Active Tatara pass around - part 2 - their new Amakuni SE razor

Figured I'd follow up having used the La Faulx + for a while. The Atelier Durdan is closer to the ATT slant in form and weight.

Amakuni x Atelier Durdan La Faulx (classic/+)

If you like precision and agility of the Vector (or Amakuni) you may be disappointed in the La Faulx. However, the smoothness is off the charts especially with the classic plate -- but clearly milder than the Amakuni. I imagine it would be ridiculously smooth in the premium polish (mine is sandblasted) if you had the means. I need to try a Vestige handle on the AC head but it may mess with the balance with the heavy duty handle. The AD head is obviously much heavier and larger but lighter than the ATT slant.

I was more aware of the blade with the Amakuni -- that said, it's still smooth during the shave. Comfort to efficiency with the La Faulx is great. I'm fine with the + and can dial up or down with blade selection but expect the ++ would still be very smooth.

Tried a range of blades in the Atelier Durdan from Proline to Kai and Feather. The Kai Protouch makes the + nearly as comfortable as the classic plate but more efficient.

Smoothness: La Faulx (classic especially)
ATG: La Faulx
Efficiency: La Faulx + and Amakuni are very similar to me
Agility: Amakuni
Balance: Amakuni
Handle: La Faulx has better grip but nothing wrong with the Tatara
Changing blades: Amakuni

Amakuni has been with @p.b. so haven't done a direct comparison for these shaves.

The Tatara 15% discount includes the Amakuni until 14 February.
 
Razor is with Marc @Crossan

Quality: it's a Tatara - it's perfect. 'nuff said

Report from @p.b on the other forum

Nine shaves with the Amakuni and I won't give such a comprehensive report as Masamune.

Quality: it's a Tatara - it's perfect. 'nuff said.

Blade changing: I can't really understand the negative reaction the magnets elicited from people before they even saw let alone touched this razor. Frankly it's genius, changing AC blades are at best a faff and if your Vector is like mine and will take Schick Prolines (they only just fit) and changing the blades is a right bugger: fiddlely and awkward. The Hawk and Spirit are only slightly better and, from memory, neither is the WR4 any different. The Amakuni is so simple, so repeatable and precise. It's a process of beautiful simplicity and a joy to use.

Weight: I like 50-80g razors and the Amakuni comes in at 80g, more than the Spirit (62g) and Vector (77g) so the Amakuni should be just right but it feels heavier and far, far less nimble than either the Vector and the Spirit. I like a handle heavy balance and the Vector and Spirit feel well-balanced to me whereas the Amakuni is very slighlty head-heavy and feels very solid so might suit others preference better than it does me.

Efficiency: It falls somewhere between the Spirit and the Vector, not as smooth as the Spirit and not as aggressive as the Vector. I found with a Super blade the Amakuni was stunning (a Super in the Vector is too much for me) but with the Pro or the Proline it took four passes and touch-ups which caused some irritation for me. This limits the appeal of this razor to me as I'd like it a bit more 'punchy'.

Handle: I still don't like it, I think it spoils the appearance and I would much prefer to see something more elegant like their Nodachi handle.

I really hope Tatara now release an Injector version of this razor with a shorter and more interesting handle. I'd buy that without hesitation. If you've been put off the Spirit because you like a heavier, more solid feel and the Vector is too aggressive for you then this could be the ideal razor. It has the pride of ownership and craftsmanship in spades and, did I mention, the blade changing is genius.

Thank you to @TATARA RAZORS and @Masamune for arranging this - I really enjoyed it.
 
Howzit All,

Just a brief update after almost a week of use.

I have to caveat the whole thing in that I am not much of an AC user. It's one of those formats that I've always wanted to love but have never come across a razor that has really grabbed me. I've had a Hawk V3, Yaqi something or other and I've still got a Shield Brass and polished Vector.

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Looking at the Amakuni the first thing I'm struck by is the build quality. As with the other Tatara razors it's top notch, solid and nicely machined. So no great surprises. But that's a win over my other razors.

