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It’s Not Mambo No. 5 It’s My RazoRock Mamba 53 Review

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RazoRock has recently launched their latest version of their Mamba 53 razor. The Mamba 53 is a three piece double edge razor that Italian Barber aims for a mild, comfortable, and smooth shave. Since I’m a fan of “mild” razors I bought one to examine and see how it compares to other razors products on the market.  It’s not Mambo No. 5, it’s the Mamba 53!

Mamba 53 Specs

From the Mamba 53 page on the Italian Barber website:

“The name “MAMBA” was chosen because like it’s namesake, the Black Mamba snake, the goal of this razor is to inflict pain and suffering on our competitors (future victims) in the safety razor market! 🙂 You’ll see what I mean very soon! Also, like the Black Mamba, the RazoRock Mamba is designed for speed and efficiency. The unique head design allows for faster shaving, without fear of being bitten! 

“The RazoRock Mamba head is precisely CNC machined from 316L stainless steel billet in Ontario, Canada, on a state-of-the-art five-axis machine that was purchased for over half a million dollars in the spring of 2017. How precise is precise? Two-thousandths of an inch! If you are familiar with our RazoRock Wunderbar Slant, you will already know that no other razor in the marketplace is machined to such a precise tolerance. Each Mamba head will come individually serial numbered, that’s how serious we are taking these razors! Our machinist is Swiss-Canadian and frankly, I have never met another machinist that takes precision so seriously.”

Weight: 3.2 oz (~91 grams)

Blade Gap: 0.53 mm

Blade Exposure: ~0 to -0.01mm (approximate because of blade width variances)

Material: 316L Marine Grade Stainless Steel

The original RazoRock Black Mamba razor launched in 2015: this razor has the same head geometry but without the “DLC” coating.

My Experience With The RazoRock Mamba 53 Double Edge Razor

In general I find the Mamba 53’s weight and balance to be very good.  I bought mine with the “Super Knurl” handle ​(13 mm x 90 mm, ~2.9 oz).  It may not be the heaviest razor out there but this combination of head and handle is a great pair for me.  I really like that handle: it’s very “grippy” without being overly-textured.

I find the “fit and finish” of this razor to be excellent: everything fits together well.  I don’t know if it’s similar to other stainless steel razors that “sell for 5 times the price” as the sales page claims, but it looks and feels great to me and I anticipate that it will be very durable.

The Mamba’s sales page mentions the razor’s blade alignment pins:

“PRO TIP: With razors like the Mamba, where the blade alignment pins are on the base/guard plate, load the DE blade onto the base/guard plate and then put on the top cap. “

Personally, I’m not a fan of this design.  The pins are low-profile, which makes for a thinner head but I find blade changing is fussier than it should be.

I should note that I find the razor angle range to find that “sweet spot” is a bit narrower on the Mamba 53 than many of the other razors I own.  The Mamba’s angle reminds me of that of the RazoRock Adjust or the Timeless ALSB45: easily dealt with once it’s recognized.  I tend to “ride the cap” with this razor.

My first shaves with the Mamba 53 used my go-to blade, from Parker.  Those shaves were easily “DFS” but I did find them a little wanting.  It took some extra work for me to get to the “BBS” level.

So, like some other mild razors I use (particularly the Feather AS-D2) I switched to a Feather blade (Amazon affiliate link).  As expected, the high-performance blade produced much better results: I was able to reach the “BBS” level of shave with less additional work.

Conclusion

​Overall my shaves with the Mamba 53 have been very good.  As you might expect from a razor advertised as “mild” (think of about a 2 on a 1-10 scale), “BBS” quality shaves take a little bit of extra attention from me but “DFS” shaves are easy, quick, and without drama.  There is also the Mamba 70 with more blade gap and probably more appropriate for the shaver who isn’t looking for something milder.

The RazorRock Mamba 53 double edge razor is available on the Italian Barber website.

Do you have a RazoRock Mamba 53 double edge razor?  What do you think of it?  Leave a comment below!

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Shave tutor and co-founder of sharpologist. Also check out my content on Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!View Author posts

4 thoughts on “It’s Not Mambo No. 5 It’s My RazoRock Mamba 53 Review”

  1. I bought a Mamba 70 S&D about two months back. WAY too mild for me; makes the 34C look aggressive.

    A finely crafted razor… for someone else (I recently PIF’d it). So the 53 would not be worth my time.

    As for that design with the low profile studs on the base plate – yeah, not fond of that either. They also use that on the Gamechanger; it’s the one thing I don’t like about my otherwise excellent .84p.

  2. I really like the mild razors but I can’t seem to get my throat area done properly without going for a more aggressive razor so I use the Feather AS-D2 or Mamba 53 (face) with either the Mamba 70 or BBS (throat). All razors in use will have either a Kai or BIC Chrome Platinum blade. I am somewhat mystified as to why Italian Barber’s tame machinist is proud that his very expensive CNC machine can do tolerances to a couple thousandths of an inch though. Something must be very wrong with his machine if he can’t get down to the ten thousandths of an inch mark. Perhaps those tolerances would be a bit to tight.

  3. I like mild razors too, but I bought the Mamba70 because I like the Game Changer .68 so much. If I need a Feather the razor is too mild for my taste.

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