2011 R41 - The Quest Achieved!

[albsat]

I enjoyed this post more of the vast information of different razors and their impact on @mjclark than knowing that 2011 R41 is the undisputed king of smooth shaving. I am pretty sure that mjclark can get a smooh shaving with the cheapest razoz in commerce.

I am surprised by the Rapira review , in particular.

Keep posting sir!

 

[creekwalker]

Thanks Arne! It is a great compliment to me that you enjoy my posts.

These shave offs make it clear that there are many razors which shave more smoothly and comfortably than the 2011 R41 and a few which are almost as efficient and certainly as efficient as you would ever need.
There are also many razors made of better materials and with better designed grippier handles.
There are possibly even a few better looking razors (though not many).
But the 2011 R41 has a je ne sais quoi to it, pizazz, mojo, supermoon big magic that makes it #1 and keeps me coming back!

I'm certainly not going to disagree with that, and my 2011/Spitfire R41(s) are my closest shaving DEs, but they're not the closest safety razors--for me those are my very aggressive Alumigoose, and my SS Mongoose, SEs.

Mark me down as another big fan of your posts.

 

[mjclark]

I'm certainly not going to disagree with that, and my 2011/Spitfire R41(s) are my closest shaving DEs, but they're not the closest safety razors--for me those are my very aggressive Alumigoose, and my SS Mongoose, SEs.

Mark me down as another big fan of your posts.

Thank you very much!
And I totally agree with you that the Alumigoose v1 is another rare and exotic superrazor to stand beside the 2011 R41 and another one of my absolute favourites

 

[mjclark]

And now 2011 R41 vs Matador De Luxe - a surprising result:

I was only introduced to the Matador De Luxe a few days ago and it’s a very special Swedish DE.
There’s a thread about it here:
Matador de luxe, a swedish vintage razor
Like the LeResche Prototype it’s very smooth and very efficient.

I shaved the left side of my face with the Matador DL and the right side with the 2011 using a steep angle and a 1980’s British Wilkinson blade.

The Matador is much much much smoother, has less blade feel and will only allow a slightly shallower angle than the R41 but with the incredibly sharp British Wilkinson the 2011 was actually quite uncomfortable with the steep angle.
Whereas the Matador was extremely pleasant.
I’ve read others saying that extremely sharp blades can cause uncomfortable skin bunching using steep angle in the R41 and here it is.

And amazingly 12 hours after the shave, the Matador De Luxe has shaved marginally closer than the 2011.
I’ll just say that again:
The Matador De Luxe has shaved closer than the 2011 R41.

A surprising result.
Given that the Matador De Luxe also shaves extremely smoothly and comfortably this could make it the all time champion.

But you know I still love the 2011 best right?

 

[albsat]

Another great post!

Still I think that it will be difficult to remove 2011 R41 from your throne as long it competes with "forgotten" razors.

This competition needs new modern razor fighters, available to all but still it seems that most of them have already lost their race.

 

[Polarbeard]

I've got a NOS open comb version of the very same Matador razor. I got it years ago. I've opened the box, but I've never come around to shave with it. I'll give my straight razors a break the upcoming weekend and give it a try.

Just a note: Modern Matador DE razors are rebranded Indian Pearl razors. That's not a bad thing since they are good, but they are not made in Sweden and have no connection to the old Swedish Matador brand.

I do recommend the very agressive vintage Swedish Swing razors.

Here's the Matador I mention above:

 

[mjclark]

I've got a NOS open comb version of the very same Matador razor. I got it years ago. I've opened the box, but I've never come around to shave with it. I'll give my straight razors a break the upcoming weekend and give it a try.

Just a note: Modern Matador DE razors are rebranded Indian Pearl razors. That's not a bad thing since they are good, but they are not made in Sweden and have no connection to the old Swedish Matador brand.

I do recommend the very agressive vintage Swedish Swing razors.

Here's the Matador I mention above:

View attachment 862174

Very nice Arne!
It will be interesting to hear what you make of the Matador OC.

I am still blown away by just how good this razor is.

 

[Polarbeard]

Very nice Arne!
It will be interesting to hear what you make of the Matador OC.

I am still blown away by just how good this razor is.

I'll report back, hopefully i won't write my answer in blood.

 

[Polarbeard]

I’m back, I’ve had three good BBS shaves with my open comb version of the Matador. It shaves very much like @mjclark describes how his closed comb version shaves. It is a very aggressive but user friendly razor. It doesn’t come close to the R41 2011 or 2013 when it comes to finish, the Matador is a rather crudely made razor. When it comes to user friendliness the Matador wins hands down. I’d describe the Matador as a razor that shaves very much like a Gillette New long comb, but with the closeness of a R41.

