The 3rd of the soaps I have from the Village Soapsmith and while they all were relatively good performers, and I did really liked them when I first got them and was using them, they had a slight flaw, that is they were with the exception of the Old Spice version, very very lightly scented. I could barely make out the bay rum on this one. Which was a shame as I said, they were good soaps.
I have said this before, if you take two different soaps and one smells great thoughout the shave and the other just smells like “soap”, even if the one that isn’t scented well is a “better” performing soap, the user would probably feel that they had a better experience with the better scented one. And given that this was up against a PAA CK-6 soap… Yeah, no wonder I haven’t used it in a while when I wanted something with Bay Rum.
Bowl : Van Yulay Resin
Brush : Friendship Shaving’s Macy Dual Band Manchurian Badger by Frank Shaving
Preshave : Shower
Soap : The Village Soapsmith’s Bay Rum Shaving Soap
2nd of 3 Village Soapsmith’s soaps that I have kinda “binned stored” and haven’t touched in months. To be fair, her Old Spice soap is actually quite good, very close to the real thing but overshadowed by both PAA and Soap Commander’s versions both having better scent based on the Shulton scent. Soap though is actually quite a good performer and did better then the other glycerin shaving soap.
Bowl : Van Yulay Resin
Brush : Friendship Shaving’s Macy G4 Synthetic by Frank Shaving
Lots of “Forgotten” stuff this morning including the body scent which I haven’t used in a long while.
Palmolive shaving cream is one that I can still buy relatively easily here locally and is one of the cheapest creams at about US$2. It was one of the early ones that I bought to use while waiting for stuff I ordered from the States to arrive. And Brut. Good old Brut.
The Masamune with Astra Blue performed more or less in line with blades in that range. Good close smooth shave. Again, because of how smooth the shaves went, there wasn’t any irritation and almost no feedback from Alum application at all.
At this point, I can more or less conclude that the sharper the blade, the better the Masamune given the default -0.13mm blade exposure will perform. Tempering even Feather’s harshness. Smooth blades of course just glide with hardly any contact feedback especially if they are sharp blades.
There is of course a cost to the negative exposure and smoothness of the shaves. Even more so if the blades aren’t sharp or loose their edge, you will not get the cleanest of shaves and will need multiple passes or clean up passes to get a true Glass BBS shave. I personally think that they should have gone for a -0.07mm (+/- 0.02 tolerance) for a better balance to blade efficiency and smoothness in the shave.
I am tempted to buy the Nodachi top cap to bring the exposure to true Neutral at 0.00mm to see how much more efficient the shave becomes while accepting the fact that there will be much more bite to the blades used.
Bowl : Van Yulay Resin
Brush : Friendship Shaving’s Macy G4 Synthetic by Frank Shaving
Soap Commander Mail Call, Refinement and Vision, just in time for the evening shave. Chose Vision as I was intriqued as to how it would smell. Aquatics, Amber and Mint. And I really liked it. I’d describe the scent by starting with Bvlgari Aqva Marine, tone down the sea salt and plankton / seaweed notes, add a little sweetness of amber then freshen it up with mint. It was a very refreshing shave. It’ll be hard to judge if this or Seafarer will be my favourite but I suspect that Vision might edge Seafarer out for me because of the mint. That little bit of fresh mint on top of the sea and sweet amber made the shave that little bit more pleasant.
Though to be fair, it might be my inner menth-head speaking.
Either way, I now have my Marine soaps to pair with my Marine body scents. Win/Win. The balm left a lingering skin scent that’s still detectable 2 hours post shave. Very soothing. Going to go to bed smelling good.
Paired the Tatara Masamune with a Zaza blade and yeah, I haven’t used my Zaza’s for a while (using them sparingly) and again I am reminded just how smooth and sharp these blades are. I really need to get some Kais in the near future if they ever drop in price to compare them against as I keep thinking of Kais as “damn smooth Feathers” which these Zazas also seem to be.
