First experience with the DS-S9, which is a 316 stainless steel razor available from Aliexpress.
Price
I paid 46,98 euro's for this beautifully polished cheekscraper. I mention the price because, for anyone ordering from Europe, it is actually just a bit less than half the price of it's inspirator, which is the Razorock Game Changer .84 p.
Gap & head:
The gap is the same as the 84 P and the baseplate looks almost identical, blade exposure should be between 0 to + 0.01mm (but looks to be more to my untrained eye). It's clear they were inspired by Canadians.
Luckily Dscosmetics offer a variety of different caps, I chose the scalloped version because smarter shavingminds than myself already pointed out that they would provide a smoother shave.
I was tempted by the "Prism" head but this scalloped version looks very nice, is smooth and does make it easy to shave under the old sniffer.
Either way, it's nice to have some options to finish up your razor head. AND if I take a picture from above people might almost believe I own a scalloped Timeless, héhé.
For those looking for different materials entirely, the S9 is also available in Titanium and Copper.
One negative, for me, is that the outside corners of baseplate are POINTY. They are sharp, not "I'll punch a hole in my cheek sharp" but sharp enough to be an annoyance.
I haven't owned any razors of the Gamechanger series but I've been looking at (alot) of photographs and Razorock's seems to have more rounded corners.
Handle:
If you want the full Razorock experience you could opt for handle options "norl" or "dog" which are (at least visually) copies of the "HD" and "bulldog" handle. They also have a version of the super knurl, a take on the Kolibri's handle and something that looks to be an EJ 3one6 handle.
I chose the KVS-handle for my S9. I love the look but grip isn't the greatest.
Even turning from one side of the blade to the other can be a struggle.
While one may question Dscosmetics creativity the razor feels extremely solid, balanced and well made. It has also been polished like a piece of jewelery.
No boring warnings saying "this is a tool and not jewelery." Na-ha, this IS a jewel first and a tool second.
It also comes with a silicone washer to protect the handle from scrathing up your base plate. GREAT! First razor I bought that has this, even though I have bought quite a few. Will have to remind myself not to let it slip down the drain though.
Blade loading
The blade tabs are on the baseplate, also a novelty to me but again shouldn't come as a surprise to Gamechanger-owners. I always figured this would be an easier way to load but...I was wrong.
It works though and the blade sits very firmly between the thick posts, there is no misaligning this puppy.
The Shave
I wasn't going to review this before I've had four-five shaves under my belt with it, but here I am with some free time so it's my first shaving experience that I'll share and I will post updates later on.
I loaded up a Gillette Minora blade and lathered up with Taylor of Old Bond Street - St. James.
It's a slick cream but I don't find it provides the best cushioning. Actually a stupid choice for a first shave, because I'm not too fond of this cream, but the jar's almost empty and I need to make room.
The shaving angle was found almost automatically, I didn't experience much audible feedback but it was clear when the angle was what it was set out to be. The shave was smooth, my cheeks are soft even 6 hours post shave which tells me it's plenty efficient.
I had a proper sting from my SV 70th aftershave so there was some irritation but not alot.
Thoughts:
Overall I got a Game Changer-like experience for less than half the price and the bonus of some added tweaking options.
It looks like it's going to be a great shaver, it's visually attractive but it's lacking grip. If anyone was contemplating a similar purchase, I found the THS handle to have sufficient grip, but not as perfect as Razorocks offerings.
The corners of this head are the only thing that bugs me. It would be nice to get some feedback from Game Changer .84 p owners. Are those well rounded or pointy like this one?
Given the fact that you can tweak this razor using different materials, different topcaps, the added washer(!) and the fact that the corners of a Game Changer ARE most likely well rounded/blunt then perhaps we can no longer call this a Chinese copy of it's Canadian counterpart?
Price
I paid 46,98 euro's for this beautifully polished cheekscraper. I mention the price because, for anyone ordering from Europe, it is actually just a bit less than half the price of it's inspirator, which is the Razorock Game Changer .84 p.
Gap & head:
The gap is the same as the 84 P and the baseplate looks almost identical, blade exposure should be between 0 to + 0.01mm (but looks to be more to my untrained eye). It's clear they were inspired by Canadians.
Luckily Dscosmetics offer a variety of different caps, I chose the scalloped version because smarter shavingminds than myself already pointed out that they would provide a smoother shave.
I was tempted by the "Prism" head but this scalloped version looks very nice, is smooth and does make it easy to shave under the old sniffer.
Either way, it's nice to have some options to finish up your razor head. AND if I take a picture from above people might almost believe I own a scalloped Timeless, héhé.
For those looking for different materials entirely, the S9 is also available in Titanium and Copper.
One negative, for me, is that the outside corners of baseplate are POINTY. They are sharp, not "I'll punch a hole in my cheek sharp" but sharp enough to be an annoyance.
I haven't owned any razors of the Gamechanger series but I've been looking at (alot) of photographs and Razorock's seems to have more rounded corners.
Handle:
If you want the full Razorock experience you could opt for handle options "norl" or "dog" which are (at least visually) copies of the "HD" and "bulldog" handle. They also have a version of the super knurl, a take on the Kolibri's handle and something that looks to be an EJ 3one6 handle.
I chose the KVS-handle for my S9. I love the look but grip isn't the greatest.
Even turning from one side of the blade to the other can be a struggle.
While one may question Dscosmetics creativity the razor feels extremely solid, balanced and well made. It has also been polished like a piece of jewelery.
No boring warnings saying "this is a tool and not jewelery." Na-ha, this IS a jewel first and a tool second.
It also comes with a silicone washer to protect the handle from scrathing up your base plate. GREAT! First razor I bought that has this, even though I have bought quite a few. Will have to remind myself not to let it slip down the drain though.
Blade loading
The blade tabs are on the baseplate, also a novelty to me but again shouldn't come as a surprise to Gamechanger-owners. I always figured this would be an easier way to load but...I was wrong.
It works though and the blade sits very firmly between the thick posts, there is no misaligning this puppy.
The Shave
I wasn't going to review this before I've had four-five shaves under my belt with it, but here I am with some free time so it's my first shaving experience that I'll share and I will post updates later on.
I loaded up a Gillette Minora blade and lathered up with Taylor of Old Bond Street - St. James.
It's a slick cream but I don't find it provides the best cushioning. Actually a stupid choice for a first shave, because I'm not too fond of this cream, but the jar's almost empty and I need to make room.
The shaving angle was found almost automatically, I didn't experience much audible feedback but it was clear when the angle was what it was set out to be. The shave was smooth, my cheeks are soft even 6 hours post shave which tells me it's plenty efficient.
I had a proper sting from my SV 70th aftershave so there was some irritation but not alot.
Thoughts:
Overall I got a Game Changer-like experience for less than half the price and the bonus of some added tweaking options.
It looks like it's going to be a great shaver, it's visually attractive but it's lacking grip. If anyone was contemplating a similar purchase, I found the THS handle to have sufficient grip, but not as perfect as Razorocks offerings.
The corners of this head are the only thing that bugs me. It would be nice to get some feedback from Game Changer .84 p owners. Are those well rounded or pointy like this one?
Given the fact that you can tweak this razor using different materials, different topcaps, the added washer(!) and the fact that the corners of a Game Changer ARE most likely well rounded/blunt then perhaps we can no longer call this a Chinese copy of it's Canadian counterpart?
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but sometimes I'm a stuborn mamal and order things anyway. Yes, I have a manchurian badger from ds en route. I'm feeling guilty. Sorry badger, and sorry Iridian... But... I really wanted to try one without breaking the bank.
