Well, it is a direct copy of the Elbrus, so... I wondered if HLS had contracted or sold the rights. I see their website is still up and with new offering, but the Elbrus is notably absent. Equally, that is an intensive bit of machining, and the US/European market is pretty gone for HLS, so they may have surrendered to the more productive Communists.
Who knows, they might have even made the head for them. I think the handle is different and less fancy than the Elbrus handle was, isn't it or does my memory fail me?Well, it is a direct copy of the Elbrus, so... I wondered if HLS had contracted or sold the rights. I see their website is still up and with new offering, but the Elbrus is notably absent. Equally, that is an intensive bit of machining, and the US/European market is pretty gone for HLS, so they may have surrendered to the more productive Communists.
Less sharp on the knurling, but the same except for a chamfer angle I believe. Definitely not the same clean lines as the Elbrus, but at 1/3-1/4 the cost.
I am just two shaves in with my Torqx.
This is your issue. Have you used a Wunderbar, Super Slant, or one of the early PAA bakelite slants? These give good blade-feel, but most slants do not.I am just two shaves in with my Torqx.
The first time i used it i only used setting 4. There was just enough blade feel for me to get an idea of the correct angle. The blade felt in control, and i only needed 2 passes for a good shave.
The second time i used it was at setting 6. There was not allot of increase in efficiency, but there was a noticeable increase in blade feel. At this setting i feel the blade is not well balanced and i will probably not be using this setting more.
I felt like the settings below 4 gives almost no blade feel. It's like shaving blind, without the feedback from the blade.
So, this defeats the purpose of an adjustable razor in my opinion. It's too mild at the lower settings and not comfortable at the higher settings.
The lack of blade feel is my biggest knock on the razor. That might just be my personal preference since i mostly shave with straight razors, and like blade forward DE's.
The machining is really impressive and it's generally well made. This is much better made then my Rex Ambassador. I wanted a new Rex Konul, but after two failed top caps i did not trust them to give me a better produced slanted head design. It's also 3 times more expensive delivered to my location (Norway) then the Torqx. Did i say 3 times the price
It’s funny, the little blade feel I felt on setting 1 felt too steep for me. By sanding one side of the cap a bit, I opened a slightly shallower angle and now the blade (or lack of blade) feels perfect while gliding over my skin. I prefer the smooth felling of the cap while feeling no scrapping sensation.I am just two shaves in with my Torqx.
The first time i used it i only used setting 4. There was just enough blade feel for me to get an idea of the correct angle. The blade felt in control, and i only needed 2 passes for a good shave.
The second time i used it was at setting 6. There was not allot of increase in efficiency, but there was a noticeable increase in blade feel. At this setting i feel the blade is not well balanced and i will probably not be using this setting more.
I felt like the settings below 4 gives almost no blade feel. It's like shaving blind, without the feedback from the blade.
So, this defeats the purpose of an adjustable razor in my opinion. It's too mild at the lower settings and not comfortable at the higher settings.
The lack of blade feel is my biggest knock on the razor. That might just be my personal preference since i mostly shave with straight razors, and like blade forward DE's.
The machining is really impressive and it's generally well made. This is much better made then my Rex Ambassador. I wanted a new Rex Konul, but after two failed top caps i did not trust them to give me a better produced slanted head design. It's also 3 times more expensive delivered to my location (Norway) then the Torqx. Did i say 3 times the price
I'm still trying to visualize your sanding method.. I can't quite wrap my feeble mind around it.. Are you sanding off a small amount off the front edge of the cap.... or the bottom side?
I don't have much experience with slant razors. This is my second.
I was thinking about making a dedicated thread just dedicated to my sanding experiments, but I I am not sure if I will ever get to that. I am using simple tools that comprise a Dremel with a sanding wheel, and a diamond sharpening stones. The first cap or two that I try to sand down got partially ruined, as I did not know what I was doing yet. During my early experiments, I was trying to round out the cap and sometimes I thinned out the edge of the cap too much, creating more blade exposure, and I prefer less blade exposure. later I realized that if the cap is about 1mm thick and its edge, I prefer the top of the cap to be roughly parallel, maybe slightly steeper than the curve of the blade(bottom edge portion of the cap). Once I realize my optimal dimensions, the job became easier. I could just almost match the top side of the cap with the angle of the underside of the cap by rubbing the cap against a diamond sharpening stone. Like this, the part that protrudes the most get sanded off and I end up getting a lot better results.
You should check the blade rigidity with the cap put into the base in both directions. I don’t know why they didn’t mark the cap, but I found one orientation to have a better blade rigidity than the other.I don't have much experience with slant razors. This is my second.
The slant concept is a gimmick in my opinion.
They look nice, so there is at least that
I still need to try a few more blades to see if it's sensitive to blade type.
Maybe a stiffer blade will make the blade better balanced at higher settings. I have only used a Astra green.
What was my issue?
No, the slant is not a gimmick!I don't have much experience with slant razors. This is my second.
The slant concept is a gimmick in my opinion.
They look nice, so there is at least that
I still need to try a few more blades to see if it's sensitive to blade type.
Maybe a stiffer blade will make the blade better balanced at higher settings. I have only used a Astra green.
What was my issue?
It excells at XTG, particularly under the chin & in the angle of the neck. One of the challenges is remembering that you don't use the head of the razor as your draw-guide, e.g., you don't keep the head of the razor at a right angle to the direction of your shave-stroke. Sounds simple, but it takes some focus, until you get used to it!I need to try that. To me it seems to fit well in both directions. One more thing to try
Yes, it did feel quite smooth XTG.No, the slant is not a gimmick!
Nice review. What Super Slant plate are you comparing it to?
Well I started out with a Super Slant L1++ which was too mild and inefficient for my liking. I got an L2++ plate and thought it was great and don't think I would want anything higher. But I think that's part of the problem with the Super Slant with it having like 12 plates. The adjustable alleviates the mystery of which plate is best and buying more. But beyond that I find the Torqx is just very smooth and more refined. I have been pleasantly surprised, Yaqi really did a great job on the Avanti and Torqx in my opinion and their quality is impressive.
Do you have experience with slants? If yes, then it will most likely have a place with you. If not, it will take a few shaves to get a feel for the full range. Not different than many other razors. I see no reason to modify it, but I have a bazillion different razors.
A long time ago, everybody shaved shallow. Before safety razors existed, a shallow angle of at least 20° was standard, and that remained the norm even after single-edge safety razors appeared. The early vintage Gillette’s also shaved shallowly, and it wasn’t until the Zamak caps came around that a 30° became the new shallow angle norm. I am not sure where 30° came from, but I suspect Gillette realized that at 30° and above, people go through blades a lot quicker.
