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Rockwell Razor Club

Which gives better shaves overall?

  • Merkur Progress

  • Rockwell 6s


Results are only viewable after voting.

BradWorld

Dances with Wolfs
I have a very mild beard. I am still at an SAS level after 24 plus hours. But the 6s confuses me. While I can get a nice BBS with even the most mild Tech, I can't get the 1, 2, or 3 plates to shave me at all. I could do 8 passes with plate #3 and still have stubble. As soon as I hit plate #4, the 6s wakes up and provides a wonderful shave. I don't get it. But do find the 6s on plates 4 and above to be a great razor. My beard is way too mild for an R41 or Ikon Tech. I won't even try one of those.
 
I have a very mild beard. I am still at an SAS level after 24 plus hours. But the 6s confuses me. While I can get a nice BBS with even the most mild Tech, I can't get the 1, 2, or 3 plates to shave me at all. I could do 8 passes with plate #3 and still have stubble. As soon as I hit plate #4, the 6s wakes up and provides a wonderful shave. I don't get it. But do find the 6s on plates 4 and above to be a great razor. My beard is way too mild for an R41 or Ikon Tech. I won't even try one of those.


Interesting. In my experience, the 6S can do no wrong no matter which plate I'm using. Plate 1 is perhaps a little too mild, but 2, 3 and 4 all give me close, comfortable shaves.

Plate 5 is still smooth but I can finally feel the blade on my skin. The results where not any better than with the lower numbered plates, so I have not gone back to plate 5 and 6. I'll have to play around with this plate just to see what's up.

The other day I though I was using plate 4. After the first pass I noticed I was using plate 2 by mistake. I continue to shave with this plate, but I thought I would have to do a three pass shave (instead of my normal two pass plus touch up). After the second pass I noticed I had an almost BBS shave (the same results I get with plate 4). I can definitely feel the difference if I use the "wrong" setting with my Slim. All the 6S plates are just as smooth and efficient. I'm going to experiment to see if I can get a DFS with with plate 1.
 
Would you rather talk about other razors that would pair well with your newly acquired Russian razor blades? Vintage Gillette is a good place to start! Sorry, couldn't help myself.

I went through my vintage stage of RAD a long time ago. I assure you, I have the vintage collection thoroughly covered already.
 
How exactly are the Polsilver Iridium blades better than Feathers? I've been using Feathers with my EJ 89 for awhile now and have a hard time believing how the sharpest blades aren't suitable for all razors.

Funny that, had the same problem with the 6S and Feathers, just could not get a decent shave until I changed to Gillette Silver Blue then even better still later to Polsilver Super Iridium blades.

The combination of Polsivers + Rockwell 6S worked out well for me.
 
How exactly are the Polsilver Iridium blades better than Feathers?

They're not better. But with different razor/blade combinations, the game changes.

I have nearly a thousand GSB blades waiting to be used. But with the Rockwell S6, the Rockwell blades are surprisingly smooth and effective.
 
I like almost every Russian blade I've tried. I much prefer the Gilette 7 o'clock yellow's from Russia over the black 7 o'clocks from India.

The only bad experience I've had with the Rockwell was with Personna Lab Blues. But I only tried one blade, so its possible it was just a bad blade and not a bad pairing. I keep meaning to try it again, but I have hundreds of Russian blades and they all work so well I haven't gotten around to it!
 
I personally like the Persona blue and med prep work real nice.
Been using my 6s everyday, in fact looking to order some more Persona.
 
How exactly are the Polsilver Iridium blades better than Feathers? I've been using Feathers with my EJ 89 for awhile now and have a hard time believing how the sharpest blades aren't suitable for all razors.

Different blades have blade widths (from edge to edge) that vary up to about 0.3 mm, which means that, with a typical 30 deg blade angle, the blade exposure can vary by about 0.075 mm. This difference in blade exposure is relatively a lot and can really affect how a razor feels and works. Feather may be the sharpest blade, but it isn't the widest. You might find that a less sharp but smoother and wider blade, resulting in more blade exposure with a smoother blade, works more efficiently and smoothly at the same time for a given razor. Then again, for that same razor, you might find that the larger blade exposure is too aggressive for you, even with the blade being smoother.
 
I also love my Rockwell...I've been having great smooth shaves with PermaSharps. Not just with the Rockwell...all my razors.
 
