Rex Konsul - eager for reviews!

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

How can an adjustable razor be too aggressive for daily use? Even at a setting of 1? That's hard for me to visualize. Am I missing something?

An adjustable adjusts within a certain range.

Let's say the range of possibilities for all razors is finite with 1 being the mildest possible razor on the planet and 30 being the most aggressive razor on the planet.

Adjustable 1 adjusts within the range of 1 to 15. It might not be aggressive enough for some guys.

Adjustable 2 adjusts within the range of 16 to 30. It might not be mild enough for some guys.

The Tatara Muramasa might be an example of Adjustable 1.The Merkur Futur might be an example of Adjustable 2.

[I've used the Muramasa a good bit, but not used the Futur.]

Hope that helps.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

My Konsul is in my city and should be delivered on Monday, tomorrow.

Don't know when I'll use it.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[santamariasteve]

I understand where he’s coming from. 1 is my current favorite setting. Even there, it it still has considerable blade feel and respectable efficiency. Ergo, it’s not mild. In my opinion, closest (although still not similar) setting on my Fatboy is 7. It’s hard to articulate—you just have to experience for yourself.

Doug, that is bizarre. A setting of 1 on the Rex Konsul is similar to a setting of 7 on a Gillette Fat Boy? What were they thinking? And who makes these decisions? It sounds to me that this razor is similar to a Merkur Futur in hyper-aggressiveness. That is unnecessary, unwise, and is disappointing. I've made my decision. I will not be buying one. Color me disappointed.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Doug, that is bizarre. A setting of 1 on the Rex Konsul is similar to a setting of 7 on a Gillette Fat Boy? What were they thinking? And who makes these decisions? It sounds to me that this razor is similar to a Merkur Futur in hyper-aggressiveness. That is unnecessary, unwise, and is disappointing. I've made my decision. I will not be buying one. Color me disappointed.

I believe you're misunderstanding something. I believe he's talking abut the Fatboy and the Rex Ambassador. Correct me if I'm wrong, please.

My understanding is the Rex Konsul is significantly milder than the Rex Ambassador. I wasn't interested in the Rex Ambassador because it sounds more aggressive at its lower settings than suits me. I am interested in the supposedly milder Rex Konsul.

I'm only going by what I've heard as I've not used the Ambassador or the Konsul.

That said, I have a bunch of adjustables to compare with each other.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[santamariasteve]

I believe you're misunderstanding something. I believe he's talking abut the Fatboy and the Rex Ambassador. Correct me if I'm wrong, please.

My understanding is the Rex Konsul is significantly milder than the Rex Ambassador. I wasn't interested in the Rex Ambassador because it sounds more aggressive at its lower settings than suits me. I am interested in the supposedly milder Rex Konsul.

I'm only going by what I've heard as I've not used the Ambassador or the Konsul.

That said, I have a bunch of adjustables to compare with each other.

Happy shaves,

Jim

I don't follow that. The whole thread is about the Konsul, and Konsul is in the title.

 

[JPO]

I think part of the goal when the Konsul was designed was to create a razor that was just as efficient, if not more efficient then the Ambassador without feeling aggressive. Neutral or negative blade exposure as oppose to positive with the Ambassador. I really like to get the Konsul, but both my Muramasa adjustable and my Rex Ambassador usually stay on one setting. The Muramasa might be used on two settings during a shave if i have heavy growth.
I might be more interested in getting a fixed head Konsul rasor when that is released. Less weight, much cheaper and one setting that is hopefully not to aggressive.
I only have one slant head razor (Merkur 34 c slant) i got just to see if i liked the slant concept. This is more then efficient enough for me. I am just afraid the i will end up with a Konsul razor that is only used at one setting. Then i am better off getting something lighter.
I also like to support this type of innovation. Since this is the first adjustable slant head razor, that might be enough to justify buying it

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I don't follow that. The whole thread is about the Konsul, and Konsul is in the title.

Back to the topic. I’m interested in the Konsul as well. Love my Ambassador but it’s too aggressive for constant daily use.

Etc.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[macintoshBR]

My Konsul is in my city and should be delivered on Monday, tomorrow.

Don't know when I'll use it.

Happy shaves,

Jim

Do let us know your thoughts when you use it!

