Which is smoother ?

[Chickencutlets]

I often find I need a sweet spot between mild and efficient with my skin. I am curious if anyone has tried both a Lambda Athena or a Timeless.68 OC? I know most suggest a more aggressive razor for them but those don’t usually work for me so I’m eyeing the OC option.

I’ve tried a Merkur 1904 OC recently and found it more efficient as my Gillette British tech and others so I’m wondering if I should eye those going forward.

 

[Island]

I hope to know next month and can answer then from personal experience (upgrading my Timeless to dual comb and purchasing the Athena). I will say that in the lambda brotherhood, some say the Athena is a little less smooth than the Overlander. The Timeless .68 is very smooth (at least the SB) and more so than the Overlander, at the possible expense of efficiency. So I would guess the Athena is a bit more efficient but a bit less smooth. One poster said it took a while to avoid weepers with the Athena. That would be hard to imagine with the Timeless.

 

[Chickencutlets]

I hope to know next month and can answer then from personal experience (upgrading my Timeless to dual comb and purchasing the Athena). I will say that in the lambda brotherhood, some say the Athena is a little less smooth than the Overlander. The Timeless .68 is very smooth (at least the SB) and more so than the Overlander, at the possible expense of efficiency. So I would guess the Athena is a bit more efficient but a bit less smooth. One poster said it took a while to avoid weepers with the Athena. That would be hard to imagine with the Timeless.

Yeah it’s tough without trying both. I appreciate you sharing your research because with my skin , my cheeks can feel raw if I go too aggressive so it’s like finding that sweet spot for me. Goldilocks over here …

 

[emwolf]

Never used an Athena, but I've got several Timeless razors. My favorite metal is the Titanium. Very nice

 

[Chickencutlets]

Never used an Athena, but I've got several Timeless razors. My favorite metal is the Titanium. Very nice

I was eyeing scalloped top cap titanium for sure. I just hate the non polished version which doesn’t help with the cost .

 

[emwolf]

I was eyeing scalloped top cap titanium for sure. I just hate the non polished version which doesn’t help with the cost .

Agreed, the non polished looks like plastic

 

[Phoenixkh]

I often find I need a sweet spot between mild and efficient with my skin. I am curious if anyone has tried both a Lambda Athena or a Timeless.68 OC? I know most suggest a more aggressive razor for them but those don’t usually work for me so I’m eyeing the OC option.

I’ve tried a Merkur 1904 OC recently and found it more efficient as my Gillette British tech and others so I’m wondering if I should eye those going forward.

I’m about to shave with my Timeless Ti 0.68OC in just a few minutes. I had a less than stellar shave last time with a Nacet so I’m going to round two. I’ve had very good luck with the Nacet before and hope tonight reaffirms that.

I don’t believe I’ve ever had a problem of any kind with my Athena. I think it’s a special razor. It’s both mild feeling on the face, but more efficient than it should be. It’s one of those razors whose designer knows far more than I will ever know.

 

[Phoenixkh]

I hand polished my Ti matte 0.68OC / Crown to a soft luster with Simichrome. That said, I have several polished Ti Crown handles and Timeless does a great job with their polished finish.

I’ll give you an update in an hour or so unless I end up going to sleep much earlier than usual.

 

[Chickencutlets]

I hand polished my Ti matte 0.68OC / Crown to a soft luster with Simichrome. That said, I have several polished Ti Crown handles and Timeless does a great job with their polished finish.

I’ll give you an update in an hour or so unless I end up going to sleep much earlier than usual.

You are awesome my friend

 

[Phoenixkh]

OK... reporting in... and it's a big "whew" for me. My last shave with my Timeless Ti 0.68OC (scalloped top cap which I like very much) wasn't bad but it wasn't up to its usual performance using a Nacet blade. As I said earlier, I've had very good shaves with the Nacet in various razors. I used it for several months in a row without issue so I didn't understand that last shave.

