First shave with a Muhle R41

[robertj298]

I had a day and a half beard and not a lot of growth but couldn't wait to try it out. Used my regular Gillette Silver Blue blade
And Proaso cream. I little more aggressive than my Rockwell 6S on plate 4 and Gillette New deluxe. 2 passes and a cleanup around the jawline and neck. Very close shave but I can't tell if its any closer than my Rockwell or New De Luxe. The only thing I didn't like was the rose gold handle is pretty slick in the hand.
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[Alex Jr]

Wonderful razor. There is something so satisfying about the way it cuts. 2 passes with a good amount of skin stretching gives a nice smooth finish.

 

[Brutus]

Yes, a remarkable razor.

When Mühle introduced it, the razor had a sizeable market segment all to himself.

But since, the field has become more crowded and others razors have IMO reached or even surpassed the Mühle, even though some of those costs considerably more.

B.

 

[Major Overkill]

The R41 is a teriffic razor, but you've gotta be really careful w/it. or you'll end up an involuntary blood donor!

Personally, I use an R41 head mated to a Maggard MR8 monster handle- 179 g. I call that my MnM.

-Z

 

[StewB]

When Mühle introduced it, the razor had a sizeable market segment all to himself.

But since, the field has become more crowded and others razors have IMO reached or even surpassed the Mühle, even though some of those costs considerably more.

Can you elaborate? Which market segment, and which razors have surpassed the R41? And in what way(s) has/have the R41 been surpassed? (Inquiring minds want to know)

 

[3oclockShadow]

Can you elaborate? Which market segment, and which razors have surpassed the R41? And in what way(s) has/have the R41 been surpassed? (Inquiring minds want to know)

I don't want to speak for Brutus, but I agree with his sentiments.

By my recollection, back when the 2011 R41 was first introduced, many of the current modern razor manufacturers didn't exist yet and it seems to me that this trend hadn't really gained any steam. At the time the 2011 R41 came out, there was basically Merkur, Muhle, Parker, Feather, and vintage razors. Fatip may have been in there, but there was not much talk about them. Maybe a handful of others I wasn't aware of or that aren't coming to mind right at the moment. I think it was around 2014 that some of the modern razor manufacturers started appearing. Whether or not Muhle was any kind of inspiration for that, I can't say, but it seems like when it came out, everyone in wet shaving was talking about the R41 and aside from maybe the Merkur Futur, it was pretty much the most aggressive/efficient razor available and in my opinion, a different shaving experience than all of them.

 

[Iridian]

Can you elaborate? Which market segment, and which razors have surpassed the R41?

The Green Cult 1.0 and 2.0 , the Monocero Husaria, the Timeless Slim OC, the Superslant L3 come to my mind.
Arguably the Wunderbar and the Blackbird OC (yes, OC, not SB) as well. Why? Close shave, nicer to the skin and more forgiving to handle.

You will have trouble to replicate the nice marble skin effect, but I think it is basically skin getting peeled away, which one can argue about if this is good at all.

 

[Brutus]

Can you elaborate? Which market segment, and which razors have surpassed the R41? And in what way(s) has/have the R41 been surpassed? (Inquiring minds want to know)

For the inquiring mind :

When the R41 was introduced, there were no widely available alternatives on the market that combined the concepts of open comb design with noticeable positive blade exposure and significant blade gap.

These concepts have since been combined by several razor designs (I now use Tataras) and they produce similar, if not better, results and have been available for some time in stainless steel and more recently titanium, while Mühle only recently started offering a stainless steel version of the R41 with so far no titanium in sight.

While not everyone likes the weight reduction that titanium offers (or is prepared to pay the hefty surcharge for this material), I do like titanium and prefer it over Zamak or stainless steel alternatives.


B.