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- #41
Not yet. Still thinking it over!
R41 Razor
- Thread starter razorhead63
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Only been DE shaving a couple months, 50 years of disposables. Tried a couple mild razors, got a R41 Twist for my birthday last Sat. Third shave with Nascent, three pass excellent shave, no weepers, just a little tender under nose, leftover from trying a Voskhold blade in my Merkur 25C last week. No pressure, none, let razor glide over face, best shave so far......
Chandu
I Waxed The Badger.
Here is what I wrote previously
www.badgerandblade.com
Muhle R41 My Thoughts
The Short Version: My favorite razor by a long shot. Better than my Schone/Fatip, Carbon CX, Feather AS-D2, Feather Popular razors. It shaves better and leaves my face less stressed than those. The Long Version: Up until now, I considered that I preferred either milder razors or if a bit...
www.badgerandblade.com
You probably mean Nacet, right?
Probably auto-corrupt, right?
The R41 is my favorite safety razor. I usually use straight razors, but when I use a safety, the R41 is all I use now. It gives me super close shaves every time. I use Astra blades in mine as I find them sharp but gentle. As others have said, make sure your technique is solid before jumping in. Bonus tip - get a bulldog handle and you are all set.
Thanks for the spell check 
5th day with the R41 Twist, loaded new Nacent blade, Proraso green preshave, Stirling Naked and Smooth soap, Stirling plain menthol splash, Proraso green balm. Shave keeps getting better, 3 pass BBS. Hard to believe it takes zero pressure, just enough to hold the razor to you face, that's all no more. No weepers, no irratation.
My experience with the R41 has been great. I didn’t go there until I was far along in shaving experience, including straights. The first shave was a pleasant surprise that still had skin on my face, after reading horror stories of the beast razor. Still, the razor does requires some respect. It will cut you up if you forget and treat it like your milder razors.
I later bought a Charcoal Goods Level 3 razor. I agree that it shaves similar to and smoother than the R41. But, I don’t think it’s $200 better. So, I will be selling it and keeping the Muhle.
I later bought a Charcoal Goods Level 3 razor. I agree that it shaves similar to and smoother than the R41. But, I don’t think it’s $200 better. So, I will be selling it and keeping the Muhle.
Agree!
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What do you mean by "bulldog handle"? Is this a special brand or a specific form of a handle?
Thanks!
It is a handle made by iKon (link below), but there are probably other similar handles made by others. The Bulldog adds some weight and balance to the razor, and it also has deep knurling which gives you a nice grip. The handle that comes with the R41 was too slippery I thought.
It is a handle made by iKon (link below), but there are probably other similar handles made by others. The Bulldog adds some weight and balance to the razor, and it also has deep knurling which gives you a nice grip. The handle that comes with the R41 was too slippery I thought.
Thanks for you reply! The handle looks really nice.
In German shops I only found a 80mm and a 90mm ikon handle. The 90mm is matte, too, which I don't like in combination with a chrome head (haven't seen it in reality though). Could the 80mm be too short (the one you linked is 85mm)?
I think I sent you the wrong link, my apologies! The handle I have is an 80mm and it is polished, not matte. I think the 80mm is a perfect, for me anyway.
The R41 Twist is a fine take on the R41.
I have heard people talking about how the twist mechanism changes - improves, in fact - the way the blade is held in place, which could be true.
Chandu
I Waxed The Badger.
When I had a month with the R41, I found the sharper the blades the better. I actually found a use for Feather blades. Previously I didn't much care for them. For me they were excellent in the R41.
My pleasure!
You will not regret it. It is a bit of lesser known Muhle, but it works great.
I'm clearly in the minority here, but I really dislike the R41. Not because it's too aggressive (it's really not that bad), but because it tugs so much on my beard. It feels like shaving with a pair of tweezers, and that I'm pulling the hairs out rather than slicing through them. That's with a Feather! With a blade like Derby, it's basically unusable for me.
I still suffer through all that unpleasant tugging every now and again because it really does give an extremely close shave, but it's not a particularly enjoyable process.
For a small step down in aggressiveness, the Fatip Piccolo is just a dramatically better razor for me. It's super comfortable, and gives a shave very nearly as close as the R41. It's also brass rather than Zamac, which is a bonus. Some folks don't like having to align the blade manually to keep it centered properly when loading a blade, but it's never bothered me. YMMV.
Better yet, buy the R41 head only for $25, and pick up a piccolo for $20 and see which you prefer. That's basically the same price ($45 total) as buying an R41 with a handle (which is nothing special). It's easy to unload either on BST as they both very popular razors.
I still suffer through all that unpleasant tugging every now and again because it really does give an extremely close shave, but it's not a particularly enjoyable process.
For a small step down in aggressiveness, the Fatip Piccolo is just a dramatically better razor for me. It's super comfortable, and gives a shave very nearly as close as the R41. It's also brass rather than Zamac, which is a bonus. Some folks don't like having to align the blade manually to keep it centered properly when loading a blade, but it's never bothered me. YMMV.
Better yet, buy the R41 head only for $25, and pick up a piccolo for $20 and see which you prefer. That's basically the same price ($45 total) as buying an R41 with a handle (which is nothing special). It's easy to unload either on BST as they both very popular razors.
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