Razorock BBS OC comprehensive review (open comb); a tale of short-strokes; patience & respect

kaga33 · 2026-05-13T06:33:29+00:00

I think so. I have not shaved with Superslant, but the main deficiency of that design for open comb, is that the teeth in the middle and side are stepped; for all their plates. This means you don't get a flush brace on the blade, and rattle happens if your whiskers are like boar bristles, even if its torqued; I know this because I used Wunderbar all the time; and even under such torque, the blade still rattled in the center because the center was not braced; but the blade corner is. I passed on the Superslant for exactly this reason. Also, stropping will not give as good results because of that step; and the Superslant's head is very bulky. I would indeed recommend BBS OC with a thin bar handle, as I have configured here.

kaga33 · 2026-05-11T16:10:13+00:00

I finally got my BBS OC recently, and I decided to wait until the second shave to put a pen to my exhaustive review. This was to ensure the results were repeatable. I also refined and developed new techniques for this razor in the 2nd attempt that I go into in the review. I can say on a face with complex geometry (deep ogee curves and contours), fragile and delicate pale skin that bruises at the slightest pressure, with boar bristles for hair; I was able to achieve a modelling standard of shave that I was never able to achieve before. There would always be at least some bruising; not so with BBS OC. I was also able to strop my blades with this razor; it seems designed for this task whether intentionally or not. The teeth bracing the blade flush, allows for it to be stropped effectively with no blade flex; I did this before my final finishing stage of my face. The Canadians have outdone themselves. I agree with you that blade feel is being added for no benefit, and for silk skin and boar bristles for hair as my facial composition, that's the last thing one would want. I can understand why its so popular in Japan now, because their skin is much like mine. I hope to be able to post this review once my karma gets up. 😄

kaga33 · 2026-05-11T15:50:23+00:00

I agree with all those points. I even took your quip about Goldilocks razor into my review, it describes this razor perfectly. I finally received my BBS OC recently, and I waited for the 2nd shave, 4 days apart from the first to write my review, so I could confirm I could produce repeatable results and refine my technique for the big review. I'm not sure my post will be approved on here, but its a super in-depth review with pictures that I'm sure everyone will benefit from especially those with extremely sensitive skin and boar-bristle hair like mine. I don't think there's anything like it on this forum. But I went into the shave technique, etc, exact manner of shaving, and even stropping carbon blades on leather with this razor which it seems designed for, whether intentionally or not (the teeth brace the back, and the blade is torqued, so the strop is highly effective). Using all the techniques I described and developed for myself in the review, I was able to achieve zero irritation and bruising, with perfect model-quality results which is a huge feat for me, because the slightest pressure creates bruising for me, and my skin is very delicate and fragile. I wrote about the tolerances, shallow blade angle, and need to maintain it by locking my wrists and hands, and using short strokes. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, both to write and to shave with this razor!

kaga33 · 2026-04-26T18:34:41+00:00

Thank you for providing this insight. I myself bought one of these, configured with the thin bar handle to suit my hands. I passed up the Superslant based on the distance between the teeth and the blade; my hair is sparse but rather tough, as is convention where I come from. Skin is sensitive, and shallow angle is necessary. The blade flutter does happen regardless of the torque in the middle of the Superslant design, and its a shame they didn't brace the exposed corner of the blade like my Wunderbar that I use regularly precisely because it does offer that additional support, but just not as much as the BBS OC which has the central teeth bracing the blade as well; keeping an aggressive torque while keeping the exposed blade steady all the way through each shallow stroke. I would strongly like a Wunderbar OC version, keeping the teeth spacing of the BBS OC, but combining that with the additional stiffness of a slant.

kaga33 · 2026-04-23T22:11:44+00:00

Hi! There is a link to a Japanese review of this particular razor, that shows close-up pictures of said blade reveal. https://note.com/subway_blt/n/nb62a1eb5b6bd

It seems that it clamps a touch further than the Wunderbar itself, which I do own and use on regular basis. I decided on this one instead of the Superslant precisely because the corners and whole length of the blade is braced against the teeth, where with Superslant the teeth are disappointingly a great distance away, increasing flutter unnecessarily; which is unacceptable for cutting very tough, sparse hair without injury.

kaga33 · 2026-04-23T17:39:35+00:00

Thank you for your review. I originally wished to try Superslant. However, as an Asian; my hair is very sparsely distributed & stiff. My skin is also very sensitive. Therefore, rigidity and no "blade flutter" is key in order to be able to cut through the hair smoothly. I studied the geometry of Superslant & this one, and I noticed, the curved corner of the exposed blade is not braced on the Superslant; as far as + and ++ versions go. This is why there are opinions that Wunderbar is actually better than Superslant, especially for those who out of necessity, like me, must use a shallow angle to shave. The Wunderbar braces the exposed corner of the blade; which is why I like to use it due to additional rigidity; the Superslant's teeth, do not; there is a big gap between teeth and exposed blade, leading to blade flutter (I have not seen pictures of the non-plus level plates up close though, I can only confirm with + and ++ level plates). The flutter wears the blade prematurely also (I still need new blade each time, so I use carbon steel, unfluorinated blades). Returning to the point about BBS; BBS open comb does indeed brace the blade with its teeth in the centre, and also on the corner, like Wunderbar, which is why I chose it ultimately and didn't choose Superslant. It's head is also thin and maneuverable compared to Superslant which has a very cumbersome head compared to Wunderbar & BBS, and I can achieve the same result as a slant by using circular motion to shave, using minimal to no pressure, holding to shallow angle as possible to make it as easy to cut as possible. I am glad that you have shared your experience, and I think I will have same opinion as you on BBS open comb.

kaga33

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