Paradigm razor Titanium

I kindly asked Phil to try one of the Paradigm Titanium razors as soon as I saw it on his webpage , and he was very kind to send me one for me to try.

I'm very glad he did : this is a stunning razor which provides excellent shaves.



This razor is made of Titanium and you can noticed it right away when you pick it up.I have been using stainless steel razors most of the last month , which have a different "feeling" than this one.

This razor feels lighter than some of those stainless steel ones , but is about 80 grams of weight , which is not "light" by any means.



The handle is long enough to be hold with no problems , even if you have big hands.It has a length around 9 cm.

Is knurling is very elegant but not deep.However , since the handle has an heptagonal shape , it's very easy to hold , providing an excellent grip.



This is a 3 piece razor , as you can see in the following pic :



And the closed comb head resembles some other ones like the ATT , Seygus or Rocnel DE-P , as you can see here :



When the blade is assembled , gets extremely secure on that head , and also well aligned in both sides.

And the shave with it is what I was expecting : smooth and efficient.I do have a medium beard , and two passes ( WTG and XTG) were enough to provide a close , comfortable , free of stubble and irritation , shave.

I would compare this closed comb head with the Seygus closed comb head in terms of smoothness and effectivity when cutting the beard hair.

Also I would like to say that my pics don't reflect the real beauty of this razor either it's color.

I have written this a couple times , but we are lucky these days to be able to choose among so many good products out there for traditional wet shaving and this is another great example of this.

Will write my final thoughts when I test it a couple times more.So far , so great.


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Awesome write up Teiste! Has there been any indication on price?

(04-08-2017, 05:37 PM)Urolex Wrote: Awesome write up Teiste! Has there been any indication on price?

Kevin, I believe Phil shared $395.

Teiste, nice review!


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Great review.  Nice to see this razor up close and to get user feedback.  Thanks!

Very informative write up and beautyful pictures of an interesting razor.
Marco

Nice review and pictures Teiste.

The close up pictures are useful Teiste.  I found picture #5 (second one from the bottom) particularly informative, because I don't see glaring machine marks under the top cap and on top of the base plate.  This looks like It's going to be an excellent razor.

Hi all --

Teiste, thank you for the the thoughtful review. I'm glad you like the razor. Regarding Ricardo's comment on the finish, we remove all traces of machining. The razors are first deburred using very fine files, then polished by hand.

Also, if you ever see rust, it's from the blade. You can wipe it away with your finger or a soft cloth. Any kind of gunk from soap or whatever can usually be removed with Windex -- don't use any metal cleaners or other solvents.

Thanks again. Now you've got titanium in your rotation! Definitely a different animal than stainless.

Andy

(04-09-2017, 10:33 AM)Paradigm Shaveware Wrote: Hi all --

Teiste, thank you for the the thoughtful review. I'm glad you like the razor. Regarding Ricardo's comment on the finish, we remove all traces of machining. The razors are first deburred using very fine files, then polished by hand.

Also, if you ever see rust, it's from the blade. You can wipe it away with your finger or a soft cloth. Any kind of gunk from soap or whatever can usually be removed with Windex -- don't use any metal cleaners or other solvents.

Thanks again. Now you've got titanium in your rotation! Definitely a different animal than stainless.

Andy

This is a factor to consider when evaluating the price of this razor.  Eliminating machine marks is a labor intensive and time consuming process which adds to the price of any razor.

(04-09-2017, 10:33 AM)Paradigm Shaveware Wrote: Hi all --

Teiste, thank you for the the thoughtful review. I'm glad you like the razor. Regarding Ricardo's comment on the finish, we remove all traces of machining. The razors are first deburred using very fine files, then polished by hand.

Also, if you ever see rust, it's from the blade. You can wipe it away with your finger or a soft cloth. Any kind of gunk from soap or whatever can usually be removed with Windex -- don't use any metal cleaners or other solvents.

Thanks again. Now you've got titanium in your rotation! Definitely a different animal than stainless.

Andy

Thanks to you for allowing me to try it before it went for sale.

I hope you can offer it (and other models) in stainless steel and aluminum too.

Good to see a new artisan among us.Its a great addition to ATT , Timeless , Wolfman , OneBlade , Asylum etc

Models will definitely be offered in other materials. Not sure what yet. The titanium is our first offering, and we'll be concentrating on production of that for a while.

(04-09-2017, 01:37 PM)Paradigm Shaveware Wrote: Models will definitely be offered in other materials. Not sure what yet. The titanium is our first offering, and we'll be concentrating on production of that for a while.

I am modifying my original post because after re-reading it a day or so later it may have sounded a little to bitchy. 

I have no issues spending money on items I want or like but at this point in wet shaving the quality of new shaving equipment has been fenonimal over the last years. So when a new soap, brush, razor is introduced into the market place it has to competitive or better or have a uniqueness not just in design but of cause craftmenship, shave, handle, knot, lather, slickness etc.then what's being offered. 

Sorry but personally not interested in a TI and not for the money, i like a heavier razor which of cause would be SS, Brass that would have to start at a competitive price. So it needs to shave as well or better than a Wolf, BBS1, BB, Timeless, RX or ATT se1, which to me are smooth and efficient razors with the right blade for less money. So I,ll wait for reviews and a SS or Brass, if they should be produced. I don,t want to use it for a few weeks and then put it away to collect dust.

