Rex ambassador - Worth the $250? Better than Gillette adjustable?

Is the rex ambassador worth the $250 price tag? It just looks so damn awesome.

How does it compare to the adjustable Gillette razors it's supposedly based on?

$250 is a lot of money for a razor.

 

It's all up to each individual. For myself, it's just shaving, so I wouldn't purchase it at half that price. However, I love coffee, and would consider spending more on coffee related items. So, if one really loves shaving items, $250 could be a bargain.

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I happened to buy one in a group buy at another forum for $181. It was the N2 series. The build quality, the finish - the razor looks and feels awesome. The knurling on the handle is some of the very best and this is one razor which won't slip even with grease on the hand while shaving ( don't ask why would anyone have grease while shaving !)


Unfortunately mine had an uneven blade issue and had to go back to RE. The after sales service of RE was extremely frustrating and disappointing - zero communication or response to queries and the repair took around 45 days awaiting for spares from a new batch.

That said - the shave quality was amazing and a razor for keeping. Very smooth and efficient. It literally sucked up the lather and a repeat touch up pass needed moisture to be applied.

Many users also noted a drag due to the top of the razor being matte finish, I didn't find it to degrade my shave quality.

Do I feel justified to put in $180 - absolutely and I am not letting it go from my den !

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Personally, no. However, I have spent some serious $$ on some beautiful vintage Gillettes. Therefore, if you want one and have the funds, go for it. You can always re-sell it and recuperate most of your funds. They are starting to appear on the BST pages, so keep an eye out.

 

Too much for my blood. I'd go for a Parker Variant or a Merkur Progress.

Herm

 

It's not supposedly based on the Gillette (except some cosmetics) it's based on the 1937 Gibbs Adjustable. It has a different head than the Gillettes so it will shave differently. Many will find it more aggressive at the same settings. It's heavier. It's a complicated to produce well built US made stainless steel razor and that's what they cost.

Don't buy an adjustable until you have good technique is my advice.

 

Short answer, yes it is worth it.


The Rex is actually based on the Gibbs Adjustable rather then a Gillette. Build quality and finish are impeccable. Fully open the Rex is more efficient then a Gillette adjustable on 9 while still being very smooth. The balance is perfect just below the adjuster knob. The knurling, as stated earlier, is both beautiful and very effective. Considering that a premium 3 peice SS razor with set you back at least $180, $250 for a fully SS adjustable is not unreasonable IMO. If you sign up for the Razor Emporium newsletter they send out coupon codes every month and also have a usually have a Black Friday deal too.

 

Exactly sans the shipping you should be able to find one significantly cheaper through this method as more people have buyers remorse or the other half gives them an ultimatum when they find out how much they spent on it. For that type of money though I'd buy a Toggle before I'd buy a Rex. Unlike the Rex the Toggle won't depreciate the second you buy it also when the other half finds out you can make the case for it being a long term investment that you can also use in the meantime.

 

The Gibbs is still cheaper and fairly easily obtainable if you want to do the french ebay thing. Reality is you are just paying a premium so you don't have modify blades though if I got my hands on a Gibbs I'd modify it to take modern blades and replate the head afterwards.

 

I am interested where you can get a Toggle for $250? Please, do you know something I don't know?

 

It is called ebay you can get them for around $200 if you bypass the overpriced collector auctions and go for the estate and picker stuff. You can find a working user grade one for sure as long as you stick the 1960 ones around that price and with a case if you are patient and wait out the right auction. Regardless of what people say everything is negotiable if you know how to work a seller on ebay so that is another way to front run an auction if you start off with a not too low ball offer and work the seller through the messaging system.

 

i like the vintage gillette option but i am biased .beautiful looking,well built razor and all built on the continent..those who have one like it i am sure..

 

Nice thing about the vintage Gillettes is they're incredible value. They were sold in huge numbers and as loss leaders rather than profit centers. Gillette made up the losses by selling blades. They were wonderfully made and, since they had pretty much the entire market locked up, mass produced in huge numbers that lowered production cost in a way that could never be matched today. And even though many people treat them like garbage, they last forever. Just a few years back they were being thrown in the trash rather than included at estate sales. But now that people have caught on to their value, they're mostly sold. Still, the huge number and the low demand results in prices that are beyond reasonable. Silly in fact. I've picked up Fatboys for $5 and Slims and Black Beauties for $3. Even on ebay, unless you're going for collectables, they sell for far less than they'd cost to make today.

