SMF

brothers wrote:Murray, if you decide to let the handle go, I'll buy it from you.

I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Gary.

- Murray

Well, I had my second shave with the Razorock Teck II this AM. I lathered up with J.M. Fraser's Original and my Fine 20mm Angel Hair Synthetic Brush. The razor performed flawlessly on my 24 hour stubble. The head puts quite a curve on the blade compared to any Gillette Tech that I've seen. It navigates the curve of my jawline with ease. I'm still getting used to the long bulbous handle. I find myself holding it by the neck, and letting the thicker part hang in my hand as a weight. I think that there are probably better handle choices out there for me, and I will experiment which is the beauty of a three piece razor.

I would rate the aggression as a 4 on a Gillette Slim Adjustable, or right between a Regular 1950's Superspeed and a Red Tip Superspeed. However, this is no Blue Tip or Weishi. It is a very smooth and comfortable razor, and much more so than any DE89 heads that I've tried. I could get an autopilot shave with this one, if I was fatigued. My compliments to the chef, as this one is a keeper!

Tucker wrote:Well, I had my second shave with the Razorock Teck II this AM. I lathered up with J.M. Fraser's Original and my Fine 20mm Angel Hair Synthetic Brush. The razor performed flawlessly on my 24 hour stubble. The head puts quite a curve on the blade compared to any Gillette Tech that I've seen. It navigates the curve of my jawline with ease. I'm still getting used to the long bulbous handle. I find myself holding it by the neck, and letting the thicker part hang in my hand as a weight. I think that there are probably better handle choices out there for me, and I will experiment which is the beauty of a three piece razor.

I would rate the aggression as a 4 on a Gillette Slim Adjustable, or right between a Regular 1950's Superspeed and a Red Tip Superspeed. However, this is no Blue Tip or Weishi. It is a very smooth and comfortable razor, and much more so than any DE89 heads that I've tried. I could get an autopilot shave with this one, if I was fatigued. My compliments to the chef, as this one is a keeper!

Perfect description!! I did shave two today with a new Gillette Platinum Plus (Brazil) and Omega shave soap. This razor is "tricking" me with the head & handle. I thought about putting a "fat" Tech handle on it and may do that later on to help figure this DE out. It sort of feels more aggressive than it really is, if that makes sense. Or is it?

I definitely need more time behind the "wheel" with this one. One thing does however stand out: it is so smooooottthhhhh!!

Today was my third use of the Italian Barber Razorock Teck II with the original Polsilver SI Blade that I put in it from the get go. I had a 30 hour stubble, and I used J.M. Fraser's Original and a Kent Silvertex Synthetic Brush which is a great little brush. The razor did really well, and I've dialed in the technique for it. However, my lather was a little runny and dripped down the handle which is not textured. A quick rinse resolved the problem.

I noticed that my lower neck had a small patch of stubble that was missed in two passes, and my chin had two micro weepers that the Witch Hazel easily took care of. All signs pointed to the last use of a blade for me, so the blade went in the blade bank at the conclusion of the shave. Here lately, I have only been getting 2-3 uses out of any blade with Omaha's hard water. I know other shavers get many more, but I feel that preemptive blade changes are a luxury that I can afford.

After the first shave with this razor, I had wondered what a Feather Blade would be like in it. However, I find that the aggression is perfect for me which leaves no desire to try a Feather for a closer shave. I reserve Feather Blades for only my mildest of razors like my ATT M1. In the Teck II, I may try an Israeli Personna Red Pack for economy, but Polsilver SI's shine for me in this, and almost all, but the mildest of razors.

I was poking around Amazon, and I noticed a razor for sale that bears more than a striking resemblance, but at more than 3X the price. It gets good reviews:

https://www.amazon.com/VIKINGS-Godfathe ... edge+razor

Tucker wrote:...I was poking around Amazon, and I noticed a razor for sale that bears more than a striking resemblance, but at more than 3X the price. It gets good reviews:

https://www.amazon.com/VIKINGS-Godfathe ... edge+razor

Since Viking is an Australian co. I think they don't actually make these:

http://vikingsblade.com/product/vikings ... fety-razor

I am thinking that these cos. contract with China for these and here it is:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2016-New ... 4.8.DRQ7MK

OK, today I screwed an original "fat handle" from a Tech onto the head. For one, I don't like really heavy handles as they seem more error prone for my hand. I noticed a difference in that the razor handled more nimbly obviously. It is buttery smooth this razor head and to be frank, somewhat of an improvement on the original for how the blade is held in. This is not an aggressive razor. I am revising my opinion to rank it beside the post-war Tech for aggression to my face which includes post-shave feel.

If they would offer this same head design with just a little more aggression they would sell even more. Nonetheless, it is a great daily shaver for those who like "Techesque" shaves.

