Well I'm not really a noob, been wet shaving for 3+ years, but there is something I've been wondering about. I got a Rockwell 6s about 4 months ago and it's become my go-to razor, I really love it. But here's the thing - I've been getting drama-ful shaves on plate 4 - weepers, redness, etc., but drama-free clean as a whistle BBS shaves on plate 5. Wondering if anyone has insight about this, because, of course, plate 5 is more aggressive, not less. My usual blades are the 7 O'Clock Yellow, Gillette Platinum, and Polsilver. The same situation applies to all three blades, although the Polsilver is better able to handle plate 4 than the other two. All three work beautifully on plate 5.
Kind of a noob question about using my Rockwell 6s
- Thread starter Tostig
- Start date
Hi Tostig. Some questions that hopefully help you a bit further. My apologies if I mention things you've already checked.
I presume 3 and 4 are on the same plate. How are your shaves with plate 3?
Before assembling, just look at plate 4
Did you inspect the plate for any deviations, off-center holes etc? Look at it from all sides.
When you run your fingers along the plate edges, do you feel any bumps or irregularities?
Assemled without a blade
Is there any movement in the plate after assembling (tight)?
Loosen it up a bit and check again and check against a loosened plate 5 if it is any different.
Tighten again: The block should run parallel with the head. Do you see any deviations there?
From any angle?
Is the gap where the blade sits consistent along its length?
Are the gaps and equal on both sides?
Assembled with a blade
Is the blade exposure the same over the length of each side?
Do both sides have the same blade exposure?
If you look edge-on, is the blade a straight line or are there waves or curves in the blade?
Looking at the short-side of the head: Do the blade-edges curve up, down or are they straight?
Do both sides have the same up or down curve?
If curved, check against other plates (2 and 5 as 3 is part of plate 4 and thus suspect) and see how any curves compare. If not straight, 4 should be somewhere in between.
Get some tweezers or fine pliers and check if the blade can be moved (easily) with plate 4: Check sliding of the blade but also up-and-down movement of the edges. If unsure, do the same with plate 5 to compare.
Check blade sliding only with the razor slightly unscrewed on 4. If there is a lot of movement when loose, but not when tightened, ensure it is straight with even exposure, tighten and see if that improves your shave.
If all checks out, compare 2, 3, 4 and 5 plates for blade exposure (take photos with your phone if needed). Check that the exposure is progressing correctly and 4 is not much more.
I presume 3 and 4 are on the same plate. How are your shaves with plate 3?
Before assembling, just look at plate 4
Did you inspect the plate for any deviations, off-center holes etc? Look at it from all sides.
When you run your fingers along the plate edges, do you feel any bumps or irregularities?
Assemled without a blade
Is there any movement in the plate after assembling (tight)?
Loosen it up a bit and check again and check against a loosened plate 5 if it is any different.
Tighten again: The block should run parallel with the head. Do you see any deviations there?
From any angle?
Is the gap where the blade sits consistent along its length?
Are the gaps and equal on both sides?
Assembled with a blade
Is the blade exposure the same over the length of each side?
Do both sides have the same blade exposure?
If you look edge-on, is the blade a straight line or are there waves or curves in the blade?
Looking at the short-side of the head: Do the blade-edges curve up, down or are they straight?
Do both sides have the same up or down curve?
If curved, check against other plates (2 and 5 as 3 is part of plate 4 and thus suspect) and see how any curves compare. If not straight, 4 should be somewhere in between.
Get some tweezers or fine pliers and check if the blade can be moved (easily) with plate 4: Check sliding of the blade but also up-and-down movement of the edges. If unsure, do the same with plate 5 to compare.
Check blade sliding only with the razor slightly unscrewed on 4. If there is a lot of movement when loose, but not when tightened, ensure it is straight with even exposure, tighten and see if that improves your shave.
If all checks out, compare 2, 3, 4 and 5 plates for blade exposure (take photos with your phone if needed). Check that the exposure is progressing correctly and 4 is not much more.
Wow. What a great response by niels. Hats off!
I have the exact same issue with my plate 4. Lots of blood. Plate 5 is actually a lot smoother. Have you tried plate 3. For me it's the perfect level of aggressiveness and comfort. I always get BBS with it using 3 passes and cleanup.
I find my 6S too mild on all plates. I use 6 and find it not greatly efficient with no aggressiveness. I am a relatively new DE shaver and use my fatboy on 5 and find that a bit aggressive. I think my 6S is actually defective. The plates 1-4 do nothing really. 5 isn't too bad but 6 will give the best shave of all plates. Anyone heard of this problem?
+1. Excellent post by niels, it's hard to add anything to that. One tip often mentioned here is to gently press on the bottom tab with your thumb before tightening completely, and the blade should self-center. But I can't explain why the 5/6 plate is fine but the 2/4 plate isn't.
I don't R6 to be the most comfortable and efficient.
I believe it's more comfortable than R4 due to the cutting angle. The R6 is very intuitive and the optimal cutting angle is "always there" instead of having to find it with the lower plates.
This may be the same reason for the OP?
I believe it's more comfortable than R4 due to the cutting angle. The R6 is very intuitive and the optimal cutting angle is "always there" instead of having to find it with the lower plates.
This may be the same reason for the OP?
- Thread starter
- #10
OP here. Tnx to everyone for the suggestions, especially Niels! I did most of the stuff Niels suggested and didn't find any problems.
