First Shave - Janus Razor

[Sharp_Obsession]

Received my Janus razor yesterday. This was almost a year after I first saw the prototype at Maggard’s Meet. The razor has undergone a few changes along the way. The handle is smaller and the head has been reduced from the original “dome.” I hear Eric targeted a similar geometry to the Slim. Honestly the Slim is the least favorite of the Gillette adjustables. So here goes.

Sunday shave:

Razor - Janus Razor adjustable
Blade - Astra Blue, 1st use
Brush - Mozingo Blue Pearlescent “Stubby” style, 30 mm ZT2
Soap - Ethos Succes (Pineapple Noir)
Aftershave - Ethos Succes (Pineapple Noir) skin food



So I decided to start with the Janus on setting “6.” The first pass (WTG) was extremely efficient, but just a tad “sharp.” It wasn’t harsh, but have me a little more blade feel than a 1.25 WR2. For the second pass (XTG ear to nose) I turned it down to “5” and it was still very efficient. The “5” setting felt perfect for me, more like a 1.15 WR2 (which I prefer), an RS-10, or just a tad smoother than the Paradigm Diamondback which I have reached for almost exclusively for the last couple months. In full disclosure the smoothness of the “5” may have been relative after the feel of the “6.” I will have to get more shaves in with the Janus and possibly do some comparison shaves. I did some clean up under my nose after my second pass, also on “5.” After a warm rinse, and cold rinse, I splashed some skin food on my face and got my first sting from the Ethos in 5 shaves. However, I got a very nice BBS shave as a result.

The Janus is very attractive. I’m excited to get it. The razor is not what I would call mirror polished as it shows machine marks and has more of a textured finish. However, I’m very happy with the aesthetics of the razor. Here is a good pic showing the machine marks on the toggle...


Here’s some other angles for pics. Texture seen on the doors.


Here’sa comparison shot of the mirror polish on the Diamondback 2020.

You can see a better reflection in the Diamondback on the left.
For comparison here’s shots with the Diamondback and an F4 Toggle.

Can’t wait to hear about some others’ shaves with the Janus soon.

 

[Graydog]

So what I want to know is how does it compare to the Toggle?

 

[MilkCrate]

I lean more vintage and would love to have a toggle. But the Janus is a good looking razor.

 

[Dave in KY]

@Sharp_Obsession CONGRATULATIONS !!!!!!!!!

 

[GearNoir]

Nice report! Sounds like a good first shave!

 

[Sharp_Obsession]

So what I want to know is how does it compare to the Toggle?

From memory I prefer the Toggle slightly. The F4 in my pics is new and haven’t even had a chance to shave with it yet. Borrowed a Toggle about year ago and fell in love. Prepping for the Janus shipment, I decided I had to get a Toggle. I plan to get a better feel with a Toggle shave soon, or a head to head shave off. I’ll report back soon.

Recent adjustables have really gone aggressive with the new Rocnel Sailor too. I’m a typical 7 on a Gillette adjustable. I’m a “5” here. This might be great for the 1.35 - 1.55 WR2 lovers. I barely use my 1.25 WR2 as I only pull it out when I haven’t shaved for 4-5 days.

 

[Graydog]

I use my D-1 Toggle set between 5 and 9
Depending on my mood. Today I had it set at 7 for 2 of the 3 passes I used WR2 SB 1.15 for across the grain. Very enjoyable Shave .
I'm looking forward for more Shaves especially the head to head

 

[dkeester]

Wow, that is a nice razor! Congrats. The Diamondback is very pretty also.

 

[AJSharp]

@Sharp_Obsession Nice pictures and early review. I guess today is as good as any day to use my Toggle (set at 7-9).

