Rockwell 6S

MrK1 said:
I ordered 3.
1 arrived today.

Initial impressions are its a lot of razor for the money. It has a satin finish, but not the same as a Feather or Ikon. Gives it an indutrial look which I really like.

Handle is nice, but a little shorter than what I prefer. 85mm long and weighs 73g.

The base plates seem to be slightly curved. When I hold them against my desk, you see the edges curl up slightly.

I'll send Rockwell a mail and see what they say.
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Mine arrived too.

The top cap is problematic, as we know, but the baseplates are a conundrum. They have been ground or reshaped, and are, as you say, curved. The safety bar/blade gap is also variable. I also think the bars have been ground back so that the blade is very close to overhanging them.

The locating pin holes are of different sizes. I have a Parker 26 which has a top cap with a long thread, which would do for a temporary substitute. However, its pins will fit one hole on the Rockwell plates but not the other. The Rockwell top cap pins on mine have had a bit ground off the outer sides, presumably to make them fit, even though they are a slack fit anyway.

We are promised a better replacement top cap at some point in the future; but looking at the "wonky" baseplates, I can't offhand see how a better cap is going to make much difference. In reality, both cap and plates need to be replaced with precision-manufactured ones. At the moment, the attempt to solve a problem(s) by grinding cap and plates has served to make the thing worse.

I've roughly tried the angles by putting a blade in and dragging it across a piece of cartridge paper. At what I would consider a normal operating angle, it seems pretty aggressive. I'd say that Bluto would be able to get his beard off top down and in one go on any of the plates.

I will have a go with it, on the mildest plate, just for the sake of it, but it'll be a "fingers crossed" moment.

Nice handle, though.
 
Got mine yesterday too but have only had a chance for a quick look. The top cap doesn't look straight to the naked eye. I like the handle though. A real hefty number compared to what I already have.
I'll have a proper look later and report back but I imagine it's going to have similar issues.
 
Executive Shaving have them in now I see. And whilst I certainly trust them, the write-ups both here and elsewhere have made me put my money back in my wallet. It was a good idea, though.
 
My cap has same issue...been over machined to try and rectify the problem and doesn't look at all right

Once the cap is replaced I'm thinking this may be a good pass round as it's an interesting idea once everything is (hopefully) sorted
 
Jpshaver said:
My cap has same issue...been over machined to try and rectify the problem and doesn't look at all right

Once the cap is replaced I'm thinking this may be a good pass round as it's an interesting idea once everything is (hopefully) sorted
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I found a low-quality, but correctly made zamak cap which, unlike my Parker one (see above) will fit in the baseplate holes.

However, the linishing of the safety bars on the baseplates to tidy them up, and the subsequent loss of metal and unevenness, mean that, in the case of my razor, a new cap will make little difference. If my cursory feeler gauge measurements of actual blade gaps, using the zamak cap, are at all close to those which will apply when the replacement cap eventually shows up, and the distances from blade edge to safety bar likewise, then the gaps and geometry will likely still make it super-aggressive from plate 1 upwards. Of course, I hope that I'm wrong.

The handle is a well-made thing, and I rather think it will end up as the only usable part of my Kickstarter razor. That's not a total disaster, but it's annoying nonetheless.

Out of interest, have you actually shaved with yours yet?
 
The whole thing seems a shame to me. Good idea had by somebody who, seemingly, just didn't have the know-how or expertise to carry it through. I certainly don't know the specifics, but a good idea+enthusiasm+money doesn't guarantee success.

Bit of a black eye for Kick Start too; casts a shadow, even if it shouldn't.
~
 
PotatoRazor said:
The whole thing seems a shame to me. Good idea had by somebody who, seemingly, just didn't have the know-how or expertise to carry it through. I certainly don't know the specifics, but a good idea+enthusiasm+money doesn't guarantee success.

Bit of a black eye for Kick Start too; casts a shadow, even if it shouldn't.
~
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It is a good idea, and if, in time, they get it right, should be a halfway decent razor. In hindsight, it would probably have been better if they had scrapped the deficient top ends, recovered any money from whoever made them, and re-manufactured; rather than the ad hoc fixes attempted. That's where experience comes in.

Anyone who backs a Kickstarter (or other crowd-funding) project is putting a lot of faith (as well as money) in the thing, with no guarantees whatsoever. From my limited experience, it seems that manufacturing projects tend to go awry, or run very late - or both. One or two have been grossly under-costed, although the Rockwell started with a modest goal of $12,000, and ended up with 2135 of us pledging a total of $147,891; not too shabby.

One of the other snags is that prototypes (or mock-ups) are used to illustrate the project, and attract the backers. These often beautifully-crafted objects do not always take into account the practicalities and costs of mass-producing them to an equivalent standard; again, a matter of experience and in-depth knowledge. It's one thing to produce a workable prototype on, say, a 3D printer, but quite another to manufacture thousands, all alike in quality and finish, and to a price; especially using a "tricky" material like stainless steel.

I'm psyching myself up to have a go with my Rockwell, but only after I manage to dig out an innocuous blade like a Derby.
 
Ferrum said:
...

Out of interest, have you actually shaved with yours yet?
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Yes, but only with the 1 and 2 base plates (yet). Both plates gave me surprisingly smooth (and close) shaves without any complications. We'll see what happens with the rest of the numbers.
 
My Rockwell arrived this morning - too late to use, of course. Hm! Interesting - very, very interesting!

I fail utterly to understand what all the whinges have been about! At first I thought the description of 'industrial finish' was wrong as it should be 'pre-industrial' - but that is silly as it's made of steel. I'd say the finish is post-industrial, perhaps even post-apocalypse, the sort of thing Mad Max might shave with!

I don't know what thread the top cap has - something American, I'm guessing. It's either too long for the handles that will accept it and different to the others I tried so it won't fit at all. A Sabi goes on but bottoms out, none of the others would even start.

So at the end of the day, I finish up with a tin box I don't want, two bottom plates that are not the right ones for me - making the bold assumption that one will suit, a handle that is too short for my taste but that I have to use as it has a 'unique' thread and a top cap that needs to be replaced for something that looks half decent, providing Rockwell don't go bust in the meantime.

All very good value at nearly £60 delivered! The value I give to it is the fun factor!

Tomorrow we see how it shaves. I bet it's a beaut - anything so ugly has to shave well! Doesn't it?
 
The thread form is the usual M5, but there has been a suspicion that the die(s) were blunted in use, and consequently the thread hasn't been cut very well. My top cap thread was somewhat rough in one spot, but I ran an M5 die down it, and it's OK.

I think I have the opposite problem to you, in that my Rockwell top cap is NBG, and no others with that pin configuration will fit into the Rockwell base plates. The Rockwell cap will, on the other hand, fit a number of handles that I've got.

It's hats off to a brave man, when you get to use it. I haven't dared.
 
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