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Razorock MJ-90 Stainless DE89 variant

Had my second shave with the MJ-90 last night. It's not going to be for me. Impetuous to give up so soon? Yep, but there's a reasoning to that....

So, last night's shave turned into 4 plus passes when you figure in the touch ups and still, not the quality of shave I am accustomed to and can get much easier, with much less work using most any other razor in the den. Extra passes, extra stretching, puffing, contorting, pressure - my whiskers were surely amused at the attempt. But alas, no joy. I used the same blade I always use in any DE, Gillette 7 O'clock Yellow for the record. :a36:

But then the revelation - After all that skin time, all the extra pressure and passes, not a nick, scratch, scrape, cut, bump, or hint of irritation. Hmm... :blink:

The blade has such little exposure and the head is so gentle, this will make an ideal beginner razor for a certain young man who will soon come upon the need to learn to shave. It's a very good looking razor too - "Cool!" he'll probably remark. So, I cleaned it up and packed it back up so that I can gift it to him in nearly new condition when that time comes. (I did notice when I was cleaning it that the contact point where the handle twists against that base plate already has scratched through the black coating, but I'd expect that to happen in time anyhow.)

So, while it wasn't a win for me, I'm hoping it'll be a win for him. :thumbup:
 
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Had my first shave with this razor this morning, three passes with a new Astra. Initial impressions:
  • Good-looking.
  • Feels good in hand - not too light and not too heavy.
  • Mild, but not very efficient.
  • Yielded a SAS, but not DFS, much less BBS.
  • Probably a good choice for a newbie/teenager or a woman.
Three passes with most razor/blade combinations give me DFS/BBS shaves, but I'll reserve final judgement after I've had a few more shaves with the MJ-90.
 
Wow not many reviews to the positive for such a hyped razor that was gonna reinvent the safety razor wheel. Snake oil.
 
I thought about buying this razor, but I am kinda glad I didn't because of the reviews. I have a muhle r89 head and a maggard v3 (grey) head and they are incredible shavers. I like the maggard v3 in grey the best. They are made of zamak, but I think they will last a good long time.
 
I thought about buying this razor, but I am kinda glad I didn't because of the reviews. I have a muhle r89 head and a maggard v3 (grey) head and they are incredible shavers. I like the maggard v3 in grey the best. They are made of zamak, but I think they will last a good long time.
I'm with ya. I have the same razors as you plus the Maggard mr9 and like all 3 for different occasions. The widget razor is sold out but it looks like folks who purchased one on other sites are already putting them up for sale after a use or two. Pretty bold claim to take on a head that's about as good as it gets and then fail miserably.
 
The R89 head is a rather underwhelming head for me, efficiency being only so-so and comfort nothing special either, so the MJ-90's premise of being more efficient seemed intriguing.

I wonder if anyone tried contacting Italian Barber what they'd say regarding the lack of efficiency of the razor. Looks like that at least this first batch was mostly a failure, though.

How many shims are required to increase its efficiency to a satisfactory level, those of you who have it?

Cheers
 
I wouldn't call it a failure personally. I only used it 3 times. Time will tell.

I meant the promise of much improved efficiency over the R89/EJ head. While it's possible that there's a particular angle that needs nailing before maximum efficiency with it can be achieved, it seems to me it probably should have been discovered by now.
On the other hand... has anyone tried it with a Kai blade? Reportedly a little bit wider than some of the other ones - might give efficiency a boost.
 
After less than one week, the consensus seems to be that the MJ-90 is less efficient than the EJ DE 89. Is this what IB was going for?
 

BradWorld

Dances with Wolfs
I happen to really like Italian Barber. I've had many nice email conversations with Joe over the past few years. I have always been treated with respect and professionalism. I love their soaps and brushes. I'll take a Razorock soap over Stirling any day of the week. I have many of their razors and love them too. And their prices are always very reasonable. I just think this one razor may be a bit of a dud. That's the chances you get when you make small batches of unique razors. It happens. But I will give it a couple more shaves. I will shave tomorrow with 3 days growth and see if I can make something happen.

Let's not turn this thread into a bash fest. Please keep it constructive. Thanks.
 
I happen to really like Italian Barber. I've had many nice email conversations with Joe over the past few years. I have always been treated with respect and professionalism. I love their soaps and brushes. I'll take a Razorock soap over Stirling any day of the week. I have many of their razors and love them too. And their prices are always very reasonable. I just think this one razor may be a bit of a dud. That's the chances you get when you make small batches of unique razors. It happens. But I will give it a couple more shaves. I will shave tomorrow with 3 days growth and see if I can make something happen.

