BBS-1 #13 First Impression

In this corner, weighing in at.......

Did the little comparison this morning between the BBS-1 and the Above The Tie R1. Trying to be as consistent as possible, I used a new Feather blade, the LA Shaving Soap Bay Rum, and the Rubberset 400 set with a 24mm Silvertip. First off, I need to say that in my opinion these are both exceptional razors. I have two ATT's, and will have a third as soon as the slant is available. The shave this morning was my usual 3 pass with a touch up, and as hoped it was a DFS with absolutely no neck irritation. I'm starting to wonder if perhaps my skin type really likes this vegan soap....but I digress. For me, the BBS-1 is just a little "smoother", with no tug and audible feedback beyond anything else I own. It's also just a little easier to clean my neck area with a minimal number of XTG passes. But the ATT seems to shave a little better on the jaw line going ATG. I still have to give my nod to the BBS-1, but not by much. Not by much at all.

Now, as to the price of this razor......yes, it's expensive. So is the ATT. And neither is the most expensive modern stainless razor I own. That "honor" goes to the PILS, which IMHO doesn't shave as well as either of these. Oh it's a fine razor, just not my favorite. And for some, price is definitely a determining factor when choosing a razor. Plenty of BBS shaves are happening with much less expensive razors, a single brush, and Williams soap. My Dad did it for decades. A few years ago I never would have considered dropping two hundred bucks on a razor. Today it's different, and "worth it" becomes a subjective value. Just my two cents....but I sure am glad I read Chamm's initial review of the BBS-1.

Looking forward to trying this razor to see how it compares to my ultra-smoother Weber DLC.
Thanks for all of your impressions and enjoy your shaves, gentlemen!

Chamm, I am still looking forward to your pics of the razor.

John,

Nice photograph and thanks for taking the time to do a comparison. As well as the ATT is made it is not near the craftsmanship of the BBS-1. ATT uses the stainless steel to show its bulk, whereas BBS-1 uses only the stainless steel material necessary to accomplish what is necessary.

wow thats one mean looking handle

PapaMoosey said:

wow thats one mean looking handle

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which one?

Thin Crust said:

which one?

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bbs-1, looks fantastic

The handle on the BBS-1 is a tad shorter than what I find ideal, but it's such high quality I can't complain.

So... pictures, pictures, pictures.

I have both the original run of the BBS-1. On the heels of the feedback I provided to John, both publicly and privately, he offered to trade my first-run model for Serial #1 of the second run. Well, being a true razor geek and having a hopeless case of RAD, I took the default B&B choice of "BOTH!"

Full disclosure, and so that I can maintain my claim of objective impartiality, I purchased the second razor from John. He offered me a small discount as a way of thanking me for the feedback I offered him, and for taking a risk on a completely unproven razor, but I don't want anyone to think I'm anything other than a regular, satisfied LA Shaving customer, or that I'm getting below-board kickbacks in exchange for my public support. I really and truly believe that, based on every razor I've tried, (which is over 60 of them) the BBS-1 is the best performing razor that can be had at any price. As it was pointed out above, I have not, (nor has anyone) tried every razor ever made. That notion is ludicrous. But I think I have a pretty well-rounded experience to offer an opinion which is, at the very least, somewhat informed.

Anyhow, onto the pictures! (Pic heavy, but I suppose it's probably to late to warn you now...)

The first shot I took to show the two BBS-1 razors, laid out, with a Pre-war Gillette Tech thrown in for size comparison. In all pictures, the razor with the black handle is the "Prototype" BBS-1. One of my initial complaints (really my only complaint) was that the handle design was a little slippery. While it provided some grip, it slipped out of my hands one time in each of my first two shaves. (I didn't drop it, but I came close.) So I put a little bit of 1/2" heat-shrink tubing on it, and it completely fixed the slippage problem. I think it looks kinda cool, too. What's more, this solution in no way modifies the original handle, so if I ever decide to remove it, or change things up, I can always cut the sheath off.


I used a Gillette Tech for size comparison, because almost everyone is familiar with this razor. Also, the size and weight of the Tech head are very similar to the BBS-1, so it makes a good point of reference. I want to emphasize, though that the shave of the Tech is nothing like the BBS-1. The similarities are skin-deep.

Here is a top-down shot. You can see that the original handle was a little fatter and a little shorter. The weights of the two handles are nearly identical, though, and I quite like the production design:

As far as I'm concerned, the "slippiness" of the original handle has been completely eliminated, and the new design maintains all of the positive qualities of the original design.

Side view of all three razors, no blades:


Here is a closer view of just the two (you all know what a Tech looks like by now) along with some annotations:


Note the slight differences in the machine work on the two heads. You can see how much more cleanly the edges of each part fit together. There were obvious improvements made in the finishing stage of the razor. These improvements don't really improve the shave, but they do improve the overall fit and finish of the razor.

Here is a view of the two cutting edges: (without blade)

The gap in the corner that I highlighted is pretty significant on the original, almost nonexistent on the production run. The gap caused there to be quite a bit of side-to-side play in the prototype. This didn't affect the shave, since the play was strictly side to side, and not top to bottom, which would have had a massive effect on the blade exposure.

