Gamechanger .84: my worst shaves ever. Help me figure out why.

[mtcn77]

Same as me and Merkur 37C. I had such high expectations for this razor, but it was hit and miss from day one. I got the Yaqi Slant - better. Changed my blade stash from platinum coated to uncoated - even better. Now I know what shave I get whenever I want, wherever I want.

 

[Ron R]

Some background: I'm not exactly a novice. I've been wet-shaving for a long time at this point, starting with a Merkur 45 and using a shavette for years before going back to DE razors. I use regularly with great results razors ranging from very aggressive, like Muhle R41 and Lupo .95, to midrange like all the Fatip line, slants and merkur 38c. I have an average beard on average skin.

In short: I've got this razor now, I don't want to put it away in a drawer and forget about it. But I'm also short of ideas on why it just isn't working. What are your thoughts about it? any hint on what I'm doing wrong?

There is only a couple things that could be the issue IMO. It seems like you like blade feel from you back ground of shaving and you could be pressing a little harder to feel the blade(RRGC.84 has barely positive blade exposure from my testing) I like a Kai SS blade in my RRGC.84 because you get a little more blade feel.
The only other issue is you might have QC issue with the razor which is a rarity, I have the Lupo .72 & RR GC .84 and enjoy both razors. The RR GC .84 does not have as much blade feel as a the LUPO.72 IMO with a Gillette standard blade. Try a KAI SS blade before giving up!

Have some great shaves!

 

[Bill_G]

More proof razors are definitely a YMMV & retailers should give consumers the opportunity to return/exchange a razor they don't like. I love my GC .84/.68SB. I recently added a new razor & I wanted to buy a Lupo .72. But passed since I didn't want to get stuck with a razor I might not like.

 

[bdehne]

I had a similar experience with the .84 SB. I had building irritation when using the 84 daily. 3-4 days was all my face could take. In the end, I sold the .84. I can use a Fatip OC daily. Currently, I am using a Rex Ambassador and couldn't be happier. As they say, some hardware just doesn't work for everyone.

 

[Iron Paw]

I too had the GC with both the .68 and .84 plates.
Sold it. Could not get a nice shave.
All the problems others have mentioned...tuggy, not smooth, etc.
Good soaps, good blades too...the damn thing was incapable of giving me a satisfying shave.
Was glad to see the end of it.
It's YMMV again.
I happily use ss Karve F and G plates, Blackbird OC and SB, ss Timeless .68, and .95 OC, and WR2 1.15 DC. All of these with the same soaps/blades that I used with the GC.
Technique? I've only been wet shaving for 55 years, but I think I have it sorted now.
Yeah, if it doesn't work for you then sell it.
Life's easier when you plough around the stumps.

 

[BubblesUK]

Used mine again for the first time in a good while tonight (been locked in by FFFMM and AFFCC) - paired up with a blade that works superbly in every other razor I own (Derby Usta) and my trusty MWF soap.

First pass... Bit harsh feeling and quite noisy feedback, must be doing something I thought...

Rinsed off, relathered and went again - second pass pretty much the same (loud, slightly harsh)... Still a surprising amount of stubble left.

Gave up, unloaded the blade and threw it in my New SC - so much smoother and picked up everything that the GC84 missed.

Alum - stung much more than I'm used to or prepared to accept (by contrast, yesterday with just the New SC with a Treet was no feedback worth speaking of at all).

There's undoubtedly guys here with much more experience than me, but I've been using DE's most days for the last 12-13 years, with varying degrees of aggression... I guess that's enough to doubt that technique is the issue in this particular equation.

Some razors just don't seem to work for some people...
There's nothing about the GC.84 that makes up for not shaving me very well - I'll be shifting it shortly (either selling or trading), I'd have quite liked to enjoy it but that's life.

 

[mtcn77]

I had a similar experience with the .84 SB. I had building irritation when using the 84 daily. 3-4 days was all my face could take. In the end, I sold the .84. I can use a Fatip OC daily. Currently, I am using a Rex Ambassador and couldn't be happier. As they say, some hardware just doesn't work for everyone.

Wonderful insight, thanks.

 

[Medivh]

My only ''issue'' is that the .84 sb could be a bit more efficient. It's not bad, but if it was even slightly more efficient and as smooth as it is at the same time, it could have probably be just as good as the Lupo .95. If you have tried a different combinations, angles, pressure, blades etc, etc, and the results are not very different, then the razor isn't for you.

I know some people have a hard time believing that some of their favorite razors don't work for some people and they think the cause for that is their technique or skill, but that's not always the case.

