Rockwell or Karve?

[PlutoViola]

I am strongly considering getting either a Karve Brass or a Rockwell 6S razor. I can see advantages to both options but I have never seen or used either before so I know very little about them. For comparison I am currently happily using an EJ DE89 with feather, Bic, and sometimes Kai blades. I am planning on selling my feather AS-D2, as I think I tend to overdo it with this razor and end up getting frequent irritation.

I have various questions on both razors -
- How do they compare in weight? I have yet to see a weight for the Karve. I would likely go for a similar length handle as the DE89.
- what is the blade angle like? I would love to see comparison pics if at all possible.

I realize this is totally subjective, but I would like to know which you would suggest and why. For a Karve recommendation please include a recommended plate or two. I have a fairly coarse beard and very tender skin. I am looking for a daily driver that can give somewhat comparable shaves to the DE89 with an option to go a bit more efficient without going too harsh. Once I find that I plan to make the DE89 primarily a travel razor.

 

[Olegausany]

The only advantage of Rockwell over Karve is that you are getting all the plates when you buy it while you have to pay for additional plates for Karve. But after you find out which plate is working best for you the others will be just collecting dust. But it is not a problem for Karve since you can easily sell them here on BST. I had Rockwell and it is very good razor which I would recommend to anyone who is new to wet shaving but for experienced one I would recommend Karve and since you have coarse hair I would recommend to try OC plates as well

 

[les24preludes]

Karve OC bottom plate weighs 21g in brass. I had the Rockwell 6C and have the Karve OC E plate. I'm with Karve all the way. Open comb options and a better design. The Rockwell plates are quite massive, the Karve nice and compact. My efficiency level is R41 and Karve E OC. Very similar.

Consider also the Russian CTAPT (Start) razor system. New product, good customer service, good prices. Looks to me that it will do well and get quite a few customers. Pretty much Timeless on a budget.

https://homelikeshaving.ru/t-obraznye-britvy/start/

 

[zed117]

The 6s is smooth as butter and I prefer the higher plates. I liked the Karve (A,B,C and B open comb plates) well enough but didn’t consider it as good as the 6s in both smoothness and efficiency, or my various vintage razors. Excellent machining however, and very well designed.

The 6s might be ugly, but I like it as much as my Rex, and think it outshaves the GC .84 and Karve which have become popular lately.

Course hair and sensitive skin I recommend plate 4 on the 6s and the B on the Karve.

 

[Earcutter]

I'd recommend the 6s - You get great shaves, all the plates you'll ever need, and fast service.

A brass razor is in my opinion nice, and I love my brass Karve, but it stains fast. If you're neurotic, its not for you. Moreover, it can get dear figuring out what plate you want.

If you do get a Karve, order it from West Coast Shaving. You'll get it faster.

 

[ackvil]

For me, the Karve SB with the C and D plates are smoother than the Rockwell. The Rockwell is OK - it's just bulky particularly when you shave under your nose.

 

[Esox]

The Karve is a completely different design than the Rockwell.

Karve baseplate and blade support points.

Rockwell baseplate and blade support points.

The Rockwell design is basically the same as EJ, Merkur, Muhle and several other copies of that very old original Merkur design that the patents have run out on.

The Karve on the other hand, has more in common with vintage Gillettes and was inspired by the Gillette Tech.

It closely resembles the RR GC.

The Karve is a very nice design and it was designed to be smooth.

"The geometry came from a bunch of research to familiarize myself with how razors are configured and then creating analogies between how a blade is configured and real world applications. The one I'm most proud of (because I saw an immediate improvement), was to support the blade as much as possible as a way of eliminating chatter). All razors support the blade on the top side with the top cap, but chatter comes from cyclical loading...force, no force, force, no force, etc. The unloading comes from loading the blade during cutting, but then something gives (such as the whisker that is being cut) and the blade unloads for a split second. The top cap can only help with the loading, so the baseplate has to work together with it."

If I had to pick one razor of the two you suggest, Karve.

 

[Graydog]

I agree that the Karve is for my face a much smoother shaver. Not as bulky and hand machined . The 6 s may come with more plates but you are not going to use them and they will just collect dust. Also you have the option of a open comb with the Karve.
And it is beautiful when you polish it up

 

[ackvil]

I agree that the Karve is for my face a much smoother shaver. Not as bulky and hand machined . The 6 s may come with more plates but you are not going to use them and they will just collect dust. Also you have the option of a open comb with the Karve.
And it is beautiful when you polish it up View attachment 1018137

Steve, how did you polish it up? How often do you polish it?

 

[PlutoViola]

I agree that the Karve is for my face a much smoother shaver. Not as bulky and hand machined . The 6 s may come with more plates but you are not going to use them and they will just collect dust. Also you have the option of a open comb with the Karve.
And it is beautiful when you polish it up View attachment 1018137

I would also love to know what you did to polish that.

 

[Esox]

I agree that the Karve is for my face a much smoother shaver. Not as bulky and hand machined . The 6 s may come with more plates but you are not going to use them and they will just collect dust. Also you have the option of a open comb with the Karve.
And it is beautiful when you polish it up View attachment 1018137

Nice polish job!

Thats another plus with Brass over Stainless. Brass is softer so it polishes easier.

 

[Earcutter]

Nice polish job!

Thats another plus with Brass over Stainless. Brass is softer so it polishes easier.

That's fair, but it also takes a considerable amount of maintenance to keep looking that good as compared to stainless. I polished my Karve too, and it looked spectacular - for a couple of shaves. It not only darkens quickly, but if you don't dry it evenly, you get spots. If you are retired, maybe. I didn't have the time so I antiqued mine, which is another option. It's a different look compared. I prefer the polished look by miles, but not the work to keep it that way.

