I finally got around to getting my first shave with the Rex Ambassador i threw a black super stainless 7 oclock blade i had layin around and i was very pleasantly surprised. This razor is very heavy in the hand (which i love)it knocks down hair easy cause of this. The nice short bulldog handle is my style and no chance of it slipping out of your hand due to the machining. Wow this was a nice shave, a 300$ shave? Well lets just say the razor performed great held the blade firm and square with very little play and my gaps were on point. I like the 3 piece design for simple loading disassembly cleaning and drying. My hats off to RE for this beast razor , the build quality is top notch. I shaved only 2 passes wtg and cross and got a very nice acceptable and comfortable shave setting on 2.5 so theres much more room to adjust! Im near bbs a little stubble here or there which i could have taken more time and slowed down and i have no doubt i can get a perfect shave with this beast of steel. Id love to know if anybody picked one of these up and their experiences so far! Now will it replace my fatboy? No, not a chance, i love gillette and i love how the fatboys were built with all those parts and pieces mating into one marvelous creation! Anyone have suggestions on a new age adjustable razor that they absolutely love?
REX ambassador first shave
- Thread starter LooneyToons816
- Start date
The Ambassador is out of my price range, but it sure looks like a fine tool. I do have a Pearl Flexi that I purchased here from the BST. It's made from brass rather than stainless steel, but some have compared it favorably to the Ambassador. For me the Flexi is a very good performer.
As I stated B4 the Razor Emporium sells BLEMISH REX’s, big price difference.
Blemish are hard for most people to notice.
Fyi
I just got my Rex Ambassador XL and had my first shave today. I was using the Rockwell T2 Stainless but felt I needed something more efficient. I used a Wizamet blade, 2nd use. First Line Origins shave soap and pre shave Cube 2.0. I started at setting 3. Well, it was certainly more efficient than the T2 at settling 6. I am a newbie, so I was very slow and methodical, i didn't want to slit my throat or face. The razor is beautiful and secure. The shave was great. But it will be a learning process. As I said 1st pass was level 3, which quickly went down to 2 then 1 and still had feedback. Looking forward to seeing what others say. The T2 was certainly less aggressive. Do you have any experience with the Tatara Muramasa?
I'm not LooneyToons, but yes, I have the Muramasa.
I have not tried the T2, if that's in your comparison chart, but I can say that the Muramasa is likely to be a bit milder. I have to keep it at 3-5 generally.
I find it, at 1-2, comparable to a Fatboy set at 3, which is pretty inefficient/intolerable for me. Post-War, US-made Gillettes I generally find very unrewarding, and the Muramasa at lower settings is very much in that range.
It is a really novel piece of engineering, and if they ever offered more aggressive plates, it could easily knock all other adjustables out of the water, but, alas, only unsubstantiated mutterings so far.
That’s interesting. If you have any experience with the Rex Ambassador, how would you compare it to the Tatara?
The REX Ambassador is definitely more efficient but can be a bit of a demon if you do not find the right balance for yourself.
I feel like your experiences mirror that of my own when I first bought the REX Ambassador in fact I seldomly used it because in a way I didn't understand it but once I did I realised how wonderful it truly is.
Before you go out and buy a Tatara Muramasa I want you to try something. Firstly I want you to start at setting one as it seems to be where you are more comfortable with, then I want you to try to angle the handle of the razor so that it is more vertically aligned, this is what we refer to as a steep angle. You may feel the edge of the razors safety bar a little more but if you are not pressing too hard it shouldn't be a problem, you could also use that feeling as a guide to slightly adjust the razor angle if need be but for the first few strokes lets just use this as a little bit of training. Analyze your results in that area and access how well it cut and how well it felt. If it worked well and took away that harsh feeling but maybe you felt it was a little uncomfortable or much less efficient then adjust the razor angle again ever so slightly tilting the handle of the razor upwards (this is what we call steep angle) so you can maybe just feel the curve of safety bar but remember ever so slightly. If you feel it is going well in terms of comfort after a few more strokes with the razor then try increasing the settings to level 2, this is where I commonly use the razor at and find it to be perfectly fine.