A short background. There were several DE brands made in Sweden. The common denominator being aggressiveness. The best known brand was Swing that made razors of their own design, a design that very often was far from the standard Gillette design. Swing also made DE blades. Matador was the second largest brand, but mainly sold razor blades. While the Swing razors generally have a very high finish, the Matador razors mostly are rather crude as mentioned above.

Below is a photograph of the tested Matador (left), a very common Swing razor (middle) and another Matador (right) that I found while looking for the Swing razor., it isn't of the same type as the one @mjclark has. I’ve got too much shaving gear.

Thank you for reading and thank you for a great thread. After this short odyssey into DE shaving I’ll head back to the straight razors section.

 

[mjclark]

I’m back, I’ve had three good BBS shaves with my open comb version of the Matador. It shaves very much like @mjclark describes how his closed comb version shaves. It is a very aggressive but user friendly razor. It doesn’t come close to the R41 2011 or 2013 when it comes to finish, the Matador is a rather crudely made razor. When it comes to user friendliness the Matador wins hands down. I’d describe the Matador as a razor that shaves very much like a Gillette New long comb, but with the closeness of a R41.

A short background. There were several DE brands made in Sweden. The common denominator being aggressiveness. The best known brand was Swing that made razors of their own design, a design that very often was far from the standard Gillette design. Swing also made DE blades. Matador was the second largest brand, but mainly sold razor blades. While the Swing razors generally have a very high finish, the Matador razors mostly are rather crude as mentioned above.

Below is a photograph of the tested Matador (left), a very common Swing razor (middle) and another Matador (right) that I found while looking for the Swing razor., it isn't of the same type as the one @mjclark has. I’ve got too much shaving gear.

Thank you for reading and thank you for a great thread. After this short odyssey into DE shaving I’ll head back to the straight razors section.

View attachment 863491

Great write up Arne!
I love to learn about the history and background of these razors so I always really appreciate your knowledge in these matters.

I quickly get bored when people just start posting “wow cool razor!” in response to pics of an interesting razor (although it can be an ego boost!).
I want to DISCUSS these razors, evaluate and compare them so I value your insights!

And it’s good to have it confirmed thst the Matador is as efficient as the R41 but way smoother.
What a razor!

 

[Polarbeard]

Thank you Marcus,
As I've stated before I always enjoy reading your posts, to read about when you boldly go were no man has gone before. To me the final frontier is the CV Heljestrand MK No.32, but that doesn't stop me from following your exploits with great interest, and sometimes you go were I've been. I am a BBS junkie and I'll always be.

 

[creekwalker]

Polarbeard, is that great Swedish Matador OC also called a Deluxe, (like the CC) or does it have another specific name that you know of?

 

[Polarbeard]

Polarbeard, is that great Swedish Matador OC also called a Deluxe, (like the CC) or does it have another specific name that you know of?

The box said deluxe, but that is the epithet very many Matador razor were sold under.

 

[creekwalker]

The box said deluxe, but that is the epithet very many Matador razor were sold under.

Thank you. I have this page bookmarked so that I can compare yours and mjclark's pictures to any item advertised online.

 

[mjclark]

And here’s a worthy accompaniment to the Matador (and the 2011 R41 for that matter) - a NOS Gahn’s shaving stick.
Is this a familiar Swedish Brand?

 

[Polarbeard]

And here’s a worthy accompaniment to the Matador (and the 2011 R41 for that matter) - a NOS Gahn’s shaving stick.
Is this a familiar Swedish Brand?
View attachment 863899

Gahns was a major domestic Swedish producer of soap, hair cream, aftershave and grooming products for both men and women. Their factory was oddly enough placed in the heart of Uppsala a town that best can be described as Sweden's Cambridge, and one of Gahns' larger customers was the university hospital. In 1968 Gahns went out of business, but today the old owner family seems to have started production again, but on a smaller scale. I remember Gahns' old factory buildings, from when I was a boy, and how they looked before they were torn down.

 

[Polarbeard]

Thank you. I have this page bookmarked so that I can compare yours and mjclark's pictures to any item advertised online.

 

[mjclark]

Gahns was a major domestic Swedish producer of soap, hair cream, aftershave and grooming products for both men and women. Their factory was oddly enough placed in the heart of Uppsala a town that best can be described as Sweden's Cambridge, and one of Gahns' larger customers was the university hospital. In 1968 Gahns went out of business, but today the old owner family seems to have started production again, but on a smaller scale. I remember Gahns' old factory buildings, from when I was a boy, and how they looked before they were torn down.

View attachment 863964

Thanks Arne! I’ve got a feeling this is going to be some great soap

 

[Polarbeard]

Thanks Arne! I’ve got a feeling this is going to be some great soap

 

[mjclark]

So what’s shaving like at the end of the rainbow?
2011 R41 - Wilkinson Light Brigade (12)

Me and my daughter are off to Brussels and I wanted the longest possible lasting shave to set off with.

For me this is the ultimate blade in the ultimate DE.
And that is that...