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RazoRock ECO First Look

What keeps me from pulling the trigger on this one is the head is basically half a regular double edge razor, just cut in half; not like a typical single edge razor in feeling. That means it'll have all the disadvantages of a regular DE. It also makes the razor more difficult to run over a Razorpit, something you can do with an injector or a disposable razor (I've tried using a DE on a Razorpit, it doesn't glide nearly as easily because of the bulging head).

The R48 on the other hand, has a head more like a typical single edge razor.
 
As with the Lupo, it felt a bit rough.
Maybe the alu adge?
It doesn't glide very well on my skin, in comparison to chrome or nickel plated heads.
There's some blade feel, and it's pretty efficient.
I'll try it later with a different blade. (used the Crown today)
The jury is still out, but that was the very first shave with the ECO.
(I don't like the Lupo FWIW)
I agree with you about the Lupo, if doesn't glide very smoothly, and I think part of it is due to the finish. I tried it with different blades and gave up on it, too mild to be effective like the Baby smooth.
 
I have continued through the week using a variety of blades mostly from PPI- Gillette on a shimmed ECO, one shim over the blade and one shim 1 mm over the fulcrum plus a heavy handle, Weber bulldog. GSB and 7 O'Clock yellow have produced an extra smooth keen close shave.

For those who are experiencing some drag with the aluminum head, try a wet tallow lather, I am not having a drag problem.
 
I have changed handles to a Maggard stainless steel that gives the Eco great grip and if possible a better shave. I continue to use the Crown Salon 1/2 blades that was included with the order with great success.
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I'm sure that I must be missing something with the ECO, as I don't understand the why. If you're basically using a DE Blade split in half, why not just buy a DE razor, as opposed to the ECO? - Some of the other half DE razors have shallower heads, there's an advantage, but the ECO appears to be nearly as deep as many 3 piece DE razors. If it was perhaps thinner, say dimensions close to an Injector, or say the Blackland Vector, it would make sense, but the ECO is more like a DE with a single shaving edge. If it had some unique feature, such as the Leaf or Beluga, there'd be incentive to buy and use it, but as far as I can tell, it doesn't.

Perhaps I should ask, what does it bring to the table?
 
I'm sure that I must be missing something with the ECO, as I don't understand the why. If you're basically using a DE Blade split in half, why not just buy a DE razor, as opposed to the ECO? - Some of the other half DE razors have shallower heads, there's an advantage, but the ECO appears to be nearly as deep as many 3 piece DE razors. If it was perhaps thinner, say dimensions close to an Injector, or say the Blackland Vector, it would make sense, but the ECO is more like a DE with a single shaving edge. If it had some unique feature, such as the Leaf or Beluga, there'd be incentive to buy and use it, but as far as I can tell, it doesn't.

Perhaps I should ask, what does it bring to the table?
The goal of a razor is to shave nothing more or less. Regardless of its configuration the Eco delivers that great shave IMHO. It better then a lot of high end expensive DE razors. Again IMHO.
 
Now we're getting somewhere:

Replaced the handle with a Battle Brother's handle and used a Personna blade. Started with Whole Foods 365 Glycerin soap. Lathered on top of that with MWF using a Maggard synthetic brush. I am also checking out my Feather SS Folding Handle.

Two pass and a bit of touch up. I used the Feather on the right side of my face and the Eco on the left. The Eco was much improved... still a bit of blade feel but not in a bad way. BBS shave on both sides. The Eco yielded a small nick in a known trouble spot but it was completely remedied via some vintage Avon Spicy aftershave (enhanced with added Menthol).

I like the heavier BB handle. I also gave the Eco a bit more respect, rode the cap, and used reduced pressure. Feather SS was sweet. I will keep the Eco (for now). Yes, it is a bit of a gimmick razor but for some reason I find it fun to use.

View attachment 1016887
Not a fair fight to put the Eco up against the mighty Feather SS folding shavette, which is one of the best razors ever made (IMO, of course).
 
I'm sure that I must be missing something with the ECO, as I don't understand the why. If you're basically using a DE Blade split in half, why not just buy a DE razor, as opposed to the ECO? - Some of the other half DE razors have shallower heads, there's an advantage, but the ECO appears to be nearly as deep as many 3 piece DE razors. If it was perhaps thinner, say dimensions close to an Injector, or say the Blackland Vector, it would make sense, but the ECO is more like a DE with a single shaving edge. If it had some unique feature, such as the Leaf or Beluga, there'd be incentive to buy and use it, but as far as I can tell, it doesn't.