Then I moved on to Nav's suggestion about trying R6, which I had never used, since R5 seemed plenty efficient and on the borderline of what I could handle. Got an absolutely stunning drama-free shave!!! 2 pass as opposed to my usual 3, and barely had to apply any pressure at all - the razor did all the work. As Nav noted, the angle seemed much improved, it was "always there" even on hard to deal with neck areas.
I think the R4 was requiring either too much pressure, or too much touch-up work, or both. R5 was an improvement because it took less work, leading to less injury. R6 has finally gotten me where I need to be.
Then I moved on to Nav's suggestion about trying R6, which I had never used, since R5 seemed plenty efficient and on the borderline of what I could handle. Got an absolutely stunning drama-free shave!!! 2 pass as opposed to my usual 3, and barely had to apply any pressure at all - the razor did all the work. As Nav noted, the angle seemed much improved, it was "always there" even on hard to deal with neck areas.
I think the R4 was requiring either too much pressure, or too much touch-up work, or both. R5 was an improvement because it took less work, leading to less injury. R6 has finally gotten me where I need to be.
Hi @Tostig. You're very welcome and I'm glad you have figured out the issue. It also made me re-think my own experiences when I was relatively new to DE-shaving...
I noticed when I got started with DE-shaving that the more aggressive the razor, the more forgiving it gets for angle. At lower settings, with my lack of technique, I also didn't get as close or consistent across my face as I wanted. It all motivated me (consciously or unconsciously) to compensate with pressure (which does help), over-shaving and too aggressive cross- and against-the-grain passes. All causing more irritation and cuts. I dialed up my Gillette Slim Adjustable to most aggressive pretty quickly and got much better shaves, even with limited technique.
I've sometimes wondered if advising new shavers to use mild razors is good advise, and your experience seems to corroborate this. The more forgiving angles and greater efficiency of an aggressive razor makes it easier to shave and get results you feel happier with as a beginner. Sure, you will cut yourself more easily, but pressure and the other compensations will do that even more I think and lead to more irritation as well.
Does anyone else have this experience when starting?
I noticed when I got started with DE-shaving that the more aggressive the razor, the more forgiving it gets for angle. At lower settings, with my lack of technique, I also didn't get as close or consistent across my face as I wanted. It all motivated me (consciously or unconsciously) to compensate with pressure (which does help), over-shaving and too aggressive cross- and against-the-grain passes. All causing more irritation and cuts. I dialed up my Gillette Slim Adjustable to most aggressive pretty quickly and got much better shaves, even with limited technique.
I've sometimes wondered if advising new shavers to use mild razors is good advise, and your experience seems to corroborate this. The more forgiving angles and greater efficiency of an aggressive razor makes it easier to shave and get results you feel happier with as a beginner. Sure, you will cut yourself more easily, but pressure and the other compensations will do that even more I think and lead to more irritation as well.
Does anyone else have this experience when starting?
People have different needs... I am quite happy with mild plates #1/2 for head shave. My head skin can not tolerate agressive razor.
Fantastic! Glad it worked out so well for you.
The R6 is pure luxury for me because I always get the closest if shaves with never a cut or razor burn.
Definitely my favorite razor of all time!
You are right! That's why I always used to recommend the merkur progress for newbies (now I recommend the Rockwell 6S/6C) as they can turn up the setting from mild as they see fit because the milder razor for a newbie is not always intuitive because, as you mentioned, it can force them to apply more pressure. I know I did that when I started off with a tech!
Look at it this way, you can go for other razors that will give you just one setting. It'll either work for you or not work for you.
With the Rockwell, you have 6 chances to get a suitable setting. So it's all about options rather than "wasted plates".
I use only the 6 plate on my 6S and 6C but I don't see it as a waste of the other plates because I started with plate 3 and worked up until I found my ideal setting.
Others stick with 3, 4, 5 and I've seen seen people using 2.
So no one knows which setting will suit the best.
Karve offers many plates but each one costs extra! I got mine with C plate and it was too mild...then I got the D which is great but I still wanted a but now oomph so got D open comb and F plates.
These were all extra cost so the ones that are not getting used are literally a waste because they cost me extra, whereas Rockwell are giving all the settings at the one price.
I'm sure you'll like the Rockwell. I couldn't recommend a better razor at great value for money!
I do not have a Rockwell 6s, but I do have a variety of razors that range in aggressiveness. The overall aggressiveness of a razor, however, depends on the geometry of the razor and the sharpness of the blade used in the razor. If you are using a combination of blade and razor that is not quite aggressive enough for your beard, there is a tendency to shave with excess pressure, which can lead to nicks, weepers and irritation. Sometimes you are better going to a more aggressive combination and shaving with minimal pressure. It sounds like plate 5 with a mid sharp blade works well for you.
If plate 4 with those same blades does not work for you, one thing you might try is using even sharper blades when using that plate. Now that won't solve the problem if there is a plate alignment issue as suggested by Niels. Some very sharp blades you might consider for this test are: BIC Chrome Platinum, PermaSharp Super, Gillette Nacet, and 7 O'Clock Black and Personna Israeli Reds. Be sure to find the right shave angle and shave with minimal pressure.
For a number of us more efficient means better shaves with less irritation because most of the heavy lifting happens in the 1st pass, and after that it's just cleanups. I moved on from the Rockwell to the R41 a while ago and it's been superior in every possible way.