Most people get the hang of it within a week or a month and with enough prep experimenting, face mapping, trying new blades and razors, one can (for the most part) master DE and SE shaving within just a few months of shaving.

I have the same issue with Tech's and Rockwell 6S. They just don't work for me and while I can still shave with them if I don't have anything else to use and still get a somewhat a good shave, getting the BBS which I always go after is almost impossible.

 

[mtcn77]

Alum - stung much more than I'm used to or prepared to accept (by contrast, yesterday with just the New SC with a Treet was no feedback worth speaking of at all).
Some razors just don't seem to work for some people...
There's nothing about the GC.84 that makes up for not shaving me very well - I'll be shifting it shortly (either selling or trading), I'd have quite liked to enjoy it but that's life.

I think it has to do with the blade exposure - some people, like me, don't shave well without a good amount of positive blade exposure. I heard instances where cap riding caused the leading edge of the skin to tug under the head and get irritated.
I really cannot envision a shaving technique other than guard riding. Maybe it is me...

 

[BubblesUK]

I think it has to do with the blade exposure - some people, like me, don't shave well without a good amount of positive blade exposure. I heard instances where cap riding caused the leading edge of the skin to tug under the head and get irritated.
I really cannot envision a shaving technique other than guard riding. Maybe it is me...

Maybe there are multiple factors...

I shave just fine with neutral and even negative blade exposure - almost always shallow...
Maybe I should try the GC steep, but to be honest I don't really like shaving steep.

I get no issues whatsoever from my Mamba 53 for example, which gives no blade feel whatsoever.

It can't be too much blade rigidity because the New SC is more rigid and the New LC is less and I have no problems with either of them.

Whatever the reason is, the GC simply doesn't measure up to others in my den...
For me, it can't touch the Mamba 53 or 70 for comfort or efficiency, ditto my New LC's and SC, ditto my Techs, ditto my Olds, ditto my Fatip grande - quite simply on my face it's the worst razor I own by a distance (and that can only mean it'll be moving on!!)

It clearly works great for plenty of people out there and that's great (not least because it makes it easier to shift ) but it's really not a keeper for me at all.

 

[Forged]

After thinking back some more, I realized that I have had similar problems with 3 of the 4 different RazorRock models I’ve owned. Only the Stealth slant worked well for me, and I still have several of those. Oddly enough, the “improvement” to the stealth slant - the Wunderbar - caused me more blood loss than all my other razors combined

Maybe there’s something going on with design philosophy of RazoRock razors that makes them work well for some and poorly for others? They do seem to be real hit or miss razors with people, not a lot of middle ground.

 

[mtcn77]

Maybe I should try the GC steep, but to be honest I don't really like shaving steep.

Don't quote me on this, but I assume what a steep riding angle essentially does is to bring a compromise between positive exposure for a little more blade gap.

Don't force it though, you only start to like it when it cancels the positive blade exposure and takes away from the irritation - so it is only a compromise if you are not happy in the first place like me and Yaqi slant. Not good with positive blade exposure, but stellar with a bit reclination. I do it intentionally to shave in buffing motions not to irritate too much in a single huge positive blade exposure go.

 

[BubblesUK]

Don't quote me on this, but I assume what a steep riding angle essentially does is to bring a compromise between positive exposure for a little more blade gap.

If I understand you correctly... Yes.

I just don't like the scraping approach - I'd rather use a cutting approach (shallow, cap riding) than a scrape (steep, guard riding)...

This isn't so much on the basis of shaving experience (both seem to work fine, generally, and although it's been a while since I played too much with steep angle shaving, I recall getting a touch more irritation that way) but moreso that conceptually I just don't like it - I do a fair amount of woodturning and the difference in finish between cuts and scrapes is pretty well embedded at this point (scrapes leave a lot more torn grain than cuts)...
Rationally I know we're talking about different things here - different materials (skin Vs wood), different tools and different speeds of cutting, but I nonetheless just don't like the idea of scraping.


Bit off topic really I guess...

 

[THall]

Hi gents,
like many others, I got convinced by rave reviews going on for years about the GC .84: efficient and gentle on the skin. Sounded perfect for a daily driver.
So a few months ago I got one for myself. Right from the start, I couldn't figure it out. It was not intuitive as many said, was either pulling out whiskers or just gliding and not cutting them at all.

it's not just not getting a proper shave, but really outright skin irritation. I tried for a week, wasn't working, I shelved it. tried again for another week a month after. And so on for months: I would use it a bit, get the skin so messed up I would have to stop shaving for few days (I'm usually a daily shaver, every other day tops), get upset and put it back in the drawer.

