Muhle R41...possibly a unicorn?

[Zerpersande]

Tried my new R41 this morning. Used the Nacet blade from the Yaqi Mellon from the day before. Very different experience.

The smoothness was nothing close to the Merkur Slant, but the feel was different from the Mellon in that it didn’t feel as if I was going to be really stinging when it came time for the alum block. In areas where my skin was flat the shave was more than acceptably smooth. Contours were such that I knew I needed to be careful. And when the cream was gone multiple pass resulted in that metallic ‘blade scratching over dry skin’ sound. This could be the blade, the soap or the fact that my cream was a bit on the watery side this morning. As with the Yaqi Mellon yesterday I decided that after three passes I would do the touch without switching to one of my Gillette adjustables set on 8/9.

The results were very good. The sting from the alum was nothing bothersome at all. The overall smoothness was fantastic. There is an area on either side of my jaw that I could have touched up a bit better, but I know I was less than diligent there bc it was a new razor for me. The end result? If you told me I could only keep one of my razors, this would be it, no doubt.

So overall? It’s a unicorn. Okay, maybe not a perfect unicorn. I still want to try other razors.

 

[bobmsp]

Glad you enjoyed it. I got an R41 about 6 months ago and have come to really enjoy using it. I don't think my face would survive if it was a daily driver, but I enjoy a Saturday morning shave with it quite often.

 

[Ad Astra]

"Other razors" will *mostly* be milder, IMHHO.

R41 is a perfofrmance shaver, for sure.

AA

 

[les24preludes]

I find the R41 benefits from a few modifications. I substituted the Yintal Bronze top cap, which is 1.2mm less wide (like the 2011 top cap), and added a titanium handle at 53g which brought the total up to 86g from 64g. Though this makes the razor a little more efficient, I find it quite smooth enough to use every day using Nacets, Yellows or Astra SPs. I'd say the choice of handle matters a lot.

 

[Zerpersande]

I don't think my face would survive if it was a daily driver, but I enjoy a Saturday morning shave with it quite often.

Yeah, I skipped a day with it and shaved with it this morning. Either she is a bit fickle about how she performs OR she knew I used a Maggard V3A the day before and was jealous. Either way, the results burned.

Actually, I think it was the V3A. It was harsher than the R41 and gave me some razor burn. So my guess is that the results are from using the R41 today after kickstarting some razor burn the day before.

On a side not, I found this little rack at the 100¥ shop, the Japanese equivalent of the dollar store. After some sandpaper, drilling, more sanding and some lemon oil I ended up with this.