Greencult 2.0

So, I took a chance on the Greencult 2.0, and ordered it with the II, III, and IV plates based on experiences detailed on various forums. I've only been at it for a few shaves, but here's an initial review.

For reference, I had been shaving with a 34C for ~10 years. Could only really shave once or twice a week to keep irritation down and then last year decided it was time for an upgrade and got the Timeless in stainless with the .68 and .95 SB plates. The Timeless was definitely an improvement over the 34C, but the main impetus for buying the Timeless vs. anything else was the blade clamping. After reading a lot about issues around 'chatter', and suspecting that could be a source of the irritation I was experiencing with the 34C, I looked at the Henson and and the Timeless, eventually settling on the Timeless because I didn't really want an Al or Ti razor.

The Timeless was great, but to my surprise I still couldn't shave every day with it without irritation... kinda threw out my ideas around the 'chatter' issue as a result, but oh well. It was still a nicer razor than the 34C and did provide noticeably better results. My growth after 24 hours is sandpapery stubble. I'm not sure how thick or wiry my beard is, but I do notice that blades that are considered very sharp perform much much better than ones that are not. I had used the Timeless with mostly Feathers and Nacets. I started out using the .68 plate primarily and figured I'd use the .95 plate for longer growth. Turns out, the .95 plate shaved with much less irritation than the .68. With both plates, I use the following technique (for short growth): XTG, XTG (other way), and then ATG but each ATG stroke is a short 'buffing' stroke with 3-4 strokes needed to stop hearing the hairs 'tink' past the blade. I noticed that I needed much fewer 'buffing' strokes with the .95 and the shave ended up being kinder to my skin. However, with ~ a week worth of growth, either plate shaved perfectly with almost no irritation. I started thinking that perhaps the reason I got less irritation with the .95 was nothing really to do with the gap, but because the .95 plate has 0.05 mm exposure, and the .68 plate has no exposure (or close to no exposure). I couldn't really see the gap mattering at all if I was just shaving short stubble, but the increased exposure was providing a big boost in efficiency. A lot of my growth, especially on my neck is very flat to my skin, and I think the increased exposure allows these to be more efficiently 'picked up' by the blade. So I started looking for razors with more positive exposure than 0.05 mm.

One that kept coming up was the Blackbird - Blackland doesn't publish the head geometry, but user measurements on here seem to put it ~.6 mm gap (fine for my typical length of stubble) and ~0.1 mm exposure (double the Timeless .95). It's a very popular razor, and I'm confident I would have seen an improvement over the Timeless if my thinking on gap/exposure were correct. However, the other (more recently released) razor that came up in a couple reviews was the Greencult 2.0. It has 4 plates with gap/exposure measurements of: #1 (0.45/0.05 mm), #2 (0.65/0.10 mm), #3 (0.85/0.15 mm), and #4 (1.05/0.20 mm). It comes default with the #2 plate, which I figured was pretty close to the Blackbird, and I liked that #3 and #4 provided some additional data points with increased exposure, so I got those as well.

Like I said, I'm only 3 shaves into using the Greencult and I've only used the default #2 plate so far, but I'm very impressed! I didn't like the default handle it came with, so I ordered it with the 'vintage thick bar' knurled handle that's 76 mm long (both ordered on Italian Barber). At first I thought it might be a swing and a miss because it didn't feel as 'glidey' or smooth as the Timeless. The head is bead blasted and I think that contributes a small amount compared to the high polish of the Timeless, but what I think was the bigger effect was actually very positive - I think the resistance I felt relative to the Timeless was just the blade actually cutting rather than skipping over a lot of the stubble! The stubble in the lather after each XTG pass was longer looking and more numerous than with the Timeless, and I only needed ~1-2 buffing strokes to stop hearing hair hit the blade ATG. My skin is very noticeably less irritated than with the Timeless and I'm definitely smoother. You definitely feel the blade a bit more than the Timeless, but I think I like that. I'm going to give the #2 plate a week of shaves then switch to the #3 plate. I kind of doubt I'll use the #4 plate unless I go a week without shaving, which I don't often do, but I mostly got it in case I wanted to sell the Timeless if I liked the Greencult better, which I do.

In any case, another thank you to the community here for taking a chance on things before I did! I got the Timeless based on its reviews, and while I think it's a great razor - especially for longer growth than my typical 24 hour stubble - I think the Greencult is a better fit for my routine. I do kind of wish I had done the 30 day trial of the Blackbird just to compare it to the Greencult and Timeless, but I'm happy enough with the Greencult that I don't think I will do that.

I'm actually thinking of buying this as my next razor with all 4 baseplates.

How would you say the build quality is compared to the Merkur 34C (Zinc Zamac potmetal) and the Timeless (Stainless Steel) ?

Does it strike you as a solid high quality stainless steel razor ?

While razor head geometry is important, do not forget about the impact that the razor blade has upon the shave. I have a number of different razors .I can get a good shave with any of them as long as I use the right blade in the razor and the rest of my shave technique is excellent. Sometimes the best shave can be had using a less aggressive razor equipped with a sharper bade. However, in a very aggressive razor, some blades might be entirely too sharp. Thus, matching the right blade with the right razor is important.

I have the III plate and it's excellent. The whole razor is just a huge improvement over the original which I also had. Quality is also top notch.

I'm actually thinking of buying this as my next razor with all 4 baseplates.

How would you say the build quality is compared to the Merkur 34C (Zinc Zamac potmetal) and the Timeless (Stainless Steel) ?

Does it strike you as a solid high quality stainless steel razor ?

Build quality is definitely much higher than the 34C... like no comparison. As far as the Timeless... harder to say. The Timeless is much prettier, and it was polished, and I kind of miss that with the Greencult. I might actually polish up the Greencult myself. I don't have a good way of measuring machining tolerances or anything like that, but other than the finish, I'd say they compare well. It's a bit lighter than the Timeless, especially with the smaller handle (not the original Greencult one) that I bought for it.

So far I've shaved with the II and III plate for a week each. I'd say I like the II plate a bit more. The III isn't too much more efficient, but you definitely feel the blade more - and I feel like when shaving ATG, it "digs" in more - like it catches the hair and if you're not real careful the head changes angle slightly when this occurs which I think might cause a bit more irritation. I still like the III plate, but the shaves I get from the II plate are just more comfortable. The shaves from the III plate might last marginally longer. I skipped the I plate because the exposure seemed similar to the Timeless and like I said, I was looking for more exposure as I attributed the increase in efficiency of the Timeless .95 over the .68 to be the exposure, and not the gap. I did get the IV plate, with the idea that I'd use it for the rare occasion I had a week of growth.

I'd definitely like to hear what the I plate is like. I'm curious because while it has the same exposure that the Timeless .95 had, it has like half the gap.

While razor head geometry is important, do not forget about the impact that the razor blade has upon the shave. I have a number of different razors .I can get a good shave with any of them as long as I use the right blade in the razor and the rest of my shave technique is excellent. Sometimes the best shave can be had using a less aggressive razor equipped with a sharper bade. However, in a very aggressive razor, some blades might be entirely too sharp. Thus, matching the right blade with the right razor is important.

Definitely. I tried lots of blades with both the 34C and the Timeless. For me, much sharper blades worked much better for me in both the 34C and the Timeless (like Feathers, Nacets, and Bic CP). I am curious to try some less sharp blades with the more aggressive plates on the Greencult.