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DE / SE conundrum: What's the best "auto-pilot" razor?

There is slightly more blade feel on the medium. You cannot feel the blade at all on the mild. It comes down to your preference. I did a 3 pass side by side comparison of the two with no extra buffing, and was shocked that they both gave an identical BBS result. The only difference was the slight blade awareness on the medium.
I can feel the blade on the Mild. I use a steep angle if that matters. I agree with you that there are no noticeable differences in the end results - and this is the most important thing
 
Muhle Rocca v4
Razorock BBS - AS
ATT Windsor H1
Seygus 07/07
YPM Extra-High
Holy Black SR71 Slant
Dscosmetics S9
Tatara Muramasa
Timeless .95 SB
Karve F plate

These are all razors that are super intuitive to use, very efficient and only mid aggressive.

There are others that I love and are super smooth, but need a little more attention. ;)
 
My autopilot razors are GEM/EVER-READY 1912s.
They are both mild and efficient enough to provide an excellent shave on a “zone out” morning.
I have to do something incredibly stupid to cut myself or get a bad shave.
They are also super cool 😎!
 
My autopilot razors are GEM/EVER-READY 1912s.
They are both mild and efficient enough to provide an excellent shave on a “zone out” morning.
I have to do something incredibly stupid to cut myself or get a bad shave.
They are also super cool 😎!
Any pics...?
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
Edwin Jagger DE3D14. Usual Jagger head, different handle.

Almost all my shaves are done with that these days. If I just want a quick shave that I don't particularly want to think about, this'll easily get me shaven without ruffling the brain cells too much. On a bad health day, when vision, balance, and other senses are impaired, I can still get a good enough shave without cutting myself. However, if I want to go full dolphin smooth, this razor will get me there too. Sometimes it will even get me there on autopilot, but not always.

Anything more aggressive needs thought and attention. I haven't tried many razors, but I haven't tried any that will let me shave when my brain is absent as well as this one. The only thing it struggles with, is heavy growth. For that, I need to switch to a Merkur open comb head. The open comb has no autopilot though, as without care and attention I would plough too effortlessly into the section of beard that I have chosen to keep.
 
What's your favorite "auto-pilot" razor and why?
I LOVE AUTO-PILOT RAZORS! - Now that that is out of the way.

For head shave - There is nothing better than the Merkur OC. I can do a full head shave with my eyes closed in like 2 minutes. I have tried more aggresive razors (even ones that are autopilot on my face) and they simply don't work.

For Face - Wolfman WR2 0.95 blade gap (Titanium Timeless Handle). I should have gotten the hollowed handle but I wasn't thinking at the time. I can get an auto-pilot shave with the heaver WRH1 but I like the lighter razor better.

Runner's Up in this category - Merkur OC (autopilot shave but really not close enough so it requires focus to get close but I am not scared of it biting me). Timeless 0.68 SB - For some reason the way you need to hold the razor for proper cutting angle is not natural to me. Its just more shallow than my other razors. If I focused on using it more, I am sure I could adapt. Either way, both don't give me as good as shaves as the wr2.

TBD - Paradigm SE / Colonial General SE - these are auto-pilot-ish but I am not the biggest fan of how the blades feel on my face vs. DE. HOWEVER - I just bought new blades (not samples) and still need to test.
 
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Any pics...?
Top to bottom
GEM Damaskene 1912
GEM Damaskene 1912
GEM Junior 1912
EVER-READY 1912
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The Rockwell (R5 or R4 plates), and the Game Changer (GC.68P) both have well-developed autopilot here.

The GC.84P doesn't (yet), so in hindsight, putting that head onto an identical handle was asking for trouble...
 
Good question. I'm a daily shaver with a coarse beard. I do prefer some blade-feel, it keeps me honest; too little blade-feel and I add too much pressure. That said, I have three that are my 'auto-pilot razors':
- Wolfman WR1 0.86 OC - it has blade-feel, smooth, and efficient. I have a lot of shaves in with this razor, and just know how it shaves.
- Paradigm Ti 1 - I'd say less blade-feel than the WR1 and slightly less efficient, but it's very smooth. It's lighter and smooth, and good for relaxing shaves.
- Gillette 3rd Gen Brit Crat - less blade-feel of the three listed, and just efficient enough for my tastes. (of course I could) but I feel like this razor would never cut me, so it's great for just whipping around my face.
 
