Weekly Razor Review
- Thread starter Errol
- Start date
Errol
Razor Review Guru
Trident Murray (Ukraine)
The release of this razor from the Ukraine did not come as a surprise, I had prior warning of a new artisan from there applying their trade and had been visiting the Trident web site regularly waiting for the release of the Murray. I thought the Murray was going to be stainless steel, but when the release was announced in bronze at a realistic price, I did not hold back. A pleasant surprise was that the postage system from the Ukraine worked very efficiently and I received the razor in record time, not express but by regular postage. Two similar styles of handles were available in 90mm and 95mm lengths, I selected the shorter option. It’s a busy design with a series or circular grooves at the front providing grip and high and low sections along the remainder of the handle but in the hand, it feels comfortable. Clamping of the blade is at the outer limits of the cap, mating to wide flats on the top of the plate. A tightish radius on the top of the cap gives the razor’s blocky appearance. Adding to the blocky look are rounded sections on the back of the plate. I would prefer to see these removed which would have provided a much thinner profile for the head and removed additional weight from the plate. Thread engagement is first class, smooth and firm. Other that the back of the cap every surface is nicely polished.
Those extra pieces on the back of the plate add to the weight of the head which is very noticeable when shaving, however I think that the extra weight added to the balance of the razor and the quality of the shave. The Murray delivers no more than Karve CB Level #C efficiency but by hell, its smooth. Initially I was screwing my nose up at it, but the more I used the Murray the more I appreciated how the shave was delivered. All those grooves and high spots on the handle fell into a dead spot when gripped and could not be felt during the shave, they made no difference at all to the comfort level of the shave. This razor is a little different from what we have come to expect but is well made and nicely presented. It’s from a new artisan plying their trade and anyone who enjoys their shave a little bit on the mild side would be well pleased with their selection.
Blades Used – Royal II and Rapira Platinum Lux
Material – Bronze
Weight – 98.9g
Blade Tab – Covered
Head Width – 43.76mm
Handle Length – 89.93mm
Handle Diameter – 12.55mm
Availability – Trident Shaving
Final Word – Comfortable
The release of this razor from the Ukraine did not come as a surprise, I had prior warning of a new artisan from there applying their trade and had been visiting the Trident web site regularly waiting for the release of the Murray. I thought the Murray was going to be stainless steel, but when the release was announced in bronze at a realistic price, I did not hold back. A pleasant surprise was that the postage system from the Ukraine worked very efficiently and I received the razor in record time, not express but by regular postage. Two similar styles of handles were available in 90mm and 95mm lengths, I selected the shorter option. It’s a busy design with a series or circular grooves at the front providing grip and high and low sections along the remainder of the handle but in the hand, it feels comfortable. Clamping of the blade is at the outer limits of the cap, mating to wide flats on the top of the plate. A tightish radius on the top of the cap gives the razor’s blocky appearance. Adding to the blocky look are rounded sections on the back of the plate. I would prefer to see these removed which would have provided a much thinner profile for the head and removed additional weight from the plate. Thread engagement is first class, smooth and firm. Other that the back of the cap every surface is nicely polished.
Those extra pieces on the back of the plate add to the weight of the head which is very noticeable when shaving, however I think that the extra weight added to the balance of the razor and the quality of the shave. The Murray delivers no more than Karve CB Level #C efficiency but by hell, its smooth. Initially I was screwing my nose up at it, but the more I used the Murray the more I appreciated how the shave was delivered. All those grooves and high spots on the handle fell into a dead spot when gripped and could not be felt during the shave, they made no difference at all to the comfort level of the shave. This razor is a little different from what we have come to expect but is well made and nicely presented. It’s from a new artisan plying their trade and anyone who enjoys their shave a little bit on the mild side would be well pleased with their selection.
Blades Used – Royal II and Rapira Platinum Lux
Material – Bronze
Weight – 98.9g
Blade Tab – Covered
Head Width – 43.76mm
Handle Length – 89.93mm
Handle Diameter – 12.55mm
Availability – Trident Shaving
Final Word – Comfortable
SpeedyPC
REALLY needs to posts SOTD pics ...
Grand Society
2017 Sabbatical Fail
2018 Charity Auction Winner
The head design looks very close to the original Colonial razor Silversmith, sadly this razor isn't available anymore.Trident Murray (Ukraine)
The release of this razor from the Ukraine did not come as a surprise, I had prior warning of a new artisan from there applying their trade and had been visiting the Trident web site regularly waiting for the release of the Murray. I thought the Murray was going to be stainless steel, but when the release was announced in bronze at a realistic price, I did not hold back. A pleasant surprise was that the postage system from the Ukraine worked very efficiently and I received the razor in record time, not express but by regular postage. Two similar styles of handles were available in 90mm and 95mm lengths, I selected the shorter option. It’s a busy design with a series or circular grooves at the front providing grip and high and low sections along the remainder of the handle but in the hand, it feels comfortable. Clamping of the blade is at the outer limits of the cap, mating to wide flats on the top of the plate. A tightish radius on the top of the cap gives the razor’s blocky appearance. Adding to the blocky look are rounded sections on the back of the plate. I would prefer to see these removed which would have provided a much thinner profile for the head and removed additional weight from the plate. Thread engagement is first class, smooth and firm. Other that the back of the cap every surface is nicely polished.
