Dear fellow shavers,
Just used the Rapira Platinum Lux razor from Russia for the first time this morning, and here’s my initial thoughts review of it (photos included).
I had heard that it was a relatively ugly, yet functional and relatively aggressive razor, and seeing as all I have at the moment are mild razors (Merkur 33C, Wilkinson Sword Classic metal version, and Wilkinson Sword Classic plastic version), when I saw a good deal to get the Rapira, I figured I’d try it out.
Took almost 3 weeks to get here from Russia but it did make it in one piece. Included 5 Rapira Platinum Lux blades as well. However, seeing as I never used those blades before, I figured for the initial shave I would use all products I was very familiar with so as to have an objective view on the performance of the razor itself, and no other variables.
The products I decided to use for the shave were EVOO as preshave after my shower, Proraso green cream (not the best soap or cream I have, but it’s the first one I got, so I’m the most familiar with its performance, and therefore am able to see how the razor itself works rather than perhaps having the confounding factor of a soap I am not as familiar with yet), a 4th use Wilkinson Sword blade, and alum block and Hâttric aftershave for after the shave.
One thing that did change between my usual shave routine and today’s shave was that typically I shave every other morning, but I didn’t shave yesterday morning, which was the day I normally would have, but I had an early morning exam, so I pushed the shave off an extra day since I figured it’s an aggressive razor according to reviews I saw, so it could probably handle the extra growth.
Upon opening the package, I must say it was comfortable in the hand despite having a longer handle than I typically use, but the finish was, well, suspect.
Perhaps you can see, but it has a plain black plastic handle and a metal head. It did appear to have a significantly larger blade gap and exposure than my other razors, so I was prepared for a more aggressive shave, but the thing that really worried me is visible on the next two photos.
As you can see, there is an imperfection (almost like a divot) on the edge of the top cap (look about 1/4 of the way in from the right hand side), which in itself is a cosmetic issue but doesn’t necessarily inherently have any structural issues. However, if you look closely, you can see that this imperfection actually pushes down on the blade and causes the blade to not be flat all the way across, there’s essentially a ripple or wave in the blade edge. So yeah, that was scary to look at, but I figured let’s test it out and see if it’s just cosmetic or if I’ll leave a trench in my face. Not that I would throw it out even if it did, I'm pretty sure I could knock that imperfection down with some sandpaper, but alas, I won’t be home to do so until October, when I finish grad school.
Anyway, on to the shave. And what a shave it was, absolutely brilliant! Yes, much more aggressive than the 3 other razors I have here, but not harsh, if that makes sense. I could actually feel the blade edge (I think), which I can’t feel on the other razors, but it was still a very smooth shave, despite the aggression and imperfection in the top cap and wave in the blade. Almost BBS everywhere except my neck after the second pass, and totally BBS everywhere except for a few of my tricky pick up spots after the third, and very very nice audio feedback for each pass, much louder than the other razors I have. Not even a hint of irritation (a bit of burn from the alum post shave, but no more than I get even with the mildest razors).
So while I was scared at the beginning, I actually loved how the shave went! I’ll use it once more with the same blade on Monday morning before I bin that blade, and then will use a Gillette Platinum blade for the following few shaves to see how the razor performs with a new blade, as opposed to the “broken in” one I used to test the razor.
So would I recommend the razor? After the first shave, I would say unequivocally yes, though of course my opinion could change after the next couple shaves, I’ll keep you updated on if my opinion changes or if it continues to be reaffirmed. I will note though that since the finish isn’t the greatest, if you get one, you might have an imperfection in a more functionally relevant location of the razor, or you might have a flawless razor, I guess it’s kind of a “luck of the draw” situation. But even with the imperfection on mine, I had one of the best shaved I’ve had thus far, and so if you find a good price for one, it might be worth trying your luck!
If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to let me know! And if you also have tried this razor, I’d love to hear your experiences with it as well.
Thanks, and have a great day!