Feather AS D2 with a sharp blade. I prefer to shave every day and with this mild razor I can effortlessly shave without irritation or skin problems.
Great looking razor no doubt, I love the stand... that said, for me it was tough to manage, as you need to maintain that perfect cutting angle to obtain a close shave. BBS was a challenge, so definitely not an "auto-pilot". Smooth - YES, efficient - NO. I gave mine to my son. He's very happy with it.
 
I had this challenge for a couple of years, a dilemma of sort.

My aggressive razors (R41, Feather AC SS and the likes) required me to pay very close attention to my strokes. So, I could never shave on "auto-pilot" with these.

My mild razors (DE89, Feather AS-D2, Hawk V3-SB) demanded maintaining a perfect angle, in order to obtain a close shave. Again, a lot of concentration, work to get the job done. Never enjoyed that.

And so, as of recently, I've been lucky in finding that Timeless .68 scalloped SS allows me to shave on auto-pilot. This is to say, it yields a BBS, irritation-free shave, without me having to worry about angle, pressure, etc. It's rather mild, yet extremely efficient at the same time.

This is smth. I've never experienced before with any other razor. How's that even possible?

And so, I'd like to learn more about this "phenomenon" - are there any other DE/SE razors that manage to combine the mildness with high efficiency?

Some of my other ramblings on this topic can be found here: Old routine no longer works: advice for modification? - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/old-routine-no-longer-works-advice-for-modification.611821/post-11389060

What's your favorite "auto-pilot" razor and why?
I would have to say my Schick Kronos. Very clean effortless shave especially with nos Schick blades under the hood. Ps- these forums are very friendly, you folks have a nice community.
 

ERS4

My exploding razor knows secrets
I had this challenge for a couple of years, a dilemma of sort.

My aggressive razors (R41, Feather AC SS and the likes) required me to pay very close attention to my strokes. So, I could never shave on "auto-pilot" with these.

My mild razors (DE89, Feather AS-D2, Hawk V3-SB) demanded maintaining a perfect angle, in order to obtain a close shave. Again, a lot of concentration, work to get the job done. Never enjoyed that.

And so, as of recently, I've been lucky in finding that Timeless .68 scalloped SS allows me to shave on auto-pilot. This is to say, it yields a BBS, irritation-free shave, without me having to worry about angle, pressure, etc. It's rather mild, yet extremely efficient at the same time.

This is smth. I've never experienced before with any other razor. How's that even possible?

And so, I'd like to learn more about this "phenomenon" - are there any other DE/SE razors that manage to combine the mildness with high efficiency?

Some of my other ramblings on this topic can be found here: Old routine no longer works: advice for modification? - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/old-routine-no-longer-works-advice-for-modification.611821/post-11389060

What's your favorite "auto-pilot" razor and why?

The "aggressive razors" you mentioned usually have front blades exposed, so you must be careful; although "mild razors" have neutral exposures, they must maintain an angle due to the narrow gap.

Inferring from my personal experience, "low exposure + large gap" may be the answer; this will reduce the over-stimulation from the blade, and at the same time have an enlarged automatic angle and high efficiency.

My list:
Best Autopilot──wolfman wr2-1.05
Add a bit of blade clarity──razorock gamechanger-0.86 / rozorock lupo ss 0.96
Reduce a little efficiency in exchange for more gentleness──timeless ti-0.68

"Small gap + open comb" is also a very effective cheating, which is gentle to improve efficiency and intuition.
So my waiting list is:
feather as-d2 cap with the base plate of gillette new sc
razorock gamechanger 0.68 oc

I added a photo "feather as-d2 cap with the base plate of gillette new sc". The two-color appearance is also very beautiful.
163860057_3914699361902271_898404384306628790_n.jpg
 
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