Review Rex Supply Co Ambassador

Korbz

Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2015
Location
Brisbane
Ok gents, long story short I bought one of the Rex's just over a month ago from Beard and Blade. On receiving, discovered it had the blade guard issue (one side lags when being adjusted, causing it to be uneven angle). Contacted B&B and Matt who both responded almost immediately and went about organising a replacement. I wasn't in a hurry so said it could wait to go with the next shipment.

First razor was M4 (4th qtr 2017) and the replacement razor I received today is N1. I've only had one shave with the new one, so not going to comment on performance till I give it a good run. However, I know there are people looking at/considering this razor who have been worried about the issues. No one seems to have done a direct comparison showing the updates to the razor, so thought I'd do a vid on it (video as I cbf typing a whole heap that will be easier for you to see in a vid anyway EDIT - sorry I made old person mistake with portrait vs. landscape. If I do anymore I will rectify).

I will update this thread with a shave performance review and ask a moderator to add to this post for more complete reference.

 
Good to see they have rectified the problems.One would think that for a razor of that price point that they would have got it right in the first place.Good vid highlighting the fixes,that polished handle looks way better too.
I want one.
Actually,I need one.
 
Rockwell are now threatening to increase the price of the Model T to U.S
$195.
Maybe a brave or stupid move as the Rex seems a very impressive razor.
Not a threat,it is effective 1st May.That will put it out of reach for a lot of potential customers being almost double the starting price,and with items that are being shipped now being for those that were in on the kickstarter,orders being taken now aren't shipping until August.
 
N1 on left in images, M4 on right

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Full size pics
 
Glad I'm on a sabbatical. And was serious on both of those razors and thank God I didn't purchase either. I'll wait for the drama to past before considering them again. I have more confidence on Rex Supply Co delivering on what they were out to achieve from the communications & decisions given over RazoRocks.

However, taking a punt on a new razor can have there rewards. For example, scored a Paradigm 17-4 knowing nothing and have been rewarded with a fantastic razor.

Hope everything is worked out soon and all the punters involved are rewarded with what they ordered.
 
Saw this post from Matt over on the Nook.

So I wanted to update you guys about some of the changes to the Ambassador.

For those who don't know the timeline:
  • We announced the Ambassador at Big Shave West in April, 2017
  • We released ~150 pre-order razors in September of 2017 (M3). Of those, about 25 units came back to us for 3 key issues (finish, adjustment dial not working properly, guard canting) We paid shipping both ways and addressed all issues to the customers' satisfaction.
  • We then sold another ~100 razors with the M3 date code. These all had the new brushed finish. Of these, only a handful came back with any issues. Again, we paid shipping both ways and made sure the customer was satisfied with the outcome.
  • In the Fall of 2017, we produced around 200 razors with the M4 date code. Of these released, less than 5 came back to us with issues (namely canting) Again, we paid shipping both ways and made sure the customer was satisfied with the outcome.
  • For 2018, we have so far released almost 300 of the N1 razors as of this week. So far we have seen 0 come back for canting / dial moving issues. Only 3 for dial seized (a result of thread lock liquid migrating from handle to just under dial. In all 3 cases I was able to solve it with warm water alone. We are contemplating dropping the use of thread lock all together but that's a story for another day...)



CHANGES & IMPROVEMENTS
We started changing some of the geometry of the components in an effort to optimize manufacturing and produce "cleaner" and easier parts to produce.

The razor cap was the first part to change. We are milling these parts out of solid stainless steel billet. By going from a curved part inside to an angled piece, the part required about 1/3 of the machining time. Plus it looks cleaner. Here you can see the original LEFT and Current RIGHT:

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The next part to change was the guard. Originally with the M3, we were trying to mimic the look of the Gibbs with the square lather holes with internal bevel. However Gibbs were cast in Zinc whereas we are trying to mill stainless. This internal bevel required us to use the most expensive machine in the shop - 5 axis mill (every machine in a shop has a $ value that it has to "charge" every minute it is working in order to pay for itself / operator / profit). By changing the holes with M4 / N1 to more closely resemble a Gillette, we were able to not only produce a cleaner part, but use a standard 3 axis mill instead. Here you can see the original guard versus the new guard.

