Rex Supply Co. Konsul Slant DE Razor DFS pass around

Last call bobmsp before I ship the Konsul off to andrewjs18.

If bobmsp doesn't respond, ship it to inspirado as I already have another pass around razor to get to before this.

Thanks for responding.

PM sent to inspirado.

Pm received and responded

After coordinating with Inspirado I'll be shipping the REX Konsul off to him tomorrow.

The Rex Konsul has been shipped to inspirado.

Slantember / Stirling September

Prep: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Gel Cleanser w/ Hyaluronic Acid (fragrance free) used w/ a Clarisonic Mia Men

Blade: Gillette Nacet Stainless
Razor: Rex Supply Co. Konsul Slant Adjustable

Brush: Omega Boar 10005/80005
Soap: Stirling Soap Co. Tsuka

Post 1: P.A.A. Alum w/ dry dock system
Post 2: Dickinson's Enhanced Witch Hazel Deep Cleansing Astringent w/ Menthol & Eucalyptus
Aftershave: Stirling Soap Co. Tsuka
Finish: Stirling Soap Co. Tsuka EdT


I know I said my last shave with the Konsul was my last, but it wasn't. Today's shave will be the last. Fortunately for me I got to hold onto it longer than expected but will be sending it off today.

So, being that I like to feel some blade with this razor, I dialed it up to its max of 6.5 for the first pass. I know some might find this a bit excessive but what can I say? This razor is smooth, so a little blade feel is nice, in my opinion.

Pass two I dialed it down to 5 for my across the grain (outward) run then down to 4 for my across the grain (inward) pass. I mostly chose 4 because I find it smoothest for my against the grain passes on my neck.

Again, I'll say it... The Rex Supply Co. Konsul Slant Adjustable is a quality razor. It's got some weight, but the diamond grip is solid. This thing has a grip design that will not let the razor slip out of your hands. The head cuts real smoothly and I
find it really fun to shave with.

I did some touching up at the end and achieved a sweet bbs shave.

I then finished things up with some newly acquired Stirling Soap Co. Tsuka aftershave and EdT. It has a bold, somewhat exotic scent profile. I wouldn't say it's for everyone but if you're into its notes, this stuff is great and shouldn't be missed! In case you're wondering, it's based on the original Hanae Mori.

All in all, I had a great shave today.

Shave on gentlemen but don't forget to respect the locals. 

Razor received - looking forward to first shave!!

One shave down - wow!


Prep: 24 hours since last shave, shower
Background music: my 3 year old chatting himself to sleep on the monitor.
Shave cream: stirling executive man (my old faithful) - I will try the RE soap in a forthcoming shave
Blade: new feather

So I may not have quite as much experience as some of you on this thread, but hopefully that brings a useful, albeit different, perspective (first review and passaround!). I’ve been an on and off DE shaver for 20 years or so, but only recently committed to actually improving. Now on with the review!

I agree with many of the posters on the following points:
-The blade is hard to load. I figured it out, and shouldn’t have trouble going forward, but it’s a bit finicky. I also note the blade doesn’t seem to have an even gap from the top cap along its length despite many attempts to fix. I believe this is simply the way it is. Other posters noted this.

-the handle is not quite as grippy as the Ambassador, but is definitely solid during the shave. I would say the Ambassador reminds you throughout the shave that it has a phenomenal grip (it’s almost prickly). The Konsul simply grips. It’s good enough to not think about.

-the build quality is top notch. As an ex casual machinist, I appreciate what they have accomplished and the price point.

Quick takeaways on the shave: wow! So efficient and easy! Smoothest shave in recent memory. It was also so easy!

My shave drew guidance from others on this thread: first pass WTG 4.5, second pass XTG 3.5, cleanup on 5 (with a bit ATG - which I usually can’t do!). It definitely feels like a more efficient Merkur 37C (teo pictures side by side with the Konsul set to #1 and #6), although slants are tough to do side by side given their geometry). It has the same ease of shaving and finding the correct angle (something I find slants are good at), but has a touch more blade feel. I often find myself picking up the 37C and just being taken aback with how it always shaves so well and so easily. Maybe this is a slant thing, maybe it’s a me thing - I dunno.  I feel like the Konsul would have the same characteristic but is just a more sophisticated shaver. The adjustability, and being a bit more aggressive in general, is a much needed improvement to the slant geometry.