Got it. I've heard about "smooth" and "sharp" razor blade qualities for a while but didn't really understand the different smooth characteristics. Thanks for breaking it down. Is that why my R-41 and 37c seem a little more aggressive with Feathers?

Different blades have blade widths (from edge to edge) that vary up to about 0.3 mm, which means that, with a typical 30 deg blade angle, the blade exposure can vary by about 0.075 mm. This difference in blade exposure is relatively a lot and can really affect how a razor feels and works. Feather may be the sharpest blade, but it isn't the widest. You might find that a less sharp but smoother and wider blade, resulting in more blade exposure with a smoother blade, works more efficiently and smoothly at the same time for a given razor. Then again, for that same razor, you might find that the larger blade exposure is too aggressive for you, even with the blade being smoother.
 
Got it. I've heard about "smooth" and "sharp" razor blade qualities for a while but didn't really understand the different smooth characteristics. Thanks for breaking it down. Is that why my R-41 and 37c seem a little more aggressive with Feathers?

You're welcome. I don't know the dimensions for the Muhle R41 and Merkur 37C. I don't think anyone does. However, without knowing the values of blade exposure, guard span, and blade angle, the R41 and 37C have reputations for being more aggressive, so one would expect that using the sharpest blade of them all, the Feather, would make those razors the most aggressive. Nevertheless, the KAI blade might make those razors the most aggressive, since KAIs increase blade exposure by about 0.05 mm relative to Feathers and KAIs are apparently nearly as sharp as Feathers, but KAIs are apparently smoother than Feathers, so who knows? The blade angle might also work better with one blade over another. Overall, the sharper the blade is, the less smooth the blade is, but this is not set in stone.

With my PAA DOC, which has a really shallow blade angle, large negative blade exposure, and large guard span, I prefer the KAI blade the most out of all of the blades that I've tried, and I think that this is because it is nearly the sharpest blade that also provides the least negative blade exposure to help take down my tough hair. With the PAA DOC, relatively dull but really smooth blades like the Derby Extra are very frustrating for me. However, I look forward to trying a Derby Extra and other blades with the EJ Kelvin (having the EJ DE89 head) that I ordered. Maybe I'll find that I can drop the blade sharpness level some with that razor.
 
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I like almost every Russian blade I've tried. I much prefer the Gilette 7 o'clock yellow's from Russia over the black 7 o'clocks from India.

The only bad experience I've had with the Rockwell was with Personna Lab Blues. But I only tried one blade, so its possible it was just a bad blade and not a bad pairing. I keep meaning to try it again, but I have hundreds of Russian blades and they all work so well I haven't gotten around to it!
Lol personna blue are my go to blade for the rockwell....Fatboy and slim too for that matter.
Same tecnique, prep results for me vary by the blade.
Personna blue very good
Gsb pretty good
Astra sp ok
Derby sort of ok
Shark stainless? Not so good
Rockwell blades unknown
 
Strangely I actually tried one Rockwell blade in my Weber PH but I haven't tried one yet in the Rockwell. It was actually pretty decent. A little tugging but I ended up with a very good shave with no irritation. It wouldn't be my choice for a lot of growth, but its a reasonably smooth blade. Maybe Derby level from my limited experience.
 
I find that the 6S works differently, depending on plate or blade. The sharper the blade, the higher the plate number.

Feather blade - sharp and close, works really well with plate #4 or #5
Rockwell blade - mild but consistent, solid with plate #3
Astra blade - solid, but doesn't last past four or so shaves, ideal with plate #3 or #4
GSB - best with a sharp blade, great with plate #5
 
The title of this thread states: Four Major Problems. So far I have yet to see any problems! Just looks like a thread full of happy B&B members discussing some wonderful addiction disorders.

BAD always kicks in when I get a new razor too, because you have to find the perfect blade for that razor. Luckily it seems to me like the GSBs work well in everything so far.... but best to be thorough and test them all [emoji1]
 
I can see #1 is a problem..... what are the other problems? Just get more storage space.

I use Feathers almost exclusively in my ATT and Rockwell and find the biggest variable is the soap I use. Love all 3. Found Rockwell's blades to be a disappointment though.

John R
 
A few days ago I dropped my Rockwell 6s. Long drop all the way to a hard tile floor. It didn't even scratch the Rockwell.

Not surprising really given its solid stainless. I don't intend on repeating the mistake but it's nice to know it has that kind of durability. Especially when this forum is full of stories of modern razors breaking from similar mishaps.
 
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