I did notice that...I wonder if the DE comes with different base plates..or an option to pick one... Interesting.
I'm also a member of a Turkish shave enthusiasts forum and when I saw the first pre order announcement there I send a PM to Murat/Rocnel immidiately and now I'm waiting in the line to get the SE in march. The production will begin in February according to Murat/Rocnel and he is a man of his word. I think as I'm closer than you as a Turkish citizen living in Turkey and I'll most probably receive the SE razor sooner than you. I'll share the pictures instantly if I receive them earlier than yours. $25 is a steal for a high quality stainless steel manifactured in modern machinery.
Cihan on Instagram has been using an earlier model of the razor for a few weeks now (he's in, I believe, Cyprus) and will be posting a more in-depth review next week. Here's his instagram feed with some photos of the razor - and hey, @PLANofMAN maybe the SE will come with a 'lil wooden box
I signed up, although I'm not really excited about the blade. One of the reasons conventional single edge razors shave so well is the thicker more rigid blade that they use. I have a Golf 71 which is a single edge razor that uses DE blades. It is interesting as a novelty but isn't that great a shaver. --Bob
I know about Cihan and his journey with Rocnel DE razor for a while. He's going to post a review on that Turkish forum soon and I'm curious about it, too. But the DE version is way pricey for my budget.
A prototype of SE, I remember of him now. I'm eager to see what comes in that review There is another guy wtiting a review about the DE also that's the reason of my confusion.
Been emailing a bit with Murat, the owner, and he wrote back this evening saying that; a) this week they completed the "patent file" (I assume patent filing), b) they are indeed ISO certified, c) he is being swamped with emails and apologizes that he can't answer them all right now, and d) the monthly production quantity of these razors will be significantly increased compared to the DE razor production. Seems like a nice guy and for $25 bucks (+$7 for shipping to the US) I'll take a gamble on a razor or three.
I hadn't heard of the Golf 71 before. I have used both generations of Shake Sharp's, which are SE's that take DE blades, and those are truly exceptional shavers, as @macaronus, @ShaneS, and @gorgo2 can testify, so just because one razor doesn't use a DE blade well, doesn't mean that another razor can't. The Shake Sharp was also a favorite of the late @cooncatbob. Edit: Bob, I'm so confident you would like the Shake Sharp, I'll loan you one to try. PM me your address and I'll get it shipped off to you. No case, I'm afraid, as those went went my other two to Shane for his evaluation.
As far as pricing for the DE goes one can get it a tad less inexpensive if one opts out of the pretty box; - $185 for the razor, and - $45 for the stand
From their "About Us" section: "A razor’s proportions ought to adapt to each user’s habits and body type. As a result we’ve developed six variants of our device instead of one single model. "
The Golf 71 was produced in the 1980's by a government owned plant in what was then the German Democratic Republic (aka "East Germany"). It has a flip-top mechanism vaguely reminiscent of a Gem Pushbutton, and is designed to use a standard DE blade. It is made of sheet metal stampings held together with rivets and appears to have been made to sell at a very inexpensive price point. Shaving, it feels vaguely like a Gem Featherweight. In a comparison with a Featherweight loaded with a Gem SS ptfe and the Golf loaded with a Personna med prep, the Golf was the more aggressive of the two, but not as smooth. It does seem to hold the DE blade more firmly than most DE razors. The Gem SE blade is noticeably sharper. While it is quite interesting, the Golf 71 is not a razor I'd want to use on a daily basis for any great length of time. Thank you for your most generous offer. I've heard about the Shake Sharp but never used one. I'll get a PM off as soon as I can figure out how it is done on this forum software. --Bob
@spidey9 I got your PM and will get the razor out to the post office today. Here's a good picture of the Shake Sharp. It looks like it has more blade exposure and less gap than the Golf 71. The safety bar on the SS is spring loaded, so I'm not sure what, if anything, that does to the dynamics of the blade. I'm interested in reading your comparison of the two razors and the shave.
Since there is a bit of an interest in the SE razor (and no reviews yet of course) I messaged back and forth with Cihan - who has been testing an earlier model of the razor - and he will, if there is an interest, be willing to post his review/impression of the razor (on TSD and TSR) after having used it for some time now. As may tell from his Instagram posts he has a great, diverse experience with a number of razors Note - Cihan is not affiliated with the company so questions about the actual sale of the product should still be directed to Rocnel - he is "just" a wetshaving enthusiast like the rest of it who got a chance to try it out. Personally, I'd love to read his review/impressions.
