Well I had to post this up as I thought it would be fun. Just got back my collection of Eclipse Red Rings from Cap who went over them all and cleaned the ones that needed it and refreshed the paint on the others. I wanted to post my collection while it's all together before some of these leave as I started to thin the den out of some of my vintage and modern razors.. I had a bad case of RAD for a few years and as you see got a little crazy with some models of razors and the Red Rings were one of those as I think they are one of the most beautiful razors out there and yes I went a little overboard collecting them in my opinon looking back.
Looking at all 5 of these. One is a NOS one that is cased that will be staying with me. Another one not leaving is my rare re -plated one which was done in 2014 by a man I believe was named Kris Krona and he was the only one I know of that did a chrome plating. It shimmers like no other razor and in fact I sent a friend a photo of it next to my high polished Wolfman I just recently got and most of you know the quality of James finishing but next to the Chrome plated Red Ring it looked a bit muted so yeah I wish someone would replate in Chrome as I think they'd get some customers who have chrome razors like the Red Ring, Chrome Toggle, Chromium New's Deluxe and Goodfellas and vintage Gibbs for example. I tried to get one of the Red Rings in the photo replated as it's in perfect condition with the exception of a tiny little smudge about the size of a ballpoint pen tip or maybe it's just some hazing on the top cap but whatever no one will replate in chrome nowadays or at least I can't find anyone. I could probably get it plated in white Rhodium but it's risky from what I gather so I'm just leaving that one as is unless I find a Chrome plater. The others unfortunately will be leaving.
Anyway I did a little shave off just out of curiosity using two of the Red Rings. One with the Sunburst on the top cap and one without it as I've read that they are slightly different in how they shave. I've shaved with both but can't remember the difference so I thought I'd give it a try for anyone interested in Red Rings. Also as many of you know the Red Rings are slightly adjustable and were marketed as such. There is a little arrow at the base of the handle that can be turned to one of the lines on on the handle which creates more blade exposure. Note I think moving it anymore than 1 notch creates a feeling that the top cap is a little to loose to suit me so 1 notch is fine with me and as far as I went in this shave off.
So I loaded a brand new Kai blade in both razors as they are one of my favorites. Using SV 70th Anniversary soap and AS along with my Thater boar and fine shaving bowl I started the shave. I'll say SV is one of my favorite shave soaps and have almost all of them and it's hard to believe they are up there with a lot of the very best tallow soaps in my humble opinon.
So on with the shave:
1st pass - WTG - I decided to use the adjustable option on the first pass on both razors just to see how they felt. also gave the right side of my face to the Sunburst razor and my left to the one without it. So picked up the RR with the Sunburst on it and started my pass sideburns downward using my normal skin stretch technique and very nice! Audible feedback is certainly there but it's not hard rock loud but not elevator music either. Blade feel is also there and I like a little for sure so I'm liking the razor with adjustment turned up and more blade exposure on this pass. I was aware of the smoothness of the razor right away and it has really terrific glide and I'm sure the Chrome top cap doesn't hurt that one bit. So finished my right side and I must say very very nice pass. On to the other RR and the other side. This side is my easy side as some of you who have followed some of my shave reviews know so the shave on my left side pretty much was the same as on the other side. I can not see any difference between the two models at this point so nice pass as well and a significant amount of stubble is gone on this first pass and at this point I'm impressed!
2nd Pass - XTG - So I'm going to switch razors and sides for the XTG pass to see if that brings out any differences in the shaving properties of these two razors. I also decided to set them both back to the normal setting since I got such a close shave on the WTG pass I want to slow things down as I really want to do a 3 pass shave so I can experience how they shave going in all different directions. So going ear to nose with the plain top RR I and again skin stretching my hand is right behind the razor and I'm feeling more stubble being take down. Love the Kai blades! Sharp but smooth IMO. As I glide across my lower chin and cowlick on my neck I can hear and feel the razor and blade combo stepping up to the plate as it's mowing down those stubborn areas. Very nice pass! Switched sides and to not bore you it was once again a repeat performance on the other side but the razor didn't have to work so hard on my easier left side. So I decided to rinse and do a face feel and Wow I could have just stopped there if I wanted a very solid BBS on my cheeks and parts of my neck and a DFS on the other parts of my face and neck and if this were a daily work shave I'd be fine with the 2 passes.
3rd Pass - ATG - Ok this is to me what separates the men from the boys on how a razor shaves going ATG and these two in short passed with flying colors! I love the balance this razor provides. It just feels right! I used the Sunburst on the base of my neck on my more difficult right side and started my journey south to north and there was no skipping or chattering. Just a very smooth trip upwards and it didn't get even hesitate on my cowlick so I knew at that point I was in for a excellent result but I wanted to finish up the other side with the other RR which I did and as noted on my left side it was a breeze as that side was done in no time at all. I'll note my skin stretch strokes got much longer as I felt no need to take small ones or go at a slow pace as I'll note the angle was really easy to find on both Red Rings. Finished the pass and rinsed my face and I wanted to see what kind of feedback I got with the Alum and to be honest it wasn't needed as I felt nothing as far as feedback and so I cleaned up my brush and bowl and rinsed the Alum off with a nice long cold rinse which felt exceptionally good today. Let my face dry and did a hand feel and I was a very solid BBS with no nick, weepers or irritation. Slapped on some AS and felt like I had a great shave from these beauties. I saw or should I say felt no difference between the two models so maybe it's just me but it is contrary to some of what I've read on the Red Rings. Who knows maybe no one did a real side by side or maybe it's the blade. I'm not sure but again I see no difference and defiantly a Fellowship of the Red Rings!
