Thread: TI super gnome

Anyone have anything to report about the TI super gnome? Good or bad. I tried shaving tonight with a 9/16ths ern and did better than with the 8/8ths fridour I just bought. I was thinking about trying the TI after I sell the fridour. It is a 6/8ths half hollow which sounds just about perfect, not to mention it is a sought after brand, but I don't know anything about the razor.

Another thing, any advice on shaving east to west on the neck? I can do well on the jawline and upperneck but after that I just cant get it right. I don't get smooth on the neck unless I do an east to west west to east pass and keep having to seek the de for a touchup. It is aggravating me. Once in a while I seem to not need the touch up but more often than not it is because I can't make the whole pass.

matt was the 9/16 ern a wedge? if it was then it is a stiffer blade and will probably shave closer on the 1st pass

I wish we had a facepalm smiley-thingy, not in regards to what matt wrote however. It would have been in response to the "stiffer blade giving a closer shave on first pass" bit that agitated my old creaky knee.

Naturally, as always, I make sure its properly sharp. Then I do small, or short if you will, strokes on the neck that have a sort of horizontal curve to them. Took about 6 or so months before I personally felt that I could go out in public after only using the straight to remove hair.

Chris Moss on SMF spoke highly of his TI Super Gnome when I was starting out with straight razors. So I bought a 5/8 as at the time the 6/8 was out of stock. I did not have it pre-honed and it was not really shave ready. Once I got to the point where I could hone fairly well it preformed very well. As others have said it is a half hollow so blade flex isn't an issue and mine gives a comfortable shave.

As far as shaving east west on the neck, I do north south and then on a few spots south-east or north-west or some variation of that. I haven't yet acheived the dexterity to go east west on my neck.

I don't have one but from what I've read the TI is a great shaver. Its a heavy blade and part hollow so you know the drill there.

As far as the neck goes you really have to experiment with creative stretching and scything motions and ATG and all that. I have a very contoured neck and I've tried everything and with most razors can't get BBS on my neck but still get a great shave though. it seems razors with a real smile to them work better on my neck than ones with a straight profile.

It is a very good razor. Just be sure to check the blade for warping as that, unfortunately, had been an issue. If buying new, make sure the vendor has a return policy better than to tell you to send it back to TI.

When I was shopping for a TI, the super gnome was sold out. I bought the "evide sonnant extra" 5/8.I opted to hone it myself. I was glad to discover I actually got a TI WITHOUT a warped blade!!

It honed beautifully,the steel is very hard but it did not give me any significant issues. Its currently in my rotation and is one of my favorites. Maybe I got lucky.

I've owned two. I sold the 5/8ths to another fellow that loves it and replaced the 5/8ths with a 6/8ths purchased used on one of the forums. The 6/8ths is a older razor that was not used much. The 5/8ths was a new razor and did have a 'ding' on the nose of the blade from the factory, but there was no impact on the shave or for sharpening. The 6/8ths is flawless.
Both were good shavers and I only sold the 5/8ths because I found my groove with 6/8ths blades. I also tend to prefer a stiffer grind, so the Super Gnome 6/8ths is in my rotation to stay.
The only thing I find irritating is TI makes the scales 1/2" too long for the blade. I know this is picky, but I feel my razors are not just tools but art also. I may have the Super Gnome rescaled at some point.
Bottom line is they are really good razors.