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Fighting windmills (Muhle R89 vs R41)

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
Interesting thread. I can't remember the last time I read about someone using a Muhle blade. I have not tried them, but generally I read expensive and unspectacular.

Personna Med Preps and (some would argue) Labs are made in the USA and are quite sharp with good longevity.
 
Interesting thread. I can't remember the last time I read about someone using a Muhle blade. I have not tried them, but generally I read expensive and unspectacular.

Personna Med Preps and (some would argue) Labs are made in the USA and are quite sharp with good longevity.

I received few Muhle blades with my purchases from a local shop and decided to test them. Not impressed, especially when used them in R89. In R41 they perform much better, but not exceptional.
 

thombrogan

Lounging On The Isle Of Tugsley.
Bic Chrome Platinum are also usually very good. I had a few “dud” blades, but the rest have been very sharp. They’re made in Greece. I also like Shark blades from Egypt and Loi Titanium blades from Bangladesh, but they’re not as sharp.
 
Bic Chrome Platinum are also usually very good. I had a few “dud” blades, but the rest have been very sharp. They’re made in Greece. I also like Shark blades from Egypt and Loi Titanium blades from Bangladesh, but they’re not as sharp.
These Bics are in my shopping list. Will also test Derby, Tiger, Dorco and Treet in R41.
 
If they are made outside Russia, they qualify. I thought all Gillettes are made in Russia.
Thanks for the suggestion 🍻

Gillette makes a few blades in India.

The two members of the Gillette 7 O'Clock line manufactured in India are the Permasharp Stainless (Green) and the Super Platinum (Black)





The Gillette 7 O'clock Super Platinum blades (Black's) are the smoothest blades I have used. They work perfectly for me in the R41.

Gillette also owns the rights to Gillette Wilkinson Sword blades that are manufactured in India.

proxy.php


100 X Wilkinson Sword Double Edge Safety Razor Blades


The link is to Amazon. They have increased a little bit in price. The are currently at $6.75 for one hundred.

You will note the double chevron on the box. There is a similar looking box with a single chevron that are made in China.

I find these to be a nice shaving blade. Excellent if you take the price into consideration.

Gillette also make blades in South America.
 
My R41 is arriving any day so love following this thread! My go to blades are Dorco ST300 (dd) and Feather on my Merkur 37C Slant. I'll probably start with the Dorco since its my daily driver. Look forward to your posts and comparing notes!
 
Not impressed, especially when used them in R89. In R41 they perform much better, but not exceptional.

I find that all of my regular blades preform better, with a closer shave when used in the R41.

BIC to me are the 2nd sharpest blades behind Feather. They are not as rough as some Feather blades tend to be on the first shave. They shave smoother overall and they last a while longer.

I get good shaves from even the basic Dorco ST300's. Another blade that is almost impossible to beat for the price.
 
So strange but I had a really bad experience with BICs - lots of tugging and irritation. Maybe it's just me (shrug) as I do have a coarse beard. The Dorco's may not get as close as a Feather but they have been reliably good and smooth.
 

thombrogan

Lounging On The Isle Of Tugsley.
I’ve had dub blades from Bic that made me hate them, but then ran into some great ones in the same tuck as the dubs and it made my shaves scary efficient.
 
Gillette makes a few blades in India.

The two members of the Gillette 7 O'Clock line manufactured in India are the Permasharp Stainless (Green) and the Super Platinum (Black)





The Gillette 7 O'clock Super Platinum blades (Black's) are the smoothest blades I have used. They work perfectly for me in the R41.

Gillette also owns the rights to Gillette Wilkinson Sword blades that are manufactured in India.

proxy.php


100 X Wilkinson Sword Double Edge Safety Razor Blades


The link is to Amazon. They have increased a little bit in price. The are currently at $6.75 for one hundred.

You will note the double chevron on the box. There is a similar looking box with a single chevron that are made in China.

I find these to be a nice shaving blade. Excellent if you take the price into consideration.

Gillette also make blades in South America.

Thanks for the detailed info and the suggestions. Will definitely test them
Smooth shaves 🍻
 
My R41 is arriving any day so love following this thread! My go to blades are Dorco ST300 (dd) and Feather on my Merkur 37C Slant. I'll probably start with the Dorco since its my daily driver. Look forward to your posts and comparing notes!

