The Master Shave Forum

RiverValleyTrading wrote:Wow! Great shave Clouds. Very intersting historic razor. Never seen that style before.

Thanks RVT. It goes to show that there is no need for fancy systems to achieve adjustability.

dini wrote:Thanks to this thread I am now following the Rocnel Instagram page with unhealthy interest.

They make excellent razors. Let us know when Murat gets some of your money

Ideal

This is another razor that there is not too much info out there on it. Like the Rubin (page 1) its also "Cold War" Soviet made copy of a Super Adjustable 109 but the one with the metal base. The handle is also aluminium. I guess this further indication that they were pretty much copying what Gillette were doing, but the quality control was not on par. Closing it and everything also tightens as it should and the adjustment dial works fine.

I bought this from a guy in the Ukraine during the first few days of lockdown and had to use the postal service. It took 5days short of 6 months to get it

How does it shave:
First shave with it and it does need a revisit.
Its shave is similar to the SA109 and the setting seems to be about the same.

Clouds wrote:Ideal

This is another razor that there is not too much info out there on it. Like the Rubin (page 1) its also "Cold War" Soviet made copy of a Super Adjustable 109 but the one with the metal base. The handle is also aluminium. I guess this further indication that they were pretty much copying what Gillette were doing, but the quality control was not on par. Closing it and everything also tightens as it should and the adjustment dial works fine.

I bought this from a guy in the Ukraine during the first few days of lockdown and had to use the postal service. It took 5days short of 6 months to get it

How does it shave:
First shave with it and it does need a revisit.
Its shave is similar to the SA109 and the setting seems to be about the same.

SOTD201009.jpg

Very interesting Clouds.

Sent from my SM-J701F using Tapatalk

Myatt Adjustable

The very Art Deco styling of this razor screams the early 1930's.
It has a weird shaped guard, sort of a cage with a guard. I'm not sure what its purpose was but it does look pretty awesome. It feels extremely well made, which would be par for the course with British manufacturing at the time. The W.J Myatt company were silversmiths based in Burningham, UK.

This is another one of those that the "flexing" of the blade is the spring. I don't have an original blade and believe that the blades were thicker and thus had more spring in them. Its not really an adjustable using todays blades, nonetheless it's marked with FINE, MEDIUM and COARSE on the handle and has a little arrow on the twist knob.

The pins are unusual so it takes a proprietary blade. Reading on the net, some guys force the blade onto the pins, which I guess would work OK were it not for the fact that the blade is the spring in the adjustment mechanism. I did some careful measuring, a bit of lining up and "deep" engraved the blade to fit the pins.

Its a three piece. The handle and head can be separated as well. I believe this to be for manufacturing purposes, but instead of crimping them they decided that they would be screwed together. This one has been well used and at some time in its life it must have been dropped because one of the end teeth is very slightly bent.

How does it shave
Only one shave with it...
Its a very efficient shaver but has no blade feel. After the first stroke, I actually checked to see if it did anything. I used a new suitably modified Wizamet Super Iridium. Adjustment - There is a bit but not much to talk about, just as I thought when I first saw it.

Clouds wrote:Myatt Adjustable

The very Art Deco styling of this razor screams the early 1930's.
It has a weird shaped guard, sort of a cage with a guard. I'm not sure what its purpose was but it does look pretty awesome. It feels extremely well made, which would be par for the course with British manufacturing at the time. The W.J Myatt company were silversmiths based in Burningham, UK.

This is another one of those that the "flexing" of the blade is the spring. I don't have an original blade and believe that the blades were thicker and thus had more spring in them. Its not really an adjustable using todays blades, nonetheless it's marked with FINE, MEDIUM and COARSE on the handle and has a little arrow on the twist knob.

The pins are unusual so it takes a proprietary blade. Reading on the net, some guys force the blade onto the pins, which I guess would work OK were it not for the fact that the blade is the spring in the adjustment mechanism. I did some careful measuring, a bit of lining up and "deep" engraved the blade to fit the pins.

Its a three piece. The handle and head can be separated as well. I believe this to be for manufacturing purposes, but instead of crimping them they decided that they would be screwed together. This one has been well used and at some time in its life it must have been dropped because one of the end teeth is very slightly bent.