 

[kingfisher]

It looks amazing and the amount of blade feel has definitely kept me from even thinking about the Ambassador. And I like the innovation side of it; unaware of any other adjustable slant.

The problem I have with this one is that I don't really like or use slant razors. I don't have anything against them, and have used them in the past, but I developed a technique with regular DE razors that relies a lot of Gillette slide-type movements, so a slanted design doesn't really offer me much in terms of improvement. Tilted slants are actually worthless with my technique; I don't like them at all. A REAL slant, though, which this appears to be, shaves me just fine. I prefer a milder degree of slanting, which this appears to have.

At this price, though, I feel like I would have to really like slants before this would be a must-have in my den.

 

[Northstonehill]

Randall, I am with you. I am not attracted to slants either. But everything else on this one looks great, and it is not too ‘slanty’ looking. I feel myself falling into the hole…

 

[santamariasteve]

I think part of the goal when the Konsul was designed was to create a razor that was just as efficient, if not more efficient then the Ambassador without feeling aggressive. Neutral or negative blade exposure as oppose to positive with the Ambassador. I really like to get the Konsul, but both my Muramasa adjustable and my Rex Ambassador usually stay on one setting. The Muramasa might be used on two settings during a shave if i have heavy growth.
I might be more interested in getting a fixed head Konsul rasor when that is released. Less weight, much cheaper and one setting that is hopefully not to aggressive.
I only have one slant head razor (Merkur 34 c slant) i got just to see if i liked the slant concept. This is more then efficient enough for me. I am just afraid the i will end up with a Konsul razor that is only used at one setting. Then i am better off getting something lighter.
I also like to support this type of innovation. Since this is the first adjustable slant head razor, that might be enough to justify buying it

The Merkur Slant is the Merkur 37.

Also, most serious users of adjustable razors use the adjustable most of the time on only one setting. That's the point and purpose of an adjustable razor: to customize the razor to your unique face and whiskers, or to your "blade of the day."

Most people misuse the adjustable. They jack-up the razor all the way up to its highest setting, and then wonder what's all this red stuff on my face? Or they are constantly changing the setting, as newbies tend to do. All that is unnecessary, and usually counterproductive.

Experiment. Find the best setting. Set it. Leave it, or seldom change it. That's the better way to shave with an adjustable razor. I've shaved daily since 1951. Yes, November 28th 1951, my 15th birthday. And I have 11 adjustable DE and SE razors in my collections of about 75 razors.

The simple way = the better way.

 

[silverlifter]

Or they are constantly changing the setting, as newbies tend to do. All that is unnecessary, and usually counterproductive.

I don't agree. I change the setting on my Slim depending on a number of factors. Shaved the day before with another razor, say a slant, and got a BBS and not going to work? Maybe a 3. Going to work? Probably a 5. Monday morning shave (I don't shave Sundays, so an extra day of growth)? Typically 7. Miss a couple of days (it happens, rarely )? 9.

For me, this is the beauty of an adjustable: being able to control the shave. I don't think that is unnecessary, and it is certainly not counterproductive. For me.

 

[santamariasteve]

I don't agree. I change the setting on my Slim depending on a number of factors. Shaved the day before with another razor, say a slant, and got a BBS and not going to work? Maybe a 3. Going to work? Probably a 5. Monday morning shave (I don't shave Sundays, so an extra day of growth)? Typically 7. Miss a couple of days (it happens, rarely )? 9.

For me, this is the beauty of an adjustable: being able to control the shave. I don't think that is unnecessary, and it is certainly not counterproductive. For me.

Brother Silver,

We will have to agree to disagree.

But we may be comparing apples to oranges. Our situations appear to be different. I shave daily, even on Sunday, and I want a BBS from every shave. Why not? I enjoy shaving, and I want to always look my personal best.

