Rockwell 6S v. Merkur 34C: The key differences

[flzapped]

Buyng the 6S was the best shaving choice I think I could have ever made. It's worth every penny I spent on it. These discussions have been interesting, because we are talking about differences of thousandths of an inch, yet they make a world of difference.

 

[oogabooga]

I bought the 2C when they were doing the crowdsourced project and I absolutely love the #3 plate. I’m curious, you mention that the merkur could have been designed for more rigid blades of those days - are there any such blades still for sale? I’d be curious to try them in my merkur to see the difference.

 

[spookmeister]

6s is my favorite razor hands down. The gamechanger is a close second.

 

[Wgg2017]

Thanks to all you fellas for a great thread. I’ve read this thread plus another recent thread and I’m left wondering... if I have been finding a slight problem with neck irritation over the years with my 34C, even trying a few different blades and adjusting my technique, would it be worth the money to get a 6S?

(Been DE shaving for five years, almost daily, usually use 7 o’clock green, but have tried assorted blade samples over the years too).

I would say yes, 100% try a new razor. For years I had awful problems trying to shave around my Adam's Apple. The hair grows in weird directions and it's very coarse on top of that. If I ever tried anything other than wtg I got horrible blade chatter and all kinds of nicks and cuts, almost like the blade was bouncing across my neck.

Then I got a Timeless .95 SB and it made all the difference in the world. The base plate clamps closer to the cutting edge of the blade more than most other razors. It's so much smoother on my neck than anything else I've used so far (Karve, Charcoal Goods L2, Fatip Piccolo) that I can finally go atg on my neck. I still have to be careful, but if I pay attention the result is a dfs with no irritation.

The Fatip Piccolo is almost as good as the Timeless but not quite. I think the Timeless is a little better because it also bends the blade more than the Fatip which enhances rigidity. The Piccolo is much cheaper though if you just want to try it out without putting too much money into something.

If I had to rank my razors on smoothness atg they would be ranked based on the level of support given by the base plate. Timeless, Fatip, Karve, Charcoal Goods.

The picture below came from the Timeless website and shows just how much the base plate supports the blade. It comes out almost all the way to the edge of the top cap.