TI Crown Wing III

[dakotaev]

Proud new owner of a Crown Wing III Number 095, bought off B&B/SRP member lz6 which I must say was a fantastic experience!

Tonight will by my maiden shave with her. Wish me luck :)

Enjoy some eyecandy with me:

http://i770.photobucket.com/albums/xx350/dakotaev/Razors/TICW/DSC_0623.jpg

http://i770.photobucket.com/albums/xx350/dakotaev/Razors/TICW/DSC_0626.jpg

http://i770.photobucket.com/albums/xx350/dakotaev/Razors/TICW/DSC_0625.jpg

http://i770.photobucket.com/albums/xx350/dakotaev/Razors/TICW/DSC_0627.jpg

[Easttexasman]

Very nice looking razor.Please report back after you shave with it.

Paul

[life2short1971]

I like it. When I went to buy my new Ti I was set on that one. I made up my mind in the few minutes it took to get the nerve to hit the button someone skated right around me and bought the only one I saw. That is a beautiful razor and I love the spine!

[Wid]

Very nice indeed, enjoy.

[riooso]

That is one nice looking razor. I have a standard full hollow with a French toe and is C135 steel and it is a pretty stiff razor. I can not imagine what this 1/4 grind C135 razor will be like when shaving. I would bet it behaves like almost a full wedge. It reminds me of my Grelot and that is one awesomely smooth shaving razor.

Please keep this thread going when you first shave with it and when you finally get it tuned up. My mouth is watering.


Take Care,
Richard

[mdunn]

I've been lusting after this one for ages!

[johnmrson]

:w00t::w00t:

Very very nice razor. Bob is a true gentleman to deal with.

[PlasticCity]

Gorgeous razor, I love the spine work. Congrats and enjoy.

[dakotaev]

Thanks all. So the follow up, how did the test shave go?

I believe this is the factory edge on the razor, and normally I would not shave on this, however the reviews I've read on this razor say that TI has made a lot of improvements to their factory honing. So instead of starting fresh I decided to shave straight out of the mail & after a round of stropping. After all at this point it, this beauty could sever arm hair 3/4 from the base without effort.

The shave off the edge? Not bad! After the first WTG pass I felt it needed a bit more ooompfh so I gave it some passes on a CromOx treated hanging strop and it delivered!

I feel it could use a bit more refinement, but with just a tiny bit of work on the pasted strop the razor gave me a BBS shave with little effort and very little irritation.

I can't WAIT to get this on my Coti and start experimenting, the folks at TI really did a fantastic job of this razor, it feels great, very nimble.

[life2short1971]

I have one of the new Ti's too and I also refined the edge with my coticule. I think you will definitely enjoy it. The steel is hard but don't get impatient and you'll dress the edge nicely.

[O.G.]

Quick Question:
As I wanted the Crown Wing. All I would need to refine the edge would be a CrOx strop, a Coti, and an unpasted strop to ensure the edge was smooth and shave ready or would I need and series of Diamond Paste as TI said to bring the edge up to sharpness?

[life2short1971]

If it were me and I were pasting the strop for the first time I would get the TI Paste for it. Other than that just your normal strop is all you need for quite a while. If your a coticule fiend like a lot of us then you can refine the the edge to suit and the pasted strop would become optional.

[DESkydiver]

Quick Question:
As I wanted the Crown Wing. All I would need to refine the edge would be a CrOx strop, a Coti, and an unpasted strop to ensure the edge was smooth and shave ready or would I need and series of Diamond Paste as TI said to bring the edge up to sharpness?


If it were me and I were pasting the strop for the first time I would get the TI Paste for it. Other than that just your normal strop is all you need for quite a while. If your a coticule fiend like a lot of us then you can refine the the edge to suit and the pasted strop would become optional.

I guess it would depend on the backing you're going to paste. I have used the TI paste on a linen back, on the rough side of my TI paddle, and on the 'inside' of a felt back. The TI paste works okay IMHO, but the 0.5 diamond spray on the felt back is... well... just fantastic.

[life2short1971]

I have a bottle of .25 and i find it too harsh so there is too much of a good thing sometimes.

[Thebigspendur]

I have the crownwing and it came shave ready period. Yea I could increase the comfort a tad but the degree of improvement simply doesn't warrant taking it to a hone or pasted strop. I certainly wouldn't be "experimenting" with that baby. When it's time for a touch up then it will see the hone.

If it ain't broke don't fix it.

[Price]

I have the crownwing and it came shave ready period. Yea I could increase the comfort a tad but the degree of improvement simply doesn't warrant taking it to a hone or pasted strop. I certainly wouldn't be "experimenting" with that baby. When it's time for a touch up then it will see the hone.

If it ain't broke don't fix it.

