that the handle being smooth with only dimples along its length may be slippery when wet. However in use it felt perfectly balanced with gentle heft and did not slip in my wet hand at all. So no negatives to report (I have medium sized hands and believe that anyone with large hands may find the handle (a) too short and/or (b) too small at 11mm diameter. I also noted that the rounded off handle end felt perfect resting on my palm when shaving. Okay so the real plus points for me are (a) IMHO it cuts my stubble more efficiently than my AS-D2 and (b) has a larger tolerance of blade attack angle. So to sum up, the Tatara Masamune feels good, looks good and gives me my perfect shave.