Just used the Rapira Platinum Lux razor from Russia for the first time this morning, and here’s my initial thoughts review of it (photos included).
I had heard that it was a relatively ugly, yet functional and relatively aggressive razor, and seeing as all I have at the moment are mild razors (Merkur 33C, Wilkinson Sword Classic metal version, and Wilkinson Sword Classic plastic version), when I saw a good deal to get the Rapira, I figured I’d try it out.
Took almost 3 weeks to get here from Russia but it did make it in one piece. Included 5 Rapira Platinum Lux blades as well. However, seeing as I never used those blades before, I figured for the initial shave I would use all products I was very familiar with so as to have an objective view on the performance of the razor itself, and no other variables.
The products I decided to use for the shave were EVOO as preshave after my shower, Proraso green cream (not the best soap or cream I have, but it’s the first one I got, so I’m the most familiar with its performance, and therefore am able to see how the razor itself works rather than perhaps having the confounding factor of a soap I am not as familiar with yet), a 4th use Wilkinson Sword blade, and alum block and Hâttric aftershave for after the shave.
One thing that did change between my usual shave routine and today’s shave was that typically I shave every other morning, but I didn’t shave yesterday morning, which was the day I normally would have, but I had an early morning exam, so I pushed the shave off an extra day since I figured it’s an aggressive razor according to reviews I saw, so it could probably handle the extra growth.
Upon opening the package, I must say it was comfortable in the hand despite having a longer handle than I typically use, but the finish was, well, suspect.
Perhaps you can see, but it has a plain black plastic handle and a metal head. It did appear to have a significantly larger blade gap and exposure than my other razors, so I was prepared for a more aggressive shave, but the thing that really worried me is visible on the next two photos.
As you can see, there is an imperfection (almost like a divot) on the edge of the top cap (look about 1/4 of the way in from the right hand side), which in itself is a cosmetic issue but doesn’t necessarily inherently have any structural issues. However, if you look closely, you can see that this imperfection actually pushes down on the blade and causes the blade to not be flat all the way across, there’s essentially a ripple or wave in the blade edge. So yeah, that was scary to look at, but I figured let’s test it out and see if it’s just cosmetic or if I’ll leave a trench in my face. Not that I would throw it out even if it did, I'm pretty sure I could knock that imperfection down with some sandpaper, but alas, I won’t be home to do so until October, when I finish grad school.
Anyway, on to the shave. And what a shave it was, absolutely brilliant! Yes, much more aggressive than the 3 other razors I have here, but not harsh, if that makes sense. I could actually feel the blade edge (I think), which I can’t feel on the other razors, but it was still a very smooth shave, despite the aggression and imperfection in the top cap and wave in the blade. Almost BBS everywhere except my neck after the second pass, and totally BBS everywhere except for a few of my tricky pick up spots after the third, and very very nice audio feedback for each pass, much louder than the other razors I have. Not even a hint of irritation (a bit of burn from the alum post shave, but no more than I get even with the mildest razors).
So while I was scared at the beginning, I actually loved how the shave went! I’ll use it once more with the same blade on Monday morning before I bin that blade, and then will use a Gillette Platinum blade for the following few shaves to see how the razor performs with a new blade, as opposed to the “broken in” one I used to test the razor.
So would I recommend the razor? After the first shave, I would say unequivocally yes, though of course my opinion could change after the next couple shaves, I’ll keep you updated on if my opinion changes or if it continues to be reaffirmed. I will note though that since the finish isn’t the greatest, if you get one, you might have an imperfection in a more functionally relevant location of the razor, or you might have a flawless razor, I guess it’s kind of a “luck of the draw” situation. But even with the imperfection on mine, I had one of the best shaved I’ve had thus far, and so if you find a good price for one, it might be worth trying your luck!
If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to let me know! And if you also have tried this razor, I’d love to hear your experiences with it as well.
Thanks, and have a great day!
