World Shave Off Showdown 2nd Edition

Debate will go on forever. Any hobby demands endless debate.

I’m betting on the Rockwell. I haven’t used that  Gillette so I’m just going with my heart here. The Rockwell is my daily driver 

Do you know if the polish on the Rockwell was a professional job or a DIY?  Nice.

I’m betting on  the Rockwell. I haven’t used that  Gillette so I’m just going with my heart here. The Rockwell is my daily driver 

Do you know if the polish on the Rockwell was a professional job or a DIY?  Nice.

Im thinking the polish was from Rockwell as I think they offered it but I could be wrong. I had a satin finished one and then a 6 C that was very shinny.  

Gillette RFB is a awesome shaving razor so it should be a good Shave Off.  Big difference in weight. The 6 S is a lot heavier.

Thank you.
Looks nice. 
I wonder if it glides differently from the factory/ standard 6S.... the never ending debate polished vs matte finish... 

Well I have a scientific reply to that given to me by a metal scientist and replating expert and he said if you looked at a matte finish and a high polished finish under a microscope the matte finish would look like your flying over the Grand Canyon with all the nooks and crannies where as a high polished razor is just a smooth plane with none of that going on so there is truth that a high polished razor would be smoother or you could say have better glide and you'd be correct from a scientific point of view although in some cases it's pretty hard to tell the difference. In my experiences I'd say in most cases if you are super sensitive to this subject you can feel the difference but there are some razors that seriously challenge that assumption. One such example is a Timeless Titanium matte finished and the High Polished one where it's almost impossible to detect any difference between the two. Not so in a Asylum RX where the High polished had noticeably better glide than the matte finished one. So it's probably a debate that will go on forever! LOL 

Not to argue but smoothness is kinda relative. A highly polished SS still has a crap load of pitting (I don't think it is a smooth plane...but again, smoothness like distance, is relative). How much magnification you need to see it? I've no clue. I once had a professor, late 80s, tell me the most precise ball bearing know to man is not as smooth as the surface of the earth. A quick Google search indicates he was likely accurate in that statement. That is my basis in saying there is still a lot of pitting because I doubt the head of a Wolfman mirror razor is as defect free as a ball bearing.

The short answer to polished vs matte is, Absolutely mirror polished is smoother on your skin than brushed. If you have examples of both all you need to do is run them both across your lips. Now, whether the skin on your face can tell is debatable. Your lips should be able to feel it.

Thank you.
Looks nice. 
I wonder if it glides differently from the factory/ standard 6S.... the never ending debate polished vs matte finish... 

Well I have a scientific reply to that given to me by a metal scientist and replating expert and he said if you looked at a matte finish and a high polished finish under a microscope the matte finish would look like your flying over the Grand Canyon with all the nooks and crannies where as a high polished razor is just a smooth plane with none of that going on so there is truth that a high polished razor would be smoother or you could say have better glide and you'd be correct from a scientific point of view although in some cases it's pretty hard to tell the difference. In my experiences I'd say in most cases if you are super sensitive to this subject you can feel the difference but there are some razors that seriously challenge that assumption. One such example is a Timeless Titanium matte finished and the High Polished one where it's almost impossible to detect any difference between the two. Not so in a Asylum RX where the High polished had noticeably better glide than the matte finished one. So it's probably a debate that will go on forever! LOL 

Not to argue but smoothness is kinda relative.  A highly polished SS still has a crap load of pitting (I don't think it is a smooth plane...but again, smoothness like distance, is relative).  How much magnification you need to see it? I've no clue.  I once had a professor, late 80s,  tell me the most precise ball bearing know to man is not as smooth as the surface of the earth.  A quick Google search indicates he was likely accurate in that statement.  That is my basis in saying there is still a lot of pitting because I doubt the head of a Wolfman mirror razor is as defect free as a ball bearing.

The short answer to polished vs matte is, Absolutely mirror polished is smoother on your skin than brushed.  If you have examples of both all you need to do is run them both across your lips.  Now, whether the skin on your face can tell is debatable.  Your lips should be able to feel it.

James just repeating what I was told so there may be some questions on that example I gave based on what you said about a ball Bering. With that said your right the Lip test which I got from you is about as good as it gets when trying to figure which razor is smoother when two razor are so close. Sometimes I can tell even on my face like with the 2 RX’s I mentioned and I’ve had a few matte finished razors along the way that when even hand polished with Maas you could tell. Polished my Ikon Tech and I tried it once on a ATT SE1 and it helped.  I’m working in a lab now a couple days a week and we are getting a really powerful microscope and I’m going to take a look at some razor heads as my curiosity has just been sparked. 
So good Info!  

Thanks

I’m betting on  the Rockwell. I haven’t used that  Gillette so I’m just going with my heart here. The Rockwell is my daily driver 

Do you know if the polish on the Rockwell was a professional job or a DIY?  Nice.

I can answer this. It's my Rockwell and I did a hand sanding  with some Dremel  sand polish job.
I had borrowed a shaving buddy's 6S that was polished.
When I got this one I thought I could tell a definite difference in the polished one and this one's, so my buddy (Jairo) instructed me.
The top cap had a slight dimple that was plain to see, after I did enough hand sanding, that made it more difficult to take the metal down beyond that point.