 

[BigJ]

I agree that the Karve is for my face a much smoother shaver. Not as bulky and hand machined . The 6 s may come with more plates but you are not going to use them and they will just collect dust. Also you have the option of a open comb with the Karve.
And it is beautiful when you polish it up View attachment 1018137

Great job polishing the Karve!!

 

[Esox]

That's fair, but it also takes a considerable amount of maintenance to keep looking that good as compared to stainless. I polished my Karve too, and it looked spectacular - for a couple of shaves. It not only darkens quickly, but if you don't dry it evenly, you get spots. If you are retired, maybe. I didn't have the time so I antiqued mine, which is another option. It's a different look compared. I prefer the polished look by miles, but not the work to keep it that way.

Once polished, it can be sealed so it never needs polishing again.

ProtectaClear will prevent salt damage, tarnish and corrosion on metal.

Yellow Brass dulls and loses its shine more slowly than red Brass, but it does still oxidize. Stainless will too, but its slower again.

Red Brass oxidizes black. If I leave a drop of water on my NEW SC cap, the next day I have a black dot where it dried. A quick wipe with any polishing compound restores the shine.

You can also force a patina on Brass. I made a Gillette Old Type black in about 5 minutes over a year ago.



Its still black, but if I wanted the bare Brass shine again, I could have it in about another 5 minutes. You can also impart different colours, if so inclined.

Brass is easy to polish, but if left bare, it does need maintenance more often than Stainless.

 

[Southsider]

I am strongly considering getting either a Karve Brass or a Rockwell 6S razor. I can see advantages to both options but I have never seen or used either before so I know very little about them. For comparison I am currently happily using an EJ DE89 with feather, Bic, and sometimes Kai blades. I am planning on selling my feather AS-D2, as I think I tend to overdo it with this razor and end up getting frequent irritation.

I have various questions on both razors -
- How do they compare in weight? I have yet to see a weight for the Karve. I would likely go for a similar length handle as the DE89.
- what is the blade angle like? I would love to see comparison pics if at all possible.

I realize this is totally subjective, but I would like to know which you would suggest and why. For a Karve recommendation please include a recommended plate or two. I have a fairly coarse beard and very tender skin. I am looking for a daily driver that can give somewhat comparable shaves to the DE89 with an option to go a bit more efficient without going too harsh. Once I find that I plan to make the DE89 primarily a travel razor.

The brass Karve is better looking and well machined. The 6S is sturdy and, I believe, will take more punishment.

I have both and would not part with either. I love my Rockwell--the shaves are just so smooth and mindless. I also really enjoy using my Karve SB--it feels precise in the way it shaves.

For me having a choice of plates makes both razors flexible. I change plates depending on my beard growth. I also change plates between passes, going from a bigger gap to a smaller gap to minimize irritation.

 

[Graydog]

Steve, how did you polish it up? How often do you polish it?

I used Flitz and McGuires fine scratch remover and Renaissance polish ,
And a buffing wheel. I did the same with my matte finish Timeless Titanium, now that's a razor that is super smooth and efficient. The best razor for my face period.

 

[RayClem]

I do not have a Rockwell 6s, so I cannot comment on that. I picked the Karve over the Rockwell as I figured that plates 1-5 would not be sufficiently aggressive for me.

I have a Karve brass with a D plate solid bar and a new Karve stainless with a C plate open comb. Due to the materials, both are fairly heavy, but not too heavy unless you are a fan of lightweight razors. I got the 3 1/2" handle for both. Karve is planning to sell aluminum razors with the same design (all parts interchangeable with brass and stainless), but I do not think any have shipped. Thus, there will be an option if you want lighter weight.

EJ DE89 razors come with either 3" standard or 3 1/2" long handles. With Karve you can purchase either 3", 3 1/2" and 4" handles based on your preference. Karve base plates range from an extremely mild AA plate up through a very aggressive G plate. Something like a B or C plate solid bar plate would be similar in aggression to the DE89, but I find the Karve shaves a lot smoother than my DE89 due to the way it holds the blade.

Do not plan on ordering a Karve and getting it next week. It took me a couple of months to get mine. Thus, if you are in a hurry, order the Rockwell.

 

[Graydog]

That's fair, but it also takes a considerable amount of maintenance to keep looking that good as compared to stainless. I polished my Karve too, and it looked spectacular - for a couple of shaves. It not only darkens quickly, but if you don't dry it evenly, you get spots. If you are retired, maybe. I didn't have the time so I antiqued mine, which is another option. It's a different look compared. I prefer the polished look by miles, but not the work to keep it that way.

I used a wax polish to finish called Renaissance. And it's not spotted up or tarnished at all yet . It took me about 20 minutes or so at first . I clean and dry all my Razors after every shave so it should be ok for sometime, I think

 

[Bad Badger]

I've owned and enjoyed both. The Rockwell was the clear winner for me.

 

[sugardaddy]

I have used my Rockwell for a while and then bought the Christopher Bradley razor. It holds the blade closer to the edge than the Rockwell by far and so there's less chatter and it's much more smooth.

With the Rockwell, I was generally staying on plate number two or three to get comfortable and smooth shaves.

But with the Karve, I enjoyed shaves all the way down to AA and all the way up to a D in the closed comb. and I've tried BC and D in the open column and they are all wonderful . So with the Chris Bradley razor, the range of usable plates is much much greater. And for me, efficiency and comfort are higher as well.

after trying the Chris Bradley razor a couple of times, I instantly thought that I would probably be selling my Rockwell. And after about 20 uses, I did.

for clearing away a lot of growth while still treating your skin well, I might recommend the C open comb plate for the Chris Bradley razor. And I find it very comfortable and enjoyable even if I only have one day of growth.

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