Titanium part III. And on this occasion a shave themed, 'The way of the Jedi or welcome to the dark side?'
A journey of Nodachi vs Nodachi
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Light sabre - Tatara Titanium Nodachi
Heavy sabre - Tatara Nodachi dark
Luke Bladewalker - Polsilver Lodz
Darth brush - Wee Whiskey Barrel
Han Soapo - ADP Collezione Barbierre
'With must choose you your dark journey. Talk sense I do logical not order. Farmer'
Further fascinating facts about titanium. Discovered in Cornwall in 1791 by William Gregor, landscape artist, musician and consumer of pasties. It hence took over three centuries before it worked its way in to the world of razors. How they missed a trick there. It has a standard atomic weight of 47.867+/-0.001 (abridged).
This evening saw the lightweight Nodachi come in to play and being rather familiar with the full fat stainless version it gave me the opportunity to try one directly against the other. On this occasion light and flighty having the left side and the dark and heavy the right side. In general I find my left side shaves easier than my right so technically a slight advantage. It is nice knowing my ugliness has imbalance and not just my mind.
Lathering duties covered wonderfully by the ADP (a top soap if ever) and the very capable Whiskey Barrel brush. The ADP. Another God soap which it will be sad to see the bottom of the jar when that day arrives, and it joins the ranks of the unobtaniums.
First impressions. Again a superbly smooth delivery with a real sense of confidence being the order of the day. Like its stainless brethren one would be hard pushed to cause collateral. However the one thing I am surprised about, is how close the actual face feel is to the Masamune. Having never tried a Masamune until the other day I am taken aback by how close the two actually are. Still, a wonderfully shaved lefthand side of my face arrives in great comfort and no red stuff to upset my ugly unbalanced features even further.
'He ain't heavy he's my brother' sang The Hollies. In this case, yes he is. Switching over to the stainless dark, the first thing you notice is how damn light these titanium razors actually are. I would never say the Tatara's are heavy when you compare to say the Goose or a Rocnel, but bugger me this suddenly feels like a piece of lead in your hand. Throw in the longer handle and hey, a completely different set of dynamics enters the shave.
This change of dynamics is very evident and yet the geometry is exactly the same. There is a greater feeling of authority with the change to the stainless, a greater sense of control and yet in terms of face feel it feels no different. I am not so sure if this is because I am more au fait with the heavier stainless or if the longer handle (which I prefer) is having a say in matters. Whatever it is I feel more comfortable with the heavier brother. In terms of end result both razors are exactly the same despite the delivery being different. If I had to give a preference, I would take the stainless version. It just feels more, 'me'. If I had to take one of the titanium razors it would probably be the Masamune as I think life does need a mild razor in the mix and to be honest I don't see a massive difference between the two.
In passing although I do prefer the longer handle I must admit the Masamune handle is a damn sight prettier and it would be wonderful if Tatara simply made a longer version of the Masamune. Big hint.
However I look at this shave from a critical point of view what really matters is both gave stunningly close and comfortable shaves with smashing end results. I certainly can't say otherwise. It would come down to personal preference as to 'do you see the world as light and flighty or heavy and dynamic?'
Me, I am happy to join Darth Vader and the dark side. Fuck you Yoda and your lightweight dudes.
'Heavy man. Titanium lady. A bloody moustache?'
One more to go in the Nodachi open comb and will it surprise me or will it subdue me? One more to go in the titanium trials and you can be free of my torture.
Until then enjoy some Red Bacteria Vacuum. Loonies? May be....