Perfect true glass BBS shave. Not sure if I’ll have much growth to shave for my morning shave.
(As with everything shaving, YMMV – and we’ll be back to “Forgotten October” shave for the morning)
Brush : Friendship Shaving’s Macy G4 Synthetic by Frank Shaving (face lathered)
Pre-Shave : Shower
Soap : Soap Commander Vision (Aquatics, Amber and Mint)
I have way too many soaps. This was one of my early purchases used a few times then set aside and forgotten when I started buying stuff from PAA and such. Its not bad, glycerin soaps are pretty much slick as heck, with decent residual slickness. Post shave though, not the worst, but definitely doesnt’ score high.
Now to see if Derby Premiums would perform better then their Extra versions. And it sort of did. The blade does feel a tad bit sharper but still leaves micro stubble behind on my trouble spots that required additional cleanup passes. So I did not get a perfect glass BBS without several additional go overs. Luckily the blade and razor combo was smooth enough to not cause any irritation with very minor feedback from alum application.
Derbys will still be my “evening” one time use only blades. More for cleaning up, and not when I want to go chasing that true BBS.
Pre-Shave : Shower, Proraso Green Pre-Shave Cream
Brush : Friendship Shaving’s Macy G4 Synthetic by Frank Shaving
Soap : The Village Soapsmith Eucalyptus and Mint shaving soap
Razor : Tatara Masamune w/Derby Premium Blade (1)
Post Shave : Proraso Green Aftershave splash, Prep
Still digging out stuff from the storage bins, Lucky Tiger this time. It is not bad really, easy rich lather, very slick, but residual and post shave is similiar or just a notch better then Proraso regular lines. Not bad, but definitely outperformed by our Artisan soaps. Again, sometihng that using the Cube as a pre-shave can fix. I actually enjoyed the citrus scent on this one and really should revisit this one more often. Or at least put it the night shave rotation.
The Masamune with a Personna blade in it moved the shaves back from good to effing awesome. Extremely smooth, taking off growth with little issues, cleared problem spots without too many passes, I did stretch the skin to get at pesky areas and got my “Glass “I keep touching myself” BBS shave”.
Alum application had zero feedback, so not the slightest of irritation.
Bowl : Van Yulay Resin
Brush : Friendship Shaving’s Macy Dual Band Manchurian Badger by Frank Shaving
I originally bought Proraso White for sensitive skin to complete my proraso line and also because I intended to use it for times when I had razor burn. Back when I returned to traditional wet shaving, that was often enough but as I got rid of bad techniques and habits from using cartridge razors, razor burn became something of a rare thing and as you can see, this tube is hardly used and sort of forgotten.
Proraso’s Pre-Shave is unfortunately sub-par. I’ll want to just use them all up and just stick with PAA’s Cube.
Treet Black Beauties in the Masamune performed similarly as with the Derbys. Very smooth, but not taking micro stubble off as cleanly as I would like and required addition clean-up passes to clear “problem” areas. Though I have to say that it is slightly better then Derbys. Pretty much places the Masamune as one of the smoothest razor you can use but it does prefer sharper blades with this current configuration.
I do suspect that if I have the Nodachi top cap, and using it with conjunction with the Masamune base-plate to bring the blade exposure to true neutral (0.00mm) would change the shave characteristics and effectively give more “bite” to the blades used. This would of course ramp up sharp blades like BiCs and Feathers. But that is essentially another 70€ investment. I’ll stick to using the current configuration and use “sharper” blades.
Bowl : Van Yulay Resin
Brush : Friendship Shaving’s Macy Dual Band Manchurian Badger by Frank Shaving
Another one of those that I have “forgotten” I had, been months since I used this one. It’s almost gone too, might be the first soap I’ll finish if I use it daily but nah… gotta give my each in my harem of soaps a go. Another one of those good old stuff that I really should use more or at least finish up.
And I was also reminded why I left this one aside for so long. It’s performance is somewhat lacking. Good initial slickness, some residual slickness and not too hot on the post shave. Definitely need to use the Cube with this one and use it up.
