A few months ago, I spotted a good deal on an iKON OSS. Aside from some surface scratches on the top cap, it was in good condition. As luck would have it, an Aussie seller on the same forum was selling a Safety Bar base plate at the same. I bought myself a choice of two excellent razors for less than the price of one of them new, but I still wondered if they'd be worth the expensive investment. Without further ado, the iKON OSS with Bulldog handle and accompanying SB plate.
iKON razors are made in Thailand. As far as the manufacturing quality goes, it reflects what one might expect for the price. Crafted from “316L marine-grade rust proof stainless steel”, the handles are machined and the heads are sintered. There are no dents or bumps, and all three modular sections are smooth and precise. The knurling on the handle is consistent and pleasantly deep. It feels solid in the hand, and is devoid of imperfections. If it has no flaws, is it flawless?
One excellent characteristic of some iKON razors is that if you have a top cap and a handle, you have a choice of three base plates. On top of that, the three base plates vary broadly in aggressiveness and function. As far as value for money goes, this is an expensive razor, but the modular aspect does make me feel a little better about the cost. The SB is my go-to razor now, and the OSS is what I use when I'm coming back from some irritation. I wound up paying in the region of $130 for two razor options. Eventually, I'm going to pick up the last remaining plate missing from my set, the open comb. Even if it works out to around $60 per razor option, that's still not the same as having three razors. With that in mind, I have serious expectations that this razor will remain practically perfect for a long time.
I left a blade in it after the first time I used it. I've never done that again. There was a small patch of rust on the inside of the head. It's probably safe to assume that some rust from the blade merely adhered to the surface of the razor, so no long term damage done and I don't really blame the razor. It came off with a toothbrush scrub using toothpaste, but it was a bit disappointing. These days, I make sure to rinse and pat dry the various parts after use. It's an extra 30 seconds to ensure that I haven't done my dough cold, so it's a small sacrifice, but I'd rather just feel confident rinsing and then hanging it to dry.
Boring section over, now for the good bit. Performance.
Both of these plates provide a great shave in their own way, but they're miles apart. Despite the open comb, the OSS is exceptionally mild. I'd go so far as to say that it will be uselessly mild for some. The safety bar side occupies the same territory as a Gillette Tech or a Schick Krona. Maybe even milder than the Krona. The open comb is very marginally sharper, but it's hard for me to compare as the only other open comb razor I have tried is the single edge GEM OCMM. It's in the vicinity of a Slim or Fatboy on #1-2. Personally, I find it to deliver a smooth and comfortable shave when used with a reasonably sharp blade (e.g. Super Iridium, Personna Lab, Perma-Sharp Super, etc). I find the dual head design useful, as the open comb cuts more easily through the changing direction of hair on my neck. The safety bar gets used for my cheeks and center of face, it just feels a little safer. I typically only use the OSS head when I'm recovering from irritation from a previous shave. It's always comfortable and pleasant, but it's far from efficient and hard to cut super closely. I also find that blades seem to wear unevenly, so I usually try to remember to flip them if I'm going to use the OSS more than once in a row.
The Safety Bar (SB) base plate is the reason I bought the OSS in the first place. I wanted a weightier and bottom heavy handle and slightly more aggressive head. I also wanted to try an open comb DE, so the OSS presented a good opportunity to try that and get the handle I wanted. When the SB base plate came up for sale, that fulfilled the rest of my wants and needs. The SB is maybe 20-25% more aggressive than the Merkur 34C, and it makes a difference. You can vary the blade angle moderately to alter the closeness of your shave, but around the 20° provides a smooth but aggressive angle for me.
Sharp and smooth blades excel in this razor. I've had exceptional success with Super Iridium, Polsilver Stainless and SI, Perma-Sharp Super and Astra Superior Stainless blades. I was far less impressed with the Israeli Personna Red and the yellow Gillette 7 O'C PermaSharp blades, which were both adequately sharp but rough and insufficiently smooth. Where a milder razor such as the 34C might compensate for some of that roughness, the SB lays it bare. I'm yet to go back to some of the lesser blades like Shark's or Derby's to see how they go. The OSS seems to work well with anything this far, so there are always options.
