Mine came today. I am very amazed. The plating of the head looks better than on my Merkur 15C. I have not a chance to shave with it yet as I had earlier a DFS, but I pulled it dry along the face. It seems to be a very good razor if you want to try DE shaving. And it is definitely a fully working razor you can have with you when you travel.
New Improved Version of Ri Mei/Sodial Razor
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Mine came today. I am very amazed. The plating of the head looks better than on my Merkur 15C. I have not a chance to shave with it yet as I had earlier a DFS, but I pulled it dry along the face. It seems to be a very good razor if you want to try DE shaving. And it is definitely a fully working razor you can have with you when you travel.
Well it gets even more complicated.
After reading this thread I purchased some of these off eBay from different vendors.
The first was a 4 piece razor that was presented on a red card, part number RM:A2001. This was very nicely made with excellent plating on the head.
The second one was on a aqua card the same as Lowjax has posted. It's a three piece and bears the same product code but this time it's printed on a sticker rather than directly on the card.
This one is junk. The plating is terrible, bad grind marks are still visible everywhere and the stamped head seems thinner.
Both of these have the handle with the vertical grooves rather than the "antislip" cross hatching and were priced within a few nickels of each other so price is no indication of what you are going to get.
I am still waiting for a DX version to arrive hoping that it the same as the OP's.
It seems that either RiMei has a QC issue, or they have different product lines at slightly different price points using the same product code or "gasp" the Chinese are counterfeiting Chinese products.
After reading this thread I purchased some of these off eBay from different vendors.
The first was a 4 piece razor that was presented on a red card, part number RM:A2001. This was very nicely made with excellent plating on the head.
The second one was on a aqua card the same as Lowjax has posted. It's a three piece and bears the same product code but this time it's printed on a sticker rather than directly on the card.
This one is junk. The plating is terrible, bad grind marks are still visible everywhere and the stamped head seems thinner.
Both of these have the handle with the vertical grooves rather than the "antislip" cross hatching and were priced within a few nickels of each other so price is no indication of what you are going to get.
I am still waiting for a DX version to arrive hoping that it the same as the OP's.
It seems that either RiMei has a QC issue, or they have different product lines at slightly different price points using the same product code or "gasp" the Chinese are counterfeiting Chinese products.
Could you post some photos?
I have a Chinese razor I bought at local shop in Russia for 1.5$. It has a similar head but the handle is lightweight plastic.
Happy to try when I get back to town after the weekend. Haven't posted photos on a forum before. Is there a tutorial anywhere on how to do it?
Had a closer look at the 2 razors again. They are quite different, not just in the execution of the finished product but they have significant design differences in the head.
Hopefully will be able to post the photos in a few days and show the detail.
This is not a matter of QC, these are coming off a separate production line and given the insignificant retail price difference I can't imagine why RiMei would bother. I would guess that the inferior one is a fake and it actually appears closer in design to a Honglong razor I also bought.
The Honglong razor was advertised as the "Gold Tone" razor on the bay. While not exactly the same as the inferior "RiMei" it is also junk.
These are the packs that the razors came in.
The one on the left, RIMEI, in the red on white card is a nice unit, polish on par with my Sabis and RazoRock/Cadets but not up to a Muhle or an EJ. It is the 4 piece razor.
The razor on the right is the RiMei. It is a three piece unit that not only is poorly finished but has rough edges on the base plate that would make shaving really uncomfortable.
More photos to follow.
This is the underside of the top plate.
The RIMEI on the left has nice polish and plating and 4 lugs at each corner that help locate the parts together for consistent blade placement.
The RiMei on the right is poorly polished and plated and the central locating pins are not precise.
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The RIMEI baseplate on the left is nicely polished and plated and shows the 4 corner slots for the locating pins. The safety bar holes are smoothly punched out and the grooves are well defined.
The Ri,Mei on the right is really rough especially on the safety bar edges and the holes are puched out irregularly and with sharp edges on the underside though that shouldn't actually come in contact with your face.
Finally the handles.
Clearly the RIMEI on the left is better polished and plated. It appears to be a brass tube which weighs 24.4 G.
The Ri,Mei on the right is poorly polished and plated but at least it is nice and solid. It appears to be a solid brass rod and weighs 43.8 G.