 

I have a lot of ebay experience, I just never have seen a Toggle in this price range. I guess I will have to look harder.
Edit:
Just checked.
There are a couple of, IMO, user-grade Toggles up for auction. No BIN offers. Should be interesting to see what they go for.

 

You also have to check the international sites. I had 3 slip through my hands I could have had for under $200 because I sat too long on counteroffers.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if it is as good as advertised but $250 is a lot to pay for any razor. I just don't think the value is there is all when there are plenty of acceptable lesser priced options in the adjustable realm that get the job done. The Merkur Progress for example which I don't think the value is there either unless they fixed the build issues is also more infinitely adjustable than the infinitely adjustable Rex at about a quarter of the price if you get one without the case. If you got the money to burn so be it.

 

I'm often confused by why guys pay hundreds of dollars for fancy razors but to each his own. I don't think there's a correlation between quality of razor and quality of the shave it gives, though I have no personal experience with such razors. I suppose they may have tighter tolerances but I wouldn't expect the designs to necessarily be "better", whatever that means. Since shaving preferences are so personal, they shouldn't correlate well with cost unless one is buying a custom razor. So if, like me, you see razors as work tools, you're not going to pay for them as if they were jewelry or treasured keepsakes.

That said, there may be a particular razor that you try and find to be your holy grail, in which case it's probably worth a few hundred if that's what it takes. As long as your holy grail doesn't shift and change much with time. I've been using a Futur for 6 years. It was my grail but now I'm tired of it. Have been experimenting with others. I know I like really aggressive razors but I'm not lining up for the Charcoal Goods Level 3, at least not yet. But I am looking for an Ikon Tech if I can find one at a reasonable price.

 

Check your PM's

 

I'm waiting for a $5 fatboy to come along.

 

I should define value since there is a couple of ways to go about it. If we go by $ value then it comes down to how much do you spend and how long until you need to replace and buy again.

For arguments sake you are a 20 year old buy a Rex at $250 and it lasts you a lifetime say you make it to 80 years before kicking off. Is it a better value than say a dollar store special at $1.09 assuming 9% sales tax.
If you need to buy rounding down 229 dollar store specials in the same lifetime then what is the value here. It isn't money wise since you had to spend about the same over time.

If you value storage space then the Rex is the better deal if you buy all 229 razors at once. In both cases the assumption is you won't ever have to buy again.

If you don't have the $250 to spend up front then the dollar store special is the way to go assuming you'll be able to get more of them up until you've spent about $250 which over a lifetime in this example averages 3 to 4 razors a year. As long as the supply chain lasts at least 2 years you can determine from the first year if the value is there by how many razors you go through. If you go through less than 4 it is, if more than 4 then no. If you have the money you load up in year 2 and or stock up before the price increases on them. Even then if you are only burning through one a year that is only 60 razors and $65.4 during the course of a lifetime same price approximately as a Merkur Progress now.

Now if you are burning through 2 or more a year then the value is the Merkur Progress is you go by since now you are spending $130.80 and 3 razors a year $196.20. We've established a price points for quality and value here whether any realizes it or not.

Now the question becomes build quality. If we have to replace the Merkur at least once in a lifetime then the dollar store special is the better value at 2 or less razors a year. They are about the same in value if 3 razors a year. If 4 or more the Merkur becomes the better value so on and so forth. If we have to replace the Rex even once then the value is the dollar store special.

So now onto replacement issue so if you have to spend to replace the value is on the dollar store special at 4 or less razors a year. If the manufacturer or distributor will fix or replace free of charge then it is only valuable if it is for the life of the item. If they have to fix it within a year or up like 3 to 5 years then maybe the quality was never there in the first place. Next gamble is do you think these smaller companies are going to be in business over the long term and if bought out will the new company honor the old warranties and such?

The only way I see to even instill any sort of confidence on this issue is to build the razors to mil-spec and have them certified.

Finally the last issue is do they appreciate and how long in $. With the dollar store specials at least if you wait until the price goes up to $2 you can unload those other razors at what you paid for them in probably 10 years or less while the more expensive stuff you are waiting for it appreciate first back to what you paid then if you wait long enough above that when it gets to collector status. The dollar store stuff is cheap enough that even if it never appreciates much above a dollar most people don't care anyways since it is cheap enough to begin with the other razors different psychological factors come into play.