Video Link

Click Here

Disclosure Statements

• The Tatara Masamune Nodachi is on loan from u/iamsms
• The Cold River Soap Works Brazen Moment soap and splash were gifts from u/frankieivfingers

Write-up:

I know, I’m a little late to the party on the Tatara. Regardless, SMS was kind enough to loan me his razor so that I could finally scratch my Tatara itch. This particular razor has the Nodachi top cap and base plate and the Masamune handle. SMS and I are in agreement that the Masamune handle is the way to go for this razor, as the Nodachi handle is even heavier, and we both prefer lighter razors in general. I love the overall aesthetic of this razor from the machining work to the finish to how the threading continues into the top part of the handle. The Masamune handle felt plenty grippy during all of my shaves, and I liked the way it balanced with the razor head. As far as I know you can only use Tatara handles with their razor heads, but that doesn’t bother me at all. EDIT: You can use different handles with the Nodachi top cap due to the longer thread, but you cannot do the same with the Masamune top cap.

In terms of the shave, the Nodachi top cap and base plate reminded me a lot of the Karve SB-C plate that I used for all of last week, as they both have medium (by modern standards) blade gaps and slightly positive blade exposure. Per Tatara’s website, they recommend shaving with a 24 degree angle if at all possible AKA ride the cap, which I did find to be the most comfortable way to shave with this razor. Not surprisingly, the Nodachi head configuration has more efficiency than I really need or desire for daily shaving. The Masamune head may have served me better this week, but beggars can’t be choosers. Overall, this is an impressive razor that is clearly well-made and will serve lots of people for many years to come, but I won’t be itching to buy my own in the future.

Cold River Soap Works has been making soap for many years now, but this is the first time that I have tried their products. u/frankieivfingers was very kind to send me several soaps from CRSW, and Brazen Moment instantly stood out to me as my favorite of the bunch. Brazen Moment is an enjoyable scent that initially smells sweet off the puck thanks to the notes of amber and vanilla, but as soon as I begin to load the soap intriguing notes like myrrh and pepper appear. This is an interesting scent that I found changing quite a bit during my shaves despite only having four official scent notes.

In terms of the soap’s performance, Brazen Moment is in the Glide base, which contains tallow, goat milk, and three butters, most notably. Cold River Soap Works offers at least four different soap bases at the moment, so I appreciate that it is very clearly marked which soap is in which base on every label. This soap is quite soft (think fresh Milksteak) and loaded easily into my brush throughout the week. Lathering proved to be not difficult whatsoever, and this base doesn’t require tedious amounts of water to look creamy and shiny. No complaints from me!

I did use the matching Brazen Moment splash after every shave this week, but it appears that they are not making or selling splashes at the moment. It’s worth mentioning that both the soap and splash have aloe listed near the top of their respective ingredients lists, so keep that in mind if you are sensitive to aloe and are considering picking up the soap or splash.

Until next time, thank you all for reading my reviews and watching my videos. Cheers!