Fit and finish. This is were I'm going to ding the razor, and hard. The razor shows obvious machining marks, small scratches here and there and, most infuriating, mine had a dark tool mark on the top of the cap and a tool mark on the end cap. It also has tooling marks inside the lather holes. 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. While the Weishi is the same general size as the Qshave and the Viking’s, I think it is the most user friendly design, with a “grippier” handle, contrasting color scheme (for higher-visibility numbers on the adjustment dial), better balance, and a wider range of adjustment (particularly at the low end of the scale–this razor can get very mild indeed). This razor is also being “OEM’d” under a number of other brands including Van Der Hagen, River Lake, Shave Factory, and others. Qshave Parthenon

The finish is NOT what I would expect at this razor's price point. Not what you should expect either. There are various tiny dings in the finish. It looks rushed is all I can say. 4/10. And unlike other adjustable safety razor adjustment dials, the Crusader does not have any numeric markings. Just arrows pointing ‘this way for less gap’. The Qshave Parthenon, Vikings Blade Crusader, and Weishi Nostalgic razors (see the Crusader and Nostalgic sections below), all launched in 2018, appear to be based on the same basic twist-to-open (TTO) or butterfly adjustable safety razor head design. However each has their own “personality.” The initial Parthenon’s distinction was its aggressiveness. At its mildest (HA!) setting the Parthenon was quite aggressive. At the high end it was positively ludicrous. The Ambassador XL razor is Made in the USA and designed for a lifetime of use. Each razor features an individual serial number and a manufacturing code that adheres to the classic Gillette® product dating system. This razor comes with a lifetime warranty.The name ‘REX’ had many meanings when we chose it. Formally, it stands for Revisit Excellent. It Latin, it means King. But to me, it means Razor Emporium eXperience. After years of retailing, repairing, and collecting razors, I feel it’s only the next evolution. We want to incorporate the best from the past and present and provide a line of products that make you feel like a king in your bathroom. Grooming can be fun or it can be a chore. We want to help men everywhere get the best shaves possible – and we want to create high quality products that aim to do so.” The Crusader’s dual comb head design continues on the Emperor: one side has a scalloped safety bar, while the other side has a smooth safety bar. Two Parts – To take this razor apart you’ll undo the twist nut at the bottom which will allow the top of the head with a long threaded post to be pulled out. All of the razors above are fully adjustable safety razor designs. They are continuously variable within a wide range. There are also some razors that may offer adjustable elements without a continuously variable design or to a narrower degree. Feather Adjustable The Ambassador is infinitely adjustable, making it easy to find the best possible blade exposure for your skin. Just turn the integrated dial up for down to adjust the amount of blade gap for a milder or more aggressive shave. It is fully compatible with any double edge blade, giving you lots of options and combinations to “dial-in” a consistently perfect shaving experience. After just a few passes, you’ll find the razor glides across the skin almost effortlessly, while leaving behind a noticeably soft, clean and fully groomed path.

I have done the above, and many others do the same. With a few days of growth users can shave on a setting 3 or higher then reduce down on the next pass dialing the setting down to 2 or 1. The Ambassador is infinitely adjustable, making it easy to find the best possible blade exposure for your skin. Just turn the integrated dial up or down to adjust the amount of blade gap for a milder or more aggressive shave. It is fully compatible with any double edge blade, giving you lots of options and combinations to “dial-in” a consistently perfect shaving experience. After just a few passes, you’ll find the razor glides across the skin almost effortlessly, while leaving behind a noticeably soft, clean and fully groomed path.Last night, at 3.5 setting, it rated about a 9 on satisfaction, between comfort, close to BBS, and overall efficiency. Tonight was 6-7. Lots of blade, which I like, but it left me a touch raw. I can certainly learn to run it wide open, but the quality of shave at the lower setting makes it more academic than anything. First, the heft and weight of razor are great. I believe it weights in at 102 grams. The knurling is really good, and it is deep. Very grippy. I'd give the feel of the razor a 9/10. The weight and balance of the Futur suited me really well, and blade changing was easy enough. Rinsing to keep the blade clean between strokes was also done with ease.

