Ikon Razor Model?

Which Ikon is this? Never seen this one. Looks identical to a Pils. I own an original S3S and brass SBS. Never seen this one.









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I believe That’s a Pils razor with an ikon handle. You can modify the Pils bushing to receive regular handles. I did it as the stock handle was atrociously unbalanced and slippery.

Nope, found out it’s the iKon Modern which is a Pils copy. Very rare and only about 80 were made.


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The razor is an Ikon 2PB from a while back. Ikon has always been fooling around with a Pils type head, most recently with their SBS and OG1. The original 2PB was stainless steel and came either with one SB and OC side and usually paired with a bamboo handle. It's unusual feature was that the bas plate was attached to the handle and could spin, a feaature I do not know the reason for. This is a YT video of it's action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGzgHRVPbT0

Okay, my mistake. Ikon came out with an earlier model, again playing around with the Pils design and this one looks more like the one the OP got. This is the SK9:

The razor is an Ikon 2PB from a while back. Ikon has always been fooling around with a Pils type head, most recently with their SBS and OG1. The original 2PB was stainless steel and came either with one SB and OC side and usually paired with a bamboo handle. It's unusual feature was that the bas plate was attached to the handle and could spin, a feaature I do not know the reason for. This is a YT video of it's action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGzgHRVPbT0

2 piece spinner looks to have been copied from the '34 Barbasol . It was a unique design covered by the Conrad patent. The next gen heavy Barbasol in floating or non floating head did away with the spin action.



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I’m kind of an expert on these “Pils-like” headed razors from iKon, having owned and/or used almost every single model.

The razor in the OP was the very first of these razors that Greg made. The idea of it was to have it be identical to the Pils in every way except that it would “solve the problem” of the overly smooth handle by adding some light knurling. I don’t believe that this razor actually ever had an official name given to it by iKon. When I owned this razor I was also in possession of an informational sheet that came directly from Greg saying that he had made fewer than 90 of these razors total (I can’t remember now whether it was 80 or 86; in either case, it is a rare model). The razor, in fact, was exactly like a Pils in every way. The mechanism and everything was exactly the same. I have a Pils now and the resemblance between the two razors is uncanny; the iKon was a bit shinier (I guess polished a bit more), but otherwise they are exactly the same except for the knurling on the handle. To me, the iKon version was also slightly milder. A fair number of people eventually called this razor the iKon Modern, but for a brief time there was also a slightly different razor that carried the same name.

After this razor, Greg made, in fairly quick succession, three more razors with similar heads: the S3S, the H2O, and one more, whose name I knew when I woke up this morning but which has slipped my mind right now (maybe SK9?). Two of these were three-piece razors, and thus they differed substantially from the Pils, although the head shape and the way they presented the blade to the face was the same. At least two of these were also dual-comb razors; open comb on one side and safety bar on the other. Pils has never made such an animal.

Years later he produced the all-brass SBS, which, in addition to being dual comb, also had a reversible baseplate which was supposed to change the aggression. The idea was to have four different choices in a single razor head. In reality, flipping the baseplate didn’t change the aggression level very perceptibly, and to me, at least, the open comb side and the safety bar side were similar in level of aggression, if not in feel on the face. Because the razor was all brass and had a very thick reversible baseplate, the razor head was quite heavy.

The all-brass SBS was also a limited run razor, albeit not as restricted as the “modern” pictured in the OP’s post. I don’t know if anybody knows exactly how many brass SBS razors were made, but it was somewhere between 200 and maybe 250. This razor head went for about $225 back when that seemed like a lot of money for a razor (can’t remember exactly what year it was, but I want to say maybe 2012 or so?

More recently, iKon marketed a razor head, confusingly also called SBS, which was similar and yet vastly different from the brass SBS. It was made of the same material he uses for the Shavecraft heads and for the Tek. The similarities were that it had a dual comb and a reversible baseplate, and that it was a bulky, PIls-like head that held the blade flat. Everything else was different; the actual way the razor presented the blade to the face, the design of the open combs, etc., was all different from the brass SBS. I really liked the brass SBS except for its weight, and I was hopeful that the “aluminum” SBS would be the exact same razor but lighter; unfortunately, it was very different. I ended up selling it off. Much preferred the original SBS.

Anyway, I ended up selling my “modern” and the “aluminum SBS.” I still have the brass SBS and the stainless steel S3S. I also have a Pils. So for now I am down to three of this type of razor head.

The razor pictured in the original post is a fantastic shaver. As I mentioned, it is just like the Pils except just a tad bit smoother. I ended up selling it because I got made an offer I couldn’t refuse. The Pils scratches that particular itch for me. I never really thought the light knurling on the “modern” made that much difference, since I don’t mind the smooth handle of the PIls.

OP, if you own that razor, use it and hang on to it. If you have a chance to buy it, do it, unless you enjoy aggressive razors. That razor is quite mild.

I’m kind of an expert on these “Pils-like” headed razors from iKon, having owned and/or used almost every single model.

The razor in the OP was the very first of these razors that Greg made. The idea of it was to have it be identical to the Pils in every way except that it would “solve the problem” of the overly smooth handle by adding some light knurling. I don’t believe that this razor actually ever had an official name given to it by iKon. When I owned this razor I was also in possession of an informational sheet that came directly from Greg saying that he had made fewer than 90 of these razors total (I can’t remember now whether it was 80 or 86; in either case, it is a rare model). The razor, in fact, was exactly like a Pils in every way. The mechanism and everything was exactly the same. I have a Pils now and the resemblance between the two razors is uncanny; the iKon was a bit shinier (I guess polished a bit more), but otherwise they are exactly the same except for the knurling on the handle. To me, the iKon version was also slightly milder. A fair number of people eventually called this razor the iKon Modern, but for a brief time there was also a slightly different razor that carried the same name.

After this razor, Greg made, in fairly quick succession, three more razors with similar heads: the S3S, the H2O, and one more, whose name I knew when I woke up this morning but which has slipped my mind right now (maybe SK9?). Two of these were three-piece razors, and thus they differed substantially from the Pils, although the head shape and the way they presented the blade to the face was the same. At least two of these were also dual-comb razors; open comb on one side and safety bar on the other. Pils has never made such an animal.

Years later he produced the all-brass SBS, which, in addition to being dual comb, also had a reversible baseplate which was supposed to change the aggression. The idea was to have four different choices in a single razor head. In reality, flipping the baseplate didn’t change the aggression level very perceptibly, and to me, at least, the open comb side and the safety bar side were similar in level of aggression, if not in feel on the face. Because the razor was all brass and had a very thick reversible baseplate, the razor head was quite heavy.

The all-brass SBS was also a limited run razor, albeit not as restricted as the “modern” pictured in the OP’s post. I don’t know if anybody knows exactly how many brass SBS razors were made, but it was somewhere between 200 and maybe 250. This razor head went for about $225 back when that seemed like a lot of money for a razor (can’t remember exactly what year it was, but I want to say maybe 2012 or so?

More recently, iKon marketed a razor head, confusingly also called SBS, which was similar and yet vastly different from the brass SBS. It was made of the same material he uses for the Shavecraft heads and for the Tek. The similarities were that it had a dual comb and a reversible baseplate, and that it was a bulky, PIls-like head that held the blade flat. Everything else was different; the actual way the razor presented the blade to the face, the design of the open combs, etc., was all different from the brass SBS. I really liked the brass SBS except for its weight, and I was hopeful that the “aluminum” SBS would be the exact same razor but lighter; unfortunately, it was very different. I ended up selling it off. Much preferred the original SBS.

Anyway, I ended up selling my “modern” and the “aluminum SBS.” I still have the brass SBS and the stainless steel S3S. I also have a Pils. So for now I am down to three of this type of razor head.

The razor pictured in the original post is a fantastic shaver. As I mentioned, it is just like the Pils except just a tad bit smoother. I ended up selling it because I got made an offer I couldn’t refuse. The Pils scratches that particular itch for me. I never really thought the light knurling on the “modern” made that much difference, since I don’t mind the smooth handle of the PIls.

OP, if you own that razor, use it and hang on to it. If you have a chance to buy it, do it, unless you enjoy aggressive razors. That razor is quite mild.

Awesome in depth info. I currently own the S3S and the original SBS. I bought this Modern off of EBay so I will probably keep it even though I prefer more aggressive razors. I sold my Pils with custom handles a few months ago because it was too mild. I collect rare razors so the Ikon “Modern” was a no brainer.


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