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The guard was also made thicker. This was to combat deflection / bending that was occurring during manufacturing. Here you can see two unfinished samples compared (sorry for poor quality this was shot with my cell today)

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We also changed the "blade tray" as I call it (the part that the blade sits on / stays stationary as the guard raises and drops during adjustment). Again, the first iteration was more or less a direct copy of the Gibbs. When we updated the cap, we wanted the same 20 degree bevel (made by a custom 20 degree end mill bit) to match up with the blade tray to provide a really solid blade lock (even though we already had that) but really to cut down on machining time and make a cleaner look. We also gave it's end caps / "ears" a rounded look - easier to machine as compared to squared off ears from the first model. Here are the two parts compared:

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It's very important to note that the PRIMARY reason for the above changes were due to improving how we MACHINED the parts. Ask any machinist - simple geometry is easier to make than complex geometry. I do feel that the razor overall looks nicer now, however it only went up 6 grams in weight and it was my goal to shave with many prototypes of all of these changes to make sure it shaved as similar as the original 0001M3 as possible. I think the M3 and N1 shave very similarly overall.

We did have 1 change made that was in direct response to customer feedback. That was the internal threading that I call the "neck" - it connects to the above blade tray and is what the spring rides on, nut travels on, and is what attaches the handle to the head.

We made 2 changes to this part that solved the two MAJOR issues we heard from customers:
  • We added more of a shoulder to this part. This added spring compression, ergo making the dial harder to turn i.e. less likely to "move" on accident as a FEW customers said.
  • We decreased the number of threads on it and fattened it up SLIGHTLY so that as it travels through the guard, there is more metal to metal contact - eliminating the "canting" or uneven blade gap as the guard travels up and down.
Here you can see the original Left and Current Right:

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FINAL THOUGHTS

When I decided to take on making the first American adjustable since Gillette, I knew it was going to be an audacious goal. First, I had never made a razor before and second, it was a complicated piece of machinery at 8 pieces and 2 springs. The amount of variables present here is exponentially greater than a 3 piece razor. However I wanted to make a splash in the industry and do something that hadn't been done.

I'm very happy to hear so many customers are loving their Ambassador razor - it really makes all the work worth it. We did lots of experimentation before ever releasing a razor, had many prototypes and "test shavers" use them - but there's nothing like making a few hundred of something and hearing from your customers on what they think. Even Gillette produced many versions of the Toggle and Fatboy as they were perfecting their adjustable design - those early models today are collector's items. Their market research is precisely why they abandoned the bottom adjustment dial and made the toggle lever bigger.

I'm proud of every razor we put out - any customer concern we take seriously and I work on every Ambassador personally to make sure it will be met with satisfaction. We have a lot more in store for Rex this year (website, straight razor, strops, leather cases, safety razors, soaps, brushes....) and the Ambassador is just the beginning. We are thrilled that it is now being carried at several popular online + brick & mortar stores around the country and world.

We are hoping that it continues to have success and even aim to (hopefully) bring it's cost down slightly (I'd love $199!) due to all these manufacturing process changes that have made it more efficient to produce. I want Rex to be high end, yes, but obtainable.

I'm here to answer any other questions on the Ambassador or anything else.

Thanks for making it this far into my epic post.
 
Thanks @Korbz a great article. My Ambassador is one of the original 150. I've been thinking for a while about purchasing a later model down the track and this article has reconfirmed my thoughts.
 
How does it shave? May be interested to try one.
 
How does it shave? May be interested to try one.

I'll be writing a proper review in here end of next week, but to date as below.
TLDR - great razor with some utility/functional benefits vs. traditional 2/3 piece razors, delivering an awesome shave and looking the part. Expensive, with 5% discount at B&B now comes down to $303 delivered, which is just over twice the price of the Rockwell, or almost 4 times that of the Parker Variant. Is it worth it? I don't like answering this as it comes down to your personal situation and preference. If you have razors that you're happy with, and this doesn't offer anything different, then RAD would be the only reason to get one. If you think this offers something different, and have the means, it is a great pick up and I'm glad I own one personally.

(quick summary I wrote yesterday in the SOTD thread - note went to #4 on the Rex this morning with a Rapira Chrome and had a very enjoyable shave)
To date, more efficient at all settings than the 6S. #3.5-4 on the Rex is equivalent to the #6 on the Rockwell. Working my way through settings now (up to #3 but have used #6 for a couple passes). Gets a bit bitey at 3, but you don't really notice until you see blood (still very smooth). Shaved on #3 this morning around 7am and still smooth now. Rockwell = smoother and cheaper, doesn't scale the same as the Rex... Rex = more efficient (bigger scale of mild to aggressive), better to look at, still very smooth, and adjustable on the fly.

