Hone T15S Pass around

[SeanC]

I'm done and dusted, positive review to follow.

I seem to be the last member on the passaround list, so is there anybody else interested (who meets the criteria on the first post of this thread) and I will be happy to send?

 

[SeanC]

The passaround razor arrived safely on Friday last week and I used on both Friday (2 days growth) and Saturday (1 day growth) with a Kai blade (I'm not a fan of Feather blades, so I think this is a good compromise). TFS Italian Rhubarb has been used throughout in the interests of consistency and because it's nice and slick

Initial musings are as follows:

• The original head does indeed drag and was swapped out after one pass
• There is a marginal difference between the treated head and the rest of the razor in terms of finish, but it wouldn't bother me particularly
• The suggested angle of the razor is pretty much my natural shaving angle, so no issues there
• No issue shaving under my nose which is a common difficulty, but the wider than normal head (even Kai blades are fully enclosed) made it difficult to shave close to a mole on my face

A more detailed review will follow later this week and I will be ready to send the razor onwards on either Wednesday or Thursday

Expanding on my earlier musings....

With benefit of hindsight, several things that I thought about the Karve and did with it were wrong.

I wasn't initially sure whether the Hone would work for me as I had gained an impression that it was mild and difficult to find the correct shaving angle i.e. similarities with the Pils and ASD2. Incorrect as results later proved.

I also assumed that a Kai blade would be a good match. No, it isn't. The shave was neither particularly smooth or close. I think should have heeded the warning given when the Kai blade proved to be a little difficult to fit over the centre post. I mainly shave every second day at present and certainly after using the Kai, I thought the Hone was daily driver material at best and probably not quite suitable for me.

I did however persevere and as stated previously, whilst steering clear of the Feather, I instead tried a Gillette Nacet which is generally reputed to have the keenest edge from the current Gillette range. As different as chalk and cheese. The shave was buttery smooth and two days' worth of growth was easily ploughed through to leave a borderline DFS / BBS which remained suitably smooth right through the evening. As second shave yielded equally excellent results.

On the basis of the above, should I have the funds available (I don't unfortunately at the moment), I would probably buy the stainless Hone, with the proviso that the head has had the additional polishing to smooth it (and preferably the rest of the razor too).

Minor issues which I think could be explored are:

Whether it's possible to take a maximum of 20% of the weight of the razor out by drilling the handle and reconfiguring the head (without altering the core dynamics such as blade gap and angle etc)?
Possibly reducing the width of the head so that it doesn't exceed the width of a standard DE blade?

Both these suggestions are primarily tasked with improving manoeuvrability which is the one area where I think the Hone is ever so slightly off-point for me.

The Nacets were such a good match, I have included a tuck in the passaround box. Please PM me if you want it next?

For reference, my current favourite razors are the: Charcoal Goods L2 v3, Blackland Era L4 SB and Gamechanger .84 SB

 

[Hone]

I polished the entire razor except for the inside. Polishing - "satin".
As a result, if we compare the two finishes, then satin gives the best glide. But the original finish definitely gives the best protection against scratches.

WOW. Looks stunning! How did you find the blend between the handle and the head? I looked at brushing like this as a commercial finish. The manual nature of that surface match made the price quite a stretch!

 

[Hone]

Expanding on my earlier musings....

With benefit of hindsight, several things that I thought about the Karve and did with it were wrong.

I wasn't initially sure whether the Hone would work for me as I had gained an impression that it was mild and difficult to find the correct shaving angle i.e. similarities with the Pils and ASD2. Incorrect as results later proved.

I also assumed that a Kai blade would be a good match. No, it isn't. The shave was neither particularly smooth or close. I think should have heeded the warning given when the Kai blade proved to be a little difficult to fit over the centre post. I mainly shave every second day at present and certainly after using the Kai, I thought the Hone was daily driver material at best and probably not quite suitable for me.