I will mention that the Wizamet is also one of my favourite blades but in more recent times I have been experimenting with what some might refer to as mild blades such as the Derby Extra, Derby Premium and Tiger Platinum blades and have found them to work extremely well with razors like the REX Ambassador in fact using the same techniques and settings (setting 2) I found the Derby Extra to be maybe ever so slightly too mild as I need to do a little more on a pickup pass at the end of my 3 pass shave. I could have probably upped the settings to 2.5 or 3 even with the Derby Extra but in the end it turned out well but such is the experience and knowledge of knowing how tame the REX Ambassador can be with the right technique and blade can be an absolute treasure.
In regards to the Derby Extra blade I accept that it usually is a slight bit too mild and can result in me doing more work on a pickup pass but it is a good starting point. I find that the Derby Premium blades are much better in that they retain the mild smoothness of the Derby Extra but increase the blades sharpness just enough to remove the need to spend too much time cleaning up areas that were not super smooth after three passes.
Blade pairing is pretty important in my opinion.
What a wonderful informational post. Thank you very much. I will absolutely use your technique. I don't have a Derby, but I do have the Nacet and Astra SP. The razor is great, I'm just a dork. I will get it, with help and advice from people like you. Thanks again.
You're welcome.
I'm glad to help. I hope that my experience and advice truly does help you and your shaving journey only gets better from here.
Nacets used to be a favourite of mine but for some reason we had a falling out. I find them to be very sharp and not very forgiving but as they say in the Shaving world YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary) so they may be great for you.
I try to pair up more blade forward or efficient razors with blades that are more mild to find that right balance for me.
Definitely keep us updated.
so that is what 'riding the guard' means. now it makes sense to me. Other than the blades you mentioned, do you have any other recommendations for milder blades to offset the aggressiveness of the razor? i have Permasharp, Wizament, Astra, Nacet and Minora.
Yep, also good to understand it going forward as many will refer to razor angles as steep or shallow. It can get fairly technical but once you find your hand at it you will have this knowledge on a subconscious level and be able to improve your shaves. "Riding the cap" is something you would do if you are using a shallow angle but that shallow technique definitely did not work for me on the Ambassador without leaving my face feeling raw.
Out of the ones you have I would say the Astra blades are your most mild blade but have had a really decent shave with the Wizamet in the Ambassador too but the Tiger Platinum and Derby blades definitely was a much more enjoyable experience in the Ambassador razor.
Perhaps stick with the Wizamet blades for your first shave with this new technique and then if you feel the technique helped you then move to the Astra blades or seek out the Tiger Platinum or Derby extra or Derby Platinum Blades. Surprisingly each of these blades are relatively cheap for a single tuck (pack of five blades).
I enjoy Permasharp and Gillette Minora Stainless steel (yellow pack) also but mostly in other razors. I believe I may have read somewhere that Matt from Razor Emporium built this razor with the Permasharp razors in mind or may have enjoyed using them the most if that means anything to you.
There are several other mild blades like Ladas, Rapira Swedish Supersteel, Gillette 7 o'clock Super Platinum (blacks), Gillette 7 o'clock Super Stainless (Green. Not be confused with the Green 7 o'clock from India which are titled Permasharps that are not the same as the permasharp blades you already have) but I have not tried any of these in the REX Ambassador myself to recommend them to you.
Out of the ones you have I would say the Astra blades are your most mild blade but have had a really decent shave with the Wizamet in the Ambassador too but the Tiger Platinum and Derby blades definitely was a much more enjoyable experience in the Ambassador razor.
Perhaps stick with the Wizamet blades for your first shave with this new technique and then if you feel the technique helped you then move to the Astra blades or seek out the Tiger Platinum or Derby extra or Derby Platinum Blades. Surprisingly each of these blades are relatively cheap for a single tuck (pack of five blades).
I enjoy Permasharp and Gillette Minora Stainless steel (yellow pack) also but mostly in other razors. I believe I may have read somewhere that Matt from Razor Emporium built this razor with the Permasharp razors in mind or may have enjoyed using them the most if that means anything to you.
