Whiskers get ambushed by a Henckels Rapide

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

I have tried a number of SE razors and always ended up going back to DE or straights. Like a moth drawn to the flame though I am giving it another try. Somehow I like the industrial look of this Henckels Rapide and I have read of its performance. GVW755 made me a deal on the one he had that I could not refuse so here we are. I do not have the Henckels hollow ground blade in it as there was no strop. Instead I have a GEM single edge and we will see how it goes over the next few days.

Que the "Flesh Wound" scene from the Knights of Nicht.

Stay tuned...

 

[imatabor]

It is a nice shaver, you should enjoy it.
Waiting to hear your thoughts

 

[McKinneys]

Looking forward to read your shave reports!

 

[Feather-man]

If I absolutely don't want a nick or cut to my face, I get out the Rapide. Not sure if the later models have the 'no cheese grater guarantee' but the original with a Gem is a hell of a good shaver. My two cents, worth what it cost you.

 

[Slash McCoy]

There are stropping handles that will fit your wedge blade. With a handle, you can strop on a regular hanging strop.

 

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

Had a great shave yesterday, very smooth with nary a nick. But...

The skin was abraded, tender feeling which is what it has felt like with other single edge blades. I will say this razor was a huge improvement over any other SE I have tried but left the skin feeling assaulted. I had done my normal three pass so need to back it off next time. Am going to wait a day or so and go with a two pass shave and see how the skin feels then.

 

[gvw755]

Had a great shave yesterday, very smooth with nary a nick. But...

The skin was abraded, tender feeling which is what it has felt like with other single edge blades. I will say this razor was a huge improvement over any other SE I have tried but left the skin feeling assaulted. I had done my normal three pass so need to back it off next time. Am going to wait a day or so and go with a two pass shave and see how the skin feels then.

Good to get that first shave under your belt. The fact that you believe it is a huge improvement over any other SE you tried is a good sign (as it is). Couple of suggestions which may seem counter intuitive (but it works):

1. go with as shallow an angle as possible. Not using a wedge blade makes it harder to find, but make sure the top of the blade holder wire piece in the back is actually touching your face.
2. The razor is kind of heavy, and so the tendency is to apply some pressure. DON'T. In fact, if you can hold it with two or three fingers, that would be best.
3. The razor is so efficient that I have gotten away with WTG, ATG and touch up. Three full passes will probably put you in exfoliating mode.

Try again, and I look forward to the second shave.

 

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

1. go with as shallow an angle as possible. Not using a wedge blade makes it harder to find, but make sure the top of the blade holder wire piece in the back is actually touching your face.
2. The razor is kind of heavy, and so the tendency is to apply some pressure. DON'T. In fact, if you can hold it with two or three fingers, that would be best.
3. The razor is so efficient that I have gotten away with WTG, ATG and touch up. Three full passes will probably put you in exfoliating mode.

That is some great advice. I had the wire blade retainer against my face which felt odd. So I lifted it off the face and shaved with a much steeper angle. Next time I will just plant it against the face the whole time and then only do a two pass shave. I will say that it gave me an amazingly close shave, just amazing. Now to refine the technique.

 

[Rwoodreno]

I just spotted a Henckels auto stropper for the wedge blades listed for sale and described as a Henckels razor. Hate to try and use an auto stropper as a razor. Might do some real damage. I have a couple of the auto stroppers that came in Rapide cased sets.

 

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

Try again, and I look forward to the second shave.

Had at it again today and thanks to gvw755 it went much better. Kept the wire retainer against the skin to ensure a more shallow angle. Still did a three pass shave for grins and ended up with a fine result. The results are good but I'll be candid and say that the act of shaving with an SE is not as pleasant as with a DE - for me. Will go every three days or so with the Rapide, I do like the end result and the look of the razor but the actual shave, eh.