Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 13
Like Tree21Likes

Thread: On the way....finally

  1. #1
    The Hurdy Gurdy Man thebigspendur's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    New Mexico
    Posts
    32,737
    Thanked: 5016
    Blog Entries
    4

    Default On the way....finally

    Well, after delay after delay the Janus Razor is finally in the mail.

    Probably towards the end of next week I'll give a preliminary review of the thing.

    ************************************************** ************************************************** *************************

    So fast forward to Saturday and the thing was in my mailbox today so a few preliminary comments today.

    I didn't do any pics. If you want to see it go over to the Janus Site. He has better pics than I can do plus he explains it all.

    So, by way of background, originally this was a crowd funding thing which didn't gain enough support. He was going to do a bunch of differing finishes but in the end only did one. Basic polished stainless with a few accents here and there. He made about 50 razors as a limited run and that's it. These he did via his own site.

    So remember this is a $500 razor which is probably the most expensive DE I know of. Wolfman DEs can be more but that's for the more exotic materials.

    This is an all stainless adjustable DE kind of like the original Gillette Toggle.

    So it arrives in pretty plain cardboard packaging with an instruction book and an LE certification and a 5 pack of Kai blades.

    Finishing on the razor is perfect and the feel and balance is perfect too. The length and thickness are perfect for my hands and the patterns cut into the shaft are as good as they come. The razor has good heft to it. The toggle mechanism is smooth and light and the adjustments are precise with clickstops 1-9 and inbetween.

    So far I give it a 5 out of 5. The shave comes tomorrow so I'll report back initial shave impressions.

    ************************************************** ************************************************** **********************************

    So today is Sunday and a chance to take the Janus for a spin.

    The shave-Janus Razor on setting 5 (out of 9), Kai Blade, Meisner Tremonia Ice Menthol Shave Soap, Shavemac Ebonite 2 bander brush and Sebum Gold A/S preparation.

    I've said many times each time they come out with a new razor using the latest tech there is that forward march to "does it shave as good as a straight?".

    I think my first stainless was the Feather which though well made and good looking was a very mild razor and gave a so so shave, I tried the Mongoose and it gave a great shave but on the aggressive side, The Above The Tie Slant which was a tad better, then the Timeless which I thought had the best combo of mildness and giving a really close shave and finally the Rockwell Model T which though having some rough edges surrounding it's mechanism gave a really great comfortable shave. I thought it was impossible to design something to shave closer without the aggressiveness of the original R-41 which I still feel gave the absolutely closest shave and came so close to a straight shave.

    Well, I can finally say the nexus between a straight and a DE has been breached. If I had shaved with a straight I would not have gotten any closer or more comfortable a shave. Yes it's that good period. Is it worth $500? That's something you have to decide for yourself. It is a lot of money even for "Thebigspendur".

    After shaving my entire face was BBS including my neck and the usual more difficult areas. I shaved almost 12 hours ago and my face still feels exactly the same. No hint of an stubble or roughness anywhere. We will see how long that lasts before stubble appears. The only caveat I'll mention and I think I said the same about the Rockwell Model T is you must use a really good soap or cream with lube in spades. Both razors have this quality where without lube they seem to adhere to your face as you shave. Don't even think of shaving with just water or even doing a water only pass. You must have that lube on your face at all times. Come to think of it I've had straights that do the same thing. Maybe that's the secret of teir shave ability. I don't know.

    These were made in a run of around 50 and he offered folks their money back after the last delay so if you want one contact Eric on his site. I guess if he gets enough requests he might do another run.

    ************************************************** ************************************************** **********

    So another update here.

    I had been using the Kai blades supplied with the razor. Kai's are interesting blades. They are thicker than any other blade I've used and they have no coatings on them which should mean the actual blade finishing should be better because they don't rely on the coatings to provide the quality of the shave.

