Epiphany--I like mild razors!

[Rob72]

Yes. And my Stahly would sit in a drawer if I didn't apply pressure as necessary. It's all about exposure and maintaining optimum skin contact.

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I would have to say that what most people term "mild", I would rate as "inefficient". My Stahly (s) are prime examples. I find the very efficient, and so in conversation would not call them mild.

I can get a decent shave with most anything, but if I feel stubble at 4-6 hours, its a fail for me.

"Aggressive" razors (for me) are also fairly exfoliating. Funken, Myatt Daymark, Gillette New, are all classic examples that are very efficient, but hardly mild.

The SuperSpeeds and anything after the mid '70s are thoroughly unrewarding to me.

The Myatt, Funken, FB on 9, RX, Karve SB-D+, Rex 4+, and Flexi 5+, all give me BBS overnight, and well into the work morning.

 

[jeffmudrick]

I would have to say that what most people term "mild", I would rate as "inefficient". My Stahly (s) are prime examples. I find the very efficient, and so in conversation would not call them mild.

I can get a decent shave with most anything, but if I feel stubble at 4-6 hours, its a fail for me.

"Aggressive" razors (for me) are also fairly exfoliating. Funken, Myatt Daymark, Gillette New, are all classic examples that are very efficient, but hardly mild.

The SuperSpeeds and anything after the mid '70s are thoroughly unrewarding to me.

The Myatt, Funken, FB on 9, RX, Karve SB-D+, Rex 4+, and Flexi 5+, all give me BBS overnight, and well into the work morning.

Yeah I wouldn't conflate mild and inefficient. Mild is a function of exposure and gap . Inefficient is a performance measure. They usually overlap since mild razors easily lose optimum contact with skin because of the lack of exposure. Aside from the Stahly--which everyone calls mild but which is reasonably effective with attention to angle-- I think of the Tatara razors, which but for one configuration are neutral to negative exposure but quite efficient.

Agree on the Superspeeds. Meh.

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[garyg]

mild & inefficient are different things, but neither does me an acceptable shave. My Stahly is barely on the good side, though truth be told it hasn't been employed that often

 

[jeffmudrick]

mild & inefficient are different things, but neither does me an acceptable shave. My Stahly is barely on the good side, though truth be told it hasn't been employed that often

I can always use another one .

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[garyg]

Well mine is mint with case, goes 2+ minutes wound up ..

 

[Rob72]

And to totally derail the thread, flat clock springs can be used to repair broken Stahly springs. I have a part # somewhere...

 

[jeffmudrick]

Well mine is mint with case, goes 2+ minutes wound up ..

I prefer my ATT Atlas handles. Especially as a head shaver the stock handle is a bit unwieldy. A couple of mine have working handles but never timed them.

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[thombrogan]

Truth be told I've never understood the issues people have with the MMOC being aggressive, I never had problems with it, even as an inexperienced shaver.

Lifting the handle to feel the blade changes its dynamics. It becomes louder (likely less rigid at the steeper angle), slightly more efficient, and less forgiving.

 

[jeffmudrick]

Lifting the handle to feel the blade changes its dynamics. It becomes louder (likely less rigid at the steeper angle), slightly more efficient, and less forgiving.

Apparently I shave as intended.

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[thombrogan]

Apparently I shave as intended

Does that make two Bic blades in your Bakelite Shake Sharp a guilty pleasure?

 

[jeffmudrick]

Does that make two Bic blades in your Bakelite Shake Sharp a guilty pleasure?

No guilt whatsoever

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[Dominic]

When I learned to use a safety razor 10 years ago, I never considered the agressiveness of the razor as the key but the sharpness of the blade. When I learned from people (mostly videos and B&B), almost all talk was on the blade itself and little on the razor. Feather was the sharpest. I tried them. Great blade. A bit much for my needs. I settled on the grocery store blades, which I am pretty sure are Personna, and I get an excellent shave with them. The only blades I ever tried that I hated were Derby. It was like running a garden rake over my face. Could not use them. Painful. Seriously painful. I use Dad's Super Speeds, and I am pretty sure they would be considered mild razors. I have two of his adjustables, which I have not yet used.