How does it shave
Only one shave with it...
Its a very efficient shaver but has no blade feel. After the first stroke, I actually checked to see if it did anything. I used a new suitably modified Wizamet Super Iridium. Adjustment - There is a bit but not much to talk about, just as I thought when I first saw it.

SOTD201016.jpg

Great shave!

Sent from my SM-J701F using Tapatalk

Clouds wrote:Ideal

This is another razor that there is not too much info out there on it. Like the Rubin (page 1) its also "Cold War" Soviet made copy of a Super Adjustable 109 but the one with the metal base. The handle is also aluminium. I guess this further indication that they were pretty much copying what Gillette were doing, but the quality control was not on par. Closing it and everything also tightens as it should and the adjustment dial works fine.

I bought this from a guy in the Ukraine during the first few days of lockdown and had to use the postal service. It took 5days short of 6 months to get it

How does it shave:
First shave with it and it does need a revisit.
Its shave is similar to the SA109 and the setting seems to be about the same.

SOTD201009.jpg

Very cool. Great score Clouds! Yes, unfortunately there is not much information on these USSR razors out there. This razor is indeed a Soviet clone of the Gillette Black Beauty. I guess the Ideal was produced prior to the Ruben 1 as according to a factory certificate of the Ruben 1 it was made in 1991 by Smolensk Aircraft Factory and after searching the internet the Ideal was produced around 1988. I don’t know if your razors indicate different production dates?

When searching Smolensk Aircraft Factory I found this interesting information.

"The facility was founded in 1926 as "Aviation Repair Plant No.3", in 1928 it was redesignated "Plant No.35". Between 1941 and 1944 it was relocated to Kuybyshev as part of "Plant #1". Until 1966, it was known as "Plant #475" of the NKAP (Narodny Kommissariat Aviatsionnoy Promyshlennosti, People's Commissariat for Aviation Industry). It was renamed again in 1967 as the "Smolensk Machine Building Plant" of MAP (Ministerstvo Aviatsionnoy Promyshlennosti, Ministry for the Aviation Industry). It received its present name in 1974.
During the 1960s and 1970s SmAZ primarily produced aircraft and aircraft parts designed by the Yakovlev Design Bureau. During the 1980s production at Smolensk included the Myasishchev-designed high-altitude M-55 Geofizika aircraft, cruise missiles like the Kh-55 Granat and parts for the Buran space shuttle. In addition, SmAZ produces medical and light industry equipment.[2] On July 1, 1993 it was privatized, and has since operated as a joint stock company."

@BLES
Good info there.
I've just checked, the only markings (other than the numbers) on the Ruben or the Ideal are logos underneath.
There is also a Diplomat (Slim clone) and other than the numbers it has no markings.

Schick Type M (Shut able)

I can't find any info out there on this, but it's clearly a M-Type but it has a "Shut Off" feature which just pushes the guard upwards.
II don't really see the reason for the shut-off except maybe for a travel razor, but then its too long. Be that as it may - Its is pretty ingenious.

It has no metallic insert and its handle is grey as opposed to black.

How does it shave:
Only one shave under the belt with it...
I started on 2 and its mild, so I immediately went up to 7 and its a excellent shaver.
Its mostly plastic so I do find it a bit light.

Clouds wrote:Schick Type M (Shut able)

I can't find any info out there on this, but it's clearly a M-Type but it has a "Shut Off" feature which just pushes the guard upwards.
II don't really see the reason for the shut-off except maybe for a travel razor, but then its too long. Be that as it may - Its is pretty ingenious.

It has no metallic insert and its handle is grey as opposed to black.

How does it shave:
Only one shave under the belt with it...
I started on 2 and its mild, so I immediately went up to 7 and its a excellent shaver.
Its mostly plastic so I do find it a bit light.

SOTD201030.jpg

Nice shave Clouds.

Sent from my SM-J701F using Tapatalk

Clouds wrote:Schick Type M (Shut able)

I can't find any info out there on this, but it's clearly a M-Type but it has a "Shut Off" feature which just pushes the guard upwards.
II don't really see the reason for the shut-off except maybe for a travel razor, but then its too long. Be that as it may - Its is pretty ingenious.

