June 21, 2018 Another fantastic 2 pass + some buffing around the chin. 3 shaves in and the shaves have been nearly flawless to be honest. Extremely well balanced razor with fit and finish that’s worthy of it’s price. Exhibits excellent smoothness throughout the whole adjustment range with better than average efficiency, especially up towards the higher end with relatively good blade feel yet still maintaining a very good smooth feel. It has been a delight to use and certainly no regrets in acquiring the razor. Granted, I purchased the item for $181, but that was because I participated in a group buy. If I’d had sampled it before hand, I may just have gone out and purchased it at retail value. It’s top quality, expertly crafted and one that will outlast us a couple of lifetimes over. If your in the market for an heirloom quality piece that happens to be adjustable, you’d be hard pressed to find something of equal or greater value. I’d highly recommend the REX without any reservations..... Did I fail to mention that the Stone Cottage Shave Cream delivers? Great stuff......
Another great review. I did purchase at retail (as I bought before the group buys started but after the initial quality issues were resolved) and feel that I got more than my moneys worth. Love the REX Ambassador! Best razor I've used period.
I have to agree with you John. I also bought mine on the cusp of the group buy and haven't looked back. Fantastic shaver with superior quality.
A bump for the thread. I hadn’t used the Rex in some time and decided to have a shave with it today. No fuss and no muss shave. A very comfortable and efficient shave that left me BBS in 2.5 passes with hardly any irritation to speak of. Started off on 4 and finished on 2 without a single issue. Everytime I use it it just reminds me of how good and robust this razor really is. Substantial feeling razor but, it’s properly balanced in the hands with excellent tactile grip on the handle that the knurling provides. Ease of maneuverability is up there with some of the better ones that I’ve used and build quality is top notch. Maintenance and clean up with this razor is a breeze. If I had to say a minor thing that I notice with it is that when I complete a stroke/pass, there’s usually not enough residual slickness that is left behind. So in my experience I never go over a spot twice without a quick touch of lather. Besides taking off the whiskers, it also removes all semblance of lather and leaves nothing behind. Again, that’s just me. And in reality, I’m just nitpicking here with the Rex. Just an excellent tool that gets the job done smoothly and efficiently.
i will get a rex in the future , not so much because i don t use adjustables, but because of the look and quality as a razor.
Superb shave today with the Rex. Just a consistently smooth performer and with the GD Citric soap, a match made in heaven. Not an ounce of drag or a touch of irritation. Perhaps the best shave with the Rex to date. So good.....
What a great shave today. Paired it with a Topaz Platinum blade and it was near perfection. Just an excellent feeling shave with about as good a feel and balance that a razor can give. I say this because I am not a fan of the shorter handles as I like to have some maneuverability on razors in terms of hand positioning. But, the balance and weight bias of the Rex just feels so good. I have never, ever had a bad shave with this wonderfully made tool. Precise and very comfortable is what I can sum up overall as to how the Rex has performed for me. A true pleasure to use and view....
I agree with everything you say about the Rex. It also offers flexability with the adjustment feature. Love mine and I get great shaves every time.
That’s a good question. I haven’t really given it any thought to be honest. They’re both excellent shavers and incredibly easy to use. I’m going to have to do a razor shave off to see if there is a difference in shave quality overall. Stay tuned.....