Here is a front-on shot, with blades:

You can see that the blade gap is the same. (which was hard to capture, considering my clear lack of skill as a photographer, combined with the terribly lighting of the pictures.) Also note the lack of gaps in the orange boxes in the new production run.

These shots show the angle of the blade:




You can see that it's a relatively flat angle. The BBS-1 requires a pretty shallow shaving angle for good results. I tried some steep-angle shaving, and while there are a few instances (for example, on parts of my neck) that the steep angle works, it's mostly a shallow-angle razor.

This was the toughest shot to get. It would have been easier if I had three hands.


You can see that there appears to be ever so slightly more blade exposure in the latest run. It's not much, but it does make the razor shave slightly closer, without affecting the smoothness of the shave.

Here's a shot of the two handles, just because:

I have nothing to say about the new handle design. It is incredible, and I wouldn't change anything, even if I could.

Here is a picture of the top of the baseplates:

I don't know how well it comes through in the photo, but the inscription quality is incredibly good. It's nice and deep, and not likely to wear off during my lifetime.

Here is a picture of the underside of the baseplates:

Not much to see, but you can compare the two. The new one is on the right.

Finally, this is my favorite part of the BBS-1, and I think it shows off the true artistry behind the design of the razor:

I haven't seen this talked about yet, but you'll notice on the underside of the caps, on each end, there is a part that seems to have a strange shape of very thin metal milled into it. I can't confirm this, but my theory is that is some sort of "sound channel." It makes the singing of the blade resonate beautifully during my shave, and really helps with feedback. :-D

This is one of those little details that wasn't necessary, but just goes to show that John is someone who really seems to understand what wet shavers like. I'm sure it was an extra cut for the machinist, and I don't know, maybe there is another, more practical reason for it, but I like to think it was just something to help us wet shavers to enjoy our morning shave just a little bit more.

Very good comparison Chamm. I really like the design of the production handle in that it retained much of the look of the prototype, but with added knurling.

Yeah , thanks for all the great pics . Had to put my name on the list for the next batch.

SO23 said:

Yeah , thanks for all the great pics . Had to put my name on the list for the next batch.

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I don't think you'll regret it. It's my favorite.

I'm curious shamm how you find the BBS-1 compared to your RR SS slant? I was lucky enough to grab one as well and have really been enjoying the shaves I get with it, nice and smooth, very close, and very little irritation...

flyboy320 said:

I'm curious shamm how you find the BBS-1 compared to your RR SS slant? I was lucky enough to grab one as well and have really been enjoying the shaves I get with it, nice and smooth, very close, and very little irritation...

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Man... I dreaded this question, but I figured it was coming... :-/

I don't want to say anything that could be construed as negative about the Paperweight. It's got a very safe spot in my rotation, and it is indeed a great razor. I am also very fond of the aluminum RR stealth slant, probably more than the Paperweight, because of the extreme light weight. It's also going to land in a different pricing tier than the BBS-1, so I would easily recommend it to anyone wanting a sub-$100 razor.

However, for me, personally, if my house were on fire, and my children were safe, and I only had time to save one razor, I'll go on record saying that it would be the BBS-1.

I have used a LOT of really nice razors since I started my hobby. The BBS-1 is the best of the best.

chamm said:

Man... I dreaded this question, but I figured it was coming... :-/

I have used a LOT of really nice razors since I started my hobby. The BBS-1 is the best of the best.

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Tough to answer, I know, but thanks....

I was curious also because I have really enjoyed all my slants (37C, Paperweight, and iKon), and haven't really used anything but in quite a while.

Can't wait for mine to arrive tomorrow. I'm tempted to stick with it as my only razor for at least a couple of weeks, hopefully longer. . What a week, the Beatles mono lp set and the BBS-1!

CT23 said:

Can't wait for mine to arrive tomorrow. I'm tempted to stick with it as my only razor for at least a couple of weeks, hopefully longer. . What a week, the Beatles mono lp set and the BBS-1!

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LOL, I been shaving with my BBS-1 to the tunes of Steely Dan and loving both!

How long is the handle and can you use any handle or is it proprietary.

flyboy320 said:

Tough to answer, I know, but thanks....

I was curious also because I have really enjoyed all my slants (37C, Paperweight, and iKon), and haven't really used anything but in quite a while.

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I have used Merkur 37c, 39c, iKon Slant and the iKon DLC Slant. All very good razors. I also own or have owned the IB Bakelite Slant, Lutz, Hoffritz, and a super-rare Köenig slant. I had great experiences, and could heartily recommend each one of them.

I would shed genuine tears of despair for each one of them as I watched them burn, my BBS-1 clutched tightly and safely in my hand...

Jinx18 said:

How long is the handle and can you use any handle or is it proprietary.

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89mm long, about the same as an ATT Kronos handle. (But much fatter and heavier.) It's about the same diameter as an iKon Bulldog II, but 4mm longer.

And yes, the handle most definitely fits all standard heads, and the head fits all of my aftermarket handles. (Except for the FaTip Grande. Neither the handle nor the head of that thing play well with others...)

So wait... I'm not clear about the bottomline after all the verbiage through all of the posts.... chamm likes this razor pretty well, right?