It has no metallic insert and its handle is grey as opposed to black.

How does it shave:
Only one shave under the belt with it...
I started on 2 and its mild, so I immediately went up to 7 and its a excellent shaver.
Its mostly plastic so I do find it a bit light.

SOTD201030.jpg

I think that is about the only single edge adjustable I have seen. Nice Clouds.

I am still trying as hard as possible to ignore Rocnels instagram page udpates. Maybe I shoudl stop following?

RiverValleyTrading wrote:Nice shave Clouds.

Thanks RVT

dini wrote:I think that is about the only single edge adjustable I have seen. Nice Clouds.

I am still trying as hard as possible to ignore Rocnels instagram page udpates. Maybe I shoudl stop following?

Thanks dini

Rocnel made great razors and now have really upped their game even more

Pearl Flexi

Look what arrived yesterday. If you're a Gibbs fan, you can't pass on this one.

Its made in India, comes well presented, well packaged and also includes the stand. They also sent 150 blades. It's supposedly made of brass. The marker on the adjuster dial is just a shallow drilled hole and there is "brass" under the plating. Compared to a Gibbs even with my brass handle, its a heavy razor.

I'm guessing that it comes apart like a Gibbs but they have obviously loctited the handle to the head, so in order to take it apart one will have to apply some heat.

Its not as well made as either the Taiga or the Rex but its a third of the price at around $75. The tolerances on the adjuster dial for want of a better word is sloppy and on a few of the international forums, the guys are moaning about uneven blade gap between 2 and 5. This one's gap adjusts fine although I can duplicate the problem. I think that with some use, it will work itself out.

How does it shave:
I felt the heaviness straight away so a light touch is needed. As normal, first time that I use a razor, I never use a new blade. I started on 2 and it was too mild for me so I dialed it to 5. It gets to the tight spots easily. There is a lot of blade feel at 5 but I didn't get the BBS that I would have associated with that.
It needs to be revisited

Clouds wrote:Pearl Flexi

Look what arrived yesterday. If you're a Gibbs fan, you can't pass on this one.

Its made in India, comes well presented, well packaged and also includes the stand. They also sent 150 blades. It's supposedly made of brass. The marker on the adjuster dial is just a shallow drilled hole and there is "brass" under the plating. Compared to a Gibbs even with my brass handle, its a heavy razor.

I'm guessing that it comes apart like a Gibbs but they have obviously loctited the handle to the head, so in order to take it apart one will have to apply some heat.

Its not as well made as either the Taiga or the Rex but its a third of the price at around $75. The tolerances on the adjuster dial for want of a better word is sloppy and on a few of the international forums, the guys are moaning about uneven blade gap between 2 and 5. This one's gap adjusts fine although I can duplicate the problem. I think that with some use, it will work itself out.

How does it shave:
I felt the heaviness straight away so a light touch is needed. As normal, first time that I use a razor, I never use a new blade. I started on 2 and it was too mild for me so I dialed it to 5. It gets to the tight spots easily. There is a lot of blade feel at 5 but I didn't get the BBS that I would have associated with that.
It needs to be revisited

Pearl Flexi.jpg

Wow! Nice one Clouds. I've seen afew people complaining aboutt eh un-even blade gap. Glad to hear that your one is ok.

I like the stand a lot, is that also brass?

RiverValleyTrading wrote:Wow! Nice one Clouds. I've seen afew people complaining aboutt eh un-even blade gap. Glad to hear that your one is ok.

Thanks RVT.
I'm not sure what people expect out of a $75ish Brass/Adjustable razor

dappershaves wrote:I like the stand a lot, is that also brass?

Don't know, certainly feels like it

Firstly - No I don't know how to pronounce this..

There are hints of a Futur "look" in it and in fact it adjusts and takes down exactly like a Futur. Its like they have taken a Futur and streamlined it. It does however have a first (that I am aware of) and that is that the topcap is held on by a magnet. Check out the insert.