 

[Scaramouche]

First shave with the Konsul, first shave with a slant. A little background – I prefer mild razors. I like the AS-D2, I like the Tech. I use my Rocnel Sailor on 1 (sometimes 2 after a couple of days); my Taigas are pretty much pegged at 2.5, I use the Ambassador on 1.5. The Konsul was a leap of faith. Not having seen a slant close up, this is my first take. It is asymmetric, not only the razor, but the blade. Looking at the head top down (photo - all other photos are with the Ambassador on the left, the Konsul on the right), there is more blade exposure and a greater gap from one side of the cap to the other. It should shave closer on one side of the shaving stroke than the other. There should be more of a chance of slicing yourself with one end of the cap than the other. One side should leave more stubble. It doesn’t, there isn’t, and it won’t. It just shouldn’t work, from an engineering and logical standpoint. TLDR - but it does.

General observations: The build on the Konsul is every bit as robust as the Ambassador, which shares its heritage. The handle knurling to me isn’t as grippy, but the Ambassador is my baseline judging every other razor grip, described as “Velcro” which it practically is. The Konsul is a close second though, and none of my other razors exceeds the grip of the Konsul except the Ambassador. The bottom of the baseplate on Konsul is finished a little rougher than the Ambassador (photos) – you can actually feel the laser engraving. I attribute this to more hand-finishing for this first batch, and in fact you can see some polished fitting marks in the pictures. You can also see the offset slots on the mid-plate of the Konsul, I’m assuming as a result of the slant design. Interestingly, the cap of the Ambassador will fit on the Konsul – so pay attention if you own both (you can see the difference viewing from the side)! I’m not sure what it would do to the shave to use the Ambassador cap on the Konsul, but I expect that generously, it wouldn't improve it. Construction of the Ambassador and the Konsul is similar, two-piece semi-Gibbs design with a retained locking knob and rod – only the cap comes off. Weight is similar (Ambassador 106g, Konsul 105g). The cap on the Konsul is actually slightly narrower in width – almost 25mm, where the Ambassador is almost 26mm, and you can see the difference visually. Longitudinal length of the head is virtually the same at just over 44mm. Practically, both of these razors balance and handle identically.

Shaving: I wasn’t sure exactly how to shave with a slant, so I didn’t change anything consciously in my technique compared to the Ambassador. Giving it every chance, Personna blade, Jack Black’s Beard Lube with each pass, SW’s Carmilla (a soft, cushiony, voluminous-lathering soap in my hands, with a dab of Nivea's shaving gel for an uberlather, shaving scuttle and my favorite Shavemac brush, followed by SW’s aftershave. Three-pass shave – WTG, XTG, ATG. At first I wanted to accommodate the slant by changing the angles, but just went with my normal stroke. The results were surprising. I suppose I expected a shave like the Ambassador, but it was actually one of the most comfortable – if not the – of any DE razor I have used. Ever. My shocked face. You almost literally cannot feel the blade moving through whiskers. As a caveat, one shave with one soap, but I’ll change up the combos with further use, and it’s definitely a keeper in the stable. I don’t know how every other slant works, but Wow.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

First shave with the Konsul, first shave with a slant. A little background – I prefer mild razors. I like the AS-D2, I like the Tech. I use my Rocnel Sailor on 1 (sometimes 2 after a couple of days); my Taigas are pretty much pegged at 2.5, I use the Ambassador on 1.5. The Konsul was a leap of faith. Not having seen a slant close up, this is my first take. It is asymmetric, not only the razor, but the blade. Looking at the head top down (photo - all other photos are with the Ambassador on the left, the Konsul on the right), there is more blade exposure and a greater gap from one side of the cap to the other. It should shave closer on one side of the shaving stroke than the other. There should be more of a chance of slicing yourself with one end of the cap than the other. One side should leave more stubble. It doesn’t, there isn’t, and it won’t. It just shouldn’t work, from an engineering and logical standpoint. TLDR - but it does.

View attachment 1409954

General observations: The build on the Konsul is every bit as robust as the Ambassador, which shares its heritage. The handle knurling to me isn’t as grippy, but the Ambassador is my baseline judging every other razor grip, described as “Velcro” which it practically is. The Konsul is a close second though, and none of my other razors exceeds the grip of the Konsul except the Ambassador. The bottom of the baseplate on Konsul is finished a little rougher than the Ambassador (photos) – you can actually feel the laser engraving. I attribute this to more hand-finishing for this first batch, and in fact you can see some polished fitting marks in the pictures. You can also see the offset slots on the mid-plate of the Konsul, I’m assuming as a result of the slant design. Interestingly, the cap of the Ambassador will fit on the Konsul – so pay attention if you own both (you can see the difference viewing from the side)! I’m not sure what it would do to the shave to use the Ambassador cap on the Konsul, but I expect that generously, it wouldn't improve it. Construction of the Ambassador and the Konsul is similar, two-piece semi-Gibbs design with a retained locking knob and rod – only the cap comes off. Weight is similar (Ambassador 106g, Konsul 105g). The cap on the Konsul is actually slightly narrower in width – almost 25mm, where the Ambassador is almost 26mm, and you can see the difference visually. Longitudinal length of the head is virtually the same at just over 44mm. Practically, both of these razors balance and handle identically.