Here is a review I wrote up after my first shave with the razor: I bought mine at the Big Shave S'West on April 27th. Razor Emporium's staff recommended I use a Feather blade with the razor when I asked them what blade they think it performs best with, so that's what I went with. When loading the Feather blade it was simple and there was zero wiggle of the blade before fully tightening it down. There is no over-hang on the sides of the razor. The sides are flush and smooth when a blade is loaded giving it a better aesthetic and lower risk for an inadvertent abrasion on your nose for side-angle passes on the upper-lip area of the face. The precision of the machine work is highly impressive. The blade seated flawlessly and was positioned precisely as it should be. A razor this expensive should do this and it is perfect in this respect. The lines and grip and balance of the razor is, again, precise and as perfect as it gets. The matching stand allowed me to set the razor back on the stand during the shave instead of laying it on the sink and risking accidental blade contact with the marble surface. The matching stand is very simple with no nooks or crannies to clean, so the post shave cleaning is super quick and simple. I had a 3-pass + extensive cleanup shave. Upon the first pass, There seemed to be virtually no drag on the shave whatsoever. I'm not sure if I should attribute this to the excellent PAA CK6 soap or the sharpness of the feather blade effortlessly mowing down the hair or if it was the gentle angle I chose on the Rex's adjustable setting. I felt the results of the shave with the grain and predictably it was not BBS yet, but I fully expected this since not even aggressive razors give BBS on a with-the-grain pass. The second pass I went upward strokes, but not getting every grain pattern against. I saved some for a 3rd pass. The 3rd pass I finished against the grain with all the major growth patterns on my cheeks and neck. The cleanup showed just how good the residual slickness is on the PAA CK6. It's pretty amazing soap. The Rex has solid audio-feedback to let me know when it encounters grain and is doing work. The final analysis - I found very little issue with managing to get a full BBS with the shave on the lowest setting with a Feather blade. Without even trying to up the aggression I am beyond satisfied with this razor. Very easy to use. The fact that I can pick up this razor and use it perfectly the first time without any need to learn about any quirks means that this razor is highly intuitive and "quirk-free" (at least it is for me). So, in closing, the Rex Supply Co. razor is a 10/10. Perhaps the only potential criticism is a lack of a design that would allow for you to swap out handles with various looks/knurling/etc, but I seriously can't find anything wrong with how it looks artistically and the knurling is robust and beyond any kind of grip assistance I would need. The only other thing I could ask for in a razor of this price it, instead of paper-based packaging, I would like a robust scratch-resistant plastic case or metal case with nice/fancy art work. (Maybe Matt can do a "Special Edition" Rex Ambassador with upgraded presentation?) But this is basically nit-picking and the only real rankings/review points that truly count are the razor itself, the design and the results of the shave. In the areas that are reasonable to a review, this is a 10/10 razor. Period. I can't imagine anyone thinking this razor has any weaknesses. Is it worth $250? Yes. No wiggling, no caveats, just a plain 'yes'. It is worth $250? -- Yes. *Additional statement - I will say that my review is not pulling any negatives. I want to say that I love the One-Blade Razor and I feel/think that Matt Pisarcik's video of the One Blade was highly unfair and a hatchet job (but I'm not personally angry with Matt or anything over it, it just seemed [*I stress seemed because no one can know what another person's feelings are or if they are being genuine] like an unfair review by a competitor), which motivated me to be very critical of the Rex Supply Co. razor. However, try as I might, I could find no issue with this razor. Zero. NOTHING to say negatively. That shocked me. Every conceivable area of this razor seems covered with excellent attention to design. It's impeccable and, IMO, superior to the One Blade Stainless, but only in a few respects such as the One Blade has no knurling/grip, just bare metal, and it uses a proprietary blade that only is good for 3 or so uses before it needs to be changed. No such weakness in the Rex Supply Co. razor. I consider the One Blade Stainless to deliver 10/10 shaves as well, but those two dings (on the grip and proprietary blade) make it a razor to reconsider if you are in the market for a highly expensive razor and you will only ever buy one razor. I will admit that the One Blade Stainless has a bit more of an artistic look, but I still think the Rex Ambassador has an executive look and finish that you would expect and it's an obvious stylistic nod to the vintage nature of the wet shave IMO.
An easy, no fuss shave delivered by the Rex yesterday. A beauty to hold and wield that is made to excellent tolerances. I've never had an issue with the Rex in terms of shave quality or blade fitment and just overall performance. Maybe I got lucky or it was just a simple progression of RE's dedication to getting some of the early issues and teething problems resolved with the subsequent production runs. Bottom line is, I love my Rex(s) and have nothing but praise for the razor and the manufacturer. Will it work for everyone? No but, honestly what does? Would I recommend it? Yes, in a New York minute. You do pay a premium for it but, you get a premium product that potentially will stand the test of time for generations to come. And hopefully those future generations will enjoy it just the same.....