What I really liked, and it surprised me, was the loading mechanism. I won't say I was dead against magnets, but I certainly wasn't an advocate. But this is unbelievably straight forward and holds the blade solidly. If it's implemented like this in other razors I wouldn't run for the hills. I don't know how the magnets are held in place, so time will tell whether it lasts.

With the balance, in the hand I couldn't really split it between this and the Vector, both balanced out roughly halfway down the handle. The Shield that I have is further forward to the head (though it has a slightly shorter handle), I do tend to prefer head heavy razors but it's not the end of the world.

Aesthetics, hmm, now I wasn't sure initially and I'm still not absolutely sold. The handle just looks too cumbersome for such a lithe head. If it were marginally slimmer then it might not be so jarring.

As to the shave, I'm a two pass shaver, WTG/ATG, if it can handle that then I'm happy.

First to note, this is a lot less forward than the Vector but probably on par with the Shield. I've tried a couple of blades so far, Proline and Professional. I didn't get on with it using the Prolines but the Professionals have been much better. It hasn't given me as long lasting a finish as the Vector and possibly isn't as manoeuverable (by a small margin) but the Amakuni is more enjoyable to use.

I'm going to switch it up to the Supers and possibly try out a kai as well before ending my time with the razor.

Halfway point, it's a nice razor, it's not giving me the itch to whip out my wallet just yet, but the second half will tell.

Just a couple of SOTD pics to accompany:
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Right, I've wrapped up my time with the razor, my impression still pretty much stands from what I said before, but I must say I'm mightily impressed.

I finished up the remaining shaves with the Super Professionals and it upped the feel but it is still more than manageable. Would I run out and buy it right now, probably not, but I would seriously consider getting rid of my Vector and grabbing one in the future.

It's all packed up and ready for collection tomorrow to move onto the next lucky user.

Thank you @Masamune and Tatara for the opportunity to try this, excellent razor.

Have a grand one all.

Cheers

Marc
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From @wooky114

First shave, a précis; 3 days growth, loaded up a Schick Proline as they were the first SE blade I laid my hands on. Loading the blade was easy, onto the posts on the head and the magnets held the top cap and blade with ease. The shave; well, the easiest way to say it is, it's probably one of the best shaves I've had in a long time. The razor was easy to use, nimble around the face, and the head dimensions meant there were no issues under the nose.

I'm looking forward to the more shaves, and I'll give it whirl as a head shaver in a couple of days (ran the Leaf over the noggin just prior to the face shave).

Second shave, a précis; firstly the head shave. Again there were no issues loading the blade or with the shave and the razor was easy to use as head shaver, two passes and done. The face was much akin to the first shave really; the razor is easy to use, the angle easy to find and the thing just works and gives a good result.

I was away for the weekend and to negate any issues, left the Tatara at home. Just out of the bathroom, having had another head and face shave. Again, absolutely no issues and the razor is a pleasure to use; I've currently the Colonial Razors General (SS & Alu), RazoRock Hawk and ATT SE, as a choice for SE shaves but, I can easily say that the Tatara is the best of the bunch. I'll be having one more shave with it and then forwarding it onto the next recipient.
 
Had my last shave with the razor yesterday (Thu) and it's on it's way to the next recipient.

Again, there no issues and the razors been an absolute joy to use. It's superbly well manufactured and if I was in the market for another SE razor, the Amakuni would probably be at the top of the shopping list.

Many thanks to @Masamune and @TATARA RAZORS for the passaround and the opportunity to try the razor.
 
Hope I'm not too late to add myself to this passround. If I am - just ignore me!