There are several other mild blades like Ladas, Rapira Swedish Supersteel, Gillette 7 o'clock Super Platinum (blacks), Gillette 7 o'clock Super Stainless (Green. Not be confused with the Green 7 o'clock from India which are titled Permasharps that are not the same as the permasharp blades you already have) but I have not tried any of these in the REX Ambassador myself to recommend them to you.
i thank you for taking all this time to give me some help. Have a great day.
Great post!! ’Will it replace my FatBoy?’ That‘s the key question that you answer. 
Not to add on too much information here as @AU55IE did a great job there but with the Ambassdaor XL it does scoop the lather off your face so if you are doing touch ups, just add some lather to that area as the resdiual lather will be gone. Its one thing I learned while using this razor and reading about it so that helped me alot as well. There is no rule that says you can add more lather to a spot, thats why we have lather and brushes. Keep us up to date, I do think its a terrific razor, it was my first major purchase razor, the one I used most overall since I started wet shaving 9 months ago (but not as much now as I have well fell into many rabbit holes but thats fine) and thru many, many shaves learned how to shave with it so that is my take on it.
you are all so kind and and helpful in helping this 74 year old newbie. Thank you.
- Thread starter
- #16
I dont have experience with the TM, my Razor collection consists of vintage gillettes mainly 1.95 Fatboys and slims lol. I wanted to get into some of the newer shave gear out there but i need them adjustable! I started out my shave on 2.5 and i had alot of blade feel, its a very aggressive razor and the weight of it just mows down hair with gravity. I got the shorty bulldog handle cause im used to EDS with a fatboy i even hold the razor at the adjuster knob while i shave! I did bump it up to 3.5 just to hit the upper lip which left me with a little spot of razor burn cause my technique was way off from not shaving consistently for a month. I would definitely add to your shave routine some preshave oil(i prefer Maggards Lime) gives you a little extra protection from the aggressiveness. Do you use any preshave products? My ritual is first wet the face good get those facial hairs plumped and softened then i throw proraso white, followed by mags preshave oil then i lather my face and get to shaving 3 passes, if you feel the aggression gets too much throw another few drops massaged into you skin before your second pass and 3rd. Thats my suggestion and if you do it let us know how it went!!!! Mags pre shave oil is like 8-9$ and it’s absolutely worth every penny. I ordered 2 more bottles of it today with different scents to try out but the lime is KING! Pre shave rituals are soooo worth the little money it costs! I would suggest you get a proraso, white is my favorite and green is after im done shaving to get a light menthol type of freshness for those close shaves followed by fine accoutrements Italian citrus splash
Best of luck on your next shaves man!
-Looney
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thank you Looney Toons816. I do have a preshave ritual. I use the Cube 2.0 by PAA. I wash the face with it first, then rinse it off and reapply. I then lather and shave. I will reapply the Cube inbetween passes, if needed. I will also use Proraso white and Rockwell preshave oil occasionally. I just need to perfect the technique with this new razor and find the right blade.
thanks for your advice.
- Thread starter
- #18
Everything you said is spot on truth! Thanks for sharing your experiences, i found the nacet to be a great pairing for the rex (its what i use in my fatboys) the derby extras are too mild for me but i havnt put one in the ambassador yet, maybe ill give one a shot and see what happens! I also had an exceptional shave with a gillette 7oclock black wrapper, it was what i had lying about so i threw it in on my first shave and boy was it nice.. i really like the 7oclocks they all shave really nicely. Yellow green and black!
- Thread starter
- #19
Of course! I would suggest the Nacet or 7oclocks if you have any lyin about. I find preshave oil extremely necessary with the ambassador or any real aggressive razor with that much blade feel, sounds like you’re doin everything right, theres always a learning curve to new razors. Youll be gettin comfortable BBS shaves in no time! Im still learning the ambassador 3 shaves in and starting to improve but still need more shaves under my belt with it.
well then, you and i are in the same boat. This whole wet shaving experience is just so much fun and entertaining. Also, expensive if you jump down the rabbit hole. I am holding myself back as best i can.
