I just got a new TI, 1/2 hollow, "super gnome". It passed the HHT out of the box, so I just stopped it and shaved. I'll be damned if it didn't give a better shave than my razors I've spent so much time honing! Not that it was any closer, but just much more comfortable, and with less effort. I looked at the blade edge with a 10x, and it looks as smooth as my blades after 8K Norton with a couple passes on the 15K Shapton. The difference is in the angle of the striations. They were much more angled on the new razor that shaved so well, like the X-pattern was done so the striations were at a 45 degree angle to the blade edge.

Maybe this makes a big difference. What do you all think?

E