View attachment 1409956

View attachment 1409957

View attachment 1409958

Shaving: I wasn’t sure exactly how to shave with a slant, so I didn’t change anything consciously in my technique compared to the Ambassador. Giving it every chance, Personna blade, Jack Black’s Beard Lube with each pass, SW’s Carmilla (a soft, cushiony, voluminous-lathering soap in my hands, with a dab of Nivea's shaving gel for an uberlather, shaving scuttle and my favorite Shavemac brush, followed by SW’s aftershave. Three-pass shave – WTG, XTG, ATG. At first I wanted to accommodate the slant by changing the angles, but just went with my normal stroke. The results were surprising. I suppose I expected a shave like the Ambassador, but it was actually one of the most comfortable – if not the – of any DE razor I have used. Ever. My shocked face. You almost literally cannot feel the blade moving through whiskers. As a caveat, one shave with one soap, but I’ll change up the combos with further use, and it’s definitely a keeper in the stable. I don’t know how every other slant works, but Wow.

View attachment 1409961

View attachment 1409959

Excellent review.

On a slant the blade is supposed to look weird. It's supposed to be aligned with the safety bar and misaligned with the cap. I'm not sure yours looks like it's supposed to look (and I'll be using mine within a few days), but as long as it works great who cares, right?

Did I miss what setting or setting you used with the Konsul?

Experiment. Find the best setting. Set it. Leave it, or seldom change it. That's the better way to shave with an adjustable razor. I've shaved daily since 1951. Yes, November 28th 1951, my 15th birthday. And I have 11 adjustable DE and SE razors in my collections of about 75 razors.

The simple way = the better way.

Steve, I'm fine with you or anybody else using an adjustable as you describe using it. My gold Gillette Executive which was given to me as a gift had clearly been used and loved. Its adjustment knob had locked into a position and was stuck there. I think we both know why. It was a project to free it up. Again, not a problem with me that the previous owner had used it that way.

That, however, is not my way.

Different parts of my face respond well to different degrees of efficiency. For a long time I've looked for the very most perfect non-adjustable razor for my skin and whiskers, and I've felt adjustables were kinda silly as most people end up finding a setting and sticking to it, but maybe there's another approach for me to take?

I think there is.

The dissimilar needs of various parts of my face and neck, in my experience, can be addressed with an adjustable using various settings within the shave to accommodate the needs of the various parts of my face and neck. Works for me.

Also, by cleverly adjusting the razor I can make better use of the various lathered passes within a shave.

Further, even though I'm a daily shaver, I don't have the same goals for each and every shave. Again, the right adjustable properly used as defined by me addresses that.

Again, I'm not saying anything is wrong with how you have decided to use your adjustables.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Scaramouche]

Did I miss what setting or setting you used with the Konsul?

Should have clarified - same as Ambassador, 1.5. And actually now feel comfortable dialing up if needed, but that actually provided such a nice shave that I'm guessing unless I go Grizzly Adams on a return trip from Yellowstone, that may be all the horsepower I need....

 

[Messygoon]

First shave with the Konsul, first shave with a slant. A little background – I prefer mild razors. I like the AS-D2, I like the Tech. I use my Rocnel Sailor on 1 (sometimes 2 after a couple of days); my Taigas are pretty much pegged at 2.5, I use the Ambassador on 1.5. The Konsul was a leap of faith. Not having seen a slant close up, this is my first take. It is asymmetric, not only the razor, but the blade. Looking at the head top down (photo - all other photos are with the Ambassador on the left, the Konsul on the right), there is more blade exposure and a greater gap from one side of the cap to the other. It should shave closer on one side of the shaving stroke than the other. There should be more of a chance of slicing yourself with one end of the cap than the other. One side should leave more stubble. It doesn’t, there isn’t, and it won’t. It just shouldn’t work, from an engineering and logical standpoint. TLDR - but it does.

