New Mühle stainless steel razor 'Rocca'

[Major_Hayes]

And it arrived. First impressions: the handle is not as heavy as you would expect so I guess is hollow inside. Also the black part of the handle feels like plastic. Grip wise is alright but it can't compete with Ikon OSS handle I have with X3 head. The head feels heavier then the handle. The razor is not polished, is more matte, which I like.

Now the shave: two days growth, Muhle silvertip fibre, Tabac and Astra SP @ third use. After loading, the blade gap seemed more pronounced then on my EJ89 so I expected to be more aggressive and it was but it also was more smooth. It has more audible feedback compared to EJ89 and X3. A very comfortable two passes shave resulting in BBS. I barely felt La Toja aftershave.

It's too early to pass a judgement on it after one shave but the start is excellent.

 

[VerbaVolant]

Thank you for your review. Good information, as I am very interested in getting my hands on a Rocca.

...It has more audible feedback compared to EJ89 and X3...

The above statement always makes me nervous. Nothing worse than blade chatter, no matter how fancy a razor might be.

 

[Major_Hayes]

It's more like “head chatter” than blade chatter. Due to the head design, the central part is enclosed which makes it resonate.

 

[carbold]

The above statement always makes me nervous. Nothing worse than blade chatter, no matter how fancy a razor might be.

As I said above, one of the reasons why I didn't like it.
One thing worth mentioning, the head is not machined from billet, like all good SS razors, but instead the stud an the 2 dowels seem to be either press fitted or bonded or maybe welded to corresponding holes on the head. Using the magnifying glass, it looked like there was solder in between them or maybe some loctite. Not good, I would expect the stud to come off the head at some point.
Seriously, this is a cheaply manufactured SS razor, nothing to do with the machined ones or even the cast ones like Rockwell and Feather.

 

[Major_Hayes]

I can upload some images and maybe someone with experience can shed some light.

 

[Felix Groslerner]

I love this razor and a finish on mine is excellent


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[carbold]

I can upload some images and maybe someone with experience can shed some light.

I think from these images you can see what I was talking about...

 

[Felix Groslerner]

As I said above, one of the reasons why I didn't like it.
One thing worth mentioning, the head is not machined from billet, like all good SS razors, but instead the stud an the 2 dowels seem to be either press fitted or bonded or maybe welded to corresponding holes on the head. Using the magnifying glass, it looked like there was solder in between them or maybe some loctite. Not good, I would expect the stud to come off the head at some point.
Seriously, this is a cheaply manufactured SS razor, nothing to do with the machined ones or even the cast ones like Rockwell and Feather.

I find it finished very well. You also have to consider the price. It cost me about $70 so it
not typical $200 razor.


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[carbold]

I find it finished very well. You also have to consider the price. It cost me about $70 so it
not typical $200 razor.


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Yes of course, absolutely. I'm not questioning the finish but rather the durability.

 

[Felix Groslerner]

I have it for almost a year. No problems yet. And it shaves amazing.


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[carbold]

I didn't like how it shaves and sold it straight away. Good thing, because of shortage I didn't lose any money

 

[Felix Groslerner]

Yep it very personal.


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[Hourwerk]

Ha, knew it!
Yeah, hopefully it won't be too long until they are released.
This is another one of those razors where I think I'll be happy with sitting back and waiting for reviews to come in before I decide to jump in myself.

Considering the original Rocca is still unavailable I wouldn't hold out too much hope of this latest version ever materialising!

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[Rohleder]

I think the one pictured above is the new version.

Here's a shot of the v1 head, notice the manufacturing marks as also found on The Rockwell 6s... They are a byproduct of the metal injection moulding (MIM) process.



Now here's a shot of my v2, notice the complete lack of manufacturing marks and the threaded stud is now solid instead of hollow...

 

[Blackmass]

Considering the original Rocca is still unavailable I wouldn't hold out too much hope of this latest version ever materialising!

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Have faith. I spoke directly to Muhle UK a few weeks back when they released a handful.
The are planning to release more. When that happens I don't know but they were positive they will release more.

I had one and couldn't get on with it and sold it.

 

[Rohleder]

I had one and couldn't get on with it and sold it.

Ive used mine pretty much every day for a week now... For me it's a mixed bag:

Positives:

Smooth shave with zero irritation
Intuitive angle
Blade gap/exposure perfectly judged
Finish is spotless

Negatives:

Lather channels are too shallow so it constantly blocks
Very head heavy, poor balance in use
Blades seem to dull very quickly, 50% quicker than in other DE's!?
Handle is hollow
The knurling pattern on the handle fills up with soap deposits
Handle is not particularly grippy

I'm torn, if judged purely on how my face feels post shave then it would be a 9/10 but there's so many niggling annoyances I can't help but give it a 6/10 (perhaps 7/10 if I'm being generous.) Personally I feel stainless R89/41 would be preferable... The Rocca tries to combine the best of both in a premium stainless package but ultimately falls short of its older, more humble siblings.