My next test will be Dorco ST300 in R89 and R41. I'm curious to read about your experience with the Dorcos.
Smooth shaves 🍻
 
Dorco’s have a bad reputation as they had QC issues during their Korean production. They moved to Vietnam and since then things are better - but only recently have the blades gotten better reviews here in the forum.

Both the ST300HQ and Titan give nee very good shaves and with above average blade longevity (7-10 shaves going up to 15 if I remember correctly).

Guido
 
My next test will be Dorco ST300 in R89 and R41. I'm curious to read about your experience with the Dorcos.
Smooth shaves 🍻

I began my weekly shave this year with the Dorco ST300.

Week 1 Ends (January 7th): Blade is a Dorco ST300.

Yes!

Blade finished the week with flying colors. Did the final shave today with the R41 and was perfectly smooth with no irritation.

Could get another shave or two perhaps? Some pulling in the mustache area, showing the blade is dulling.

Blade cost 6-cents, less than a penny a shave!

No issues either with the Vietnamese Dorco's.
 
R41 + Feather(2) ... and my worst shave ever

So, it happened - I got a shave which I hope will not get again.
Decided to use a Feather blade which was previously used 2 times in R89 with good results (8/10 because of me experimenting with a different technique and 9/10). This shave is barely 6/10.

The rest of the setup was:
Muhle STF 21 brush
Linkidea bowl
Proraso pre-shave
Tabac soap
Capt. Fawcett alum bar
Tabac EDC

IMG20230126094456.jpg


Used a Proraso preshave with menthol and eucalyptus as on the previous shave the Tabac soap dried a little bit on my face. Definitely not the same effect as when the pre-shave is used with the Proraso soaps. Not sure if it is because of the ingredients of the Proraso soaps or because my Tabac lather had a little more water than the previous time.
But it was impressive how quickly the lather builds with the Muhle STF and with so small amount of the soap. This time I left more water in the brush, didn't shake it, just squeezed it in a loose O ring made with my index and thumb fingers. 3-4 rounds on top of the soap and the lather exploded. Then moved to my bowl where it started overflowing. I got a lather for at lease one more shave and it didn't dry on the face this time.

The start on the shave was surprisingly harsh. Tried to change the angle but the feeling was like the blade is scratching the face barely cutting something.
Did the usual 2 1/4 passes where I do XTG only on my lower neck area, but after all that there were so many places for fixing, so I just relathered the wlole face and started buffing. The final result was a relatively smooth shave, comparable with the result of the Muhle blade on the 4th use. But there was some redness, few weepers and 2 nicks. Never been so bad and I can't say my skin is very sensitive to harsh treatment.
The post-shave treatment with the alum bar and the Tabac EDC fixed the things and now my skin looks good with no sighs but when I test it ATG I can feel it is not the smooth I got on the previous shaves with R41.
Not sure if the bad performance is because I previously used the blade in R89 and it wears differently in it, or because I have turned the blade on the opposite side than it was seated in R89 (few shaves before tested flipping the Muhle blade in R41 and it really felt more harsh on the next shave).

Anyway, the life continues and a new shave will come. Will try one more with the same Feather and on some of the next shaves with start with a new Feather.
Still exploring and enjoying.

Smooth shaves, gents :straight:
 
Not sure if the bad performance is because I previously used the blade in R89 and it wears differently in it, or because I have turned the blade on the opposite side than it was seated in R89 (few shaves before tested flipping the Muhle blade in R41 and it really felt more harsh on the next shave)
Feathers are known to dissolve in performance quite quickly. I used a Feather on shave 5 this morning and was actually very surprised it still was comfortable and smooth - unlike earlier experience.

The clamping of the blade from one razor to the other affects performance as far as I can tell from experience. A Tiger in a Fatip works fine provided I use it from the start in the Fatip. Switching makes for a duller Tiger blade. I suspect the Feather to behave the same. The blade edge shaves under a different angle depending on the razor and therefore gets different wear.

Personally I have never got the flipping the blade thing. I think I inadvertently do when drying, but never on purpose. I would rather bij the blade and get a fresh one.

Counterintuitive perhaps but I would take a fresh Feather and do the shave again tomorrow to check for differences. Because a R41 with a Feather sounds like a textbook shave to me and from personal experience I think one of my best shaves ever was with this combination.