I guess it really is YMMV. Read the review when I got mine (#099), which indicated it truly was "shave ready" right out of the box. While it certainly was closer than the other razors I've seen/tried, I still felt a little pulling when I took it out for its maiden voyage. A few quick passes on a C12K made a world of difference.

[Woodash]

The final edges of the two TIs that I have, as well as the several others owned by folks with whom I've discussed this, have been machine polished essentially 'behind the bevel'. I mean that the existing bevel is at too shallow of an angle for the blade geometry. Mine have shaved ~OK, but if you try to touch it up you'd see a slight secondary bevel forming with just blade on hone. You can touch it up or choose to leave it alone and it might or might not shave to your expectation, but the bevel always needed to be completely reset to get it 'right'.

So what constitutes 'shave-ready' to one person may or may not be the same across the board. It's more or less a matter of what you want to live with and what you choose to tweak.

I should say that my (and several other's) experience is for standard C135 and LeGrelots. I understand that things are changing over at TI with the new issues, so perhaps some things have also changed for the better with the final production.

[Thebigspendur]

I have a bunch of TIs and none of them came shave ready. Some were close but that's about it. I have the original silverwing and it was far from shave ready however the new crownwing appears to be a different story.

As far as what is shave ready, I don't think it's a mystery or should be to someone with any experience shaving with a straight. When you get a BBS shave and the razor glides effortlessly down your face so you almost can't feel it doing it's work, that's shave ready.

Anyone disagree with that?

[Price]

I have a bunch of TIs and none of them came shave ready. Some were close but that's about it. I have the original silverwing and it was far from shave ready however the new crownwing appears to be a different story.

As far as what is shave ready, I don't think it's a mystery or should be to someone with any experience shaving with a straight. When you get a BBS shave and the razor glides effortlessly down your face so you almost can't feel it doing it's work, that's shave ready.

Anyone disagree with that?


Ummm....nope.

[dakotaev]

I have a bunch of TIs and none of them came shave ready. Some were close but that's about it. I have the original silverwing and it was far from shave ready however the new crownwing appears to be a different story.

As far as what is shave ready, I don't think it's a mystery or should be to someone with any experience shaving with a straight. When you get a BBS shave and the razor glides effortlessly down your face so you almost can't feel it doing it's work, that's shave ready.

Anyone disagree with that?

I would also call that description shave ready. I suspect each razor coming out of the factory will have a bit of variance. Plus the previous owner shaved less than a handful on the one I bought so those all may have contributed to me wanting a bit more. Not to mention each person's slightly varying taste of of how sharp a razor needs to be.

I have no doubt the latest CrownWing's are factory shave ready for most folks, I've heard as much from several owners, so that has to count for a lot.

In my particular case, having a few shaves under its belt alread, some touchup was needed for my personal preference.

By the way, two trips to the Coticule put an absolute perfect edge on this baby. I love the thumbnotch, it navigates the face like a champ. My only complaint is that the design makes it difficult to strop. Have you found this also BigSpendur ?

[Thebigspendur]

I would also call that description shave ready. I suspect each razor coming out of the factory will have a bit of variance. Plus the previous owner shaved less than a handful on the one I bought so those all may have contributed to me wanting a bit more. Not to mention each person's slightly varying taste of of how sharp a razor needs to be.

I have no doubt the latest CrownWing's are factory shave ready for most folks, I've heard as much from several owners, so that has to count for a lot.

In my particular case, having a few shaves under its belt alread, some touchup was needed for my personal preference.

By the way, two trips to the Coticule put an absolute perfect edge on this baby. I love the thumbnotch, it navigates the face like a champ. My only complaint is that the design makes it difficult to strop. Have you found this also BigSpendur ?

Thats interesting because my Le Grelot I find to be a tad awkward to strop because of the notch but the crownwing I don't at all. I suspect it is because the overall blade size is smaller so the length is more compact or at least that's my theory.

[thanks]

I have a bunch of TIs and none of them came shave ready. Some were close but that's about it. I have the original silverwing and it was far from shave ready however the new crownwing appears to be a different story.

As far as what is shave ready, I don't think it's a mystery or should be to someone with any experience shaving with a straight. When you get a BBS shave and the razor glides effortlessly down your face so you almost can't feel it doing it's work, that's shave ready.

Anyone disagree with that?

No one disagrees with that, but that's not the reason people hesitate to call a razor shave ready when selling on b/s/t, etc. Everyone's face and hair are different. A flawless shave where the blade doesn't even feel like it's working on you, may tug and pull for me. Who's to say? It's very subjective as well. Some guys will shave with what I would consider an edge that's far too crispy, and would leave me weepers, but leave them BBS and smiling. Some guys shave off an 8k, and others are only satisfied with an edge off a 30k. 90% of the time when I buy blades from vendors that say they're shave ready, they are only in the sense that they will shave your face without much discomfort, but in my mind I'd never think of them as shave ready until I take them to the hones and tweak them to how I like them best on my face.

