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My Adjustable Addiction

I have come to realize that I love adjustable razors, I gathered up the collection and decided to snap a picture. and thought about some thoughts and observations which I will list here.

Favorite Modern Adjustable DE (fixed plate)
: Hands down the Rex Ambassador is my go-to razor, the build quality of this razor is amazing. My go-to blade in this razor is a Perma Sharp or a GSB, I have tried approx 20 different blades in this razor and they all just work, it is not partial to any particular style of blade. I originally had some buyer's remorse due to the price but it quickly faded away after the first week of usage. If you were ever on the fence on this razor, just pick one up you can't go wrong.

Favorite Modern Adjustable (interchangeable): Rockwell 6C - this one just works, I had the 6S a while ago and really prefer this model over the stainless model, plate 4 is my go-to plate and it shaves like a dream.

Favorite Vintage Adjustable (fixed Plate): Gillette Slim Adjustable, I have mulled this one over for a while and I really think the Slim is the most efficient and comfortable vintage adjustable that I have used, the Super 104 would be my follow-up razor.

Favorite Vintage Adjustable (Single Edge): Schick Adjustable, holy cow they had it right when they built this thing, This is my go-to SE razor, it shaves like a dream, I get a dozen drama-free shaves out of it using a modern Schick SE blade. I have a few of the adjustable models in rotation, one of them I have paired with a vintage Personna 74 (SE) and it is still delivering smooth shaves with more than 20 shaves on the blade.

Favorite Modern Adjustable (Single Edge): The Supply Company Single Edge, I think the company did a nice job with this plate style adjustable, there is a lot of blade feel but it is well built. I have not really done a lot of plate changing on it, so I am pretty much using it as a fixed style razor.


Close Seconds and thoughts on some of my other Adjustables.

Rockwell Model T
: I really really wanted to love this razor, I was hoping for a shaving experience like the 6C, but it is not even close, much more blade feel on this one and a lot of audio feedback. It's not a horrible razor but it could be so much more.

Parker Variant: This is a great razor, but it seems to be blade specific, it pairs very well with really really sharp blades, the Feather, GSB, and Nacet make this razor perform like a dream. The razor has a lot of audible feedback but performs very well. This razor turns into pure junk with a less than sharp blade.

Gillette Fatboy: I own a few of these, I had a very hard time picking the winner of the Gillettes, they are all very similar and have very subtle differences. I feel that this razor is very close to the Slim, The slim just seems a tad more usable. The Black Beauty adjustable's shave great and pair well with almost any blade, you seriously can't go wrong with a vintage Gilette Adjustable.

Vikings Blade Adjustable (Emperor Meiji): An impulse late-night Amazon buy, overall, really not a bad razor. This thing has a lot of weight behind it, one side of the razor is a straight bar and the other side is a semi-open comb. this razor works pretty well with a sharp blade.

Global Shave Club Fat Guy: I know that generally this razor is looked down upon since it is a direct rip off copy of the Gillette Fat Boy, As I mentioned earlier I have a few Fat Boys and really wanted to see just how close this was to the original, they pretty much nailed it, it is literally identical to the Gillette version, I really am unable to tell the difference between the this and the Original. I have heard that the build quality varies and I am pretty sure that I ended up getting a pretty decent one because it is a really good shave.

Parker Adjustable Single Edge: I was really excited when this was announced, the build is not bad, it sort of looks like the PAL adjustable from back in the day. The build quality is not bad but the 5 adjustment positions leave a lot to be desired. positions 1-3 are very very mild and don't really work that great, 4 and 5 are almost identical. This razor had a lot of potential but I think Parker should have spent a little more development time with this one.

I really don't know why I love Adjustables so much, I don't really change the settings around a lot. I think I just like the mechanics of the razors, My first Adjustable was a Fat Boy and I instantly knew that I was hooked. I have had so many over the years, I think I have always been on the hunt for the perfect shave. After all of the shaves and all of the razors I can say without a doubt, I have picked my winners. Below are my picks.

My Overall #1 DE Adjustable: The Rex Ambassador, hands down this is my favorite razor of all time, I will grab this 10 out of 10 times when I go to grab an adjustable. I have no regrets about purchasing this razor and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

My Overall #1 SE Adjustable: The Schick adjustable, it is very hard to beat this one, this is my go-to SE razor, it just works. I have 3 of them and they all perform identical, there is no variance between the models, such amazing build quality. This is why I am always on the lookout for more!
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You are in good company. I love adjustables too. They are kinda my thing.

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Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
Nice collection of Adjustable razors and great reviews, I have a small collection of adjustable razors and thought that was the way to go when first trying traditional wet shaving. I used the Gillette slim for about 3 months straight and then moved on to a few other razors over the years.
DE I like my Gillette fat boy and SE I like my Schick injector M3 also.
 
