I am "new" to the DE shaving scene, but have been using an old Gillette razor for two years. Decided to upgrade to a new one and found a whole world of underground DE wet shavers.
I settled on the Muhle R89 partly because of price and partly on the "mildness" of the shave reported by other users. The aggressiveness of the shave is deceptive, it feels as if it is not cutting it is so smooth, but most days I can get BBS in one pass if I am slow and take care to angle the blade properly. At first I used Astra blades as they were reported to be mild, but quickly upscaled to Black Feathers and in two weeks of daily shaving I have not had a single incidence of razor burn or nicks. It is a very aggressive razor, but does not feel so.
The build quality is excellent, I am a machinist and appreciate well worked steel and I could not find a single flaw on my razor. Blade gap was within 0.002" of tolerance (I actually used my feeler gauges to measure, haa haa), very simple in function and works well. You can feel how well built the components are by simply assembling the razor the first time. I am quite impressed.
Blade angle is not adjustable, but I haven't found a need for it. Once you find the "sweet spot" it is easy to simply angle the handle getting into tight spots.
If I were to do it over again, I would buy the same head and probably go for the longer handle. I am a big guy with large hands and the longer handled model would fit them better. I also wear a close cropped goatee though, so I do not have to shave in tight spots under my nose or chin.
All in all, a very well put together, simple razor for a good price and I am not disappointed in any way.
I settled on the Muhle R89 partly because of price and partly on the "mildness" of the shave reported by other users. The aggressiveness of the shave is deceptive, it feels as if it is not cutting it is so smooth, but most days I can get BBS in one pass if I am slow and take care to angle the blade properly. At first I used Astra blades as they were reported to be mild, but quickly upscaled to Black Feathers and in two weeks of daily shaving I have not had a single incidence of razor burn or nicks. It is a very aggressive razor, but does not feel so.
The build quality is excellent, I am a machinist and appreciate well worked steel and I could not find a single flaw on my razor. Blade gap was within 0.002" of tolerance (I actually used my feeler gauges to measure, haa haa), very simple in function and works well. You can feel how well built the components are by simply assembling the razor the first time. I am quite impressed.
Blade angle is not adjustable, but I haven't found a need for it. Once you find the "sweet spot" it is easy to simply angle the handle getting into tight spots.
If I were to do it over again, I would buy the same head and probably go for the longer handle. I am a big guy with large hands and the longer handled model would fit them better. I also wear a close cropped goatee though, so I do not have to shave in tight spots under my nose or chin.
All in all, a very well put together, simple razor for a good price and I am not disappointed in any way.