 

[Nidan]

Derby blades don’t work for me either. I bought 100 of them years ago, still have probably 95. If anyone wants them, let me know!

 

[DaveHStone]

Well... a lot of this is YMMV.

What I do now nonetheless is that I can get a great, comfortable, BBS shave with zero irritation with my R41 or my Vector OC, but I can't with my AS-D2, even with a fresh Feather blade in it... so I gave it to my son who has just started his shaving journey a few months ago, he's 16.

So while technique matters the most, gear also plays a role.

 

[jeffmudrick]

Well... a lot of this is YMMV.

What I do now nonetheless is that I can get a great, comfortable, BBS shave with zero irritation with my R41 or my Vector OC, but I can't with my AS-D2, even with a fresh Feather blade in it... so I gave it to my son who has just started his shaving journey a few months ago, he's 16.

So while technique matters the most, gear also plays a role.

Well you must admit you are posing the most radical extremes possible in comparing the AS-D2 with the R-41.. there's a whole lot in between. But agreed beard type plays a big role in determining what type of razor works best. R-41 does not work for me while other aggressive razors with different geometry do fine.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I cannot speak for all aggressive razor lovers; my reason for preferring an aggressive razor is that it reduces the number of passes needed to achieve an acceptable shave, and fewer passes equals better skin.

I prefer efficient razors which are also smooth feeling and not prone to biting. I'm not sure what aggressive means other than prone to biting, and rough feeling, and irritating.

David @never-stop-learning talks sometimes about preferring effective razors. I think he and I, and many others, are in pursuit of or already have razors we consider effective (and I hope they're not aggressive).

Other than perhaps terminology I agree 100% with you (I think). Too many passes and too much work and too many strokes and an attempt to make the razor do more than it's designed to do too often leads to a bad shave.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[ylekot]

I was an exclusive Tech user, then got a Henson AL13 Mild. I gave away my Techs

 

[Hms123]

Right there with you on mild razors. They work well for me with sharp blades.

Timeless SS .68 SB with Feather.
Tatara Masamune with Feather.

But I have to go a little milder with my ATT SSR1. Gillette Silver Blues work well, as do Wilkinsons.

I do go with other razor/blade combinations, but am always mindful of matching the other blades I have to the razor of the day.

 

[Hms123]

I found this thread very helpful. It was the main reason I recently bought the Tatara Masamune.

World’s Mildest (New) Razor?

I just ordered a Tatara Masamune from Portugal. Is this the mildest (new) razor in the world? If not, what is? Thanks!

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[never-stop-learning]

I prefer efficient razors which are also smooth feeling and not prone to biting. I'm not sure what aggressive means other than prone to biting, and rough feeling, and irritating.

David @never-stop-learning talks sometimes about preferring effective razors. I think he and I, and many others, are in pursuit of or already have razors we consider effective (and I hope they're not aggressive).

Other than perhaps terminology I agree 100% with you (I think). Too many passes and too much work and too many strokes and an attempt to make the razor do more than it's designed to do too often leads to a bad shave.

Happy shaves,

Jim

My definition of Effective:

Effective = Efficient + Smooth.

I look for razors that couple the highest efficiency with the smoothest shave.

The Roedter 1909 is as efficient a DE razor as I've ever shaved with but that mega efficiency comes with a big dose of aggressive - daydream and you will get bit. Result: the Roedter is not as effective as the Blackbirds, Timeless Slim SB, Wolfman WR2 1.25 SB, etc.

As an aside, a Gillette Hybrid Tech (also #34, Pre-war, Post-war and Flat Bottom) sporting a new Feather blade and used with a steep angle can also be a surprisingly effective razor.

YMMV