CMur12 wrote:

brothers wrote:Murray, if you decide to let the handle go, I'll buy it from you.

I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Gary.

- Murray

Murray, I suspect you'll want to keep the handle with the head. I think I've changed my mind, if it's ok with you. I will wait to see how the reviews stack up, pro and con, and I might want to just buy one of these razors for myself!

Not a problem, Gary. At $9.99, it won't break the bank, so you might as well get one for yourself. I've bought razors much more expensive than this for the handle alone, myself.

- Murray

I've tried the razor with a Gillette Silver Blue and it wasn't too bad. Not close enough for my tastes.
I then put in a Kai blade and it preformed more to my liking, although the Kai seems to leave my face more 'raw' feeling.
I like the weight of the handle and it does shave very smooth. I find that I have to do more passes to get a closer shave which may be leading to the 'raw' feeling.
For the money, it is a very good value. No complaints on the finish, it looks like a way more expensive razor.

Nitrox wrote:I've tried the razor with a Gillette Silver Blue and it wasn't too bad. Not close enough for my tastes...

After a few more shaves that is the same conclusion that I have reached as well: too mild.

I got my order from the Italian Barber today, including the Teck II Safety Razor and the Quick-Change DE Safety Razor (Super Speed clone).

I don't shave tonight, so I'll try the Teck II tomorrow/Tuesday night. I'll try it first with the handle that came with it. After that, I have another handle that is more to my normal liking. Looking forward to trying the Quick-Change, too.

- Murray

I had my first shave with the Teck II tonight. My first impression of it is that it is mild, but not Tech-mild. I found that I could get this one "under" the whiskers better than I typically can with a Gillette Tech, which is a positive. The handle that came with it is nicely weighted and I found myself holding it by the end, as I would with a shorter handle. Next time, I will use it with a handle more to my liking.

- Murray

I think that the handle leaves a lot to be desired. The head has interesting design elements. I found it to be very smooth and efficient. I wouldn't want it any more aggressive or more mild. I think of the Teck II as a poor man's Feather AS-D2. I'll be interested in your thoughts on the Quick Change Razor which I've heard is mild. I own one, but I haven't tried it yet. Too many razors, too little time.

Tucker, I agree that the level of mildness/effectiveness of the Teck II is just about perfect. I'm going to try it with another handle, maybe a couple more times, before I try the Quick-Change razor, though I'm anxious to try the latter, too.

- Murray

Tonight I had my second shave with the Teck II. This time I used a familiar brush, so that I could be more certain of the lather. I had a different handle on the razor, but the shaving characteristics were the same.

At the time of my first shave with this razor and a synthetic brush, I noted that I seemed to have no glide from the lather. I guessed it to be because of the synthetic brush. Tonight, with a familiar brush and another soap, I still felt no glide, in fact the razor felt rough. I would not call this razor mild or smooth. With my Mergress on the lowest setting, which is mild but nowhere near as mild as a Tech, I get a smoother and more efficient shave.

I'll try the Quick-Change TTO razor next, but the Teck II is going into the drawer.

- Murray

First thing, I ditched the stock handle and replaced it with a Maggard SS that looks and fits me better. I like that the head is wide enough to cover the whole blade -- I wish more manufacturers would opt for this simple design upgrade. Used a smooth and efficient Voskhod blade. The shave, though, was so-so, too mild (even for me) and hard to find and keep the right angle. I'll give it another go but not a great first impression. I don't have much luck with RR razors, only their synthetic brushes.

Thanks for the link to the video. I'll be giving mine a trial run on Sunday night.

- Murray

Hello Guys,
I had my first shave today with the Italian Barber Tech Clone. I shower shave with a mirror attached to sliding glass door.
I used a new Dorco 301 blade. The soap was a brand new RazoRock Emperor Shaving Cream Soap. The soap made an easy and excelent lather with my Kent BK4 brush.
I absolutely hated the fragrance. Hated it! It reminds me of the smell at the back of a soft ice cream place. (enough about the smell.)
I did a face lather and proceeded to do a two pass shave. N-S and E-W. The combination of this razor and this blade gave me a VFS, almost BBS. Very comfortable, smooth shaving with this razor.
Medium mild. did I say smooth? it was.
I liked it. The plating and finish of the razor looks to be EJ quality. Looks much more expensive than it is.
Great buy for $10.

I measured the blade gap with feeler gauges on the Teck II and was shocked. The blade gap is a whopping 0.045!! However, they neutered it with very little blade exposure. As a benchmark, a pre-war USA Gillette Tech measures right at 0.024" gap which is the same measurement I got for the RazoRock DE89 clone head. Because the Teck II blade sits higher in the head it requires a different technique to shave well IMO.