What's new

Why does the Focus R48 have a bad wrap?

It seems that a lot of people on this forum give this razor a very bad wrap. I tried it with a Feather blade and although it’s not the smoothest to load a blade, the shave is great and exceptionally BBS in closeness. Great option compared to a OneBlade that has a much more open blade choice if you ask me.
 
I love this razor and have landed on this on my daily shaver. I don't use anything else. 2 passes to as close as a shave as I would ever want and no irritation.

The process of shaving with this razor requires less skill or artistry than most so I think for those who appreciate and value the mastery and process of shaving, there is little joy in using it. And for those who shave with it like a DE, it can give you some trouble. But for those who appreciate an effective razor that gets you out the door and on the way to work every morning, it is a great choice.
 
Do you have a favorite blade with it?
I haven't had much success over the years chasing sharpness. My skin always tells me to back off. I have settled on the german Wilkinsons in the R48 as the best compromise of smoothness and sharpness for me.
 
This razor gives a close comfortable shave. The only fault is that it is sometimes tricky to align the blade evenly,
 
How does it do in tight places—under nose, on and around ears, in chin crease, etc.? Does the pivoting head work there?
 
How does it do in tight places—under nose, on and around ears, in chin crease, etc.? Does the pivoting head work there?
I have a full beard so I can’t say . I honestly don’t foresee it being an issue edging etc. I think for me , choking the grip up helps immensely in getting the pivot to active.
 
How does it do in tight places—under nose, on and around ears, in chin crease, etc.? Does the pivoting head work there?
I have no problems. In fact I find it easier than the DEs I used to use. The flat head allows me to get in under the nose much easier than the more bulbous heads on my DEs.
 
I had one shave with it and sold it. The shave was that bad.

I think that gets back to my comment that you can't use the same technique that you would with a DE. Nor is it like a fixed SE or a cartridge. In my case, I reviewed recommendations and watched videos to ensure that I had the best understanding before I put it to my face. And it worked great.

But, as in all cases, worked for me.
 
I think that gets back to my comment that you can't use the same technique that you would with a DE. Nor is it like a fixed SE or a cartridge.

I agree, if I kept at it I would have mastered it I'm sure but I felt since I have so many great razors already it was not worth the learning curve.
 
Those who found it gave terrible shaves, most certainly had not seated the blade correctly. Polsilver seems to be almost foolproof. Until I realised the blade was not properly aligned , I nearly thŕew it away!.
 
I would say from what I've read, for those that didn't care for it, was due to 2 different factors.

The 1st was just getting a blade in and properly seated. The guy that designed the razor even mentioned in one of his video's that this was something that even he had a problem with but overcame any problems quickly once he learned how to do it.

The 2nd reason was because of the pressure that was needed to get the head to activate and pivot properly. Unlike a traditional DE, SE, or even Gem razor, we were taught to use these without any pressure at all and yet along comes a razor where the designer says to use pressure and that went against everything we were wired to do in this hobby and people had a very difficult time grasping that concept.

The majority of those that used it and sold it, (I feel), never gave it the same length of trial period as any DE or SE razors they'd tried and proceeded to give it a bad rep every time it was mentioned. I think there were quite a few R48's that were sold but people just don't talk about using them anymore because they are buried in a rotation so deep that it doesn't get used but maybe once every couple months. I think Dynamic had more success with the Shavette version that this originated from though.
 
I would say from what I've read, for those that didn't care for it, was due to 2 different factors.

The 1st was just getting a blade in and properly seated. The guy that designed the razor even mentioned in one of his video's that this was something that even he had a problem with but overcame any problems quickly once he learned how to do it.



The 2nd reason was because of the pressure that was needed to get the head to activate and pivot properly. Unlike a traditional DE, SE, or even Gem razor, we were taught to use these without any pressure at all and yet along comes a razor where the designer says to use pressure and that went against everything we were wired to do in this hobby and people had a very difficult time grasping that concept.

The majority of those that used it and sold it, (I feel), never gave it the same length of trial period as any DE or SE razors they'd tried and proceeded to give it a bad rep every time it was mentioned. I think there were quite a few R48's that were sold but people just don't talk about using them anymore because they are buried in a rotation so deep that it doesn't get used but maybe once every couple months. I think Dynamic had more success with the Shavette version that this originated from though.
I think you are completely right. Some were definitely put off by not inserting the blade correctly. The inventor should have made this foolproof...
 
I think you are completely right. Some were definitely put off by not inserting the blade correctly. The inventor should have made this foolproof...
Unfortunately because of all the different blade mfg's out there and variances in tolerance from one blade to the next this is near impossible, especially when you factor in when a blade is snapped in half, the bent part is to face upwards and most are confuse as to where upwards is exactly!! I've read a few reviews where someone was unsuccessful in getting a blade to seat properly and come to find out they were trying to use saloon blades which the mfg'r specifically says will not work properly in this design but, in the mfg's favor though is he made the clamp adjustable for someone to dial in the head to make it easier to load a blade but not many even realize that feature is there...
 
I’m posting this just to perhaps help someone out. If the blade loading is hard to slide over, your blade isn’t lined up properly. It should not be super hard to load when you slide the cap on and give you resistance.
 
Got to say, just used mine again with a vintage English Wilko blade. BBS in 2 passes. It does remind me of my Gillette sensor too. Got mine of a guy on the bay. Less than half price with postage, it was only 2 weeks old when he sold it. On asking the seller explained he couldn't get any decent shaves. For me the best blades are so far vintage Wilko or current Treet carbon blades. I have noticed though that a couple of Astra SP blades haven't broken quiet evenly when folding and I've ended up with one half slightly wider than the other.
 
Top Bottom