Blade Wars: Big Ben Super Stainless vs. Rockwell

Blade Wars: Big Ben Super Stainless vs. Rockwell

This blade war pits together Big Ben and Rockwell. Big Ben appears to be a British company, with an image of Big Ben on its packaging, but, actually, it is made in Egypt by Lord. Rockwell blades are made with Swedish steel. The box says they are imported to Canada, but does not say where they are manufactured. Rockwells cost 10 cents per blade when purchased by the hundred directly from Rockwell. Big Bens are selling for approximately $15 per hundred on eBay.

Big thankyou to [MENTION=104562]mr_houston[/MENTION], who sent be the Rockwell blades.

My razors for this blade war will be two Lord L6 (or lp1822) heads fitted with my stainless steel handles. I find the L6 razor heads well-made, but a little mild for my taste, particularly when used with the light aluminum handles that come with them. I expect my heavier stainless handles to be an improvement. One handle will be colored with a blue Sharpie for differentiation, but I won’t know which blade is in which razor. I’ll shave half of my face with each razor, and switch sides with each subsequent shave. I intend for the competition to last for six half-face shaves, but will let it go longer if there isn’t a clear winner and I’m not getting irritated.

As we go, I’ll share what I experience and invite you to comment. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Rockwell or Big Ben? Do you have a favorite?

I have never tried the Rockwell blade but, I have tried the Big Ben blade more than once. Looking forward to this review. The L6 razor is a great razor that is very well made for the money. Its a little aggressive for me so, I have to shave slow & take my time to avoid nicks. The Big Ben blade is sharp & smooth with little if any irritation. I don't know why vendors are asking more for this blade as compared to others. I get 6-8 shaves from the Big Ben blade.

fast shaver said:

I have never tried the Rockwell blade but, I have tried the Big Ben blade more than once. Looking forward to this review. The L6 razor is a great razor that is very well made for the money. Its a little aggressive for me so, I have to shave slow & take my time to avoid nicks. The Big Ben blade is sharp & smooth with little if any irritation. I don't know why vendors are asking more for this blade as compared to others. I get 6-8 shaves from the Big Ben blade.

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I love the L6. I've bought a couple dozen of them through the years to use as gifts. I have two friends who've tried it and love it so much they have no interest in trying anything else. I've heard the Dorco Pl602 is also a great, inexpensive razor that is a little milder than the L6.

Thanks for the info on Big Bens. I haven't tried them yet and am looking forward to giving them a go.

cw62803 said:

I love the L6. I've bought a couple dozen of them through the years to use as gifts. I have two friends who've tried it and love it so much they have no interest in trying anything else. I've heard the Dorco Pl602 is also a great, inexpensive razor that is a little milder than the L6.

Thanks for the info on Big Bens. I haven't tried them yet and am looking forward to giving them a go.

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The Dorco PL 602 is a good razor but, the blade is hard to get out. I have to put a toothpick under the blade & pry it out while wearing safety glasses. You don't want that blade flying in your eye. The Super Click razor from China for a buck is just as good IMO. The blade is even on both sides & paulH on youtube reviews it & says its an OK razor. Search Ebay: high safety men double edge razor & it should pop up halfway down the page. Its a mild razor & there is a review on it in the razor forum. Its easy to load & unload the blade on this pup compared to the Dorco PL 602.

[DCRIII] sent me a very generous mailbomb which included a tuck of Rockwells. I did one shave and pitched the blade, with no intention of trying another. It wasn't the worst I've used, but it's close to the bottom of about 15 I've tried. Not even mediocre for me. Never having tried a Big Ben I'll take a chance and say Big Ben will KO Rocky in a short bout.

This isn't a reflection at all on DCRIII's gift, there are many fine blades in there, and I'm always happy to try something new. The Rockwell just didn't cut it for me.

Rumor has it the Rockwell blades are the bottom of the line offering from Samah Razor Blade Co. Bangladesh, so most likely it's their Sharp blade rebranded.

