Maggard V3A

[Umma2gumma]

Yesterday I had a meeting in Toledo, and figured that I might as well take a detour on the way home and stop by Maggard's store in Adrian. Wanted to visit it ever since I got into wet shaving.

It's a cool place, the best selection of shaving related stuff I've ever seen, and their customer service is top-notch. Brad was extremely helpful and knowledgeable.

I wanted to try something different, a more aggressive and hopefully more efficient razor. Of course I can always set Variant to 5 (or above) but there are razors specifically designed from scratch to be aggressive, so I thought I'd try one. Muhle R41 is notoriously aggressive, but from all the reviews I got a feeling it was also pretty uncomfortable and "scratchy" and not necessarily super efficient.

So, after talking to Brad, I ended up getting a V3A head and one of their stainless steel handles (MR7 I believe). Figured, I can always use a well made handle, and the head was cheap. I also got some "artisan" shaving soap to try & see what all these soap affictionados are raving about (so far I've been just fine with Arko). Soap Commander's Courage.

For the first shave this morning, I decided to play it safe and loaded an Astra SP blade that's already been used a couple times. And, against my common sense telling me not to change two variables at once, I used that new soap.

To my surprise, even though the razor with a blade loaded looks a bit scary from a side due to the blade angle, it was actually a very comfortable shave. A little more blade presence and a little more blade feel than what I am used to, but no discomfort or weepers or scratches of any sort. I do think that Arko provides a superior quality of lather (although it doesn't smell as nice, and that artisan soap is not bad overall). So, with Arko and a fresh Feather, that razor should be both very efficient and comfortable. A good razor.

Now, I need to test it against fully opened Variant & see who wins in terms of comfort and closeness.

Anyone compared this to R41 ?

 

[lancre]

I'll probably catch a lot of flak for this, but on my face, the R41, the V3A and a Fendrihan MK. II all give me very similar shaves. The MK. II gives me the closest shave and the R41 the smoothest, but the differences I feel are minuscule.

 

[AJSharp]

@lancre I have found the Fendrihan MKII a very efficient shave at a great price - it works for me as a travel razor. It seems under appreciated and flies under the radar especially with those who chase high gaps or “prestige priced” razors. It may be not as efficient as the R41 but it is smoother.

Regarding the V3A my experience is that it’s not in the same league - it is much milder than the MKII or R41. I do not consider the V3A aggressive and, for me, is comparable to my Slim at 5-6. Don’t get me wrong the V3A is a great step up from a milder razor and it’s quite smooth but it’s not very aggressive.

 

[Granite.Glasser]

Yesterday I had a meeting in Toledo, and figured that I might as well take a detour on the way home and stop by Maggard's store in Adrian. Wanted to visit it ever since I got into wet shaving.

It's a cool place, the best selection of shaving related stuff I've ever seen, and their customer service is top-notch. Brad was extremely helpful and knowledgeable.

I wanted to try something different, a more aggressive and hopefully more efficient razor. Of course I can always set Variant to 5 (or above) but there are razors specifically designed from scratch to be aggressive, so I thought I'd try one. Muhle R41 is notoriously aggressive, but from all the reviews I got a feeling it was also pretty uncomfortable and "scratchy" and not necessarily super efficient.

So, after talking to Brad, I ended up getting a V3A head and one of their stainless steel handles (MR7 I believe). Figured, I can always use a well made handle, and the head was cheap. I also got some "artisan" shaving soap to try & see what all these soap affictionados are raving about (so far I've been just fine with Arko). Soap Commander's Courage.

For the first shave this morning, I decided to play it safe and loaded an Astra SP blade that's already been used a couple times. And, against my common sense telling me not to change two variables at once, I used that new soap.

To my surprise, even though the razor with a blade loaded looks a bit scary from a side due to the blade angle, it was actually a very comfortable shave. A little more blade presence and a little more blade feel than what I am used to, but no discomfort or weepers or scratches of any sort. I do think that Arko provides a superior quality of lather (although it doesn't smell as nice, and that artisan soap is not bad overall). So, with Arko and a fresh Feather, that razor should be both very efficient and comfortable. A good razor.

Now, I need to test it against fully opened Variant & see who wins in terms of comfort and closeness.

Anyone compared this to R41 ?

Glad to hear you made the stop at Maggard's! That place and it's people are fantastic! I hope you had lunch at Tony Packo's while in Toledo!
Cheers!

 

[Umma2gumma]

Glad to hear you made the stop at Maggard's! That place and it's people are fantastic! I hope you had lunch at Tony Packo's while in Toledo!
Cheers!

I didn’t have the time to pee in Toledo, let alone eat

Once I was done, I just wanted to get out so that I could spend at least some time at Maggard’s.

Yes the place is great. Will be coming back. Although its a 1.5 hrs drive one way.

 

[P@tsfan6484]

I would love to check out Maggards, but being in Florida it will be difficult. Congrats on your experience and your new gear!!

