RazoRock Hawk III: Number 5 in My Top 9 Stainless AC Razors
Five down, four to go. This is number five in my series on my nine favorite stainless AC razors, and it feels right for the middle spot. Four before it, four still to come. The RazoRock Hawk III. Steady. Right in the center of everything.
The Hawk III
The Hawk III comes with interchangeable plates. There’s an aggressive plate and an open comb that RazoRock calls a rake. I have the standard plate on today. The handle is the RazoRock Bulldog at 90mm, and everything together comes in at 100g. It’s head-heavy, you feel that right away, but the balance point is comfortable. Mid-range aggression. Easy to find the angle.
I paid somewhere around $60 to $70 for this about five years ago. Fair price for a CNC-machined stainless steel head. If you’re starting out with AC razors, this is a solid first pick. You can run a lot of different blades in it and find your footing without fighting the razor.
A Razor That Came With Marks
When I first got this one, it had big marks and dings in the head. On the back side. I contacted RazoRock about it, and here’s what they told me: “Our razors are tools. They’re not jewelry. So a little scratches and dings here and there, as long as it doesn’t affect the shave, is to be expected.”
That’s fair. And it’s true. All the marks are on the back where they don’t touch anything. The razor has performed well every single time I’ve used it. I kept it. Still have it.
The standard has gone up since then, I’ll give them that. This was five years ago.
The Blade: Feather Professional
This is shave number five on this particular blade. I’m trying to stretch it for all nine shaves in the series. I usually stop at seven, maybe eight. Nine might be a stretch for me. We’ll see. Nothing is set in stone yet.
For AC razors, the Feather Professional is my go-to. It sits right in the middle of the range. The Super Professional runs wider and thicker, more aggressive. On the other end, the Professional Light and the SoftGuard are milder, a bit thinner. The standard Professional is right where I want it: not too aggressive, not too mild.
I’ve tried the others. The Kai Pink is a genuinely good blade. The Schick P-30 isn’t bad either. But this was the blade I started with, and I’ve built a feel for it over years of use. That consistency is worth something.
Do you use an AC razor? What’s your go-to blade? The Kai Pink? The Schick? I’ve tried them all, and I always come back to the same one.
The Setup
The soap today is RazoRock Mudder Focker. The name was controversial when it came out. A lot of people were offended, thinking it was a crude joke. The actual reference is to Fuller’s Earth, a specific type of mud that has been used in beauty products for a long time. The humor didn’t land for everyone.
Set that aside, because the scent is excellent. A cologne. A go-to-town scent, at least for me. I have the matching aftershave splash as well.
The brush is the RazoRock Limited Edition 400 with the aluminum handle. Wonderful brush. The bowl is from Hendrix Classics, black, and Pete sent it to me four and a half years ago. Full disclosure: it was a gift. I mention it because it’s in the video. Thank you, Pete.
The Shave
I expected some burn from the splash. It has alcohol, and I had a couple of spots going in. Hardly anything. That actually surprised me. The scent coming off it, though, was wonderful.
One small nick, which I could see coming before I even started. Everything else clean. The razor is flat and wide but you can still get under the nose without any trouble. Close shave. No drama.
Five shaves on this blade. The Hawk III is as steady as it has ever been.
Four more razors still to come in this series. One starts with S, one with Y, one with T, one with W. We’ll get there.
We are not obsessed. We are dedicated.