 

[SM29]

First, a little background. I’m not a seasoned reviewer and my photograph was with an iPad and no light box or real setup expertise. My go to daily driver for well over a year has been a Timeless Titanium 0.68 SB, which gives an easy comfortable and DFS or better 3 pass shave. I also occasionally venture to an Old Type, Goodwill, New, Red and Flare Tip Superspeed, and Tech. My typical blades are GSB, Nacet, Personna red and Feather in no particular order.

On to the shave. I used the Janus at setting 3, Simpson Duke 3 best brush and D R Harris Arlington soap. The Janus has a nice weight and felt well balanced to me, but surprisingly slippery which was easily cured by running my slightly wet fingers over the alum block.

This razor has significantly more blade feel and blade exposure than I am used to. But not uncomfortably so. My first with the grain pass made it very clear that even at 3 this razor can cut. One pass with the grain was better than socially acceptable. My next pass ear to nose (ATG on my neck, XTG everywhere else) easily got me to DFS. However I saw blood for the first time in a very long time. Next pass partially ATG and partially XTG made my face feel like glass. The styptic pencil easily took care of the nicks and weepers. Testing with the alum block was surprisingly sting free.

My overall impression without having dialed in this razor is that it can cut, has some blade feel and probably a lot at the higher settings , but was still smooth overall. It can easily deliver a BBS shave. I will likely dial this back to 2 next time.

With more and more ultra efficient razors coming to market, I felt relatively secure in knowing that the adjustable aspect would allow for the flexibility that an ultra efficient 3 piece razor would not. I feel confident that I can use this as a daily driver and as I dial it in avoid the styptic pencil

 

[MilkCrate]

Good review @SM29!

 

[GlazedBoker]

Great initial reviews! My take at first go....

Maiden shave and it was good. I had shaved on Saturday so, i didn’t get to go full tilt with the Janus LE and started it off at 7. Very quickly, the razor looks very good. Is it a fine piece of finished jewelry? No, it’s not a Rolex but, I’d say a Patek Philippe and that’s still a heck of a statement. Yes, there is some tiny bit of tooling in certain areas such as the toggle handle where polishing wasn’t as precise. High polish on most of the Janus but, certainly not a superb mirror luster that a Wolfman, H&S, Timeless & Blackland have produced. It’s about 95% there though and it’s still a good looking tool, regardless. Balance is near perfect for me with good weight distribution through the whole length of the razor. The toggle mechanism is precise and gives an authoritative snap/click and the adjustment dial is great in click and lock adjustment. You will not move this adjuster during your shave. You would need both hands to do so, trust me. The knurling is good but, not great to be honest. I thought I would get a nice tactile grip feel to it, that is not the case. I never felt that it would fall or slip during my shave and razor transfers from left to right hand. I’m assuming that’s because of the polished finished but, I would have liked perhaps just a tiny bit more pronounced knurling or deeper serrations to seal the deal on grip. Nonetheless, it will work and work well as it is.

I started on 7 and actually finished at 3. There is some blade feel throughout those size ranges that I used. Plenty of blade exposure on my first experience. Was it a smooth operator at 7? No, but it wasn’t a rough feel neither. Far from it. I completed the first pass on 7 and it knocked down quite a bit. Turned it down to 5 and the shave got a bit smoother and still maintained good blade feel. Finished the 2nd XTG pass and was at a DFS finish with just a couple of stragglers around Sir Adam and just under each side of the jawline. Turned it down to 3 and the 3rd ATG pass finished it off with a BBS finish on both face & neck. Didn’t have to chin buff nor perform any touch ups elsewhere. But, I did give myself about half a dozen tiny weepers with most coming from that 1st pass. That Feather is a mother f****r at first shave especially, when you’re getting to know a razor for the first time. My advice? Use a smoother and not as sharp blade for the first few shaves or just start out low with the Feather installed and work your way up. I thought I was fine until I saw them read dots on the first pass. Yeah, a WTF? moment. Ironically, no irritation or burn of any kind. A quick alum pass only revealed a slight burner near Sir Adam but, everywhere else was golden.

