GearNoir
“The Disney Princess’s Apprentice”
A first shave with a new razor demands full attention! That’s exactly what I gave today for my first shave with the RR Game Changer on their Barber Pole handle. That...and a whole lot of stubble!
The razor head is machined 316L Marine Grade stainless steel. The handle is also solid 316L.
To provide a good baseline for the razor, I used my go-to workhorse blade, the Astra SP. It is highly consistent for me and the edge has great longevity. It is not as smooth as a GSB, but the edge definitely performs.
The seating of the Astra was a piece of cake, no fiddling at all, and from what I could tell was perfectly aligned. I’m most used to vintage razors with which you begin by seating the blade on the upturned top cap, then place the baseplate over, this is not the case with the GC. Instead of having posts that extend out of the cap and down into or through the baseplate, the GC has small posts on the baseplate that extend into the top cap, but it’s all contained and invisible once assembled. The GC works best if you first seat the blade on the baseplate, then place the top cap, pinch the assembly, and screw on the handle. I do this over a soft surface usually, with a microfiber cloth, to reduce accidents with the blade. Safety first! It’s different, but it works!
The top cap and base plate fit together very snugly with no perceived play. I never felt in danger of cutting fingers with this style of loading, in fact, what’s important to note it that the GC head extends to fully cover the blade tabs, a nice safety feature which did not affect my shave in any way.
The Barber Pole handle is perfectly polished and the knurl is just right for a light grip, not too shallow, but not super deep. It adds to the overall solid feeling of the razor. The head pieces have a slightly different finish. To be honest it gave me a bit of a scare, but IB states it’s what they were going for. They are well polished, but the metal has a bit of a milky/faceted/semi-matte look to it. It’s kinda neat, but may be off-putting to some as it doesn’t entirely match with the handle. Nothing about the finish detracts from the shave however. It is all quite smooth, without being slippery. To note though, I never hand wet hands when loading or handling my razors, they are only ever damp at the most.
The shaving angle with the GC is immediately findable, but it’s deceptive! You almost never feel the blade on your WTG or XTG strokes, and though there is some audible feedback, it is very quieted. I watched the razor rinses like a hawk just to make sure I was still cutting stubble lol. Sure enough, there was plenty of stubble (I was working with only 1 day’s growth) washing out on all three passes, the ATG in particular.
The lather channels and finish make rinsing a breeze. The razor never felt clogged a single time, even if I held off on rinsing a bit longer than usual. If you do like a runnier lather, this may actually be an issue if you don’t rinse regularly during the shave. I guess over-efficient lather channels are a thing? Lol! Anyway, it didn’t bother me.
The best comparison that I can give is of the shave to that of a Prewar Fat Handled Tech (triangular slots), but with the heft and geometry, it nearly pulls off a Fatboy-like level of comfort. It is easily a daily driver. It has great efficiency, more than the prewar Tech and more than the Fatboy on setting 3. You only ever really get some blade feel on the ATG, but the smoothness of the shave makes it pleasing. These traits are what I was personally hoping for and more. It’s only the first shave, but often first impressions are important! So far, a superb chunk of value per buck spent and an excellent shave!
Official Details:
Head Weight: Unknown
Handle Diameter x Length: Barber Pole, 12 mm x 85 mm (14 mm Butt End), ~2.6 oz weight
Blade Gap: 0.68 mm
Blade Exposure: Positive
Material: 316L Marine Grade Stainless Steel
Finish: 3 stage, 24 hour, Machine polish
Other Details: Each razor is engraved with a unique serial number.
The razor head is machined 316L Marine Grade stainless steel. The handle is also solid 316L.
To provide a good baseline for the razor, I used my go-to workhorse blade, the Astra SP. It is highly consistent for me and the edge has great longevity. It is not as smooth as a GSB, but the edge definitely performs.
The seating of the Astra was a piece of cake, no fiddling at all, and from what I could tell was perfectly aligned. I’m most used to vintage razors with which you begin by seating the blade on the upturned top cap, then place the baseplate over, this is not the case with the GC. Instead of having posts that extend out of the cap and down into or through the baseplate, the GC has small posts on the baseplate that extend into the top cap, but it’s all contained and invisible once assembled. The GC works best if you first seat the blade on the baseplate, then place the top cap, pinch the assembly, and screw on the handle. I do this over a soft surface usually, with a microfiber cloth, to reduce accidents with the blade. Safety first! It’s different, but it works!
The top cap and base plate fit together very snugly with no perceived play. I never felt in danger of cutting fingers with this style of loading, in fact, what’s important to note it that the GC head extends to fully cover the blade tabs, a nice safety feature which did not affect my shave in any way.
The Barber Pole handle is perfectly polished and the knurl is just right for a light grip, not too shallow, but not super deep. It adds to the overall solid feeling of the razor. The head pieces have a slightly different finish. To be honest it gave me a bit of a scare, but IB states it’s what they were going for. They are well polished, but the metal has a bit of a milky/faceted/semi-matte look to it. It’s kinda neat, but may be off-putting to some as it doesn’t entirely match with the handle. Nothing about the finish detracts from the shave however. It is all quite smooth, without being slippery. To note though, I never hand wet hands when loading or handling my razors, they are only ever damp at the most.
The shaving angle with the GC is immediately findable, but it’s deceptive! You almost never feel the blade on your WTG or XTG strokes, and though there is some audible feedback, it is very quieted. I watched the razor rinses like a hawk just to make sure I was still cutting stubble lol. Sure enough, there was plenty of stubble (I was working with only 1 day’s growth) washing out on all three passes, the ATG in particular.
The lather channels and finish make rinsing a breeze. The razor never felt clogged a single time, even if I held off on rinsing a bit longer than usual. If you do like a runnier lather, this may actually be an issue if you don’t rinse regularly during the shave. I guess over-efficient lather channels are a thing? Lol! Anyway, it didn’t bother me.
The best comparison that I can give is of the shave to that of a Prewar Fat Handled Tech (triangular slots), but with the heft and geometry, it nearly pulls off a Fatboy-like level of comfort. It is easily a daily driver. It has great efficiency, more than the prewar Tech and more than the Fatboy on setting 3. You only ever really get some blade feel on the ATG, but the smoothness of the shave makes it pleasing. These traits are what I was personally hoping for and more. It’s only the first shave, but often first impressions are important! So far, a superb chunk of value per buck spent and an excellent shave!
Official Details:
Head Weight: Unknown
Handle Diameter x Length: Barber Pole, 12 mm x 85 mm (14 mm Butt End), ~2.6 oz weight
Blade Gap: 0.68 mm
Blade Exposure: Positive
Material: 316L Marine Grade Stainless Steel
Finish: 3 stage, 24 hour, Machine polish
Other Details: Each razor is engraved with a unique serial number.