UK passaround list (combined forums)

1. @Masamune - completed
2. @p.b - completed
3. @Crossan - completed
4. @semajohn - removed by request
5. @sɐǝɹpu∀ - completed
6. @wooky114 - with
7. @slapo
8. @Borygmi
9. @ATG
10. @Cheekee - bought one and removed from the list
11. @Sconehead
12. @globalm
 
It's currently:

1. @Masamune - completed
2. @p.b - completed
3. @Crossan - completed
4. @semajohn - removed by request
5. @sɐǝɹpu∀ - completed
6. @wooky114 - completed
7. @slapo - with
8. @Borygmi
9. @ATG
10. @Cheekee - bought one and removed from the list
11. @Sconehead
12. @globalm Removed - bought one.

Initial impressions:
I like the head and build quality, which is high, as with their DEs.
However, the handle is OK when dry, but I did find it a bit slippery on first use yesterday.

I went half and half with a Feather Pro Guard and ProShave S on a few days' worth of growth.
The ProShave isn't as sharp, but it coped well. The Feather Pro Guard was a fair bit smoother.
Both blades with the head without issues.

I rather liked that the strength of the magnets is plenty strong to keep the head together while shaving, yet it isn't so strong that it would be difficult to remove the top cap.
I think I realised that I prefer having pins on the base plate for two piece razors. :)

I enjoyed how slim the head was for the most part. Certainly maneuvreable, although I did find myself gripping the handle with a bit more force than I probably would have a knurled one. While that was probably just me, it did end up getting in the way a little.

It was pretty easy to find and keep the angle, although feeling the angle was occasionally a little "thin" due to the head being so slim and me not being used to it. I do own a Yaqi Romulus OC, but I haven't been using it much, as I generally prefer the narrower DE and injector blades.

Despite that minor issue, a very pleasant shave.
 
I've had two more shaves with the Amakuni, one on Wednesday last week and another one on Sunday.

On Wednesday, I used the Feather Pro Guard and Feather Pro Super.
The Pro Guard was smoother, but the Pro Super was alright.
I had a couple of sneaky weepers from the Pro Guard, but, curiously, only one from the Pro Super.
I couldn't actually see them when I was shaving and after the final rinse. When I came into the bathroom about twenty minutes later, I saw the weepers. Rather peculiar.
That aside, it was a very enjoyable shave and a very comfortable one (which is why I was surprised by said weepers).

In Sunday shave, I used the Pro Super and ProShave S, both on their second shave.

The Pro Super was a bit smoother than the ProShave S, and both felt smoother than on their first use.
During the final pass, I think I took off a pimple that I hadn't seen with the Pro Super, and also a tiny little something on the underside of my jaw. I didn't even feel it, and they closed up pretty much right away.
The ProShave S was weeper-free, although I ended up missing the angle a little on the jawline in the final pass, so it didn't feel quite as close as the rest of my face.
After the shave was done, the jawline aside, the result was about the same.

I'm still not very keen on the handle, though. It's OK, but it does feel just a little bit slippery when wet.

I'll say that if there were an Amakuni head-only option, I might've placed an order already.

I used the Amakuni again on Wednesday this week, this time with a Feather Pro Super and a Shick Proline blade.

It's been a good while since I last used a Proline blade, despite them being my favourite in the AC format. That's because I wasn't using AC format razors much, and when I was, I would try to use up the blades I enjoy less.

In the Amakuni, while the Pro Super is quite good, the Proline is the one I preferred. Smooth and cuts hair really well.

It was probably my best shave with the Amakuni yet. Results on both sides were pretty much equal.
I think it's thanks to how well Tatara got the sweet spot right. It's really easy to find the angle with any blade in the razor, and while aggression scales using a blade that sticks out more, it's been pretty easily manageable with all the blades I've tried so far.

I still don't like the handle, though. It's both a little thinner than I'd prefer and a little less grippy than I'd prefer.

To summarise my experience with it in all the shaves, the head is great, the handle a bit underwhelming.

I think I'd pounce on a head-only option.

I'll be sending the razor on, probably on Saturday (unless work gets bananas, in which case I might have to do Monday).

Thank you kindly for letting me participate and try the razor. :)
 
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