RazoRock Gamechanger First shave (prototype head).......

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by Str8on2, Feb 5, 2018.

  1. Str8on2

    Str8on2 Well-Known Member

    Here is the prototype Gamechanger head. I’m participating in a pass-around on another forum that Joe (RazoRock) started off a couple of weeks ago.

    Got the first shave in. A very, very nice 3 pass shave that produced a practically irritation free BBS result. Just slight irritation on my jawline but that was me being overzealous in my final pass. Nothing to do with the razor/blade combo itself. The minor discomfort was gone in 15-20 minutes after a good a/s splash.

    The razor itself was very smooth and efficient in removing 2 days growth. The Bomb Tip handle paired with the GC head felt perfectly balanced, not to heavy or too light. The shave angle was easy to get to and it has a nice range. If you ride the cap a bit, it shaves nicely but if you lower the handle you will feel the blade engage more with your skin and whiskers. Not overly so, but you can feel it cutting with a nice audible effect. I will hold judgement on blade feel as I’m waiting on an RR Mamba to get to my hands. I purchased it here on the BST. I’d like to try them both out side by side and see if there is a significant difference between the two razors. I would also like to mention that the GC rinsed out very quickly and allowed the soap and cut hair to move quickly through the cut outs on the base plate. I’m pleasantly surprised to be honest. A mild but deceptively efficient shave that gave a good 1st time result.

    More shaves to follow Gents.....

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  2. ordinaryshaver

    ordinaryshaver Well-Known Member

    Great write up, and soundwear like you got a great shave.
    The gillette Wilkinson sword blades are in my top 5 blades for sure.
     
  3. jeraldgordon

    jeraldgordon TSD's Mascot

    Looks like the Mamba head, and also made in Canada. This is a stainless head? Looks like it’s probably more aggressive than the Mamba? Do you know anything about production plans? Questions, questions....
     
    Str8on2 and BamaT like this.
  4. MR41

    MR41 Well-Known Member

    Looks great!
     
  5. TobyC

    TobyC Well-Known Member

    So, it's just like a Gillette Tech. (Look at the fulcrum placement, the guard etc.) But the alignment tabs are covered, which I hate, which makes the head wider than it needs to be. It also has too much "dead head", which is at both ends where there is no blade and no shaving happens.
     
    Bama Samurai likes this.
  6. Marine68

    Marine68 Well-Known Member

    Looks great and sounds better can't wait to get one.
     
  7. Str8on2

    Str8on2 Well-Known Member

    Well, it’s still about 6 weeks away from being available from IB. I have a Mamba coming in soon, perhaps be here by tomorrow and I can get a comparison shave between the two. It has a very thin profile and look to it. Very comfortable razor. And projected price point of around $50? Not a bad deal at all....
     
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  8. Linuxguile

    Linuxguile dating an unusual aristocrat

    Joe at IB has made direct comparisons to the Wolfman WR1 on twitter. My guess is that was the inspiration for the head design. I have the Mamba and the MJ-90, both of which also completely cover the blade tabs and I have no issue getting under the nose with them. No need worry abount needing the tabs to align the blade as the tolerances are so tight that it clamps down perfect every time.
     
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  9. TobyC

    TobyC Well-Known Member

    The WR1 is a much better head with full blade support. The Gamechanger is more like a prewar Tech, except it uses pins for blade positioning. It may be a great head, but it could have been better, and it could have been brass. I prefer the smallest head possible on my razors, and I've never been bothered by the blade tabs sticking out.
     
  10. TobyC

    TobyC Well-Known Member

    A problem I see with both the WR1 and the Gamechanger, is the blind holes used in conjunction with the alignment bars and pins, and the inevitable difficulty keeping them cleaned out. Through holes are much easier to keep clean.
     
  11. Str8on2

    Str8on2 Well-Known Member

    Shave #2 is in the books. With this shave though, I went with my favorite de blade. The KAI SS. I have always found that this blade performs brilliantly in ramping up the efficiency and giving just a wee bit more blade feel to razors, whether mild or aggressive. Plus, it is a proven fact that the KAI blade is just a little bit wider from edge to edge compared to other blades. It amps up the shave as it has proven for me in the Gillette OLD & NEW OC’s, Rockwell 6s, Gillette Slim and a few other DE’s including adjustables. I wanted to see if this would be the case with the Gamechanger head. In went the KAI blade. Couldn’t tell the difference in blade reveal/exposure to my eye, but my face surely did feel the difference. More efficient and a touch more blade feel. Just a superb, superb 2.5 pass shave. And yet the Gamechanger still kept it’s complete smoothness with the KAI. Also I used the Hawk SS DLC handle for this shave out of curiosity and it felt well balanced with the Gamechanger. The first shave was good, the 2nd was even better. For 2 complete shaves I’ve felt no blade chatter or skipping. The head just goes through the hairs without as much as a hiccup. And with the semi polished finish it just glides across my face without a hint of drag. Really a fantastic finish to tonight’s shave.....

    This razor has got my attention........

    Pics aren’t the best, but just to give you a look see with the KAI blade. Can’t see the difference by eye, but trust me it kicks this razor up a notch or 2...

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    Ron R, Primotenore, brit and 2 others like this.
  12. Str8on2

    Str8on2 Well-Known Member

    I agree with your summation. I’ve never had or tried a WR1, but from what I have seen through the web and shave forums, there are some definite similarities.

    I’ve had no issues with the blade tabs being covered. Of course to each their own, but I’ve never really ever seen an issue with blade tabs being revealed or covered. It’s a non-issue in my eyes. Concerning the rinse ability of the head is unfounded. Cleans and rinses as good as any other de I’ve tried, maybe even better. No problems with clogging or seeing soap stuck between the cap and base. It’s a simple but efficient design that so far has got it done. That’s just my take on it so far....
     