 

[Umma2gumma]

So this morning I loaded the razor up with a Feather on its second shave, and used Arko. Had an excellent, close, 100% problem free shave. As I said I need to compare it to a fully opened Variant, but I can safely say that it’s going to be in my top two list regardless of how it compares to Parker. And the Maggard MR7 handle paired with it really well.

 

[BigJ]

Congratulations!!

Sounds like a great trip with OUTSTANDING RESULTS!!

 

[Umma2gumma]

Congratulations!!

Sounds like a great trip with OUTSTANDING RESULTS!!

Thank you !

Have to go there again tomorrow, so have a very strong urge to stop by Maggard's again and perhaps get the Muhle R41 head just so that I could say I tried it....

 

[cw62803]

I have both the Maggards V3A and Muhle R41, and they are very different animals. I love the V3A. It's an aggressive/efficient razor - but when paired with the right blade, it gives me a smooth, almost effortless shave.

I have not had much luck with my R41. I find it harsh and scratchy. I haven't gotten a smooth shave from it once.

 

[razorhead63]

I’d like to get a more aggressive razor.
I’ve got a V3 and it shaves well.
I’ll check out the V3A.... sounds like a sweet tool.

 

[lancre]

@lancre I have found the Fendrihan MKII a very efficient shave at a great price - it works for me as a travel razor. It seems under appreciated and flies under the radar especially with those who chase high gaps or “prestige priced” razors. It may be not as efficient as the R41 but it is smoother.

Regarding the V3A my experience is that it’s not in the same league - it is much milder than the MKII or R41. I do not consider the V3A aggressive and, for me, is comparable to my Slim at 5-6. Don’t get me wrong the V3A is a great step up from a milder razor and it’s quite smooth but it’s not very aggressive.

I have both the Maggards V3A and Muhle R41, and they are very different animals. I love the V3A. It's an aggressive/efficient razor - but when paired with the right blade, it gives me a smooth, almost effortless shave.

I have not had much luck with my R41. I find it harsh and scratchy. I haven't gotten a smooth shave from it once.

Well, I guess that's the definition of YMMV. All I can say is what my face and fingertips tell me.
I will say that, based on comments here, I had expected the R41 to be a tiger, but I found it to be a pussycat.
So maybe that's why I find all three to be similar.

 

[Mitzie]

Putting a Yaqi/Razorock double open comb top cap on the V3A base plate steps up efficiency even more.

 

[Umma2gumma]

So, I took a shave with my Variant set to 5 (fully opened, although you can cheat and open it up even more), same Feather blade.

The results were... interesting.

It feels much milder than V3A.

It shaves even closer.

And the mildness is deceptive... I got a few weepers with a “mild” Variant - very likely because I want as careful. No weepers with V3A.

So while V3A has more blade feel, the opened up Variant is actually both more aggressive and a little more efficient.

V3A is actually a safer closer shave bet, at least until I get enough experience with Variant at high settings. I typically run it at 3.5.

 

[jmudrick]

Yintal Bronze version of the V3A on brass Tibam handle. Added a shim to goose rigididty a bit. Fine shave.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[Felix G]

Yes, the Yintal bronze is an excellent shaver.

 

[zoidberg]

I have both the Maggards V3A and Muhle R41, and they are very different animals. I love the V3A. It's an aggressive/efficient razor - but when paired with the right blade, it gives me a smooth, almost effortless shave.

What blades do you use?

I have the Yaqi version (Cobbed Head) and I've used a few times but found the razor to have too much blade feel but I think it might have been down to not using the right blades.

 

[Umma2gumma]

So, this morning, I used Parker Variant on its top setting of 5, in order to compare with V3A in efficiency and aggression. With the same combination of Feather blade and Arko soap. Typically, I leave it on 3.5.

The results were ... interesting.

While shaving, Variant seemed much milder, with very little felt blade presence compared to M3A. I read before that Variant gets smoother and smoother at higher settings, now I had a chance to actually confirm it.

This "mildness" was however very deceptive, because Variant at 5 was both somewhat more efficient than V3A, and a whole lot more aggressive as evidenced by the few weepers I got seemingly out of nowhere. (This could be me becoming too careless because the razor felt so mild). The end result was a BBS that lasted just a little bit longer, and skin that was left being more sensitive (although not really irritated).

So, I think that M3A, for all its perceived blade presence, is actually a milder and gentler razor than a fully opened Variant. At least I haven't got a single weeper with it yet.

Anyway... for whatever reason, I really like it.

 

[emwolf]

I've got the V3A and the R41. I find the V3A infinitely smoother than the R41. It's one of my favorite budget shave heads. I've got a full line of Maggard heads, slant, OC, and both the V3 and V2 as well as the V3A. Not a fan of their slant (unless it's changed since initial release, it was difficult to align the blade), but all the others get in the rotation. The V2 is more like a Merkur head, whereas the V3 is more like the Edwin Jagger head.

 

[cw62803]

What blades do you use?

I have the Yaqi version (Cobbed Head) and I've used a few times but found the razor to have too much blade feel but I think it might have been down to not using the right blades.

I love most of the blades made in St. Petersburg, like Perma-Sharp, GSBs, 7 O'clock green and yellow, Polsilver, etc.