I did however persevere and as stated previously, whilst steering clear of the Feather, I instead tried a Gillette Nacet which is generally reputed to have the keenest edge from the current Gillette range. As different as chalk and cheese. The shave was buttery smooth and two days' worth of growth was easily ploughed through to leave a borderline DFS / BBS which remained suitably smooth right through the evening. As second shave yielded equally excellent results.

On the basis of the above, should I have the funds available (I don't unfortunately at the moment), I would probably buy the stainless Hone, with the proviso that the head has had the additional polishing to smooth it (and preferably the rest of the razor too).

Minor issues which I think could be explored are:

Whether it's possible to take a maximum of 20% of the weight of the razor out by drilling the handle and reconfiguring the head (without altering the core dynamics such as blade gap and angle etc)?
Possibly reducing the width of the head so that it doesn't exceed the width of a standard DE blade?

Both these suggestions are primarily tasked with improving manoeuvrability which is the one area where I think the Hone is ever so slightly off-point for me.

The Nacets were such a good match, I have included a tuck in the passaround box. Please PM me if you want it next?

For reference, my current favourite razors are the: Charcoal Goods L2 v3, Blackland Era L4 SB and Gamechanger .84 SB

Thank you @SeanC I will get some Kai blades and find out why they don't work in the Type 15, I'm sure I can make the adjustment so that they can be accommodated on future batches.

I have been brushing the caps on all the razors. I made a small jig so that I can do it consistently and to the same level on every razor. So that will be the default going forward.

Other comments are noted, weight has been a recurring theme, and is being looked at, I have been looking at drilling/coring the baseplate, and seeing if it effects the clamping as well.

Thank you for the great input!

 

[Hone]

I like the idea of a matching brush and the changeable knot. Would it be available in the brass and steel?

That is the intention I wanted to launch the two side by side, but I didn't have the resources to pull it off all at once in the end.

 

[SeanC]

Thank you @SeanC I will get some Kai blades and find out why they don't work in the Type 15, I'm sure I can make the adjustment so that they can be accommodated on future batches.

I have been brushing the caps on all the razors. I made a small jig so that I can do it consistently and to the same level on every razor. So that will be the default going forward.

Other comments are noted, weight has been a recurring theme, and is being looked at, I have been looking at drilling/coring the baseplate, and seeing if it effects the clamping as well.

Thank you for the great input!

AFAIK, Kai blades are slight outliers in terms of dimensions. If you have as it seems perfect tolerances with the likes of Gilette et al (which was my impression), then on balance it might not be worthwhile changing anything

 

[Hone]

Sorry for the slow reply I was waiting to hear what we will do with the pass around razor

To say thank you to all the participants of the pass around I would like to offer them a 35% discount code, for all the great input, taking time to share their experiences, and because this input directly goes into new product choices I am trying to make. I checked with the mods to make sure this was ok to do, I didn't offer up front because I didn't want to influence any outcomes. To any participants that want to take advantage you can reach out to me directly and I will arrange it for you. Many thanks, Andrew

@Rowlers @Holyzeus @wooky114 @Stonec0ld @slapo @Masamune @Boybunny @jphelan81 @semajohn @sev-8 @SeanC

 

[Zhang Doe]

I polished the entire razor except for the inside. Polishing - "satin".
As a result, if we compare the two finishes, then satin gives the best glide. But the original finish definitely gives the best protection against scratches.

That is such an amazing finish. As Andrew said, looks like professional, commercial finish. If I had that skill, I'd do this with all of my razors. Satin finish looks the best IMO. Not a fan of high polish, which a lot of people seem to rave about.

 

[jphelan81]

That is such an amazing finish. As Andrew said, looks like professional, commercial finish. If I had that skill, I'd do this with all of my razors. Satin finish looks the best IMO. Not a fan of high polish, which a lot of people seem to rave about.

I agree with this, I’d buy this razor in this satin finish. Looks classy.

 

[Gairdner]

I polished the entire razor except for the inside. Polishing - "satin".
As a result, if we compare the two finishes, then satin gives the best glide. But the original finish definitely gives the best protection against scratches.

I know I’m VERY late to the party but that is stunning! Drooling here…