Do you ever decide to go from using an aggressive razor to a mild one?

[Flying]

I use all kinds of razors.

For instance, I really enjoy my Henson Mild. It's a fun razor and allows me to be careless and relaxed. With some buffing, I can get a great shave from it.

On the other end, there's my R41 and my Ikon Tech. I can't be careless and relaxed with them LOL, but they provide more the feeling of shaving as an art and hobby.

 

[Lazarus Long]

I've backed off on the aggressiveness. I used to use my Rockwell with the #4 plate. Now I use it on #2. I don't get quite as close a shave but it is also more comfortable. If I skip a couple days I'll use the Merkur 38c for WTG and XTG, then finish with the Rockwell #2 ATG.

 

[ChriWilson]

Chris,

I have spent enough money to get away from expensive cartridges from Gillette to buy enough Gillette cartridges for 23 years.

Don't get me wrong. I love shaving now... it's worth it, to me, at least. But Gillette shaving is cheap compared to what I've spent since Feb. 15th. I just bought two new shaving brushes to the cost of ... let me use my calculator: roughly 12 to 18 months of Gillette cartridges, depending on the life of each cartridge for me.

You can buy a RazoRock Hawk V3 for $70.... sort of an entry level AC razor. Not my choice but lots of people get good results with them.

It's just that I see so many people struggling... they buy razor after razor... and i'm not talking about the inexpensive Gillette DE razors.... 2 $70 razors is the cost of the Claymore Evo.... 3 $70 razors get you a Blackland Vector....

But in the end... we're all on a journey.... there are lots of ways to enjoy it. I'm sorry I get so passionate about what I think it a very good way to approach things.

I do mean that... I can get carried away. I'll back off for a while... concentrate on finding the shaving brushes that work for me.

Its all relative isn't it?

I guess, if we were to tell a cart razor person, that we are saving money by buying DE razor blades.

And the cart razor guy says, "Well, what about all the razors, brushes, bowls, scuttles, soaps, creams, and aftershaves you bought, isn't that well over the cost of the stuff that I pay for?"

Then I will say, "Well, I reject your reality and substitute my own."

As long as we are happy, thats all that counts.

It's all about the journey.
The one thing I would like to point out is when contrasting pricing of Cart shaving to DE shaving, core comparisons should be kept specific to the razors (assemblies).

All other accessories listed are supplemental could be used interchangeably between the two shaving modes.
Brushes, bowls, etc. really just elevates the comfort and experience of said journey.

 

[Barbarian80]

There is nothing more satisfying to me than feeling the blade on my skin. The problem with that is I enjoy it so much I take multiple passes every day and I've noticed after a few straight days of that my skin gets more bumps, ingrowns, and tiny cuts. I've been switching it up with my adjustable Merkur Progress on the milder settings and still taking 3 passes but my skin is much happier for it. But similar to carts, it's not nearly as satisfying. If I shave every 3rd day and take a few passes with the aggressive Wolfman then my skin is happier for the break. I'll probably have to mix it up and find some middle ground.

 

[Jack Goossen]

No way.

 

[Curkio]

Aggressive if growth is long or short for time. And vice versa with milder razors.

 

[Quaznoid]

Not precisely as you phrased it. I did retire from my rotation the Assured 3-piece because it was simply too aggressive for safe, comfortable use. I like aggressive razors, but that one was way over the line.

 

[kingfisher]

Well, I have actually seen a couple of video's with people shaving with a single edge razor, and they did seem to produce a smooth shave, so I cannot deny with what I see. Having said that however, single edge razor blades are much more expensive then DE blades, and there is less of a selection of them as well. For some of us, the initial cost of a razor itself is such a big hit, that we need to save money somewhere. So for me, I like and appreciate the low cost of DE blades.

Blade costs are actually the main thing that got me out of cartridge razor shaving! I switched to electric, because even though the shaving heads cost more around 50+ some dollars, your only having to replace the heads on them, maybe once every 2-years! Where with Gillette Mach 5 cart razors, you pay about 24-dollars for an 8 pack of blades! You spend easily 100-dollars or more per year on cart blades easily!

Once I got into and experienced DE wet shaving, I then realized, it wasn't just about the cost on blades I was saving, there was more to it. I was saving my skin from razor burn, and I was getting a higher quality shave as a result. Then once I upgraded my shaving regimen, I then was getting a warm facial massage on top of it all, because of my Captains Choice scuttle, providing me the warm lather I seek, on this long voyage to DE shaving.

So ya, I got into DE wet shaving because of the reduced blade costs, but in the end, I got so much more.

Blade cost isn't just the upfront stuff. For example, I can get about four good shaves from a double edge blade, but I get 14-16 from an AC blade. So for me, the AC blades are actually cheaper.

 

[Attog]

Recently I decided to go only aggressive razors and tweaking their efficiency with a blade used. I’m testing how much my skin can handle, so far so good. Not sure why but after almost one year in TWS my skin can handle much much more then at the beginning.

 

[LRod]

Agressive for me is the way to go!
2 passes and done!
With a mild razor, I have to go beyond 2 passes which will end up in irritation. The only exception that I've found is using a single edge safety razor that uses AC blades. I can do 3 with those and I have zero irritation and a ridiculously close shave result. I've just started experimenting with those!

 

[Rosseforp]

I go back and forth depending on my mood, has little to do with how many days since I last shaved.

~doug~

 

[Rosseforp]

As in there is very aggressive and just beyond that is R41.

Then there is the Karve SBG. The box it comes in says it all.

~doug~

 

[CCS]

No, I haven't gone from aggressive to mild but today, thanks to a coupon and curiosity, I bought a tortoise handled Muhle R41 for $35. I was just going to buy the head assembly but I liked getting this handle for another $10. So in my case, I'm going from milder to more aggressive!

 

[Guido75]

the R41 (which in my mind - and I have never shaved with it, but purely based on what I see and read - is on the outer limits of aggressiveness. As in there is very aggressive and just beyond that is R41.

Since my first reply I have shaved with the R41 and I love it. Not aggressive at all yet very effective and efficient. Aggressive is if a razor will bite me or not and provided technique is on par my experience is that the R41 is not bity at all and if so it is usually user error.

Aggressive to mild? No, but I did go from less effective to more effective razors (less passes). I do use my milder ones in my rotation - part of the fun!

Guido

 

[Markdad2]

I shaved with some more "aggressive" razors, and still found myself going back to buff some areas. I got the Parker Variant and like that I can shave with more blade exposure on the first pass, if I want, and then dial it down to mild. Ita been working out well.