Although visually quite similar there are some aspects of the 2000S that set it apart from the Futur. This razor has a wider range of adjustment compared to the Futur, especially at the low end. And as you might expect at the price point, the Ming Shi/Qshave does “cut a few corners” in manufacturing. For example, the dial markings are painted on instead of etched in like the Futur. Some users report the printed dial numbers wear off after extended use. The Flexi seems to be positioning itself as a mid-point razor–offering more design details like a serial number and upgraded metallurgy–but not quite into the “premium” category. But more importantly the Parker adjustable safety razor may have opened the minds of other artisans and manufacturers to the possibility that the adjustable safety razor market was one worth considering. Ming Shi 2000S (Qshave Adjustable)

I received my Pearl Flexi last week and was quite impressed with it. I was so impressed that I pulled out my REX Ambassador to compare shaves with the two. Both of these razors are essentially homages to the great Gibbs #17 and they are modern CNC machined razors. There is another, the Homelike Taiga, which I have test shaved but was not impressed enough with to buy (sorry @Clouds, it just did not do it for me). For the Taiga, the shave was very good, however the pieces for the head were hard to align and easy to loosen. Matt: “We decided to develop the Ambassador after years of working on Gillette Adjustable safety razors. For over 8 years, Razor Emporium has serviced Fatboys, Slims and tons of other great vintage Gillette razors and realized that they were a design everyone could like – you can dial in the shave you want. Customers love them and would often ask if there were any modern adjustable razors similar in construction or function. While many vintage models existed, there few modern options available. We drew inspiration from historic models like the Gibbs Adjustable, but also incorporated features that brought the razor into a modern, CNC production world.” We started changing some of the geometry of the components in an effort to optimize manufacturing and produce "cleaner" and easier parts to produce. Serial Number – Rex Supply Co. has followed in Gillette’s footsteps and laser etched each model with its own personal serial number. The old Gillette dating system (2018 = N, 2019 = O, 2020 = P and R = 2021, etc.) has been used.

Another adjustable razor I know about but have not tried yet is “The Final Cut” razor from Yaqi, available shipped from China via Aliexpress. Parker Adjustable Injector The Ambassador is built and sold via Razor Emporium. I asked Matt Pisarcik, owner of Razor Emporium, about how the Ambassador came about: While I had very good and close shaves from the Merkur Futur I did feel that under any shaving circumstance, I could easily get by with using setting one. This would not justify having a razor with all these settings unless I started to need them. The shave itself was very efficient. The most efficient I've had in a while. I used the razor on setting 3 and I normally use mild or medium aggressive razors depending on the day. I feel like for me that above 3 on this would have been much more aggressive than I needed. I actually got a BBS shave on my normal 3 passes, which I only rarely get. The razor’s larger head made detail areas like under the nose a bit more of a challenge, there’s a little rattle from the internal mechanics, and I noticed the “sweet spot” for the best blade angle may be just a bit narrower than other razors. But after a little while I was able to figure it all out. Nothing here is a deal-breaker, especially for the low price.My usual shave routine with an adjustable razor is to start with a 3.5 for WTG and then switch to a 2.5 for ATG and touch up. Doing that with the Flexi for my first shave made me realize that I had to adjust that a little as the 3.5 shaved closer to the 2.5. Later when I compared shaving with both razors, I started with 4 on the Flexi and 3 to finish off. I found this to be the equivalent to my usual 3.5 and 2.5 on my Ambassador. As far as shave quality, I had to admit that it was a tie. both razors were very comfortable and efficient to use, and I ended up with a two pass plus minimal touch up BBS for both. Settings two to four are the only settings I need to use for now, which offer enough flexibility in terms of how many days growth I need to shave off.