Maybe the biggest comment I can make about this razor is actually an action. I gave my 34C to my dad. So far, I haven't missed it.
iKON razors are made in Thailand. As far as the manufacturing quality goes, it reflects what one might expect for the price. Crafted from “316L marine-grade rust proof stainless steel”, the handles are machined and the heads are sintered. There are no dents or bumps, and all three modular sections are smooth and precise. The knurling on the handle is consistent and pleasantly deep. It feels solid in the hand, and is devoid of imperfections. If it has no flaws, is it flawless?
One excellent characteristic of some iKON razors is that if you have a top cap and a handle, you have a choice of three base plates. On top of that, the three base plates vary broadly in aggressiveness and function. As far as value for money goes, this is an expensive razor, but the modular aspect does make me feel a little better about the cost. The SB is my go-to razor now, and the OSS is what I use when I'm coming back from some irritation. I wound up paying in the region of $130 for two razor options. Eventually, I'm going to pick up the last remaining plate missing from my set, the open comb. Even if it works out to around $60 per razor option, that's still not the same as having three razors. With that in mind, I have serious expectations that this razor will remain practically perfect for a long time.
I left a blade in it after the first time I used it. I've never done that again. There was a small patch of rust on the inside of the head. It's probably safe to assume that some rust from the blade merely adhered to the surface of the razor, so no long term damage done and I don't really blame the razor. It came off with a toothbrush scrub using toothpaste, but it was a bit disappointing. These days, I make sure to rinse and pat dry the various parts after use. It's an extra 30 seconds to ensure that I haven't done my dough cold, so it's a small sacrifice, but I'd rather just feel confident rinsing and then hanging it to dry.
Boring section over, now for the good bit. Performance.
OSS vs SB
Both of these plates provide a great shave in their own way, but they're miles apart. Despite the open comb, the OSS is exceptionally mild. I'd go so far as to say that it will be uselessly mild for some. The safety bar side occupies the same territory as a Gillette Tech or a Schick Krona. Maybe even milder than the Krona. The open comb is very marginally sharper, but it's hard for me to compare as the only other open comb razor I have tried is the single edge GEM OCMM. It's in the vicinity of a Slim or Fatboy on #1-2. Personally, I find it to deliver a smooth and comfortable shave when used with a reasonably sharp blade (e.g. Super Iridium, Personna Lab, Perma-Sharp Super, etc). I find the dual head design useful, as the open comb cuts more easily through the changing direction of hair on my neck. The safety bar gets used for my cheeks and center of face, it just feels a little safer. I typically only use the OSS head when I'm recovering from irritation from a previous shave. It's always comfortable and pleasant, but it's far from efficient and hard to cut super closely. I also find that blades seem to wear unevenly, so I usually try to remember to flip them if I'm going to use the OSS more than once in a row.
The Safety Bar (SB) base plate is the reason I bought the OSS in the first place. I wanted a weightier and bottom heavy handle and slightly more aggressive head. I also wanted to try an open comb DE, so the OSS presented a good opportunity to try that and get the handle I wanted. When the SB base plate came up for sale, that fulfilled the rest of my wants and needs. The SB is maybe 20-25% more aggressive than the Merkur 34C, and it makes a difference. You can vary the blade angle moderately to alter the closeness of your shave, but around the 20° provides a smooth but aggressive angle for me.
Sharp and smooth blades excel in this razor. I've had exceptional success with Super Iridium, Polsilver Stainless and SI, Perma-Sharp Super and Astra Superior Stainless blades. I was far less impressed with the Israeli Personna Red and the yellow Gillette 7 O'C PermaSharp blades, which were both adequately sharp but rough and insufficiently smooth. Where a milder razor such as the 34C might compensate for some of that roughness, the SB lays it bare. I'm yet to go back to some of the lesser blades like Shark's or Derby's to see how they go. The OSS seems to work well with anything this far, so there are always options.
Maybe the biggest comment I can make about this razor is actually an action. I gave my 34C to my dad. So far, I haven't missed it.
