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

I ended up having one more shave with the Amakuni and a fresh Proline blade yesterday.
As well as a few comparison strokes with the Yaqi Romulus OC and RazoRock Hawk v3 OC.

A very nice shave yet again. The Amakuni felt the mildest of the three, but so easy to find the angle with that it was just as efficient as the other two for me.
The Hawk felt the most aggressive of them, and the Romulus was in the middle.

Handling-wise, they all felt nimble, although the Hawk slightly less so.
On the other hand, it felt like the Hawk offered the widest range of available angles, followed by the Amakuni and trailing by the Romulus (even though it felt more blade forward than the Amakuni).
The difference, though, was that the Hawk would go from potato peeler grade to almost mild feeling, the Romulus felt slightly forward all the time and the Amakuni felt like there was barely any blade at pretty much any angle.

I also felt that swapping blades was, of the three, the least faff with the Amakuni.

While not an OC, the lather channel on the Amakuni is also reasonably large to accommodate mowing down a week or two of growth (I'm sure because I took off a bit of the hair line at the back of my neck and it rinsed out nicely).

It's a shame I don't have the Colonial Razors General, because from (now fairly distant) memory, it exhibited similar traits.

Thank you for the opportunity to try the razor and letting me participate. :)
 
Sconehead said:
The Amakuni is now at my home, but unfortunately I won't be there until tomorrow to try it out. Stuff happens.
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I had my first shave with the Amakuni this morning and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. As promised, the blade, a new Feather Pro, loaded very quickly and gave a feeling of being securely in place. I was in a bit of a hurry and so used Cremo cream, which is always slick if lacking the the quality feel of a proper lather.
I went for a two-pass shave and, to be honest, the first alone would have done the job in terms of a smooth result. I had no trouble finding the best angle and the razor glided over my face with ease. It also proved very manoeuvrable, easily delivering the cutting edge under my nose with no need for facial contortions. There was no clogging of the razor head, despite the fact I had a few days of stubble, and the end result was as good a shave as could well be expected given my haste.
My only reservation was the hanfle, which I did find a bit slender for my taste and can't be swapped out for another one, of course. I suppose I might get used to it with a few more uses and, to be fair, it provided ample grip.
Early days yet and I won't yet try to compare the Amnakuni to my favourite AC razors, the Colonial General, Atelier Durdan La Faulx and Stando Rod, but the start was promising.
 
I had my second go with the Amakuni today and thought I'd start by flipping the blade over, which I don't normally do. This was a very quick and safe process thanks to the magnetic head design.
After I lathered up with Speick cream I diud the usual WTG pass, which again was quick and effective. Followed this with an ATG pass and the result was so close and smooth I didn't bother with a third pass. I followed up with Speick splash which was as refreshing as always and resulted in no sting at all.
I'm really liking this razor so far, although the handle isn't as tactile as I'd like.
 
Third shave this morning with the Amakuni and I continue to be impressed. It was another two-pass shave, with tallow Tabac, and the end result was highly satisfactory. One of the main attrributes of the razor is how easy to is to find the correct angle. Granted I am very familiar with AC blade razors, but even so I'm surprised how easy the Amakuni is to use.
 
My time with the Amakuni is just about up, so here's my slightly rambling conclusion.
Thinking about it, I'd divide the AC razors I've used into three categories, the first being "interesting". I'd put the Cobra, Mongoose and Vector into this group. They all have novel elements and are definitely worth trying, but for me don't quite hit the sweet spot, for various reasons.
The next set i'd describe as "worthy". They're easy enough to use, with no major faults, but somehow seem a little bit unexciting. Two which come to mind are the Razorock Hawk family and Executive Shaving/Alpha Claymore Evolution. The Stando Rod might also sit in this category, although I prefer it to the two already named.
Last are the ones I'd say are "outstanding" and would happily use to the exclusion of all others. These were the Colonial General and Atelier Durdan La Faulx, to which I'd now have to add the Amakuni. None of these three are absoluely perfect, but the faults are so minor I can overlook them. With the Amakuni, a slightly more contoured and/or grippy handle would be a big plus, as much for aesthetic reasons as anything else. It sort of looks a bit weedy to me. However, it's very intuitive to use and gives a great shave in short order. Even changing the blade is quick.
Thanks to Masamune for organsing this passaround and Tatara for the use of the razor.
 
1. @Masamune - completed
2. @p.b - completed
3. @Crossan - completed
4. @semajohn - removed by request
5. @sɐǝɹpu∀ - completed
6. @wooky114 - completed
7. @slapo - completed
8. @ATG - on the way
9. @Cheekee - bought one
10. @Sconehead - completed
11. @globalm - bought one
12. @Borygmi - removed

The pass around has now finished and the razor has been returned to me.

Thanks to everyone who took part and of course to Tatara for making all this possible. It would be great to have impressions from those who simply couldn't wait and purchased the Amakuni early (or anyone who never joined but is an owner). I'm sure João @TATARA RAZORS would really appreciate you taking the time to jot down a few thoughts @Cheekee @globalm

I'll do a long term review at some point. By way of preparation I'll be watching these first:

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