In the meantime I would try every trick: I used all kinds of blades that usually works wonders for me in other razors, from Gillette rubies and Rapira plats, to Feathers; I tried going shallow and I tried going steep, almost vertical to the face, but nothing seemed to work.

I think I must have gotten 1 passable shave so far, all the others were ranging from insufficient to really bad with ingrowns and a lot of skin irritation.

I've tried selling it early on, but for anyone in the EU market, simply isn't convenient with shipping costs and online stores prices.

Some background: I'm not exactly a novice. I've been wet-shaving for a long time at this point, starting with a Merkur 45 and using a shavette for years before going back to DE razors. I use regularly with great results razors ranging from very aggressive, like Muhle R41 and Lupo .95, to midrange like all the Fatip line, slants and merkur 38c. I have an average beard on average skin.

In short: I've got this razor now, I don't want to put it away in a drawer and forget about it. But I'm also short of ideas on why it just isn't working. What are your thoughts about it? any hint on what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks!

I found that both the .68 and .84 share the same sweet spot as my Pre-War Techs. The .68 feels almost like a stainless copy.

Start by riding the cap before cutting hair and as you lower the handle and move toward neutral, the sweet spot is just a tad past hair/soap removal. Again, just like a Tech.

 

[Forged]

moreso that conceptually I just don't like it - I do a fair amount of woodturning and the difference in finish between cuts and scrapes is pretty well embedded at this point (scrapes leave a lot more torn grain than cuts)...
Rationally I know we're talking about different things here - different materials (skin Vs wood), different tools and different speeds of cutting, but I nonetheless just don't like the idea of scraping.


Bit off topic really I guess...

And yet we finish wood turning by sanding, which is……scraping

 

[BubblesUK]

And yet we finish wood turning by sanding, which is……scraping

Abrading... Bit different again and not involving a cutting edge - I wouldn't call it scraping.

Still, as I say it's perhaps not an entirely fair comparison

 

[xiletero]

Hi gents,
like many others, I got convinced by rave reviews going on for years about the GC .84: efficient and gentle on the skin. Sounded perfect for a daily driver.
So a few months ago I got one for myself. Right from the start, I couldn't figure it out. It was not intuitive as many said, was either pulling out whiskers or just gliding and not cutting them at all.

it's not just not getting a proper shave, but really outright skin irritation. I tried for a week, wasn't working, I shelved it. tried again for another week a month after. And so on for months: I would use it a bit, get the skin so messed up I would have to stop shaving for few days (I'm usually a daily shaver, every other day tops), get upset and put it back in the drawer.

In the meantime I would try every trick: I used all kinds of blades that usually works wonders for me in other razors, from Gillette rubies and Rapira plats, to Feathers; I tried going shallow and I tried going steep, almost vertical to the face, but nothing seemed to work.

I think I must have gotten 1 passable shave so far, all the others were ranging from insufficient to really bad with ingrowns and a lot of skin irritation.

I've tried selling it early on, but for anyone in the EU market, simply isn't convenient with shipping costs and online stores prices.

Some background: I'm not exactly a novice. I've been wet-shaving for a long time at this point, starting with a Merkur 45 and using a shavette for years before going back to DE razors. I use regularly with great results razors ranging from very aggressive, like Muhle R41 and Lupo .95, to midrange like all the Fatip line, slants and merkur 38c. I have an average beard on average skin.

In short: I've got this razor now, I don't want to put it away in a drawer and forget about it. But I'm also short of ideas on why it just isn't working. What are your thoughts about it? any hint on what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks!

I really like their OC 0.84; the bar....have used it a few times and don't care for it.....

 

[JCarr]

First post I've come across that has a negative review of the RR GC. Just goes to show ya...it's a very personal thing this wet shaving. What works for one or even many...might not work for you.

I hope you're either able to make it work for you or are able to sell it if you can't.

 

[mtcn77]

If I understand you correctly... Yes.

I just don't like the scraping approach - I'd rather use a cutting approach (shallow, cap riding) than a scrape (steep, guard riding)...

You don't feel any burrs and I actually last the blade a couple shaves longer than usual. I won't digress, but take a chance - there is only a tiny bit of clearance where it works though, I'll concede to that. Too high, or too low and you start scraping as you put it. It is not natural though, it looks as if I'm raking not shaving; however if you go by the feel, all is good. Maybe, I fall in the category of people accommodated to Merkur Futur.

 

[mtcn77]

^I meant there is a sweet spot in the shaving angle, but it is highly variable and encourages you to find out.