Those extra pieces on the back of the plate add to the weight of the head which is very noticeable when shaving, however I think that the extra weight added to the balance of the razor and the quality of the shave. The Murray delivers no more than Karve CB Level #C efficiency but by hell, its smooth. Initially I was screwing my nose up at it, but the more I used the Murray the more I appreciated how the shave was delivered. All those grooves and high spots on the handle fell into a dead spot when gripped and could not be felt during the shave, they made no difference at all to the comfort level of the shave. This razor is a little different from what we have come to expect but is well made and nicely presented. It’s from a new artisan plying their trade and anyone who enjoys their shave a little bit on the mild side would be well pleased with their selection.
Blades Used – Royal II and Rapira Platinum Lux
Material – Bronze
Weight – 98.9g
Blade Tab – Covered
Head Width – 43.76mm
Handle Length – 89.93mm
Handle Diameter – 12.55mm
Availability – Trident Shaving
Final Word – Comfortable
stikeyoda
Member
I missed seeing the email by one day, and they were all gone. Be really curious how it shaves - looks really heavy.
Errol
Razor Review Guru
Done a similar thing myself, I got the day wrong.
stikeyoda
Member
I got the notice they are shipping, but I haven't gotten a notice on mine yet. I made my decision totally on the visibility of the setting numbers. Getting tired of stealing my granddaughter's fingernail polish to make the numbers visible to these 72 year old eyes. It will be interesting if they really are that visible (all they have put out are these CAD drawings).
SpeedyPC
REALLY needs to posts SOTD pics ...
Grand Society
2017 Sabbatical Fail
2018 Charity Auction Winner
Errol
Razor Review Guru
Phoenix Shaving Cygnus (USA)
I’m not even going to mention that the Cygnus is said to be inspired by the Merkur 71 razor. It’s a hefty razor with a copper cap and handle that contributes to the mass. Other than its elongated blade posts and thin profile, there’s not a lot that can be said of the cap. The plate is the centrepiece of the whole razor; it is formed from what’s claimed to be Acetal Copolymer but just looks like a lump of any old brown plastic to me. There are large lather clearing grooves running the length of the plate which effectively remove much of what should have been a blade clamping surface; this leaves the blade floating unsupported for around 5mm. This is not my idea of how a blade should be clamped but that’s what we’ve got. Even though the back of the plate has been machined to a semicircle, the plate is thick at 9.03mm. A longish neck on the handle leads to the hexagonal section with raised diamond sections providing visual stimulation and grip. All copper pieces have a dull matt finish; the shine of the brown plastic plate contrasts nicely against the copper.
It’s been some time since I’ve used a truly singing razor; even though I don’t hear much these days, I could certainly hear the harmonics produced from this one as it was performing. Efficiency was no more than Karve CB level #C and the well-adjusted positive blade made for a very smooth and comfortable shave. Its Acetal Copolymer plate glided over the face smoother than what would have been expected from the best polished metal plate. This makes me wonder if a Acetal Copolymer plate could be machined to a thinner profile and still be as strong, thus making it ideal for what I will call a normal style of razor. There were no issues with the Cygnus handle, the hexagonal flats sat in comfortable positions. This razor may not suit everyone’s taste, but it was very pleasant to use.
Blades Used – Gillette Thin and Gillette Nacet
Material – UNS C14500 Copper with Acetal Copolymer plate
Weight – 119.2g
Blade Tab – Covered
Head Width – 43.64mm
Handle Length – 88.85mm
Handle Diameter – 13.12mm
Availability – Phoenix Shaving
Final Word – Something different
I’m not even going to mention that the Cygnus is said to be inspired by the Merkur 71 razor. It’s a hefty razor with a copper cap and handle that contributes to the mass. Other than its elongated blade posts and thin profile, there’s not a lot that can be said of the cap. The plate is the centrepiece of the whole razor; it is formed from what’s claimed to be Acetal Copolymer but just looks like a lump of any old brown plastic to me. There are large lather clearing grooves running the length of the plate which effectively remove much of what should have been a blade clamping surface; this leaves the blade floating unsupported for around 5mm. This is not my idea of how a blade should be clamped but that’s what we’ve got. Even though the back of the plate has been machined to a semicircle, the plate is thick at 9.03mm. A longish neck on the handle leads to the hexagonal section with raised diamond sections providing visual stimulation and grip. All copper pieces have a dull matt finish; the shine of the brown plastic plate contrasts nicely against the copper.
It’s been some time since I’ve used a truly singing razor; even though I don’t hear much these days, I could certainly hear the harmonics produced from this one as it was performing. Efficiency was no more than Karve CB level #C and the well-adjusted positive blade made for a very smooth and comfortable shave. Its Acetal Copolymer plate glided over the face smoother than what would have been expected from the best polished metal plate. This makes me wonder if a Acetal Copolymer plate could be machined to a thinner profile and still be as strong, thus making it ideal for what I will call a normal style of razor. There were no issues with the Cygnus handle, the hexagonal flats sat in comfortable positions. This razor may not suit everyone’s taste, but it was very pleasant to use.
Blades Used – Gillette Thin and Gillette Nacet
Material – UNS C14500 Copper with Acetal Copolymer plate
Weight – 119.2g
Blade Tab – Covered
Head Width – 43.64mm
Handle Length – 88.85mm
Handle Diameter – 13.12mm
Availability – Phoenix Shaving
Final Word – Something different