Cheers,

Guido
 
R41 + Feather(2) ... and my worst shave ever

So, it happened - I got a shave which I hope will not get again.
Decided to use a Feather blade which was previously used 2 times in R89 with good results (8/10 because of me experimenting with a different technique and 9/10). This shave is barely 6/10.

The rest of the setup was:
Muhle STF 21 brush
Linkidea bowl
Proraso pre-shave
Tabac soap
Capt. Fawcett alum bar
Tabac EDC

View attachment 1594529

Used a Proraso preshave with menthol and eucalyptus as on the previous shave the Tabac soap dried a little bit on my face. Definitely not the same effect as when the pre-shave is used with the Proraso soaps. Not sure if it is because of the ingredients of the Proraso soaps or because my Tabac lather had a little more water than the previous time.
But it was impressive how quickly the lather builds with the Muhle STF and with so small amount of the soap. This time I left more water in the brush, didn't shake it, just squeezed it in a loose O ring made with my index and thumb fingers. 3-4 rounds on top of the soap and the lather exploded. Then moved to my bowl where it started overflowing. I got a lather for at lease one more shave and it didn't dry on the face this time.

The start on the shave was surprisingly harsh. Tried to change the angle but the feeling was like the blade is scratching the face barely cutting something.
Did the usual 2 1/4 passes where I do XTG only on my lower neck area, but after all that there were so many places for fixing, so I just relathered the wlole face and started buffing. The final result was a relatively smooth shave, comparable with the result of the Muhle blade on the 4th use. But there was some redness, few weepers and 2 nicks. Never been so bad and I can't say my skin is very sensitive to harsh treatment.
The post-shave treatment with the alum bar and the Tabac EDC fixed the things and now my skin looks good with no sighs but when I test it ATG I can feel it is not the smooth I got on the previous shaves with R41.
Not sure if the bad performance is because I previously used the blade in R89 and it wears differently in it, or because I have turned the blade on the opposite side than it was seated in R89 (few shaves before tested flipping the Muhle blade in R41 and it really felt more harsh on the next shave).

Anyway, the life continues and a new shave will come. Will try one more with the same Feather and on some of the next shaves with start with a new Feather.
Still exploring and enjoying.

Smooth shaves, gents :straight:
Just speaking from my own experience stivek, while the feather blades I have used give me a very nice and smooth shave during shaves 1 and 2, I can tell a difference after that….Therefore I toss a feather after two shaves. Again YMMV!!
 
Feathers are known to dissolve in performance quite quickly. I used a Feather on shave 5 this morning and was actually very surprised it still was comfortable and smooth - unlike earlier experience.

The clamping of the blade from one razor to the other affects performance as far as I can tell from experience. A Tiger in a Fatip works fine provided I use it from the start in the Fatip. Switching makes for a duller Tiger blade. I suspect the Feather to behave the same. The blade edge shaves under a different angle depending on the razor and therefore gets different wear.

Personally I have never got the flipping the blade thing. I think I inadvertently do when drying, but never on purpose. I would rather bij the blade and get a fresh one.

Counterintuitive perhaps but I would take a fresh Feather and do the shave again tomorrow to check for differences. Because a R41 with a Feather sounds like a textbook shave to me and from personal experience I think one of my best shaves ever was with this combination.

Cheers,

Guido

I know about this "feature" of the Feathers, so you are right - it is better to start with a new Feather and see if on the 3rd shave it will behave the same. After the fourth shave I might compare it doing 4th shave with the old blade.
Flipping the blade seems to not bring anything good for me. Read on the forum that some are doing it after each shave, but my experience is negative.

🍻
 
Just speaking from my own experience stivek, while the feather blades I have used give me a very nice and smooth shave during shaves 1 and 2, I can tell a difference after that….Therefore I toss a feather after two shaves. Again YMMV!!
Will try R41 with a new Feather to see how long it will last. My expectations are for more than 3 shaves, as my hair is neither dense, nor stiff. 🍻
 
I'm sure you will find at least several good blade matches with the R41 as you experiment. IMHO, the best matches are on the sharper end of the spectrum but still smooth. Feathers are good, but they wear very quickly in the R41, in my experience.

Less sharp blades can lead to an uncomfortable tugging or pulling sensation. Try a steep angle and very sharp blade combo with the R41. A soap like Tabac is a good choice for this. With a good blade match, it seems the whiskers are just being wiped away.
 
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