    I found with the 3rd shave from the same blade the Kai's started to exhibit a tad of roughness. The shave quality was the same but in my book that means 3 shaves per blade and no more. I've switched to Feather now and I found at setting 5 it was definitely a bracing shave. I could probably set it back to setting 4. The feathers are certainly sharper than the Kai. We'll see how long they last. The shave quality appears to be the same with both blades.
    Last edited by thebigspendur; 06-06-2020 at 10:35 PM. Reason: continuing review.
    Geezer, 32t, BobH and 5 others like this.
    No matter how many men you kill you can't kill your successor-Emperor Nero

  2. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to thebigspendur For This Useful Post:

    Geezer (06-01-2020), markbignosekelly (06-01-2020)

  3. #2
    Senior Member blabbermouth markbignosekelly's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Egham, a little town just outside London.
    Posts
    3,725
    Thanked: 1074
    Blog Entries
    2

    Default

    Will it live up to expectations is the question??

  4. #3
    The Hurdy Gurdy Man thebigspendur's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    New Mexico
    Posts
    32,737
    Thanked: 5016
    Blog Entries
    4

    Default

    That is the question. Most of the machine work was done in Switzerland and he personally took each one apart and reassembled it himself.

    We'll see.
    No matter how many men you kill you can't kill your successor-Emperor Nero

  5. #4
    Senior Member blabbermouth tintin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    archbold ohio
    Posts
    2,363
    Thanked: 545

    Default

    I was wondering what ever became of that. I thought the prototypes and r and d that went into it were impressive. looking forward to seeing it.

  6. #5
    JP5
    JP5 is offline
    Senior Member blabbermouth JP5's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    Duluth, GA - Atlanta OTP North
    Posts
    2,546
    Thanked: 315
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default

    As long as it took, hopefully he got everything dialed in. Better than a rushed product that disappoints. I'm sure the toggle fans are looking forward to getting one. Looks great in the pictures.
    - Joshua

  7. #6
    The Hurdy Gurdy Man thebigspendur's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    New Mexico
    Posts
    32,737
    Thanked: 5016
    Blog Entries
    4

    Default

    I added a review today to the original post.
    No matter how many men you kill you can't kill your successor-Emperor Nero

  8. #7
    Senior Member blabbermouth Kees's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    The Netherlands
    Posts
    5,474
    Thanked: 656

    Default

    All other things being equal, what makes this razor perform so much better?
    Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr.

  9. #8
    The Hurdy Gurdy Man thebigspendur's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    New Mexico
    Posts
    32,737
    Thanked: 5016
    Blog Entries
    4

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Kees View Post
    All other things being equal, what makes this razor perform so much better?
    You would have to ask the designer that question. I would imagine the overall design and precision machining.
    No matter how many men you kill you can't kill your successor-Emperor Nero

  10. #9
    Senior Member blabbermouth markbignosekelly's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Egham, a little town just outside London.
    Posts
    3,725
    Thanked: 1074
    Blog Entries
    2

    Default

    Thank you for the review.
    So this is your goldilocks DE? It would be interesting to hear your views with different DEs, I personally like mild safety razors with very sharp blades like Kai and Feather.

    Yes 500 big ones is quite a bit of dough but custom straights can go way past that and a NOS original toggle would fetch the same no doubt.

    Scrap that, you got yourself a bargain, just found this :dropjaw

    Name:  Screenshot_20200601-173434_eBay.jpg
Views: 112
Size:  20.3 KB
    Last edited by markbignosekelly; 06-01-2020 at 04:37 PM.
    Geezer and PaulFLUS like this.

  11. #10
    Senior Member blabbermouth PaulFLUS's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2018
    Location
    Gainesville, FL
    Posts
    5,872
    Thanked: 594

    Default



    Name:  videotogif_2020.06.01_14.13.06.gif
Views: 99
Size:  451.8 KB
    Iron by iron is sharpened, And a man sharpens the face of his friend. PR 27:17

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •