Just finished up my tour with the Rex Consul.
The razor has great fit and finish as expected from Razor Emporium, especially for the price tag. The razor comes in a nice cardboard box with a fitted foam insert. The razor has a machined finish and feels hefty in the hand. All the parts fit tight with little to no sloppiness. Included are a handful of soap samples, and a full sized set of "old school".
For the first shave I decided on a once used Gillette platinum, and FLS "the weight" for the software. I set the razor on 3.5 and had 3 days of growth. The razor was much more mild than I was expecting but very smooth. I ended up increasing the gap to 4.5 after the first few passes. The razor had some trouble getting through the multiple days growth on the first pass, and required some buffing. Second XTG pass I left it on 4.5 and it smoothly took down the rest of my growth. Alum showed no irritation and a very comfortable shave.
Shave two I grabbed a new Gillette platinum, and left the razor on 4.5 as I only had one days growth. I used the Razor Emporium "old school" soap included for this shave. Ill touch base on the software further in the review. The razor handled one day of growth much better than it did the three days growth, atleast on this setting. This was a fairly straightforward two pass shave ending with a slight bit of alum sting on the jaw. This razor is super smooth and has almost no blade feel, but there is definately a drag feeling.
Shave three used the now second use Gillette Platinum blade. Soap of choice was Mammoth "Sonder" soap and splash. I had two days growth and decided to max the razor out at 6.5. The shave was still very smooth with almost no blade feel, and a noticeable jump in efficiency. Finished with a DFS and no irritation. My neck and under my jaw were not as close as I would have liked, but I blame that on my inexperience with the razor.
This razor brings something new to the market with an adjustable slant. I have never used a rex ambassador, but have seen reviews about it being aggressive. The Konsul is the opposite and I did not find it aggressive at all. Even on the highest setting, the razor never felt as if it were going to draw blood or cause razor burn. From newbies to veterans I think this razor will be a great addition to their den. I personally wish it were a bit more efficient, but it makes up for that with smoothness. The only negatives besides the efficiency were the drag, and I found it difficult to get into tight spaced (under the nose) with this razor. That may just be part of the slant design though and not inherent to this razor.
The software all smelled good, but I liked the old school the most. Its a typical barbershop frag mix, and smells identical to A&E's "Never Alone". The soap performed good, but is not knocking on the door of "top tier". A good all around soap with a lower price point. The splash felt good and the scent lasted awhile.
It was a blast trialing this razor and I would like to thank Andrew and Razor Emporium for allowing the passaround! I've contacted the next participant and will get it shipped out today.
![[Image: iMGiVTU.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/iMGiVTU.jpg)