Well I have a scientific reply to that given to me by a metal scientist and replating expert and he said if you looked at a matte finish and a high polished finish under a microscope the matte finish would look like your flying over the Grand Canyon with all the nooks and crannies where as a high polished razor is just a smooth plane with none of that going on so there is truth that a high polished razor would be smoother or you could say have better glide and you'd be correct from a scientific point of view although in some cases it's pretty hard to tell the difference. In my experiences I'd say in most cases if you are super sensitive to this subject you can feel the difference but there are some razors that seriously challenge that assumption. One such example is a Timeless Titanium matte finished and the High Polished one where it's almost impossible to detect any difference between the two. Not so in a Asylum RX where the High polished had noticeably better glide than the matte finished one. So it's probably a debate that will go on forever! LOL 

Not to argue but smoothness is kinda relative.  A highly polished SS still has a crap load of pitting (I don't think it is a smooth plane...but again, smoothness like distance, is relative).  How much magnification you need to see it? I've no clue.  I once had a professor, late 80s,  tell me the most precise ball bearing know to man is not as smooth as the surface of the earth.  A quick Google search indicates he was likely accurate in that statement.  That is my basis in saying there is still a lot of pitting because I doubt the head of a Wolfman mirror razor is as defect free as a ball bearing.

The short answer to polished vs matte is, Absolutely mirror polished is smoother on your skin than brushed.  If you have examples of both all you need to do is run them both across your lips.  Now, whether the skin on your face can tell is debatable.  Your lips should be able to feel it.

James just repeating what I was told so there may be some questions on that example I gave based on what you said about a ball Bering. With that said your right the Lip test which I got from you is about as good as it gets when trying to figure which razor is smoother when two razor are so close. Sometimes I can tell even on my face like with the 2 RX’s I mentioned and I’ve had a few matte finished razors along the way that when even hand polished with Maas you could tell. Polished my Ikon Tech and I tried it once on a ATT SE1 and it helped.  I’m working in a lab now a couple days a week and we are getting a really powerful microscope and I’m going to take a look at some razor heads as my curiosity has just been sparked. 
So good Info!  

Thanks

Oh yeah, get that microscope fired up. Would be cool if it was bluetooth and you could snap some photos.

And I've no doubt Evatt knows what he is talking about. I never really thought about it until he told me rhodium is a smoother finish than nickle. Like you, I can tell the difference on my face if I'm really paying attention.

Looking forward to some lab reports.

I’m betting on  the Rockwell. I haven’t used that  Gillette so I’m just going with my heart here. The Rockwell is my daily driver 

Do you know if the polish on the Rockwell was a professional job or a DIY?  Nice.

I can answer this. It's my Rockwell and I did a hand sanding  with some Dremel  sand polish job.
I had borrowed a shaving buddy's 6S that was polished.
When I got this one I thought I could tell a definite difference in the polished one and this one's, so my buddy (Jairo) instructed me.
The top cap had a slight dimple that was plain to see, after I did enough hand sanding, that made it more difficult to take the metal down beyond that point.

So you could feel the difference between the smooth and the matte finish.  I haven’t kept up on the Rockwell since I sold mine so when you sent me yours I thought to myself they must have offered a polished version. 

Thanks for clearing things up and for contributing the two razors you sent. 

I’m betting on  the Rockwell. I haven’t used that  Gillette so I’m just going with my heart here. The Rockwell is my daily driver 

Do you know if the polish on the Rockwell was a professional job or a DIY?  Nice.

I can answer this. It's my Rockwell and I did a hand sanding  with some Dremel  sand polish job.
I had borrowed a shaving buddy's 6S that was polished.
When I got this one I thought I could tell a definite difference in the polished one and this one's, so my buddy (Jairo) instructed me.
The top cap had a slight dimple that was plain to see, after I did enough hand sanding, that made it more difficult to take the metal down beyond that point.

So you could feel the difference between the smooth and the matte finish.  I haven’t kept up on the Rockwell since I sold mine so when you sent me yours I thought to myself they must have offered a polished version. 

Thanks for clearing things up and for contributing the two razors you sent. 

Yeah I felt the difference, others might disagree but that what we do, tell our experiences as individuals. 
  Sure no problem, glad to be a small part and the opportunity to contribute a bit

I can answer this. It's my Rockwell and I did a hand sanding  with some Dremel  sand polish job.
I had borrowed a shaving buddy's 6S that was polished.
When I got this one I thought I could tell a definite difference in the polished one and this one's, so my buddy (Jairo) instructed me.
The top cap had a slight dimple that was plain to see, after I did enough hand sanding, that made it more difficult to take the metal down beyond that point.

So you could feel the difference between the smooth and the matte finish.  I haven’t kept up on the Rockwell since I sold mine so when you sent me yours I thought to myself they must have offered a polished version. 

Thanks for clearing things up and for contributing the two razors you sent. 

Yeah I felt the difference, others might disagree but that what we do, tell our experiences as individuals. 
  Sure no problem, glad to be a small part and the opportunity to contribute a bit


Thank you again my friend and there is no such thing as a small contribution as this Shave Off would not happen without them.