Most of my razors are adjustable.
My order of favorite to least:
Rex ambassador
Merkur futur gold
Paa copper ascension
Gillette fatboy
Gillette SA 84
Merkur progress
Rockwell 6c


Homelike plate adjustable razor (haven't used)

- Fayiz D.
 
Nice collection! Have you tried the Merkur Progress? I recently added one to my pile and it shaves well. I like the fact that it is a 1950s razor that is still in production.

Yes, I tried the Progress a few years back when I first got into adjustable's, I'm pretty sure at some point I will be picking another one up to re-visit it.
 
Yes, I tried the Progress a few years back when I first got into adjustable's, I'm pretty sure at some point I will be picking another one up to re-visit it.
I've got a short handled one ive used literally only 3 times ever that was brand new. Id be down to sell or trade it

- Fayiz D.
 
Beautiful presentation of your collection there, cwsnc.

I agree that different bits of the shave need different treatment.

Currently I "cheat", by using two razors:

I use a Game Changer .84 open comb for the mostly-WTG and easy XTG stuff, and a Game Changer .68 safety bar optimised with a light handle, for the agile stuff.

I like the results I'm getting from that workaround.

I'm curious about adjustables, but not enough to buy one yet.
 
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I love mine as well. My current list:
  • Rex Ambassador
  • Gillette Fatboy (with custom blade gaps)
  • Merkur Progress
  • Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Copper Ascension
  • Merkur Futur
  • Gillette Slim (with custom blade gaps)
  • Gillette Super Adjustable 109 (with custom blade gaps)
  • PAL Adjustable Injector
I had a Parker Adjustable Injector as well, but recently gave it to a friend of my wife's. I'm tempted by the Model-T, Variant, and the Taiga, but I don't like the longer handles. The Fatboy, Rex, and Progress are my perfect handle size.
 
What’s the trick to get
Gillette custom blade gaps

I love mine as well. My current list:
  • Rex Ambassador
  • Gillette Fatboy (with custom blade gaps)
  • Merkur Progress
  • Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Copper Ascension
  • Merkur Futur
  • Gillette Slim (with custom blade gaps)
  • Gillette Super Adjustable 109 (with custom blade gaps)
  • PAL Adjustable Injector
I had a Parker Adjustable Injector as well, but recently gave it to a friend of my wife's. I'm tempted by the Model-T, Variant, and the Taiga, but I don't like the longer handles. The Fatboy, Rex, and Progress are my perfect handle size.
I love mine as well. My current list:
  • Rex Ambassador
  • Gillette Fatboy (with custom blade gaps)
  • Merkur Progress
  • Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Copper Ascension
  • Merkur Futur
  • Gillette Slim (with custom blade gaps)
  • Gillette Super Adjustable 109 (with custom blade gaps)
  • PAL Adjustable Injector
I had a Parker Adjustable Injector as well, but recently gave it to a friend of my wife's. I'm tempted by the Model-T, Variant, and the Taiga, but I don't like the longer handles. The Fatboy, Rex, and Progress are my perfect handle size.
 
I've never met an adjustable razor that I didn't LOVE. A favorite is too close to determine, but in random order I have and regularly enjoy each of these:

Apollo Mikron
Merkur Futur
Merkur Vision 2000
Merkur Progress SH
Gillette Fat Boy
Gillette Slim
Gillette Super Adjustable SH
Gillette Super Adjustable LH
Parker Variant
Schick Type M
Pal Adjustable

I believe the purpose of an adjustable is not to be constantly changing settings. I'm a "set it and leave it" guy 85% of the time. The purpose of an adjustable to to customize the razor, by finding the one setting that is spot-on best for one's face.
 
Some people find the adjustable razors to be a marketing gimmick, since most of them only change the blade gap, which according to some doesn't really do much. I really like the adjustable razors that i've tried and I use the vintage Gillette's on the 9th setting, since they are a lot milder compared to my modern adjustable razors.

I have:
Pearl Flexi V2
Merkur Progress
Super Adjustable 109
Slim
Schick M3 (which I haven't used yet)
 
What’s the trick to get
Gillette custom blade gaps
The Fatboy came first. Captain Murphy tuned it up for me years ago. He knew I liked super efficient razors, so he offered to give me gaps 2 levels higher than standard. He said that's how he likes his. I took the other two down to Razor Emporium and had them adjusted to match the Fatboy.
 
Off the top of my head in general order of preference among those currently owned

Apollo mk2
Famex/T.White Tom-X
Progress
Apollo mk3
Gibbs aluminum
Futur
Flexi
Gibbs brass
Black Beauty
Slim
Segal Adjustable




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