Tonight? Wonderful... The shave was relaxing (after I realized the blade was going to be fine), smooth, comfortable yet close. After I apply the alum, clean my brushes and rinse it off, I apply my Metro Gel. It's slick and I can always feel how close the shave is when I apply it. Any missed whiskers show up..and when I rub it in against the grain, I can tell if the shave was a success. Tonight's shave was perfect in that regard.

I don't really think there are too many dud DE blades out there. It could well be my mood wasn't right or something "me" related caused the less than stellar shave with the Nacet. I have quite a few of them so it really is a relief they are as good as I remember them. I've been using Perma-Sharps for the past few months. I really need to mix in my other blades. I don't have that many from which to choose. It would be an easy task.

So, back to your question, @Chickencutlets : which is the right choice in smoothness and efficiency combined? I have many more shaves in with the Athena so factor that in. Every shave I've had with the Timeless Ti 0.68OC has been excellent except the one I described above.. three shaves ago now. I would call them both smooth and efficient... both give me shaves that last for 12 hours and both are effortless to use, at least for me. Both were intuitive. I didn't have a learning curve with either of them.

If it were me, I'd buy the Athena first for one simple reason... They are harder to come by at the moment and they are still underpriced, based on their competition. The next batch should be out soon. There are often a few left over after the ones on the list are sent out. People change their minds, etc... or there are a few not yet claimed. That's how I got my first one... It was left over after all the promised razors were sent out. I have two of them because our sons will each get one when I'm gone. That sort of demonstrates how I feel about the Athena.

I would save up and buy the Timeless as well. I've been using the Ti Crown handles on almost all my top razors for well over a year now. So for me, buying the Ti 0.68OC meant I only needed the head... even so, it wasn't inexpensive.

My face and whiskers do better with mild-medium yet efficient razors. Both of these fit into that category with ease. I'm sorry I can't give a more definitive answer for you. Both are on my Top Razor list.. in very good company... I doubt you could go wrong with either, based on the little I know about your needs. I will say... the Athena is much heavier. As I said above, I switch out handles on most of my top razors. I find that 42.7 gram weight of the Ti Crown to be perfect for me. The Athena handle is much heavier. I went so far as to try my Wolfman bronze hollow handle out on the Athena because it's around 40 grams or so. In the end... ok, before the shave was finished, I returned to the OEM Athena handle. It seems to disappear for me when I use it. I only notice the weight when I first pick it up.... after the first shaving stroke, I don't notice it at all. But I did want to mention it just in case the heavier weight might be a limiting factor for you.

Another note: I could never get the hang of the Overlander. I bought it used.. so that person didn't get the hang of it either, evidently. I had it plated in 24k hardened gold by Chris Spencer @ Back Roads Gold and it was a thing of beauty. I just couldn't get a shave I liked with it. I probably had the angle too steep or something because so many people just love that thing. So... the Athena gave me a smooth, comfortable yet close shave from the very first shave.... and I couldn't figure out the Overlander. If that information helps you at all, cool... if not... sorry about that. <eg>

 

[Chickencutlets]

I appreciate the reply @Phoenixkh youve always been helpful in public and over private message. I’m on the list for the Lambda. I hope it works out to get a left over. I’ll most likely get both and end my RAD tbh.

 

[Phoenixkh]

@Chickencutlets , I wouldn’t want to part with either of them. I’m sort of embarrassed to recommend the more expensive razors I have and love. I gathered them over almost 2 years so the cost was spread out and didn’t impact our household finances.

I’m happy with each of them, thankfully, but hesitant to suggest others part with that much cash. I’m glad I didn’t buy an expensive one and not enjoy it. I was fortunate and have followed the advice of a couple people here who already owned what I have. Their advice has been stellar and I’ve been able to avoid any missteps. There’s always a risk, of course, but as we end up with a few razors in common, we can better evaluate a razor before we purchase it.