Having said that, I would find it hard to believe that any razor from any factory is shave ready even if they say so. The only time I received a blade from the manufacturer and it was actually shave ready was my Revisor and they didn't even claim it was shave ready!

[riooso]

I would agree with the point that almost no razor is perfectly honed because of the differences that we all have in beard or face variations. I will say this though, if a razor has been honed by someone that is an artist at honing you will feel the magic of their hands. Martin at Rasurpur is such a person. If you get a razor that has been honed by him you will respect and appreciate what he has sent you. I have found this to be so with the half a dozen razors that I have gotten from him. I have not received a TI that was not honed to an extremely high standard from him.


Take Care,
Richard

[Thebigspendur]

No one disagrees with that, but that's not the reason people hesitate to call a razor shave ready when selling on b/s/t, etc. Everyone's face and hair are different. A flawless shave where the blade doesn't even feel like it's working on you, may tug and pull for me. Who's to say? It's very subjective as well. Some guys will shave with what I would consider an edge that's far too crispy, and would leave me weepers, but leave them BBS and smiling. Some guys shave off an 8k, and others are only satisfied with an edge off a 30k. 90% of the time when I buy blades from vendors that say they're shave ready, they are only in the sense that they will shave your face without much discomfort, but in my mind I'd never think of them as shave ready until I take them to the hones and tweak them to how I like them best on my face.

Having said that, I would find it hard to believe that any razor from any factory is shave ready even if they say so. The only time I received a blade from the manufacturer and it was actually shave ready was my Revisor and they didn't even claim it was shave ready!

Sorry, I don't agree. If that was the case there would be no honemeisters or anyone who sharpens razors for others because they could never duplicate everyones face so how would they know the blade is shave ready for you? How were barbers able to shave everybody years ago?

If you know what you are doing honing wise you can hone a razor to be shave ready and it will be shave ready for everyone. Sharp is sharp. If a razor isn't good for everybody it never was shave ready.

[bonusmarple]

Sorry, I don't agree. If that was the case there would be no honemeisters or anyone who sharpens razors for others because they could never duplicate everyones face so how would they know the blade is shave ready for you? How were barbers able to shave everybody years ago?

If you know what you are doing honing wise you can hone a razor to be shave ready and it will be shave ready for everyone. Sharp is sharp. If a razor isn't good for everybody it never was shave ready.

I have had razors honed by a number of the more famous honemeisters. I tweaked every single one. There is a specific edge I like and I have yet to find a honemeister that can exactly duplicate it blindly. I do not fault them however, because I did not give them any direction either. I simply can not describe what I want, I could only send another razor and say "duplicate this". This is simply not practical and so, since I can't give them any feedback, it is unreasonable for me to expect them to give me what I want.

[thanks]

I have had razors honed by a number of the more famous honemeisters. I tweaked every single one. There is a specific edge I like and I have yet to find a honemeister that can exactly duplicate it blindly. I do not fault them however, because I did not give them any direction either. I simply can not describe what I want, I could only send another razor and say "duplicate this". This is simply not practical and so, since I can't give them any feedback, it is unreasonable for me to expect them to give me what I want.

+1

I guess I was just arguing semantics. To me, shave ready is not shave ready until it's exactly what I personally want. I've never received an edge from a honemeister that was exactly what I wanted. I was only disagreeing simply for the fact that many people shy from saying something is shave ready because someone might have different preferences and then claim you lied about it. I think we don't see that commonly with the "professional honemeisters" because most guys are probably afraid to comment that so-and-so's edge wasn't quite up to their standard.

I apologize if I derailed the thread.

[Thebigspendur]

I have a feeling we are talking apples and oranges here. if there is some peculiarity about an edge you prefer like being duller or rougher or something else that's not a shave ready issue. I suspect you are in the minority. I know guys who do honing for a fee and the ones who are really good, well if you ask them how many razors they get back because the owner didn't like the job they will tell you almost none. Usually they get them back because the owner rolled the edge on a strop.

I still maintain sharp is sharp and if an edge is not giving you what you want with respect to shave-ability and comfort it never was truly shave ready.

[kg4ghn]

That's a great looking razor. I love the spine work.

[BladeRunner001]

Evan,
That is one FANTASTIC blade and quite the looker too :thumbup1::thumbup1:. Congratulations. Bob is one of the nicest guys one can deal with .

BTW: Wife and I LOVE Kelowna, BC. Beautiful vineyards. We stayed there on our way to Lake Louise (a couple of years ago in Sept/October) and very much enjoyed our stay.