  13. Bama Samurai

    Bama Samurai with Laser-like Focus

    It looks like Tech geometry with slightly increased gap and exposure.
     
    TobyC likes this.
  14. Bookworm

    Bookworm Well-Known Member

    I agree. My first thought on the exposure was "That looks like it'll bounce."

    I was just comparing a Baili to a RazoRock 'tech' clone, and noticing the same sort of thing - one significantly wider than the other.
     
    Bama Samurai likes this.
  15. Str8on2

    Str8on2 Well-Known Member

    Perhaps, but I couldn’t say to be honest. I’ve never shaved with a Tech or handled one. Increased gap and exposure is something I would leave to those that have the Tech. But, gap is a little to heavily relied upon by many in tying it in to relation to razor efficiency/aggressiveness. The true story behind a razors efficiency is more about guard span, shave plane and exposure. That’s where a true razors efficiency or aggressiveness is measured by. Of course gap has a say, although a minor one. It’s the other 3 that truly give a razor it’s true shave characteristics and performance.
     
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  16. blashe

    blashe Well-Known Member

    Ever owned or shaved with any of the RR machined razors? I have 4 different RR machined ones and not even 1 of them have any issue that you mentioned and all 4 have different looks and characteristics shave wise
     
  17. Str8on2

    Str8on2 Well-Known Member

    Shave #3 in the books.

    Today though I decided to use the newly acquired Mamba on one side and the GC on the other. Kept everything the same with both razors using KAI blades. The Mamba kept its original handle, and the GC used the Maggard SS one. Both well balanced with good feel and maneuverability.

    Put the Mamba on the right and the GC on the left. Both gave excellent shaves with 2.5 passes with the right side requiring some buffing, although light with the Mamba going over neck and jawline. Both sides BBS with no nics, weepers or cuts. And NO irritation of any kind. Both shaved well with good precise cuts especially lining up the sideburns and working around the corners of my mouth and stache areas. Superb results, plain and simple.

    Is the GC better in terms of efficiency/aggressiveness? Yes, no doubt about it. It sings as compared to the Mamba which just hums, nicely. And I like a bit of audible feedback in my shaves. It’s one of the signs that my angle of attack is spot on and the razor is doing what it was intended to do. Cut whiskers efficiently and smoothly. Which brings another point. The GC was almost identical to the Mamba in smoothness, yet felt and sounded more efficient and aggressive. How? Perhaps the increased blade exposure and gap? I don’t know, but it did for me. One other thing I will point out is this. The KAI blade just works wonders for amping up a razor at least that has been my experience with the de’s that I have used.

    I will get one more shave in with the GC before sending it on to it’s next recipient but will use a Feather blade as a member asked me to try it in the razor. 3 absolutely great shaves. One more to go....

    Oh, and the Dead Sea Soap & A/S splash are amazing. I don’t know why I don’t use it more....

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  18. Str8on2

    Str8on2 Well-Known Member

    4th and final shave.

    Not going to say anything different so far. Got my shave on with a Feather blade, and got an awesome 2.5 pass shave. The Feather and Gamechanger worked just as good as the KAI did. Just got a tiny bit more blade feel with the KAI over the Feather. But just as efficient, smooth and sharp and a great match.

    What do I think of the GC prototype? For the projected cost of $49.99 this razor is going to be a steal. Not overly aggressive, not to mild but it strikes a very good balance between the 2 sides. The blades fit within the head without any issues and was held firmly and I never felt that I was getting a cheap feeling shave with a cheap feeling razor. The finish looks pretty damn good for a prototype and I’d assume that the production version is going to look killer. I did enjoy the quality of shave it gave me as initially I thought it would not perform or shall I say, earn a position in the razor rotation. Dead wrong. There, I admit it. Is everything perfect? Yes and no. If I can say what I would prefer from this razor would be just one thing. The safety bar in relation to the blade and shave plane. If the safety bar were just a tinge shorter, just a couple thousandths of an inch for more blade feel, we’d be talking legendary status in a few months. But I think for the vast majority of shavers it will do very, very well and be satisfied, myself included. Plus, rumor is that more base plates could be made available for a more aggressive shave.

    6-7 weeks Gents. And it’s on..... :happy036:
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  19. Linuxguile

    Linuxguile dating an unusual aristocrat

    Since I was the next person in the passarround I'm just going to add on to this thread:

    SOTD Feburary 14th
    [​IMG]

    RazoRock Game Changer
    GSB
    RazoRock XXX
    Yaqi Evil Zebra(26mm, Frigate class)

    First shave with the Game Changer was marvelous! Definitely more efficient then the Mamba with just enough blade feel to let you know where the blade is. There was no harshness to the shave and overall the GC was very smooth. By comparison I would say the the GC has the smoothness of the Mamba with the efficient of the MJ-90 with the A base plate. For those you you looking to make a comparison to a vintage Gillette I would say that the feel is somewhat similar to a Gillette New, though the weight of the stainless steel makes shaving with the GC pretty effortless. Finding the correct angle was very intuitive which led to a three pass BBS shave, no touch up required!
     
    Keithmax, Ron R, Primotenore and 5 others like this.
  20. william beer

    william beer Well-Known Member

    OK folks, I currently own a Gillette New and a 1947 Aristocrat. In terms of mildness and efficiency where would you place the Mamba and Game Changer in relation to my two razors. BTW I use Astra SP blades. I have sensitive skin and my Aristocrat is a tic more comfortable than the New. BBS shaves with 2 passes (plus clean-ups) with both razors. Any opinions?
     
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