I haven't shaved with either yet. Actually I'm not going to try the Ri,Mei head but the handle will make a solid if unremarkable replacement for a plastic handled shaver in my collection.
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The left one Rimei is the same as the one sold by DX (old version), it is recognisable by the small pin at each corner beneath the head, aiding to align the blade and the head all together. Same finish too apparently.
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I am the OP and I got the nice three piece razor. The package my razor came in looks exactly like the package on the left and it does state that it is product RM:A2001. That said, my razor is definitely different. Perhaps one should not buy the razor on Ebay?
Here is what came from DX today 
Looks like the good style head to me. Hope to try it out later tonight.
For $4 it looks like a keeper. Ordered on the September 29th received October 18th.
~Brian~
Looks like the good style head to me. Hope to try it out later tonight.For $4 it looks like a keeper. Ordered on the September 29th received October 18th.
~Brian~
It seems to be the new version!
Took mine for it's maiden shave this morning. Well, let's just say I'm almost willing to pay $2.25 to send it back. Had a brand new Gillette 7 O'Clock Black blade in it and some great RazoRock XX lather. It was a very rough shave. More razor burn than I've probably ever had. And there is still stubble after 3 passes. Pretty sure I'll just unload it on someone in a Hardware PIF of lower quality stuff I'm putting together.
Strange. It is almost impossible to get burns with mine.
It seems that you got the version on the right side on Ozziedoc's picture, the not so good or rough one.
I've been lurking on this site for a while, and thought I'd chime in. I just received my SODIAL razor from amazon today, and have to say I'm disappointed. I'm a complete newbie to safety razors, and thought I'd try something cheap before committing. I ordered from a vendor called COCO Fed Inc for the whopping price of $2.04. For that price, what do you expect, except that I was hoping to have the same luck as others mentioned. I was hoping that ordering one called SODIAL would give me the good one. Mine was identical to OZZIEDOC's, the RiMei one, an all metal three piece. Only.... mine didn't even come with a package, only some foam wrap taped together. The head is labled Junjie, and it came with a Tian Fu blade. The finish is poor, and the head was crooked (which I managed to bend mostly straight). The blade gap is different on each side, but at least they seem "mostly" even. I managed to shave with it using extreme care, and extra prep, and didn't cut myself, so that's something.
Unless certain vendors always give the same product... (yet to be seen)... it looks like a crap shoot. On the plus side, shipping was a good two weeks sooner than the estimate. I suppose if one really wanted to give them a chance, you could buy three and hope one was nice... but I'm thinking I'm already ready to try something else. I'm thinking a vintage Gillette sounds really nice, or a Cadet or Sabi....
I'd have to say that I definitely do not recommend the RiMei for beginners, simply because you want to have a little faith in what you try... and so you know it was the razor or your technique.
Unless certain vendors always give the same product... (yet to be seen)... it looks like a crap shoot. On the plus side, shipping was a good two weeks sooner than the estimate. I suppose if one really wanted to give them a chance, you could buy three and hope one was nice... but I'm thinking I'm already ready to try something else. I'm thinking a vintage Gillette sounds really nice, or a Cadet or Sabi....
I'd have to say that I definitely do not recommend the RiMei for beginners, simply because you want to have a little faith in what you try... and so you know it was the razor or your technique.
I'm sorry that you got what doesn't seem to be a Rimei (you buy the seller actually), but the Rimei is definitely a vey good razor. The boxed version 1 (for 3.50 ) I received last summer from DX, is flawless.
I saw that DX sells a cheaper version (like 2 ) without the pins on the corners. This model is a bad one I suppose.
I saw that DX sells a cheaper version (like 2 ) without the pins on the corners. This model is a bad one I suppose.
Well my DX boxed version arrived. That's the US $ 4.00 one that currently on 5% reduction. It's labelled RiMei which on the card in my earlier post is the junk unit, but this time from DX the head is the same nice head as the RIMEI version. This came with the nicely polished cross hatched handle.
DX also sells a US $4.50 version which from the pictures appears to be the earlier 4 piece version.
All very confusing.
DX also sells a US $4.50 version which from the pictures appears to be the earlier 4 piece version.
All very confusing.
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