Yesterday I had a meeting in Toledo, and figured that I might as well take a detour on the way home and stop by Maggard's store in Adrian. Wanted to visit it ever since I got into wet shaving.
It's a cool place, the best selection of shaving related stuff I've ever seen, and their customer service is top-notch. Brad was extremely helpful and knowledgeable.
I wanted to try something different, a more aggressive and hopefully more efficient razor. Of course I can always set Variant to 5 (or above) but there are razors specifically designed from scratch to be aggressive, so I thought I'd try one. Muhle R41 is notoriously aggressive, but from all the reviews I got a feeling it was also pretty uncomfortable and "scratchy" and not necessarily super efficient.
So, after talking to Brad, I ended up getting a V3A head and one of their stainless steel handles (MR7 I believe). Figured, I can always use a well made handle, and the head was cheap. I also got some "artisan" shaving soap to try & see what all these soap affictionados are raving about (so far I've been just fine with Arko). Soap Commander's Courage.
For the first shave this morning, I decided to play it safe and loaded an Astra SP blade that's already been used a couple times. And, against my common sense telling me not to change two variables at once, I used that new soap.
To my surprise, even though the razor with a blade loaded looks a bit scary from a side due to the blade angle, it was actually a very comfortable shave. A little more blade presence and a little more blade feel than what I am used to, but no discomfort or weepers or scratches of any sort. I do think that Arko provides a superior quality of lather (although it doesn't smell as nice, and that artisan soap is not bad overall). So, with Arko and a fresh Feather, that razor should be both very efficient and comfortable. A good razor.
Now, I need to test it against fully opened Variant & see who wins in terms of comfort and closeness.
Anyone compared this to R41 ?
It's a cool place, the best selection of shaving related stuff I've ever seen, and their customer service is top-notch. Brad was extremely helpful and knowledgeable.
I wanted to try something different, a more aggressive and hopefully more efficient razor. Of course I can always set Variant to 5 (or above) but there are razors specifically designed from scratch to be aggressive, so I thought I'd try one. Muhle R41 is notoriously aggressive, but from all the reviews I got a feeling it was also pretty uncomfortable and "scratchy" and not necessarily super efficient.
So, after talking to Brad, I ended up getting a V3A head and one of their stainless steel handles (MR7 I believe). Figured, I can always use a well made handle, and the head was cheap. I also got some "artisan" shaving soap to try & see what all these soap affictionados are raving about (so far I've been just fine with Arko). Soap Commander's Courage.
For the first shave this morning, I decided to play it safe and loaded an Astra SP blade that's already been used a couple times. And, against my common sense telling me not to change two variables at once, I used that new soap.
To my surprise, even though the razor with a blade loaded looks a bit scary from a side due to the blade angle, it was actually a very comfortable shave. A little more blade presence and a little more blade feel than what I am used to, but no discomfort or weepers or scratches of any sort. I do think that Arko provides a superior quality of lather (although it doesn't smell as nice, and that artisan soap is not bad overall). So, with Arko and a fresh Feather, that razor should be both very efficient and comfortable. A good razor.
Now, I need to test it against fully opened Variant & see who wins in terms of comfort and closeness.
Anyone compared this to R41 ?