Regarding the R41: It's not just that it's an open comb or "hybrid" open comb. It's the geometry. There aren't any commonly used vintage razors with that kind of aggressive design, are there? As has been noted in this thread, vintage razors were designed more for mass appeal.
Have modern DE razors become more popular than vintage?
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Many of the 30's-40's bakelite razors are highly aggressive, and combined with their weight take some practice to use competently. They give remarkable results too. There were also bakelite slants, mostly European in origin.
They were very popular back in the day, and have a following now.
Brother @Jack Goossen has become rather a specialist on these types, and has amassed an interesting collection I believe.
I was thinking of picking up a vintage Wardonia or the like to check them out. A modern equivalent, now discontinued, was the Merkur 45.
Jack may be able to throw some light on vintage aggressives and their performance.
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That's interesting background, for sure. I wonder what the market percentage was for these aggressive razors vs. the more common razors in their day?
I could be buying complete English bakelite sets for about £15-25 all day long on a certain site. They seemed to be hugely popular here and in Europe throughout the interwar period. The bakelite slants were more popular in Germany and the like.
The bakelites never seemed to catch on in the US to my knowledge.
The Valet Autostrops, Rolls and the GEM/Ever Ready were also really big players in the market here. All these companies had factories here. There were also Schicks in some numbers being exported. The pre 1945 Schicks were very aggressive, as were some of the other SE models.
It's interesting that Gillette never managed to achieve the market dominance they had in the US in the UK, there were tons of successfully competing razor brands here. I doubt if Gillette had 50% of the market. That seemed to come post-war.
I think the same went for Europe.
Here is a thread which touches on some of the English types, many of them bakelite.
Sheffield Safety Razors - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/sheffield-safety-razors.505224/#post-8637984
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Probably low. Aggressive razors are mostly for serious hobbyists like CCH.
Quite the reverse I would suggest. 'Mild' razors were mostly Gillettes. The majority of non Gillette types, as I have indicated above, were more aggessive razors, especially the bakelites. I also have 2 examples of English open combs which seem somewhat more aggressive than the Gillette open combs.
As Gillette did not have market dominance here, a large proportion were shaving then, with what would now be called 'aggressive' razors.
They probably would not have even noticed.
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- #167
The thread's not going south. It's a discussion; we can still do that, right?. All I pointed out is that Muhle does not call that razor a hybrid, they call it an open comb. If other people want to call it something else, OK. Too many people take minor things too seriously. I try not to.
You are correct. Most of the vintage bakelite and polymer in my den are aggressive, far more than modern razors. And because I have so many, my conclusion is people were used to such aggression and had the skills to use them. And yes, most are European. I am not sure how to interpret that. My conclusion might not apply to Americans.
By the way: the metal vintage razors I have seem to be quite a bit more aggresive than contemporary DE razors, they are at least more efficient.
Me too. I have a couple of R41’s and they are definitely not fitting the technical definition of an Open Comb. I think Hybrid is a good categorization for it.
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- #170
One would think Muhle should take advantage of calling it a hybrid rather than an open comb. Would be more intriguing to potential buyers, no?
I'm still a noob in wet shaving I've still got so much to learn. I've got a Fatip Piccolo, FOCS and Yaqi slant which I would class as OCs. The R41 doesn't look anything like them. Not looking to start an argument just slightly confused.
Just think of as being genetically engineered Dave.
Playing around with nature I call it.
That'll do, my confusion is gone thanks mate
My British Rocket HD 500 showed up today... it's in almost perfect shape: just two small dots on one side of the TTO cap. It's a nice, compact little razor... heavier than it looks. I look forward to using it.
I haven’t used my vintage razors in a very long time. The modern razors just perform better for me as they are designed to be more efficient (less strokes) and comfortable because of more blade support.
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- #176
Can you expand on those comments? How are they designed to be more efficient and offer more blade support? I'm not challenging your comments, I'm genuinely curious as I've never seen one much less used one.
Modern razors such as Wolfman, Timeless, Tatara, Henson, Blutt, and particularly the Blackland Era or Karve Overlander all have excellent blade support. The only vintage that I know that comes close is the Gillette New short comb. This trend towards supporting the underside of the blade and the top cap edge being designed to be closer to the blade edge will reduce blade vibration which equals more comfort during the shave.
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- #178
I guess I'll have to look at what the heads of these various razors look like. I've never felt any lack of blade support, efficiency, or comfort from any of my razors.
Hannah's Dad
I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
Sounds like you’re all set.
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- #180
I've said that for like ever. Doesn't diminish my curiosity.
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