Titan 1918 T.H-70 Straight Razor - 70 HRC!!!

[@Bayamontification]

Funny you put this up today, I had a regular Titan come in for honing this week and as a result I’m considering not take them and GBs for honing any longer. In addition to the bulky scales, double washers and wonky grind, the steel on the one I just finished was absolute trash, it was inconstant throughout the edge and had parts chip and disintegrate within a few strokes. I was finally able to get a serviceable edge on it but it took 3X the time and too much effort to achieve an edge I have no idea how long will shave comfortably. Informative video, gracias!

[@KeithVJohnson1]

Funnily enough, I was editing this video yesterday when you messaged me about that Titan you worked on. I was not surprised with anything you said about it either. I've never been a GD fan, never will be. Certainly never gonna be a Titan fan either. Too many inconsistencies and too many asshat fanboys pimping them 'cause they're cheap with a great profit margin. They all need honing so it's win win for those shills. Vintage blades are a better value across the board. Thank you for watching and commenting Nelson!

[@Bayamontification]

@@KeithVJohnson1 The thing is that the lower you go in grit to set the bevel and/or repair the edge the more liabilities you encounter, it’s almost better to set the bevel at 3K and take more time to limit the pitfalls. I spent an hour and 20 minutes on this razor, I can regularly do 3 razors in this time frame.

[@KeithVJohnson1]

@@Bayamontification My trick with using lower grits is to only do 1/2 the work needed at any one stage. So, if I have to take out 1/8" chip with a 400x, I only do 1/16" of work and then move up to 600x and so on...the deeper the striations, the harder is to clear them. Incremental baby steps helps avoid the excessive work to clear heavy striations from very low grits. Sorta like a self healing process. Having all the grits available in a series is key though. BUT, what Titan did to this thing was nearly irreparable though, they used what looks like a 100x belt, those striations are almost like a tattoo. Took forever to stop the apex from crumbling and I had to go back to bevel set from 8k because of it...Total waste of time.

[@Bayamontification]

@@KeithVJohnson1 Smart way to proceed, I’ll try it next time the situation comes up, hopefully not on a Titan or GD.

[@KeithVJohnson1]

@@Bayamontification If I never have to hone another Titan it'll be too soon.

[@dfailsthemost]

I was unfamiliar with crazing, so I appreciate the knowledge. Solid video.

[@KeithVJohnson1]

Do a google search for - Chosera Cracking - and you will find a few things to read. Thank you for watching and commenting - Happy Honing!

[@dfailsthemost]

@Keith V. Johnson Will do, thanks!

[@milton3224]

I only started shaving daily with SRs and honing them about 6 years ago. I have been regularly shaving with a Titan TH70 for over a year now. Like most factory-edge SRs, it come with a compound bevel. Yes, it took me a lot of time, effort and experimentation to get a decent edge on it but once there, I have never looked back. I suppose the Titan TH70 may not suit everyone but it suits me and my shaving style. I hope over time it may work out okay for you.

[@KeithVJohnson1]

Pretty sure you've been using straights for under 4 years. Most factory razors come with single bevels actually. That said, a few TI razors have arrived with a double bevel, more of a micro bevel actually. But I have never seen a Boker or a Dovo with anything other than a single bevel. That's based on having seen dozens of blades over 12 years, maybe someone with more experience has seen different things. Gold Dollars, ZYs, etc - a mixed bag of tricks but they don't come with compound bevels per-se. More like uneven bevels, which is what this Titan had - the bevel was formed on a belt grinder and the angle at the toe was different than that at the heel, with a transition point mid-blade. The actual bevel angle was very steep because the grinder didn't use the spine as a guide. Once ground correctly on a stone, which took a long time, I got a few decent, not great shaves. But this Titan is not a good razor, the steel is marginal, edge retention is not great, the scales are clunky and unbalanced. Plus, the lie about the steel's hardness, which drives the price up to $75, gives me good reason to not trust the brand or want their products in my house. There really is no point in keeping or using it. A $5 Gold Dollar is a better option by far. It's not even worth putting the Titan into new scales. The $20 Solingen on my desk takes a way better edge, holds and edge longer, and didn't require an hour of work to fix bad geometry. I have too many good razors here to even consider using the Titan.

[@georgeyoung4292]

You are missing the point.. Marketing the stuff as being 70hrc (witch is probably why you bought it in the first place) implies highly alloyed tool steel and high alloy tool steel wont hold fine edge-f*cking period!!! I dont believe for a second its anywhere near 70hrc cause it would be very expansive and still idiotic cause razor supposed to hold front end sharpness and there is no alloy in 70hrc capable of that cause these alloy are loaded with carbide forming refractory elements and at least 10% of cobalt.. To reach that hardness the quenching temperature is very high witch causes large carbide formation and thats no good on a razor!!! There are nicel based alloys (SM100, Nitinol etc) that can reach 70hrc but has very low young modulus witch means it would need to be extremely thick behind the edge and the price would be astronomical🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️ To wrap it up, entire 70hrc is mindless marketing gimmick to bate customer... Best straight razor material is either way pure carbon steel like1080- 1095 and its analogues or pure stainless steel like PMC27 (Razor steel by design) Sandvik and AEB-L and all of these has one thing in common, NO CARBIDES🤣

[@johnnyboydianno]

Hi keith thanks for the vid i got one of those for xmas its now a letter opener i think that zy was probably the best china so called razor but like you said its good for the experience gratz

[@KeithVJohnson1]

Hey Johnny, yeah, this one is destined to be a letter opener too I think. I also think the ZY I had was the best of the lot.... live and learn, eh? Happy Honing!