The Masamune still performed very admirably with the Derbys. For those of you who prefer a mild blade, the combination of the Masamune and Derby gave a really comfortable shave. Extremly smooth and while because of the blade gap you can still feel the blade on your skin, the feedback is mostly audible and if your growth is thick or wiry like mine is, resistance from the blade.
While there was no tugging for me, with the derby for my whisker growth, there was some resistance as the blade tries to slice though the tougher whiskers but thankfully not enough for the blade to catch and cause a nick. The Derbys also didn’t clear my problem areas as well as the BiCs or Feathers and required additional passes to clear everything up for that glass BBS.
Alum application did indicate that I had a very very close shave, not stinging but still feedback indicating that a tiny layer of skin was still taken off. Probably due to the soap’s slightly lackluster residual slickness and the additional cleanups I had to do to get Glass BBS.
But it was still an amazingly smooth shave. For younger shavers (though this shaver is not really geared to “young folk” unless you have a great and generous dad) or those which soft peach fuzz instead of barb wire whiskers, I think you’d be in freaking heaven.
Finishing up with Nivea’s beautifully scented Deep Aftershave lotion, and the balm calmed the skin leaving me smelling and feeling fantastic after bath and shave.
I need to do more of this “Forgotten October” thing and use stuff that I have “Forgotten” and left behind. Dug up this one from the storage bins and man, it is actually pretty damn good. Scent is Tasmanian Peppers and Tea Tree and its meant to give your facial skin the “spa” treatment. Its actually pretty good at it too. Good slickness, glide, residual slickness and post shave. Heath’s does not have a splash, instead the companion post shave is a very rich balm. Smells pretty good too!
Using BiCs with the Masamune, and again, the shave and end results are freaking unbelievable. You can feel the blade on your face, you can tell both from audio feedback and blade resistance that you are cutting and taking off growth but its smooth as fracking baby’s butt wet with Astroglide, I take back saying its like the Rockwell on R3, its more like the R2, very, very smooth.
And yes, shave produced a perfect glass “I keep touching myself” BBS face. And yes, have been touching my face since this morning feeling for when that pesky whisker will finally show up. 🤣
The real test though is to use it with other “lesser” blades. I mean, using Feathers and BiCs … pfftt! Those blades are a given for performance on this thing. Time to go Derby level. 🙂
Bowl : Van Yulay Resin
Brush : Friendship Shaving’s Macy G4 Synthetic by Frank Shaving
Pre-Shave : Shower
Soap : Heath’s Shaving Cream
Razor : Tatara Masamune w/BiC Crome Platinum (1)
Post shave : Reuzel Aftershave, Heath’s Post shave repair Balm
When I first saw this several months ago, my first thought was that it looked beautifully crafted, without flair. Simple yet elegant. But looking it up I was immediately put off by the price. 145€ That’s US$160 give or take depending on exchange rate.
To be fair, at the time, I was just only returning to traditional wet shaving and didn’t want to spend so much on a single razor. My mindset at the time was not on taking this up as a hobby, but as when I was using cartridges, just to get the job done, didn’t care if I enjoyed a shave.
In the end, I chose to get an Edwin Jagger DE89 and the Masamune, forgotten.
Fast forward to just a few weeks ago when I saw Kevy shaving with Tatara’s newer release the Nodachi which was a much more aggressive razor with a blade Gap of 0.90mm and a positive blade exposure 0.13mm which is a nod to those who like the feel of more blade contact on their skin, as well as giving the blade more presence to cut weeks old growth like hot knife on butter.
Personally I don’t like positive blade exposure razors as those more then not nick or cause weepers for me even when I try to be careful with my shaves.
He did of course qualify what I thought he’d say, that while he did enjoy it, it probably would not be his daily driver because of the feel of the blade. But he did get a really superb shave.
And so, I revisited Tatara Razors, bit the bullet and ordered the original Masamune that I was interested in.