The razor is cast in zamak and the topcap has a metal insert that the magnet is attracted to. The blade is also attracted to the magnet and the head is wide enough that the blade tabs are covered - so you need to take a little more care when removing the blade. Call me old school, I was concerned that it didn't "screw" together, but the magnet holds everything together fine.

Its another Made in China razor.

Its a certainly a "different" design and I do like it.

How does it shave
You would right in thinking that its smooth - it very smooth, its also very mild. I needed to ride the topcap and had it fully open on 8.
While I was shaving, I realized that its very easy to over-clock and over-clocked it for the touch-ups.
I ended up with somewhere between a DFS and a BBS

Clouds wrote:Firstly - No I don't know how to pronounce this..

There are hints of a Futur "look" in it and in fact it adjusts and takes down exactly like a Futur. Its like they have taken a Futur and streamlined it. It does however have a first (that I am aware of) and that is that the topcap is held on by a magnet. Check out the insert.

The razor is cast in zamak and the topcap has a metal insert that the magnet is attracted to. The blade is also attracted to the magnet and the head is wide enough that the blade tabs are covered - so you need to take a little more care when removing the blade. Call me old school, I was concerned that it didn't "screw" together, but the magnet holds everything together fine.

Its another Made in China razor.

Its a certainly a "different" design and I do like it.

How does it shave
You would right in thinking that its smooth - it very smooth, its also very mild. I needed to ride the topcap and had it fully open on 8.
While I was shaving, I realized that its very easy to over-clock and over-clocked it for the touch-ups.
I ended up with somewhere between a DFS and a BBS

SOTD201205.jpg

Nice shave Clouds. Very cool razor!

Clouds wrote:Firstly - No I don't know how to pronounce this..

There are hints of a Futur "look" in it and in fact it adjusts and takes down exactly like a Futur. Its like they have taken a Futur and streamlined it. It does however have a first (that I am aware of) and that is that the topcap is held on by a magnet. Check out the insert.

The razor is cast in zamak and the topcap has a metal insert that the magnet is attracted to. The blade is also attracted to the magnet and the head is wide enough that the blade tabs are covered - so you need to take a little more care when removing the blade. Call me old school, I was concerned that it didn't "screw" together, but the magnet holds everything together fine.

Its another Made in China razor.

Its a certainly a "different" design and I do like it.

How does it shave
You would right in thinking that its smooth - it very smooth, its also very mild. I needed to ride the topcap and had it fully open on 8.
While I was shaving, I realized that its very easy to over-clock and over-clocked it for the touch-ups.
I ended up with somewhere between a DFS and a BBS

SOTD201205.jpg

Nice razor there Clouds!

Clouds wrote:Firstly - No I don't know how to pronounce this..

There are hints of a Futur "look" in it and in fact it adjusts and takes down exactly like a Futur. Its like they have taken a Futur and streamlined it. It does however have a first (that I am aware of) and that is that the topcap is held on by a magnet. Check out the insert.

The razor is cast in zamak and the topcap has a metal insert that the magnet is attracted to. The blade is also attracted to the magnet and the head is wide enough that the blade tabs are covered - so you need to take a little more care when removing the blade. Call me old school, I was concerned that it didn't "screw" together, but the magnet holds everything together fine.

Its another Made in China razor.

Its a certainly a "different" design and I do like it.

How does it shave
You would right in thinking that its smooth - it very smooth, its also very mild. I needed to ride the topcap and had it fully open on 8.
While I was shaving, I realized that its very easy to over-clock and over-clocked it for the touch-ups.
I ended up with somewhere between a DFS and a BBS

SOTD201205.jpg

Looks like the cousin of the star ship enterprise. Live long and prosper Claudio.

RiverValleyTrading wrote:Nice shave Clouds. Very cool razor!

Thanks RVT. Certainly very different looks and the magnet idea, to the best of my knowledge is also new

Heinrich wrote:Nice razor there Clouds!

Thanks Heinrich

dappershaves wrote:Looks like the cousin of the star ship enterprise. Live long and prosper Claudio.

Maybe they with Snmirns on the Starship Enterprise.
Thanks Jacques, same wishes to you..