[@nicola26x]

Many times i was tempted to buy that Titan razor... But now it can stay there under the Great wall of China. I never seen that green 1k stone in Italy, in America it's very appreciated. Here all people use Naniwa 3000 SS to set the bevel. I use a Cerax 1000, it's in the same time very fast and fine and quiet cheap.

[@KeithVJohnson1]

Hi, thank you for watching and commenting - yeah, this Titan isn't worth getting involved with. Now I know for sure. Hopefully others see this before they spend $$.... Happy Honing! The Cerax 1000 is a nice stone, btw!

[@MRTEE-sy7sb]

I have been using a mostly full set of naniwa SS ‘s for about 8 years. I think all of them are great stones. The 220 however feels like a completely different animal. The 1k is probably on the bottom of my list. On the soft side, loads up quickly, speed is so so. I use both sides of mine for razors and cutlery. The 1k is down to 3/8ths or so…..good reason to try a new 1k

[@MRTEE-sy7sb]

Also, to add my 1k SS is beginning to show some light cracking on the sides.

[@KeithVJohnson1]

@@MRTEE-sy7sb I was never a fan of the 1k Super Stone. I had many sets of Super Stones, but the 1k was too slow and soft for me. That is how I got into Chosera Stones actually. I moved over to Shapton Pro because the Chosera stones were cracking. The Pro stones were supposed to replace the Chosera but they were having problems too. To be fair, a lot of synthetic whetstones from many brands have had issues like this. Even Norton stones had some issues.

[@KeithVJohnson1]

@@MRTEE-sy7sb I've seen a few Super Stones crack over the years, it happens. But you got 8 years out of it, that's great.

[@TimShaves]

I got a Titan recently and it was around 22 bucks.. I'd find it hard to spend any more than that off the start but I understand that it's good to test the best razor they have. I tried sharpening it with the Cerium paste that they provided and I couldn't shave with it.. The bevel wasn't set and I'd have to go to a lower grit stone to start. Thanks for the video.

[@KeithVJohnson1]

Hey Tm, do you know if it is actually Cerium Oxide? In the video I was guessing based on look and smell. The label translated to instructions, not composition. The bevel on mine was awful, no way any paste would fix it. Anyway, thank you for watching and commenting - happy honing!

[@TimShaves]

@@KeithVJohnson1 I don't know for sure. I know it was discussed in the forums as such but more accurate term would be Titan wax.

[@KeithVJohnson1]

Ahh, got it. Ty.

[@scottstewart6353]

Why the doody emoji??!!! Love it

[@KeithVJohnson1]

It's a comment on the cost, value, and condition of the razor, bad geometry, clunky scales, horrible factory bevel, it's not 70 HRC steel as advertised. The included items; useless paste, marginally ok but very cheap strop, and a trinket box being used to inflate the cost of what should be a $5 razor to $70. 💩

[@larrymc4373]

Thanks for the vid. The Titan appeals to someone looking to spend less than $100 on a straight of new manufacture. When I was starting I was ignorant of the vintage straight razor market on etsy, ebay, etc. Only after being frustrated by various GDs I looked further and discovered vintage razors cost less and are easier to make sharp. I have three vintage straights from Swift and St. Louis Electric that cost less than $70 in total and work well for me. I think if you want to buy a quality straight of new manufacture these days you'll need to spend more than $100 to get something worth the money. The Dovo brand comes to mind, though I have none and can't speak on them. If you can, let us know what new manufacture straight razor is worth the greenbacks they want for it?

[@KeithVJohnson1]