Delivery time halfway across the world, was as expected, meaning to say that it took a while but it did finally arrived several weeks later. Opening the package, you will probably stop what you were doing the moment you see the actual item.
I will be honest, the moment I took out the actual package I was really reluctant to remove the cover wrapping. Presentation is above and beyond, and is a work of art.
Breaking the seal and unwrapping the cover you will get more or less what you’d expect from a high end product.
The actual containment shell is made out of cork, keeping your Razor snug and preventing impact damage. They included a bare bones basic instructions (which no one buying this will read) and three Feather Blades. Each base plate is numbered with a serial number. Mine is #442
Specs for the Masamune :
Made of 303 Stainless steel, it is a non-magnetic, non-hardenable by heat treatment that is specially designed be easier to machine while maintaining good mechanical and corrosion resistance.
Blade gap with Closed Comb Bar : 0.63mm Blade gap with Open Comb : 0.73mm Tatara with the Masamune cap and closed comb plate has a blade exposure of -0.13mm.
There is also a very slight blade tab exposure.
It’s debatable if this should have been fully covered. My opinion is that for the money you are paying, that should have been a given. Or at the least do what PAA’s Ascension did, machine a divot to give a better grip, but still have the corners and most if not all of the blade covered.
PAA’s Copper Ascension Top Down View
Having said that, at 0.63mm blade gap, this is by no means a inefficient shaver. Notice I didn’t say “Aggressive”. This thing will easily handle a week’s growth (and yes, I had a week’s growth in certain areas of my body) as it would a half day’s growth.
Remember that negative blade exposure? This slight negative exposure means that the blade is by design meant to have less contact pressure on your skin and is instead acting more as a guillotine and less as a scraper.
This also means that this shaver will probably give you one of the smoothest shave you will ever have.
If I were to compare, The Masamune feels like A Rockwell 6S/C on a R2 or R3, but the blade acts and cuts like its on a R5. Also, With the Masamune, you do have more blade feel on your skin. Which when using Bic or Feather blade especially, can be a little unsettling. But after the third shave, and getting your perfect BBS without so much as a weeper (YMMV!) you get used to it.
A word of caution, just because it is smooth as silk does not mean that it won’t irritate as anyone who has chased BBS will know.
I think I have shown my “shave shelves” before, but in all honesty, that’s just on top of the counter where I keep stuff I reach for often, the usual suspects of PAA, Van Yulay, Ginger’s Garden and Soap Commander. ForgOctober month is meant for you to reach for stuff that you kind of forgot about. G&A is one of those that I dug out from under the sink storage shelves.
So this marks the 3rd use of the Masamune for me. I have 2 main criticism.
The first : Handle looks great, but is a little on the thin side and while at least it has texture, care need to be taken if your hands are soapy. Its not slippery per se, but it doesn’t have that “I’ve got this, its not going anywhere!” feel and you can’t just swap out to a handle that you like. It doesn’t use a standard handle.
The Second : The Price. The bottom line is, anyone who is thinking of forking out to buy this is, will ask “Was it worth it?” And my honest answer is “YMMV”.
Did you get an awesome shave? Yes. Would you say that it is a 150€ shave? No. Are you looking for something unique? Yes. Is this a well made shaver? Yes. Is it worth 150€? Debatable. Do I regret buying this? No. But, YMMV.
I will say that this razor was not something that made me go “YATA!!”
One last word about the price. You can “customize” your razor. You can swap in Top Caps and Base plates to change your shave configuration. At 60€ for the Top Cap, and 50€ for the Baseplate, your total investment in this can be very hefty indeed.
You’ll need deep pockets indeed.
Bowl : Van Yulay Resin
Brush : Friendship Shaving’s Macy Dualband Manchurian Badger by Frank Shaving
Soap : G&A Japanese Dream
Razor : Tatara Masamune w/Feather Blade (3)
Post Shave : G&A Japanese Dream Aftershave splash 2.0
Steve's Wet Shaving in Singapore 