Shave 1
Face lathered with TOBS Sandalwood Soap
silver razor=right side of my face, blue razor=left side of my face

Pass 1 - Both razors did a good job. I find TOBS soap to be quite slick, and neither razor glided as easily as some others might, but it was a good pass with just a little bit of resistance.

Pass 2 - Two good passes. Both were fairly smooth.

Pass 3 - I find the third (against the grain) pass to be the one that separates otherwise evenly matched blades. In today's shave, there was some separation. The silver razor was as smooth and comfortable as can be. The blue was pretty good, but there was a little drag/pulling that didn't happen at all with the silver razor.

Neither side has a closer shave than the other. I do not have a BBS shave, but it's still darned good. No nicks, cuts, or irritation.

Finished with some Old Spice and Man Lotion to return the moisture.

I've never used either but will be interested to see who comes out on top here!

I've never used the Rockwell blades but I've found the Big Ben to be passable. My gamble is that it will be a noticeably better shave the second day than the first.

Rockwell was my first 100 blade purchase (couldn't pass up a deal)! I've found they get quite a bit better after 2-3 shaves... YMMV though.

Rockwell's are not the smoothest, or sharpest, by far, but they leave me completely red-less and comfortable so in that respect I think their well worth the try.

Shave 2
Face lathered with XXX and my trusty Omega S-brush
blue razor=right side, silver razor=left side

Pass 1 - Blue: A little scratchy. Pulled. It felt like it wasn't cutting through the tough hairs on my chin.
Silver: Smoother, felt sharper than blue - slight resistance.

Pass 2 - Both razors provided good passes. In a reversal, blue had slightly less drag.

Pass 3 - Both razors were excellent. Very little resistance - no tugging or pulling on my neck.

Blue's first pass was a little rugged, but it redeemed itself later in the shave. I'd call this one a tie.

Followed with a splash of Brut and some Lubriderm 3-in-1 Moisturizer. I've got a good clean (not BBS) shave with no irritation. One benefit of using a mild razor like the L6 is that my face can handle three-pass shaves two days in a row.

cw62803 said:

Big Ben appears to be a British company, with an image of Big Ben on its packaging, but, actually, it is made in Egypt by Lord.

Rockwell or Big Ben? Do you have a favorite?

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I like most of the Lord blades I've tried quite a bit, although I've never used a Big Ben. I wasn't at all impressed with the Rockwell blade. I My money's on the Big Ben (my guess is it's the silver).

Funny that you started this - I used the Big Ben yesterday and for the first shave (usually have issue on the first day) it was incredibly smooth for me and was wondering how much talk there was for these since I have not seen much - look forward to your research!

Shave 3
Bowl lathered with Soap Commander Purpose and a Whipped Dog Silvertip Badger
silver=right side, blue=left side

Pass 1: Silver was not great. I felt a good deal of resistance/drag.
Blue: In a reversal, blue was significantly smoother than silver. It glided along much more easily.

Pass 2: Silver was much smoother than it was on the first pass. There is some high-pitched audio feedback that sounds, but doesn't feel scratchy.
Blue: Very smooth.

Winner: Blue

I have a socially acceptable shave with no irritation. Finished with a good splash of Florida Water and I'm off. I hope you have a great day today.

I like these blades both but if i had to choose one then my pick goes to Rockwell blades.Very very good blades indeed!!!
Are the rumors that these are made in Bangladesh?Are they "Sharp" blades rebranded?

Shave 4

Face lathered with Maca Root cream, which was wonderful.
Blue = right side, silver = left side

The first two passes were essentially the same. Both had some resistance, but did the job. Not the sharpest feeling, not the smoothest - but good.

The third pass was similar - slight resistance. The silver was a little smoother than the blue. The blue gives more audio feedback than the silver, and the feedback sounds more scratchy than the blade actually feels on my face. If there is a victor in this round, it is the silver, as it was a little smoother - but the difference is slight.

Finished with homemade menthol splash, and off to work.

Looking forward to the reveal on this one...

muiriddin said:

Looking forward to the reveal on this one...

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I will be very interested to see how this comes out as well. Thanks CW.