View attachment 1409954

General observations: The build on the Konsul is every bit as robust as the Ambassador, which shares its heritage. The handle knurling to me isn’t as grippy, but the Ambassador is my baseline judging every other razor grip, described as “Velcro” which it practically is. The Konsul is a close second though, and none of my other razors exceeds the grip of the Konsul except the Ambassador. The bottom of the baseplate on Konsul is finished a little rougher than the Ambassador (photos) – you can actually feel the laser engraving. I attribute this to more hand-finishing for this first batch, and in fact you can see some polished fitting marks in the pictures. You can also see the offset slots on the mid-plate of the Konsul, I’m assuming as a result of the slant design. Interestingly, the cap of the Ambassador will fit on the Konsul – so pay attention if you own both (you can see the difference viewing from the side)! I’m not sure what it would do to the shave to use the Ambassador cap on the Konsul, but I expect that generously, it wouldn't improve it. Construction of the Ambassador and the Konsul is similar, two-piece semi-Gibbs design with a retained locking knob and rod – only the cap comes off. Weight is similar (Ambassador 106g, Konsul 105g). The cap on the Konsul is actually slightly narrower in width – almost 25mm, where the Ambassador is almost 26mm, and you can see the difference visually. Longitudinal length of the head is virtually the same at just over 44mm. Practically, both of these razors balance and handle identically.

View attachment 1409956

View attachment 1409957

View attachment 1409958

Shaving: I wasn’t sure exactly how to shave with a slant, so I didn’t change anything consciously in my technique compared to the Ambassador. Giving it every chance, Personna blade, Jack Black’s Beard Lube with each pass, SW’s Carmilla (a soft, cushiony, voluminous-lathering soap in my hands, with a dab of Nivea's shaving gel for an uberlather, shaving scuttle and my favorite Shavemac brush, followed by SW’s aftershave. Three-pass shave – WTG, XTG, ATG. At first I wanted to accommodate the slant by changing the angles, but just went with my normal stroke. The results were surprising. I suppose I expected a shave like the Ambassador, but it was actually one of the most comfortable – if not the – of any DE razor I have used. Ever. My shocked face. You almost literally cannot feel the blade moving through whiskers. As a caveat, one shave with one soap, but I’ll change up the combos with further use, and it’s definitely a keeper in the stable. I don’t know how every other slant works, but Wow.

View attachment 1409961

View attachment 1409959

Exquisite review. Thank you for sharing your experience in such an eloquent, well constructed manner!

 

[Scaramouche]

Should also clarify the above measurements (digital caliper) somewhat. The width measurements as stated were actually for the razor heads (safety bar to safety bar). The caps themselves have less of a difference - 18.7mm wide for the Konsul and 18.8mm for the Ambassador. However, if you look down at the razor heads, the Konsul looks markedly narrower, I think due to an optical phenomenon. The Konsul head is actually arced more and rounded- decidedly so - than the Ambassador which has a flatter cap viewed in profile. In fact with the setting completely closed on both razors (about -0.5 on the dial), the Konsul head is about 9.7mm high (bottom of baseplate to top of cap) whereas the Ambassador is only 8.9mm. I'm not sure how the geometry affects the shave but obviously it does, and I'm sure many hours were spent figuring out the best combination. The bottom line is, it works!

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Should have clarified - same as Ambassador, 1.5. And actually now feel comfortable dialing up if needed, but that actually provided such a nice shave that I'm guessing unless I go Grizzly Adams on a return trip from Yellowstone, that may be all the horsepower I need....

That's really good news.

Thanks and happy shaves,

Jim

 

[macintoshBR]

I do change the settings of my adjustables throughout the shave. Actually, For me that’s the whole point of an adjustable razor. My hair is thicker in the sideburns, chin and upper lips. My skin is more tender on my neck. Why not shave accordingly?

Anyway, I think Razor Emporium should offer a trade in program. Give your old Ambassador and get a new Konsul for $150. I’d take that deal