Now if the razor turns out to be a beauty (when holding and using it) in design, craftmenship and shave in the heavier metals i will gladly spend the money on a TI. This is just my opinion.

I really like the design of this razor and the fact that titanium offers a lighter weight than stainless steel. Some of the modern stainless DE and SE razor heads alone weigh more than 40 grams, that is more than half of the weight of this complete razor. By the time you match some of these heavyweight razor heads with a handle that offers good balance you are likely to be over 120 grams in total weight and you are left shaving with what feels like a small mallet. I do realize that to each his own, but in my opinion, many manufacturers are neglecting to take into account the excessive weight of their razors when designing them, even though, at least to me, too much weight negatively impacts the performance of a razor. You get less maneuverability and a not so nimble razor. It is good to see a razor made of high quality, durable material that is substantial in weight but is not excessively heavy. Now if only the price wasn't so close to $400.

When will this be released?

Sign me up. I'm all for trying Ti. I like that its weight fights between Al and SS. That handle pattern though... man! It reminds me of my Dad's putter grip from 1977. Love it. Also interested in expected release date.

What's the handle and OAL length?

(04-10-2017, 10:31 AM)mitotiani Wrote: I really like the design of this razor and the fact that titanium offers a lighter weight than stainless steel. Some of the modern stainless DE and SE razor heads alone weigh more than 40 grams, that is more than half of the weight of this complete razor. By the time you match some of these heavyweight razor heads with a handle that offers good balance you are likely to be over 120 grams in total weight and you are left shaving with what feels like a small mallet. I do realize that to each his own, but in my opinion, many manufacturers are neglecting to take into account the excessive weight of their razors when designing them, even though, at least to me, too much weight negatively impacts the performance of a razor. You get less maneuverability and a not so nimble razor. It is good to see a razor made of high quality, durable material that is substantial in weight but is not excessively heavy. Now if only the price wasn't so close to $400.

When will this be released?

Agree. If I was to ever try a SS razor again it would need the center of the handle hollow-cored. No reason to have any razor over 100g. Or even 80g to be honest.
That said, a nicely machined Ti razor would be very nice, and even Aluminum ones too.

Well, aluminum does feel a bit too light for me at times but it depends on the razor. Aluminum is also softer so it is not as durable as titanium or stainless. For me, the ideal weight for a razor is around 80g and definitely under 100g. There is no disputing that many of the newer razors in stainless provide very good to great shaves but simply are not workable for me due to their excessive weight. To me this titanium razor strikes a nice balance of beautiful design, high quality, durable materials and reasonable weight. If only they could cut the cost in half. Maybe a solution is to offer the head for sale with no handle.

(04-10-2017, 04:54 PM)mitotiani Wrote: Well, aluminum does feel a bit too light for me at times but it depends on the razor. Aluminum is also softer so it is not as durable as titanium or stainless. For me, the ideal weight for a razor is around 80g and definitely under 100g. There is no disputing that many of the newer razors in stainless provide very good to great shaves but simply are not workable for me due to their excessive weight. To me this titanium razor strikes a nice balance of beautiful design, high quality, durable materials and reasonable weight. If only they could cut the cost in half. Maybe a solution is to offer the head for sale with no handle.

It is what it is..
I too prefer lighter razors in general.
My understanding in terms of titanium; costs are directly related to machining ie wear and tear on tooling. This is a fixed variable.
Yes, current prices for titanium razors are relatively high.
One gets what they pay for.
I truly believe there is no 'gouging' here.
That being said, I'd rather invest my money in a well made USA or Canadian made razor, rather than spend on dubious goods sourced from other places.

I'm very excited about this razor. We really are in the golden age of shaving.. with regard to the price, these are luxury items and you get what you pay for. Yup price is steep but I know I couldn't make this razor.

(04-10-2017, 05:30 PM)Agravic Wrote: O

(04-10-2017, 04:54 PM)mitotiani Wrote: Well, aluminum does feel a bit too light for me at times but it depends on the razor. Aluminum is also softer so it is not as durable as titanium or stainless. For me, the ideal weight for a razor is around 80g and definitely under 100g. There is no disputing that many of the newer razors in stainless provide very good to great shaves but simply are not workable for me due to their excessive weight. To me this titanium razor strikes a nice balance of beautiful design, high quality, durable materials and reasonable weight. If only they could cut the cost in half. Maybe a solution is to offer the head for sale with no handle.

It is what it is..
I too prefer lighter razors in general.
My understanding in terms of titanium; costs are directly related to machining ie wear and tear on tooling.  This is a fixed variable.  
Yes, current prices for titanium razors are relatively high.
One gets what they pay for.
I truly believe there is no 'gouging' here.
That being said, I'd rather invest my money in a well made USA or Canadian made razor, rather than spend on dubious goods sourced from other places.

I agree that there is no "price gouging" here and I made no comment about that. Given the cost of a OneBlade or other premium razors this is definitely in line with their prices, and this is made of titanium not stainless. There appears to be no shortage of buyers at this premium price point, including myself at times. My apologies for derailing the conversation.

Now, I do look forward to further reviews and comparisons of this razor to others such as Timeless, ATT and such.

I like Ti. I've got a few Jurgen Hemple handles but I've never had a complete razor in titanium. Since wet shaving is such a YMMV pursuit, in all aspects, as much as I trust the reviews of Phil, and of Teiste, I'm going to wait until this is out in the world and more people have given their assessments. Beautiful piece of workmanship one way or the other.