RazoRock Superslant

[slapo]

Italian Barber has recently added what they call RazoRock Superslant.

Here's the blurb from their website:

The RazoRock Superslant is a razor that has been two years in the making. Ever since our first slant, the RazoRock Stealth, we knew the slant concept was something special. Client feedback overwhelming told us that people loved the shave from our slant razors and it quickly became no secret that a helical slant’s added torque on the long axis of a double-edge blade adds stiffness and rigidity to the cutting edge. Why is this important? When you take a very thin very sharp blade and make it really stiff it cuts with greater efficiency, this translates to less tugging on the hairs and less irritation while shaving. Add this to the fact the blade is held at an angle to the shaving plane giving a slicing action to the shave versus a tradition shaving razor that applies more of a chopping action. The combination of these two attributes lead to a superior shave!

So, if the helical slant concept works then what is the purpose of a “new helical slant,” namely the RazoRock Superslant? Based on a lot of feedback we received from our first two CNC milled slants, the RazoRock Stealth and the RazoRock Wunderbar, we discovered two areas that needed improving. Many of our clients told us the RazoRock Stealth wasn’t aggressive enough and the RazoRock Wunderbar was too aggressive. This told us we needed a helical slant razor with adjustability. A robust design that could offer many difference blade gaps and exposures to suit different beard and skin types.

Aggression levels:

The RazoRock Superslant will have three core levels of aggression, from L1(MILD) to L3(AGGRESSIVE), but within these core levels there will be 2-4 unique base plates to dial in the shave even further. Each and every base plate will be perfectly compatible with one universal top cap meaning you can change the way the Superslant shaves simply by swapping base plates. There will also be open comb options added in the future at each core level of aggression which many clients have asked for. Note: We are releasing 5 base plate options to start and more will be added in 2023 including more aggressive bases like L3+ and L3++

Please keep in mind that within each level, the addition of a PLUS sign increases the aggression. (Example: Level 1 which would be the mildest group available - L1, L1+, L1++... L1 would be the mildest and L1++ would be the most aggressive in this grouping).

Differences between the different Levels
The "+" plates have a milled chamfer on the guard that creates extra aggression
The "++" plates have a milled step on the guard that creates a little more aggression from the "+"
As a general guide, the L1 plates will fall into the mild-medium area, the L2 plates into the medium-aggressive and the L3 plates into the aggressive with the L3++(future release) being at the very top of the scale. In the near future we will add the SuperSlant to the razor scale on IB.

Based on our testing, the L2++ and the L3 would be the closest to the Wunderbar in terms of aggression but the Superslant is much smoother.

Picture of a level 3 Superslant from their website:

I have a Wunderbar and find it a very, very smooth shaver, so it would be quite interesting should the Superslant really improve in that regard.

I have almost succumbed to temptation on this year's Black Friday, but decided to hold off until they have OC plates available.

 

[slapo]

It would appear @BroRat ordered one, so there's some hope for relatively early reviews.

@BroRat: Do you happen to have the Wunderbar?

 

[BroRat]

It would appear @BroRat ordered one, so there's some hope for relatively early reviews.

@BroRat: Do you happen to have the Wunderbar?

Had one. Sadly I sold it, and still regret it.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

The L3 and the L1++ are the two I purchased.

This is the L3. It's said to be slightly less aggressive than the Wunderbar. In my experience, the L3 is a lot less smooth than the Wunderbar, that's for sure. I did not much enjoy its shave, but it does shave closely, and it didn't nip me. I've used it only once but have plenty of slant experience.

Will I use it a lot? Seriously doubt I will.

The L1++ is a whole lot smoother and doesn't lose too very much in efficiency. It is very much more to my liking.

Will it become a Daily Driver Candidate? I'm not sure yet, having used it only twice, but I doubt it. I do like it, but I don't think I love it that much. We'll see.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[slapo]

The L3 and the L1++ are the two I purchased.



View attachment 125423



This is the L3. It's said to be slightly less aggressive than the Wunderbar. In my experience, the L3 is a lot less smooth than the Wunderbar, that's for sure. I did not much enjoy its shave, but it does shave closely, and it didn't nip me. I've used it only once but have plenty of slant experience.

Will I use it a lot? Seriously doubt I will.



View attachment 125422



The L1++ is a whole lot smoother and doesn't lose too very much in efficiency. It is very much more to my liking.

Will it become a Daily Driver Candidate? I'm not sure yet, having used it only twice, but I doubt it. I do like it, but I don't think I love it that much. We'll see.

Happy shaves,

Jim

Would you mind sharing a couple of snaps of both heads with the blade loaded from the same angles?
I don't think Italian Barber shared any information on blade exposure or blade gap, so I'm wondering what the difference between a ++ and a "non +" plate looks like, considering the L3 plate looks like it uses a tapering down safety bar, likely paired with extra blade exposure, instead of a "step".

 

[Baba Rum]

I've been using the L1 and L2 plates of Razorock's Superslant for a month now.
The L1 is definitely very very mild.
The L2 is still rather mild.
I don't have the L3 plate - as I still use my Wunderbar.

Short summary: neither plates (L1/L2) are currently used on a daily basis. They provide smooth and effortless/thoughtless shaves (as in "go fast, no fear"), but that's all, I believe.

I found that the smoothness affects the efficiency - with "smooth" slants like the "German Slant" or even Parker's Semislant, you can still have very smooth shaves that do not affect efficiency. That's not what I found with the Superslant: L1 and L2 are smooth, yet somehow not efficient enough.

I prefer slants as I can have a 2 pass shave rather easily, with a close shave each time. Razorock's Wunderbar does this - but is a bit too efficient for a daily driver. I currently rely mainly on the Rex Konsul, and do stray to the Wunderbar, the Parker Semislant, the Fine Marvel, the Rex Ambassador, the Tatara Nodachi and the Mühle Rocca.

Razorock's Superslants L1 and L2 are good razors, but just not good enough for me.