After several years of daily DE shaving, I decided a while ago that my skin just doesn't like a lot of blade exposure. It really shows when I get even a little irritation, so I made it my goal to get absolutely zero alum feedback after my shave. Here's what I've figured out about getting that kind of shave reliably. A smooth blade helps but even that by itself won't stop cumulative irritation for me. The secret has been using a razor with minimal blade exposure. Like most everyone here though, I still want a close shave. The best razors I've found for me so far are the adjustable Merkurs.
The Progress and Futur seem to have very little blade exposure, at least to me, but they reliably give me some of my best shaves. I have a theory that the large gap/minimal blade exposure is what makes them work for me. It almost doesn't matter what blade I throw in them, I barely feel the blade but get BBS with absolutely no alum feedback almost every time. I use them both on about 3 give or take a little either way. I've even tried the Feather AS-D2 and I feel the blade more with that razor. I usually get at least a touch of alum feedback after shaving with the AS-D2. When I use an R41 with a steep angle, I can get a BBS/no irritation shave pretty often but it's not quite as reliable.
Seems like most of the new high-end razors that I've tried have pretty significant blade exposure, or at least lots of blade feel. I've tried the Timeless Ti .68 and it's very close to what I'm looking for but still has just a touch more blade exposure than my skin likes. So what else is out there that I should try? Does anyone else make a razor with a large gap but minimal blade exposure?
The Progress and Futur seem to have very little blade exposure, at least to me, but they reliably give me some of my best shaves. I have a theory that the large gap/minimal blade exposure is what makes them work for me. It almost doesn't matter what blade I throw in them, I barely feel the blade but get BBS with absolutely no alum feedback almost every time. I use them both on about 3 give or take a little either way. I've even tried the Feather AS-D2 and I feel the blade more with that razor. I usually get at least a touch of alum feedback after shaving with the AS-D2. When I use an R41 with a steep angle, I can get a BBS/no irritation shave pretty often but it's not quite as reliable.
Seems like most of the new high-end razors that I've tried have pretty significant blade exposure, or at least lots of blade feel. I've tried the Timeless Ti .68 and it's very close to what I'm looking for but still has just a touch more blade exposure than my skin likes. So what else is out there that I should try? Does anyone else make a razor with a large gap but minimal blade exposure?