I'll be sad to see some of these go but to be honest I feel like a hoarder with 5 of these which has been my mind set lately with some of my razors where I have duplicates, triplicates or in this case 5 of the same razor. I'm sure some of you guys can relate to that.
Looking at all 5 of these. One is a NOS one that is cased that will be staying with me. Another one not leaving is my rare re -plated one which was done in 2014 by a man I believe was named Kris Krona and he was the only one I know of that did a chrome plating. It shimmers like no other razor and in fact I sent a friend a photo of it next to my high polished Wolfman I just recently got and most of you know the quality of James finishing but next to the Chrome plated Red Ring it looked a bit muted so yeah I wish someone would replate in Chrome as I think they'd get some customers who have chrome razors like the Red Ring, Chrome Toggle, Chromium New's Deluxe and Goodfellas and vintage Gibbs for example. I tried to get one of the Red Rings in the photo replated as it's in perfect condition with the exception of a tiny little smudge about the size of a ballpoint pen tip or maybe it's just some hazing on the top cap but whatever no one will replate in chrome nowadays or at least I can't find anyone. I could probably get it plated in white Rhodium but it's risky from what I gather so I'm just leaving that one as is unless I find a Chrome plater. The others unfortunately will be leaving.
Anyway I did a little shave off just out of curiosity using two of the Red Rings. One with the Sunburst on the top cap and one without it as I've read that they are slightly different in how they shave. I've shaved with both but can't remember the difference so I thought I'd give it a try for anyone interested in Red Rings. Also as many of you know the Red Rings are slightly adjustable and were marketed as such. There is a little arrow at the base of the handle that can be turned to one of the lines on on the handle which creates more blade exposure. Note I think moving it anymore than 1 notch creates a feeling that the top cap is a little to loose to suit me so 1 notch is fine with me and as far as I went in this shave off.
So I loaded a brand new Kai blade in both razors as they are one of my favorites. Using SV 70th Anniversary soap and AS along with my Thater boar and fine shaving bowl I started the shave. I'll say SV is one of my favorite shave soaps and have almost all of them and it's hard to believe they are up there with a lot of the very best tallow soaps in my humble opinon.
So on with the shave:
1st pass - WTG - I decided to use the adjustable option on the first pass on both razors just to see how they felt. also gave the right side of my face to the Sunburst razor and my left to the one without it. So picked up the RR with the Sunburst on it and started my pass sideburns downward using my normal skin stretch technique and very nice! Audible feedback is certainly there but it's not hard rock loud but not elevator music either. Blade feel is also there and I like a little for sure so I'm liking the razor with adjustment turned up and more blade exposure on this pass. I was aware of the smoothness of the razor right away and it has really terrific glide and I'm sure the Chrome top cap doesn't hurt that one bit. So finished my right side and I must say very very nice pass. On to the other RR and the other side. This side is my easy side as some of you who have followed some of my shave reviews know so the shave on my left side pretty much was the same as on the other side. I can not see any difference between the two models at this point so nice pass as well and a significant amount of stubble is gone on this first pass and at this point I'm impressed!
2nd Pass - XTG - So I'm going to switch razors and sides for the XTG pass to see if that brings out any differences in the shaving properties of these two razors. I also decided to set them both back to the normal setting since I got such a close shave on the WTG pass I want to slow things down as I really want to do a 3 pass shave so I can experience how they shave going in all different directions. So going ear to nose with the plain top RR I and again skin stretching my hand is right behind the razor and I'm feeling more stubble being take down. Love the Kai blades! Sharp but smooth IMO. As I glide across my lower chin and cowlick on my neck I can hear and feel the razor and blade combo stepping up to the plate as it's mowing down those stubborn areas. Very nice pass! Switched sides and to not bore you it was once again a repeat performance on the other side but the razor didn't have to work so hard on my easier left side. So I decided to rinse and do a face feel and Wow I could have just stopped there if I wanted a very solid BBS on my cheeks and parts of my neck and a DFS on the other parts of my face and neck and if this were a daily work shave I'd be fine with the 2 passes.
3rd Pass - ATG - Ok this is to me what separates the men from the boys on how a razor shaves going ATG and these two in short passed with flying colors! I love the balance this razor provides. It just feels right! I used the Sunburst on the base of my neck on my more difficult right side and started my journey south to north and there was no skipping or chattering. Just a very smooth trip upwards and it didn't get even hesitate on my cowlick so I knew at that point I was in for a excellent result but I wanted to finish up the other side with the other RR which I did and as noted on my left side it was a breeze as that side was done in no time at all. I'll note my skin stretch strokes got much longer as I felt no need to take small ones or go at a slow pace as I'll note the angle was really easy to find on both Red Rings. Finished the pass and rinsed my face and I wanted to see what kind of feedback I got with the Alum and to be honest it wasn't needed as I felt nothing as far as feedback and so I cleaned up my brush and bowl and rinsed the Alum off with a nice long cold rinse which felt exceptionally good today. Let my face dry and did a hand feel and I was a very solid BBS with no nick, weepers or irritation. Slapped on some AS and felt like I had a great shave from these beauties. I saw or should I say felt no difference between the two models so maybe it's just me but it is contrary to some of what I've read on the Red Rings. Who knows maybe no one did a real side by side or maybe it's the blade. I'm not sure but again I see no difference and defiantly a Fellowship of the Red Rings!
I'll be sad to see some of these go but to be honest I feel like a hoarder with 5 of these which has been my mind set lately with some of my razors where I have duplicates, triplicates or in this case 5 of the same razor. I'm sure some of you guys can relate to that.