This may change over the next week or 2 though, but just initial thoughts.
 
Alrighty, got some time after mowing the yard and shower/shave (although the kids are going berko atm).

Been using the Rex over the last several weeks and thrown in a few comparison shaves. Fortuitously received the Parker Variant a few days ago so have been able to compare a few (Rex, Fatboy, Variant and the Progress).

TLDR - All these razors will give great shaves. The difference in shave alone is not worth the extra money for the Rex IMO. There are aspects of the Rex that warrant the higher price tag and it will come down to what the buyer is after.

Rex - finish on the replacement Rex was great, as shown by above images and video. There was one very small mark which I had forgotten about tbh until now writing this. The only other thing would be slight machining marks (circular) on the bottom of the base plate where laser etching is. I'm being very critical here, and would question if most would notice.

The shave on the replacement has been great. I went through the settings, 1 - 6 and there is a very wide range in between. 1 is not useless, which tbh I think the Rockwell could start at 2 as the 1 is pointless. You could quite easily swing between 1.5 and 3 on the Rex for a daily shaver (equivalent to #2-#5 on the Rockwell, or 2-#4 on the progress). #4 through to #6 still proved to be smooth, but certainly way more blade feel (not so much so that if felt like scraping or uncomfortable). I'd be interested to get someone's opinion that likes very aggressive razors, but I wouldn't imagine they would be disappointed in the Rex setting #6 (unlike the Rockwell #6 that is still tame).

The razor itself is made out of stainless steel, and well put together. My interactions with Matt have all been positive, and he has genuinely seemed interested in solving my issues. I don't believe the lifetime warranty to be lip service, and when combined with the materials it was made from, would certainly be a hand me down to the kids.

As I pointed out in the video, the blade loading is a little different, as the blades are very tightly held by the top cap. I find the best way to load is to actually push the blades down onto the top cap, which secures it in place. Then simply putting top cap on and tightening. The threading is smooth, and I haven't found any issues in keeping clean to date.

Pricing is currently at $315 (via Beard & Blade) where you may be able to get a 5% subscription discount to take it just below $300. There was a group buy on DFS which I believe was below $200 USD (@alfredus jumped in on this so could confirm). Regular pricing through Razor Emporium is $249 USD and would suggest this may be a bit high ($350 odd AUD before shipping). Thankfully B&B is very reasonably priced and I think is around where it should be.

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Comparison
Fatboy is a regular in most shaver's dens. It's a great razor and I have a newfound respect for it after learning more about the way they were made from one of Matt's posts. However, I just don't get excited about using this one, and have to work to get a great shave most times (though it will never leave my den).
Rex vs. Parker vs. Progress. For me, comfortable daily shaving on each is around the 2.5 mark, so I will assume that people reading would compare these razors on their own comfort setting and find similar results.
Rex was the most nimble around the face. Very easy to get under the nose. Both the progress and parker posed more trouble, but could still be done with some facial contortions. Parker was probably the most challenging.
Blade feel is probably most noticeable in the Parker, but certainly not rough. It was also the most vocal. I'd put the Rex in the middle of the pack for blade feel and Progress at the bottom. Audio feedback the progress was in the middle and Rex at the bottom. All were very comfortable.
Hard to get areas (side of jaw, neck indents beside adam's apple) were similar for all 3. Progress maybe pipped the other 2 at the gate by a fraction. Tough call.

End of day wrap up, I don't think anyone's missing out by not having a Rex. Matt's not going to stop making them, and the pricing will probably only come down. The shave isn't light years ahead of the other 2 to make this a must have in my opinion. That's not to say I don't think it's worth it for other reasons though. It looks stunning, well put together, smooth action, and shaves brilliantly. It gives a great scope of aggression, and does so comfortably without getting bitey. It has a lifetime warranty with someone I can only respect after my personal dealings, and it made to last. If you have the cash and want a brilliant adjustable razor that will last, you won't go wrong with the Rex. If you don't want to over invest in razors, wtf you doing here (jokes). If you are more discerning and frugal, both the progress and the variant are wonderful. I would lean toward the Progress. If you don't like the look, there's always the mergress, but again, you're doubling price for what's still a zamak razor with a shiny knob.

Hope this has helped someone, and really looking forward to putting the Karve through it's paces.

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