This razor also plowed through the area on the outer sides of my (nonexistent) mustache. My razors almost always get a bit grabby there. When the Konsul passed through this without any grabbing I was sold.

My second, XTG pass had much less hair to remove than with my other razors, as the first pass was so efficiently done. It was a breeze though.

I also find the razor handled my neck very well, which has some nuisance hairs which lay very flat against my neck. The Konsul had enough blade feel and ease of shaving that I knocked them all down without any touch ups!

I am looking forward to shave #2. I may take 48 hours to see how it deals with a bit more scruff.

Second shave in:

• prep: shower, 48 hour beard growth
  
• Soap: Razor Emporium "Old School"
  
• Razor: Konsul, duh, first pass WTG 4.5, second pass 3.5 XTG, third pass touch-ups
  
• blade: feather on second use
  
• post-shave: Razor Emporium "Old School" splash
  

I'm still amazed at how will this razor works for me.  I had a feeling I would like this model (hence why I jumped from a lurker in an attempt to join the passaround), and it's proven to be true.  This razor provides me the smoothest, easiest, nick-free shave of any of my current comparisons (Rex Ambassador, Tatara Muramasa, Stirling DE and Merkur 37C).  It's so easy to lock in to the angle, and there seems to be a fair bit of "Play" around the perfect angle where I still get a good shave. I'm hooked, not much else to say.  It was definitely a two-passer with 48 hours of beard growth, but the second pass was very easy.

To reiterate what I said on my previous post, the razor doesn't "bite" my hand like the Rex Ambassador, but it's a solid grip.  There is absolutely no uncertainty in the grip of the razor.

I did try the RE Old School soap and splash as part of this shave.  The soap whipped into a lather easily, on par with Stirling in my experience. No complaints.  Nice to know that it was achieved as vegan.

Regarding the scent, it is an interesting combination - the description of leather, black pepper...clove...tobacco" would lead me to this being an earthy scent, but it has a more frangrant, lemony (but not sharply so) undercurrent.   It's a far cry from the mohagany-like leather/tobacco, and much more dominated by the frankincense.  I wasn't particularly impressed when smelling the puck, and the shave cream scent was a bit underwhelming in general, but the after shave splash really allows the subtle notes to shine.  I don't have a whole bunch of experience with different offerings of aftershaves (I'm usually an SPF face lotion type of guy), but it was a light-astringency, light body, mellow feeling splash.  It left me feeling smooth and refreshed, and the scent has stuck around for several hours.  It's growing on me more and more.

Anyways, I think I'll take one last shave with the razor tomorrow, perhaps with another blade, and play around a bit with the adjustments more.

Thanks for reading!

Third and final shave in the books. I was really hoping to get another one or two shaves with the Konsul but alas life got in the way this week.

The razor still performs wonderfully. I used a feather, 3rd use. It was starting to feel a bit more dull, but I was able to tweak the adjustment to where I liked it and the shave was still very comfortable.

I started at 6 since I had 2.5 days of growth. It mowed that down quickly and with little fuss. I then dialed it back to 3.5 for some clean up. I really like how easy it continues to be to find the (wide) sweet spot on this razor. It makes it an autopilot razor, with more efficiency than the ambassador or marumasa. Absolutely no post-shave tightness or residual sting from feeing like I may have scraped. Two passes, DFS, call it a good day!

The RE Old school also continues to impress. My first impressions weren’t great, but I have really found myself digging the aftershave especially. It has a wonderful spicy, yet traditional and masculine scent to it. I still pick up some bright undertones (like lemon) despite not seeing any real bright flavors in the fragrance notes. I think they’ve really hit the mark.

I will definitely consider adding this to the rotation, perhaps even the tight rotation as an aftershave.