The artist club type razors are the way to go. To me I can feel how much sharper the AC SE blades are compared to the DE or Gem blades.
The Hawk Razor & some additional thoughts on shaving in the future.
- Thread starter Dave Deluxe
- Start date
I wouldn't call the Hawk razor one of the best razors available today. For the price and the tight tolerances I would call it the very best razor available for the price today? My Hawk is perfect IMHO!!! The blades for this razor are the sharpest ever and they last a very long time. When I use any other razor with any other blade I can always know that the Hawk razor will finish up closer. The weight is light and I consider that lightness a plus! I don't like Heavy razors. Don't see the point since no pressure is always necessary?
- Thread starter
- #23
"oldjoe"
I agree the "Hawk" is the best razor for the price, although I do prefer more weight and added a heavier handle to accomplish that. It's 'stock' weight reminds me too much of injector style razor, which I dislike. It amazes me that anyone even has an interest in DE shaving at all anymore.
I agree the "Hawk" is the best razor for the price, although I do prefer more weight and added a heavier handle to accomplish that. It's 'stock' weight reminds me too much of injector style razor, which I dislike. It amazes me that anyone even has an interest in DE shaving at all anymore.
I feel the Hawk shaves just as good as any other SE razor and I have owned the Cobra, Mongoose, AlumiGoose, Above The Tie and the General. They are all a little bit different but all first class razors.
Thank you sir for a great review. I also bought the Hawk as a cheap way to try out SE shaving and i had a similar experience. The Hawk killed pretty much every interest i had in DE shaving, and i consider selling all my DE razors and blades. I just bought my first Injector, since they have a similar blade, i thought i give them a try as well. Does the Hawk perform so much better for you, than the Injektor razors?
Has anyone tried an Ikon El Jefe and a RR Hawk?
I have both and think that the RR Hawk works best.
It might be just me getting the El Jefe aligned though.
Ron
I have both and think that the RR Hawk works best.
It might be just me getting the El Jefe aligned though.
Ron
I had the aluminum RR Hawk, I find the El Jefe much, much better! I use the El Jefe extremely shallow and it is outstanding with a Schick Proline. I gave the Hawk to my father-in-law, he loves it.
IMightBeWrong
Loves a smelly brush
I'm really looking forward to the El Jefe coming back. I would love be to try to one. My current grail, though, is an ATT SE2 just to try out an open comb with these types of blades.
Thanks rabdus
I'm going to leave these two razors to the end of my sorting of the cache.
If I remember right they both gave shaves that were the best shaves up till that time.
Well except for the El Jefe a couple of times that I didn't get it right.
Do you have any tips to help dial it in?
Now that I have more experience using something other than a Cart razor, I'm thinking that I might fall in love with it all over again.
Thanks Ron
I'm going to leave these two razors to the end of my sorting of the cache.
If I remember right they both gave shaves that were the best shaves up till that time.
Well except for the El Jefe a couple of times that I didn't get it right.
Do you have any tips to help dial it in?
Now that I have more experience using something other than a Cart razor, I'm thinking that I might fall in love with it all over again.
Thanks Ron
I use all SE razors shallow with a light touch. I focus on feedback and feeling stubble resistance and not on blade feel to find my angle.
Ok Yea I have been going by blade feel to find my angle.
Ron
Ron
El Jefe is very unforgiving and requires an extremely light touch. I limit myself to two passes when I use it.
I agree with that if it is not aligned properly! I make sure the blade edge is sitting back from the guard edge. The more forward the blade edge is, the more unforgiving it is.
I used an Asylum RX today for the first time today and it is unforgiving. The El Jefe is smooth as silk.
I had a Black Hawk (v1) arrive yesterday and had my first shave with it this morning. Even with a blade on its 9th shave (KAI Mild transferred from my Feather AC SS), I had a more than serviceable result with it. The angle was super easy to find but I'm not sure if that's just because I use Injectors on a regular basis or if the razor design lends itself to being intuitive.
I will probably still need a few more shaves to be able to get a DFS result on the neck and goatee, but I have no complaints about the Hawk right now.
I will probably still need a few more shaves to be able to get a DFS result on the neck and goatee, but I have no complaints about the Hawk right now.
One feature of the El Jefe is that is is so versatile -- and smooth.
With the El Jefe, I do a standard 3-pass (WTG, ATG, and XTG) with the blade retracted. [[I lightly "squeeze" the blade backwardly with my lefthand thumb, using an outward rotation of the wrist.]] I use a fair amount of pressure on the "down stoke", very little pressure on the "up stroke", and moderate pressure on the "cross stroke". With the blade tapped forward, finally I do an albeit careful post-polish on the jowls and sides of the neck. The finish with Vaseline Intensive Care, and then Aqua Lavanda or Eau De Quinine, reveals a BBS with very little or no scrapping of the skin.
Try this routine with a "pull and cut" cart!!
I position the cap back, baseplate forward. Then I light push the blade back lightly with the back of my fingernail and that's where it stays for my entire shave. Paired with a Schick Proline, which I find to be much much more efficient than the Kai mild and Feather Pro, the El Jefe is unbeatable. I've used the Asylum RX, Classic Cobra, General, and Hawk and neither of them can compete with the El Jefe all around when it comes to efficiency and smoothness!
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Swapped out to a fresh KAI Mild in the Black Hawk for my second shave with it, and the difference was enormous. A fantastically easy and wonderful shave.
I'm glad to hear you are enjoying your Hawk thus far @rockviper, how's the weight for you?
I'm used to injectors, which are also light razors, so once I started to shave, I didn't even notice it.
I do prefer the El-jefe to the alu Hawk. It's way more efficient on its mild setting and I use it with a pro to mow down several day's growth or a Kai MG for everyday shaving. The Hawk although a good SE I find it relatively mild by comparison. Now the Hawk should really be compared to the alu General as I see them as cousins and comparable in performance.
Comparing these two, I would choose the General as being smoother and more efficient. One also has to take into consideration that the Hawk will not take the Feather super-pro, (as recommended by the makers), while the General will with no issues.
Comparing these two, I would choose the General as being smoother and more efficient. One also has to take into consideration that the Hawk will not take the Feather super-pro, (as recommended by the makers), while the General will with no issues.