Let's not turn this thread into a bash fest. Please keep it constructive. Thanks.

As I said, I have not used razorock soaps, but I have quite a few razorock synthetic brushes and some of the safety razors he sells. They are top notch products and quite affordable. One thing I like about Joe is he is a nice guy and he answers basically all of the questions I throw at him.
 
I disagree completely. I have not tried razorock soaps, but the synthetic brushes they sell are incredible and fairly affordable. They also sell a good number of safety razors. I have the razorock old type, the razorock SLAB, and a few other heads I bought from ib and they are all pretty good performers. Joe from IB also replies to all of my questions in a pretty fast manner.
Then I'll chalk it up to a bad first experience which as a consumer leaves a bad taste in your mouth. If I would have got some sort of a (I'm not sure why the product isn't performing or anything trying to resolve the issue that's fine). I was told to watch the Marco method or something like that. The soaps were cheap, the shipping was high and it took 4 days to ship. Maybe they're good people but my first purchase left a lot to be desired from a customer service standpoint.
 
Gentlemen, thanks for the reviews.:)

It's a terrific looking razor and my initial impression is that the handle is the real star of the show.

Perhaps this handle with RazoRock's mission razor head would be a better working combination for those looking for a a bit more aggressive shave?
 
Today I got another great shave with the MJ-90 and a Feather blade.

3 pass with some touch ups.

I think it is similar to my Rockwell 6s with the plate R2 or R1, but I will have to compare them to be sure. I find it to be less efficient but way more comfortable than my de89.

I do understand that some folks can't get good results with it.

I think this razor shines with blade buffing, especially ATG.

As the head is made of aluminum, I'm careful when screwing the handle. Just enough so it's secured, not more.
 
After my second shave, I'm tentatively calling it a keeper. I did four passes instead of my usual three. Same blade, round two with an Astra. Lather was mostly Arko, with some dregs of TOBS sandlewood.
  • Smooth and mild. Perhaps too mild. You'd have to make a concerted effort to cut yourself with this razor.
  • The aforementioned trait requires a leisurely but deliberate multi-pass shave and touch-up work to produce a SAS/DFS. Don't expect a close shave with this razor if you're in a hurry.
  • BBS isn't possible unless you're an adolescent with peach fuzz or a lady with smooth, silky legs leading up to. a perfect . . . ah, but I digress. :001_tt1:
  • The handle is the star of the show.
 
I happen to really like Italian Barber. I've had many nice email conversations with Joe over the past few years. I have always been treated with respect and professionalism. I love their soaps and brushes. I'll take a Razorock soap over Stirling any day of the week. I have many of their razors and love them too. And their prices are always very reasonable. I just think this one razor may be a bit of a dud. That's the chances you get when you make small batches of unique razors. It happens. But I will give it a couple more shaves. I will shave tomorrow with 3 days growth and see if I can make something happen.

Let's not turn this thread into a bash fest. Please keep it constructive. Thanks.

Hence my question about asking them. I don't know how these are made, but considering the small amount available and relatively low price, I suspect that particularly the first batch might be wonky, or something might have gone wrong, hadn't been noticed before they started selling them and as it sold out in two days, it sold out before they could receive relevant feedback.

The response D1dad received might have been by e. g. a new, too eager member of their team - I've seen it happen elsewhere. I don't know whether their soaps are any good, mostly because they contain an ingredient my skin doesn't like, but I've watched some shavers on YouTube use them and they seemed fine, so D1dad was probably right about having received a dud soap.
On the other hand, I had only heard of the Marco method maybe once or twice before, but have only looked it up now and it's an interesting technique. I prefer mine, as I feel it uses less soap with very good results, though.

More to the subject of the thread, the razor. @BradWorld, have you, by any chance, tried it with a shim yet? I think it's also well possible that it has a really narrow range of usable angles and a shim might help reveal them more easily.
 

BradWorld

Dances with Wolfs
I have not tried it with a shim, nor have I ever used a shim in any razor. If a razor won't work as intended, I have over a hundred others to choose from. However, I have contemplated trying a shim with this one. It's just too darn pretty of a razor to give up. I'm gonna try a really shallow angle tomorrow and see what happens. Maybe swap in a few different blades as well. If all else fails, I'll try a shim.
 
The handle looks to be worth $40 and an aluminum head is nothing to jump up and down about. Is the handle standard and interchangeable with others?
 
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