My first was a vintage Westers, cost $20, someone honed it for free. Worked perfectly, had no issues. Second was a new Boker, King Kutter, great blade, has no issues. Double Arrow and Gold Monkey razors were around them, they never seemed like a good idea to me. I had a Double Arrow and a Golden Camel actually, both would shave after a ton of work but neither were what I'd call a good razor. Sub $100 Vintage razors have always been around, and still are; often readily available on forum sale threads. As for new, I was never really subscribed to the focus on price over value. Pretty sure my Boker cost over 100 back then. Today they're $200, and they are still a good buy that will last a lifetime, hold value, look good, etc. The 5/8 Aust is solid. The higher priced blades are also 'worth it', Dovo Bismark for example. I think a Dovo Best is about 100 in the 5/8 size and I'd buy 50 of them before I bought another Titan. But I usually go for vintage blades. Larry @ Whipped Dog used to do 'sight unseen' blades, very cheap, very functional. Someone else is doing that now I think. Those value-rich options are out there. What makes something 'worth it' to me is value, and value includes things like how well it was made, what it looks like, and whether or not it really performs for me to my expectation. I honestly do not think the Titan will hold it's edge long enough for me to consider it a useful option. Overall it's pretty junky, solid but junky. Def 'not worth it' to me.... If someone is convinced they can't spend over $100 and the razor must be new, they they have boxed themselves into a corner needlessly. A lot of those buyers have 100 vintage DEs and 75 artisan soaps too, so it's hard to figure the spending limit thing out sometimes.

i did some honing yesterday and call me crazy but my naniwa pro 6k seems to be harder than my naniwa snow white 8k....like the snow white is pasty and slow. ive shaved off the 6kpro after stropping when that was all i had. the snow white seems soft. snow white will put a mirror finish on my fallkniven pro but so does the 6kpro. i dont get it. i kept going back to the 6k pro and the edges were finer. maybe i used the 6k pro too much and wore down the bevel? maybe i should have jumped to snow white sooner... i dont know. but i am at least getting better at honing from watching and listening to your videos. i plan on getting a jnat soon when i can,. Thanks keith

[@KeithVJohnson1]

There is no Naniwa Professional 6k. There is a 5k Pro. There is a 6k Traditional stone and a 6000 grit diamond stone. There is an 8000 grit traditional stone that is erroneously sold as the 'new' Snow White but it is not that, it is not Jyunpaku.

@@KeithVJohnson1 WHAT THE F? !!!

@@KeithVJohnson1 So they even put the frigging fake stamp on it too?!! i got it at chef knifes to go.

[@KeithVJohnson1]

Naniwa Professional Series, formerly Chosera, is limited to 400x, 600x, 800x, 1000x, 2000x, 3000x, 5000x, 10000x. Chosera was the same grits. There was never a 6k. You can reference the Naniwa Abrasive Catalog, it's online, google it. A lot of people goofed with the Snow White thing. Yours may be the right stone, I don't know. I just brought it up because a lot of people, including sellers, have made that mistake. There are only 4 catalog numbers associated with Jyunpaku; covering two sizes, with and without bases. I don't have all the cat numbers handy and they are difficult to find online usually. The most popular SW version is # IF-0001.

@@KeithVJohnson1 i think im done with naniwa. im moving to jnats. this is bullshit. my stamps are crooked and who knows at this point. i will look it up get back to you. thanks for your help boss.

[@BuJammy]

The thinking man's Gold Dollar. Lol. Titan has a fascinating, and slightly shady (Japan in China), history. I'm not a huge fan of their razors, but they're fine for beginners, though pricey for what they are. The major fault people find is "the grind is off", but I like ancient British razors, and I have the tools so... Not really a problem for me. My girlfriend tells me their scissors are a really good budget option.

[@KeithVJohnson1]

Me, I would never recommend these to beginners. It's like low end guitars are better for those who know how to fix them. Because they will need a lot of fixing. Someone learning needs to focus on learning, not repairing their instrument. This Titan is an ugly joke for the price with too many liabilities and not enough assets. Happy Honing!

[@BuJammy]

@@KeithVJohnson1 That's a series of good points. I suppose I should have said "once fixed and honed, are an ok option for a beginner that can afford better than a gold dollar, but not a vintage or Dovo/TI, and doesn't want to do their own honing". With that much qualification, why bother? So, I'll just change it to, "they're not good for beginners". Lol.

[@KeithVJohnson1]

@@BuJammy LOL!

[@diavalus]

For that price, a carbon steel Dovo is a better choice, even if it comes without a box and a strop. I better palm strop but have a better steel. Side note, when I travel, I never take a strop with me. I strop on a piece of smooth paper laying flat.

[@KeithVJohnson1]

For 25% of the price, the Dovo is still a better deal.

[@MRTEE-sy7sb]

Yea, I took a nice horse hide strop to Florida last year on a family vacation and forgot it in the hotel………..bummer

m390 and certain laminated steels are super hard to sharpen and they are not even anywhere near 70HRC. LOL. yea i agree def not even close to 70.

[@KeithVJohnson1]

Happy Honing!

[@georgeyoung4292]

There are very few alloys that can even achieve 70hrc...Rex121, ASP2080, Maxamet and few others with point or two lower but nobody gonna make a straight razor out of it and even if they do its not gonna cost 150-200$US...I worked with these alloys and expertise required to grind and heat treat them is extensive and very very expansive... It just doesnt make any sense to put it on a razor?! 🤷‍♂️There are planti of much less demanding steels that'll make even better razor blade

[@KeithVJohnson1]

Yep. It's all b/s marketing nonsense. Thank you for watching and commenting!