Again, it’s only one shave and I need to put some time in to get to know this new pup. Will the shaves get better? Absolutely. It has cutting prowess and decent smoothness once I dialed it down. I think at max there might be some issues because in all honesty, I didn’t get that “Damn! That was sweet” feeling. Sorta like when I grabbed my .95 SS Timeless for the first time. I just knew even though it exhibits excellent blade feel but, there was this awesome smoothness that for me also inspired confidence that it would deliver with utmost precision & performance. I didn’t get that from the Janus Toggle. Not saying I won’t get there because I’m sure I will, it’s just going to take a bit of work to find out how it works best with me.

I can’t reiterate it enough though that it’s just the first shave. I’m looking forward to putting in some more work with it and see how it goes in the following weeks to come. I like this razor as it has some definite potential to deliver outstanding shaves......

 

[Patelliott]

Awesome reviews guys! That razor is an absolute beauty! May it bring y'all many, many BBS shaves!

 

[Graydog]

Great initial reviews! My take at first go....

Maiden shave and it was good. I had shaved on Saturday so, i didn’t get to go full tilt with the Janus LE and started it off at 7. Very quickly, the razor looks very good. Is it a fine piece of finished jewelry? No, it’s not a Rolex but, I’d say a Patek Philippe and that’s still a heck of a statement. Yes, there is some tiny bit of tooling in certain areas such as the toggle handle where polishing wasn’t as precise. High polish on most of the Janus but, certainly not a superb mirror luster that a Wolfman, H&S, Timeless & Blackland have produced. It’s about 95% there though and it’s still a good looking tool, regardless. Balance is near perfect for me with good weight distribution through the whole length of the razor. The toggle mechanism is precise and gives an authoritative snap/click and the adjustment dial is great in click and lock adjustment. You will not move this adjuster during your shave. You would need both hands to do so, trust me. The knurling is good but, not great to be honest. I thought I would get a nice tactile grip feel to it, that is not the case. I never felt that it would fall or slip during my shave and razor transfers from left to right hand. I’m assuming that’s because of the polished finished but, I would have liked perhaps just a tiny bit more pronounced knurling or deeper serrations to seal the deal on grip. Nonetheless, it will work and work well as it is.

I started on 7 and actually finished at 3. There is some blade feel throughout those size ranges that I used. Plenty of blade exposure on my first experience. Was it a smooth operator at 7? No, but it wasn’t a rough feel neither. Far from it. I completed the first pass on 7 and it knocked down quite a bit. Turned it down to 5 and the shave got a bit smoother and still maintained good blade feel. Finished the 2nd XTG pass and was at a DFS finish with just a couple of stragglers around Sir Adam and just under each side of the jawline. Turned it down to 3 and the 3rd ATG pass finished it off with a BBS finish on both face & neck. Didn’t have to chin buff nor perform any touch ups elsewhere. But, I did give myself about half a dozen tiny weepers with most coming from that 1st pass. That Feather is a mother f****r at first shave especially, when you’re getting to know a razor for the first time. My advice? Use a smoother and not as sharp blade for the first few shaves or just start out low with the Feather installed and work your way up. I thought I was fine until I saw them read dots on the first pass. Yeah, a WTF? moment. Ironically, no irritation or burn of any kind. A quick alum pass only revealed a slight burner near Sir Adam but, everywhere else was golden.

Again, it’s only one shave and I need to put some time in to get to know this new pup. Will the shaves get better? Absolutely. It has cutting prowess and decent smoothness once I dialed it down. I think at max there might be some issues because in all honesty, I didn’t get that “Damn! That was sweet” feeling. Sorta like when I grabbed my .95 SS Timeless for the first time. I just knew even though it exhibits excellent blade feel but, there was this awesome smoothness that for me also inspired confidence that it would deliver with utmost precision & performance. I didn’t get that from the Janus Toggle. Not saying I won’t get there because I’m sure I will, it’s just going to take a bit of work to find out how it works best with me.