Cyberdog, the main motive behind purchasing the ECO, for myself, is I have a load of DE blades but I believe the SE shaving angle is better for my habits and beard. I like a simple morning shave with minimum products, my routine is to wash my face, face lather, three pass shave and a splash of witch hazel. My stubble is not as well hydrated as the folks with showers and products, so I need a low angle razor with very sharp blades for a great shave. I have gravitated towards classic SE razors, first Micromatics and then Schick injectors. So when the ECO was introduced I thought the razor was worth the expense since I have a large stock of DE blades and the risk of disappointment was not cost prohibititive. My benchmark for SE and other safety razors is the Schick E2 with proline blades and I have found that I can adapt the ECO to an equal level of shave.
 
My black ECO just arrived. I gave it a quick run on a half day’s growth with one of the included Crown saloon blades.

RazoRock is marketing this as a precisely built, ultra inexpensive, environmentally sound alternative to disposables and carts, hence the familiar single sided design. I was wondering if it was a razor I could recommend to a young guy who wants to hit those targets.

The ECO does hit all three points above. The lack of slop is impressive. It beats the heck out of a vintage Schick injector on blade expense. Plus it allows (with blade snapping) a huge range of blade choices. For a newbie shaver, I would like it to deliver a smoother and perhaps milder shave than I experienced with the Crown. A slightly heavier handle might help. The blade exposure is what it is, but a V2 might tweak that. And blade choice can be dialed in.

Bottom line - I would give this razor to a cost-conscious newbie who is tired of the cost and waste stream of carts/disposables. If I am inaugurating a new shaver, I will stick with DE. I might try the ECO on my son who shaves vintage Schick, see what he thinks. Of course, he just uses my Personna injector blades, so cost isn’t an issue for him.
 
I would say (based on exactly one shave) that the angle is closer to an average angle on my Gem blade SEs than it is to an average angle on my many OC DEs.

Here is a picture of the ECO head aligned on the handle axis with a typical DE (Game Changer OC) to show the differing head geometry. For better (Gem-like proportions) or worse (not as compact as an injector) ECO is not just half a DE.
459EDF2C-AC8A-4AC2-96D8-A2574CBE5BB4.jpeg
 
I just ordered a RazoRock ECO. I’ve been using my Leaf razor which comes with a half blade prototype razor named the Twig trimmer/shaver . I’m looking forward to comparing the ECO to the Twig because I really like how the Twig shaves.

The Twig was made to complement the Leaf shaver because it has a pretty large head that pivots & uses up to 3 half blades. The Leaf’s 1st blades slot is the most aggressive & the 3rd is the mildest. This makes the Leaf a unique adjustable, but the three slots makes it less nimble & manoeuvrable. It reminds many of a Mach 3 aesthetically & its pivot is similar, but it is much more substantial in weight, size, & quality. Whereas the Twig is very compact and maneuverable for touching up after using with the Leaf, but I find it works just as well for a full shave. It is aggressive but it feels great using a Persona Med Prep (my favorite blade in the Leaf & Twig razors so far).

I can't wait to receive my ECO, to see how it stacks-up to the Twig.
 
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I just ordered a RazoRock ECO. I’ve been using my Leaf razor which comes with a half blade prototype razor named the Twig trimmer/shaver . I’m looking forward to comparing the ECO to the Twig because I really like how the Twig shaves.

The Twig was made to complement the Leaf shaver because it has a pretty large head that pivots & uses up to 3 half blades. The Leaf’s 1st blades slot is the most aggressive & the 3rd is the mildest. This makes the Leaf a unique adjustable, but the three slots makes it less nimble & manoeuvrable. It reminds many of a Mach 3 aesthetically & its pivot is similar, but it is much more substantial in weight, size, & quality. Whereas the Twig is very compact and maneuverable for touching up after using with the Leaf, but I find it works just as well for a full shave. It is aggressive but it feels great using a Persona Med Prep (my favorite blade in the Leaf & Twig razors so far).

I can't wait to receive my ECO, to see how it stacks-up to the Twig.

Twig photo?
 
