Hi guys , I'm new here so hello to you all in advance, have been looking at these two razors and in theory the konsul is awesome, just wonder if the juice is worth the squeeze. The timeless I'm looking at is either the ss open comb or brass open comb. I have a beard like steel wool and have found aggressive is my jam on razors & blades. Look forward to and appreciate any and all input!
I've had the opportunity to use a Konsul in a passaround and my take is this. It is one of if not the most aggressive slant razors I've ever used and that is not saying much since overall it is a mild shaver. If you need aggressive better to go with a Rex Ambassador instead if you want to stay within the Rex Shaving Co. line of products. It is still an expensive razor but not as expensive as the Konsul and is pretty much built the same and will have the same heft and hand feel. I can't speak for the Timeless razors but if you want modern and aggressive look into the Muhle R41 which is a much cheaper option than any of these. Another one to ask around about are FaTip razors.
Thank you for the feedback, I saw the FaTips after I made this post they look impressive the open comb slant especially
All things being equal on the razor head geometry minus the torsion of the blade on a slant, a slant will always be milder and less efficient than a straight bar. With that said if that slant is already good enough for your liking then that is the important part here. The advantage to a slant is they are more forgiving, less harshness of blade feel and less prone to causing nicks and cuts. With that said they tend to be poor performers if you are chasing the baby. If not depends what good enough is for you. If mild doesn't reach that bar, no slant that I've used will.
There are plenty of cheap slants and should be some 3d printed options, thingiverse is the place to go for opensource designs that you can try one out without a big spending outlay to get some first hand experience. Also out of curiousity is this your first foray into DE wet shaving?
I started about a year ago, my first foray stepping away from what I currently use which is a vikings blade crusader adjustable.
I've always believed the slant is a solution for a problem that doesn't exist. The slicing action a slant gives can be achieved via the Gillette Slide or J-Hooking with a straight bar DE or SE. Yes, it gives a good shave, but the slant is unnecessary.
Great was wondering if I should have advised you against changing things up if you were new to DE wet shaving. You should be well versed in what works for you so far. Usually it is not a good idea to change up any shave variables when starting out. One razor, one decent middle of the road blade and practice, practice, practice before adding in blade samplers, different soaps, razors etc. I was going to also suggest an adjustable but you got that one covered and should already know where you need to go to from how you use it. My point is it is easy to chase rabbits down many holes which can get expensive when you don't need to especially if you are not looking to get into the hobby side of wet shaving.
Totally get what your saying!! Truthfully I've been happy with vb crusader it does a decent job , I run it on its max setting with Gillette platinums or nacets , I just have to a few touch ups. I'm a perfectionist at heart so I was just looking to see what else out there would up my efficientcy, I just have ultra coarse whiskers unfortunately my stubble feels like 80 grit sand paper and that's no lie!!
You got the sharp blades covered. Nacets are some of the sharper blades out there. I have sandpaper stubble also and find no less than 5 passes to get to the BBS finish. I will recommend try a tuck Bic Chrome Platinum blades if you haven't so far. They maybe sharper than Nacets if not at least as sharp and hold an edge well unlike some other blades that are one good or great shave then they are mediocre for shaves 2 and up. On adjustables my rule is if it can't cross the finish line I set on full blast then it is just plain old not good enough. If you want to try the 5 pass routine this is how I do mine 1. WTG 2. 45 degree ear to chin WTG 3. ear to chin XTG 4. ATG 5, 45 degree back of jaw to nose ATG With ATG passes it is best to do them at the end after you've reduced the hair down since the less hair to remove less tug and irritation. If you can't get a BBS with this routine it is either your razor or blade. To test the blade just use something even sharper like a Feather. If that don't help then it is most likely the razor. 5 passes like that will offset bad or less than optimal technique.
[QUOTE="BBS, post: 2072023, member: 20476" 5 passes like that will offset bad or less than optimal technique.[/QUOTE] 5 passes with bad or less than optimal technique will wind up with, at the least, a severe case of razor burn the majority of the time!
I'm gonna try this !! I'll let you know how it goes in a day or so!! From what I've mapped of my face this sounds like it'll work for me
5 passes with bad or less than optimal technique will wind up with, at the least, a severe case of razor burn the majority of the time![/QUOTE] I believe ya!! Fortunately I've got some hardy skin , could honestly shave with a broken piece of glass and not get irritated or razor burn.
It can but a mild enough razor you can do a lot more and still not notice the blade on the face add that to baby chasing, if you don't catch the baby the razor is definitely the culprit at that point. Multiple passes of gradual reduction should eventually get you to skin level.
Couple of other things it is a good idea to get another razor as long as money is not an issue just to have a backup in case your daily user breaks regardless of whether you can dial in your existing razor and blades further. Based upon what you've wrote I'd say seriously consider getting a SE razor. The blades are thicker for starters and they tend to be more aggressive than a DE razor, at least for the vintage stuff anyways. Modern everyone these days builds razors around Artist Club or AC blades. If you want to look into Gem or Schick Injector blade style razors you are going to have to delve into the vintage realm for anything that could be considered aggressive. Good thing about vintage is no one collects the good shaving ones so they can be still had for $20 or less if you want to spend the time searching ebay and etsy. Leaving vintage aside if you want look into AC razors the only one I have experience with that should fit your critera is a Razorock V3 Hawk Open comb AC razor. Italianbarber sells them and they cost around $70 USD new these days. The razor is also made from machined Stainless Steel. As far as blade goes if you decide to consider an AC razor just pass go and go right to the Feather Professional AC blades everything else is going to be servicable but not sharp enough. There are other AC razor options but I can't comment on how they perform. Also the Artistan stuff can get pricey real quickly and there isn't much in the AC realm that can not be considered Artisan or value based like razorock razors tend to be. Yaqi which is chinese also makes some AC stuff in the under $100 range that might be good but you'll have to research that out.