I can’t reiterate it enough though that it’s just the first shave. I’m looking forward to putting in some more work with it and see how it goes in the following weeks to come. I like this razor as it has some definite potential to deliver outstanding shaves......

View attachment 25751

Nice! Gus,
Like any New Razor, it should get better with time
Looking forward to the next shave .

 

[Dave in KY]

Great initial reviews! My take at first go....

Maiden shave and it was good. I had shaved on Saturday so, i didn’t get to go full tilt with the Janus LE and started it off at 7. Very quickly, the razor looks very good. Is it a fine piece of finished jewelry? No, it’s not a Rolex but, I’d say a Patek Philippe and that’s still a heck of a statement. Yes, there is some tiny bit of tooling in certain areas such as the toggle handle where polishing wasn’t as precise. High polish on most of the Janus but, certainly not a superb mirror luster that a Wolfman, H&S, Timeless & Blackland have produced. It’s about 95% there though and it’s still a good looking tool, regardless. Balance is near perfect for me with good weight distribution through the whole length of the razor. The toggle mechanism is precise and gives an authoritative snap/click and the adjustment dial is great in click and lock adjustment. You will not move this adjuster during your shave. You would need both hands to do so, trust me. The knurling is good but, not great to be honest. I thought I would get a nice tactile grip feel to it, that is not the case. I never felt that it would fall or slip during my shave and razor transfers from left to right hand. I’m assuming that’s because of the polished finished but, I would have liked perhaps just a tiny bit more pronounced knurling or deeper serrations to seal the deal on grip. Nonetheless, it will work and work well as it is.

I started on 7 and actually finished at 3. There is some blade feel throughout those size ranges that I used. Plenty of blade exposure on my first experience. Was it a smooth operator at 7? No, but it wasn’t a rough feel neither. Far from it. I completed the first pass on 7 and it knocked down quite a bit. Turned it down to 5 and the shave got a bit smoother and still maintained good blade feel. Finished the 2nd XTG pass and was at a DFS finish with just a couple of stragglers around Sir Adam and just under each side of the jawline. Turned it down to 3 and the 3rd ATG pass finished it off with a BBS finish on both face & neck. Didn’t have to chin buff nor perform any touch ups elsewhere. But, I did give myself about half a dozen tiny weepers with most coming from that 1st pass. That Feather is a mother f****r at first shave especially, when you’re getting to know a razor for the first time. My advice? Use a smoother and not as sharp blade for the first few shaves or just start out low with the Feather installed and work your way up. I thought I was fine until I saw them read dots on the first pass. Yeah, a WTF? moment. Ironically, no irritation or burn of any kind. A quick alum pass only revealed a slight burner near Sir Adam but, everywhere else was golden.

Again, it’s only one shave and I need to put some time in to get to know this new pup. Will the shaves get better? Absolutely. It has cutting prowess and decent smoothness once I dialed it down. I think at max there might be some issues because in all honesty, I didn’t get that “Damn! That was sweet” feeling. Sorta like when I grabbed my .95 SS Timeless for the first time. I just knew even though it exhibits excellent blade feel but, there was this awesome smoothness that for me also inspired confidence that it would deliver with utmost precision & performance. I didn’t get that from the Janus Toggle. Not saying I won’t get there because I’m sure I will, it’s just going to take a bit of work to find out how it works best with me.

I can’t reiterate it enough though that it’s just the first shave. I’m looking forward to putting in some more work with it and see how it goes in the following weeks to come. I like this razor as it has some definite potential to deliver outstanding shaves......

View attachment 25751

Nice honest and thorough review Gus. I appreciate objectivity and hope it goes well as you continue to dial it in

 

[SM29]

There was just too much blade feel for me. I really wanted to like this razor but it was not right for me. Eric is a gentlemen and understood completely. He promptly took care of refunding this purchase. I wish Eric the best.