I never really got the concept of using this razor over an actual DE and judging by this pic I now know why I don't get it, that head is huge for only holding a 1/2 DE blade!! I expected it to be more along the lines of the Blackland Vector in relation to size but that thing is huge... I don't think there is any advantage at all in using one of them but wish anyone luck with it if they so choose to buy one!!
 
I never really got the concept of using this razor over an actual DE and judging by this pic I now know why I don't get it, that head is huge for only holding a 1/2 DE blade!! I expected it to be more along the lines of the Blackland Vector in relation to size but that thing is huge... I don't think there is any advantage at all in using one of them but wish anyone luck with it if they so choose to buy one!!
Yeah the ECO looks unnecessarily large for a half blade razor. Especially comparing it to the Twig half blade prototype, which is very small. It might be me misjudging the size of the ECO from the photo though. I won't really be able to tell until I receive the ECO I order for comparison to the Twig.
 
I never really got the concept of using this razor over an actual DE and judging by this pic I now know why I don't get it, that head is huge for only holding a 1/2 DE blade!! I expected it to be more along the lines of the Blackland Vector in relation to size but that thing is huge... I don't think there is any advantage at all in using one of them but wish anyone luck with it if they so choose to buy one!!

I’m sure I would have preferred injectorish dimensions. The GEM-sized pieces might be easier to juggle for a guy new to blade loading.

Advantage for me? Middle son has cheerfully adopted it. The included 100 saloon blades will last forever. When forever arrives, 100 more will cost less than the first seven injector blades he would be taking from my stash. So great luck here. I’m about 4 or 5 packs of Schicks from breakeven. I might even grab my vintage model L :001_wub: back and break even immediately! :ihih:
 
It has been a month since the purchase of the ECO and I have used the razor daily, I conclude from my own use:

The ECO is well made, attractive, aggressive, slight gap and light in the hand. However, I doubt that the razor clamps the as well as needed. The blade exposure is ample but attenuated, that results in chatter. The stock handle is mostly smooth tapering to lesser diameter to the butt, terminating with a knob, slippery when wet and soapy. Generally the shaving experience, with stock razor, is catchy, chattery and chancey. The shave is very close but far too rough, the blade is just not stable.

I am by nature interested in design and mods, so I was at the crossroad, abandon or mod the razor. So I decided to switch handle to Weber bulldog thus more than doubling the weight but gaining grip and with the light head, the heavy handle is not counterweighted, so handling is easy with a seemingly weightless head. To address blade flex, I used a reverse shim or a shim between the cap and blade, extending to about midway between the cap edge and the heel of the blades bevel. To address clamping, a shim above the bar at the rear of the razor that is the pivot for the cap. The net effect off the combined shims is to raise the cap slightly, support the blade from flexing, increasing clamping force applied close to the blades edge, and to slightly decrease net blade exposure. For me, the mods have made the ECO a nearly perfect shaver.

In the past month, I have tried about ten different blades and scoring on a 1 to 100 scale on the modified razor, with 98 represented as perfect:

Polsilver 98
Gillette Platinum PPI 98
GSB 96
7 OC Yellow PPI 96
Nacet 94

So I will be using the mod ECO as a regular razor, without mods, the ECO would have no future for me.
 
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If you're used to a heavy razor (my goto is a Merkur Futur gold), then this ultra lightweight razor will take some getting used to. First shave reminded me of the first time I held a BIC disposable razor. I used the Crown blade that came with it. Absolutely hated the shave. Rough tugging through my beard. Chatter and lots of feedback from the razor. After two shaves, I broke a Feather and installed that (no problem breaking the blade per the instructions and no fear of cutting myself). The Feather was a vast improvement. I've used it with the Feather for three shaves and today's shave convinced me that the blade is done. More tugging than usual and I never feel tugging with my Merkur and my favorite Wilkinson blades. The shaves were surprisingly close and while there was noticeable tugging with both blades, I never cut myself and the cologne spray stung less than usual (puzzling). My next blade will be a Wilkinson and we'll see how my favorite blade does with the Eco. Then I will retry the Crown blade with the possibility that I've learned to handle the razor better over the last two weeks. I've also tried shaving cream, soap, and shaving oil to try to find the best combo for this razor. Gut feeling at this point is that I will end up returning to my Merkur, probably set at a more aggressive setting (I usually have it set at 1 which is extremely comfortable but not as close as it could be).
 
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