New R41 Head

[lancre]

Mail call included a Muhle R41 head from Maggards.

Now I have to decide what handle to try it out on. I've got an Ikon 90mm, a Merkur 23C, Maggard MR5, MR8, and MR11, and a long, heavy generic barber pole to choose from.

Suggestions, anyone?

 

[User 306]

Mail call included a Muhle R41 head from Maggards.

Now I have to decide what handle to try it out on. I've got an Ikon 90mm, a Merkur 23C, Maggard MR5, MR8, and MR11, and a long, heavy generic barber pole to choose from.

Suggestions, anyone?

I’ve got my R4 on an Ikon Bulldog handle which to me is a perfect fit so far and I just orders the Maggards MR 11 that I’m going to compare to the Ikon and I have another head I can use so whatever works best on the R41 the other head will get that handle.
I did have it on the Maggards MR5 but I didn’t like that combo and sold the handle.

 

[Hannah's Dad]

Mine is paired with a Weber Bulldog. Sweet combination. Anything that adds weight and balance should improve the performance.

 

[ED3054]

I have my R41 on a RazoRock SS Barber pole handle. Love it looks great.


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[sandstone]

Mail call included a Muhle R41 head from Maggards.

Now I have to decide what handle to try it out on. I've got an Ikon 90mm, a Merkur 23C, Maggard MR5, MR8, and MR11, and a long, heavy generic barber pole to choose from.

Suggestions, anyone?

I didn't know you could get just the R41 head anywhere so I just ordered one from Maggard's. Thanks for the tip! I have the MR5 and MR8 handles as well as the MR3 and I think I'll try it first on the MR5. Let us know what you decide on.

 

[ED3054]

I didn't know you could get just the R41 head anywhere so I just ordered one from Maggard's. Thanks for the tip! I have the MR5 and MR8 handles as well as the MR3 and I think I'll try it first on the MR5. Let us know what you decide on.

Did you check Connaught shaving.


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[Nikonsal]

I have mine paired with the MR8 handle and for me it works wonderful.

 

[lancre]

First off, thanks for your advice and opinions.

Well, I received the MR 8 handle at the same time as the R41 head. So I decided to go with the MR5 handle for the first shave with this head. I've had the MR5 for a while now, so the only thing I was changing was the head. I'll try it with the MR8 next week.

Head: Muhle R41
Handle: Maggard MR5
Blade: Derby Extra
Soap: Catie's Bubbles "A Midnight Dreary"
Brush: Semogue 830
AS: Dickinson's WH and Nivea Sensitive Balm

First impressions:
I went into this shave expecting a tiger of a razor based on reputation. Instead, I found a pussycat. A mostly comfortable BBS shave. The only place that felt slightly aggressive was on N-S pass just under my jaw. S-N in that area felt very mild.

The R41 felt much less aggressive than my Fendrihan MK. I and only minutely more aggressive than my Fendrihan MK. II. This is so out of line with what I've read here that I wonder if I got a "defective" R41 (shrug). We'll see if that impression lasts after I've tried it with a few other handles and blades.

 

[Hannah's Dad]

Congrats! R41 + good technique + good prep = shaving bliss.

 

[Nikonsal]

I had very much the same thoughts when my Black Friday R41 head and MR8 handle from Maggards came in. Very similar set up. Mowed down a 2 1/2 day growth, 2 pass shave BBS no irritation at all!

Head: R41
Handle: MR8
Blade: Astra SP
Soap: Stirling Bergamot Lavender
Brush: Maggards Syn 26
AS: Thayers WH no Alcohol then Nivea Sensitive Balm.

 

[sandstone]

Did you check Connaught shaving.


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I didn't, but thanks for the tip. I bookmarked it for future reference.

 

[sandstone]

First off, thanks for your advice and opinions.

Well, I received the MR 8 handle at the same time as the R41 head. So I decided to go with the MR5 handle for the first shave with this head. I've had the MR5 for a while now, so the only thing I was changing was the head. I'll try it with the MR8 next week.

Head: Muhle R41
Handle: Maggard MR5
Blade: Derby Extra
Soap: Catie's Bubbles "A Midnight Dreary"
Brush: Semogue 830
AS: Dickinson's WH and Nivea Sensitive Balm

First impressions:
I went into this shave expecting a tiger of a razor based on reputation. Instead, I found a pussycat. A mostly comfortable BBS shave. The only place that felt slightly aggressive was on N-S pass just under my jaw. S-N in that area felt very mild.

The R41 felt much less aggressive than my Fendrihan MK. I and only minutely more aggressive than my Fendrihan MK. II. This is so out of line with what I've read here that I wonder if I got a "defective" R41 (shrug). We'll see if that impression lasts after I've tried it with a few other handles and blades.

I had very much the same thoughts when my Black Friday R41 head and MR8 handle from Maggards came in. Very similar set up. Mowed down a 2 1/2 day growth, 2 pass shave BBS no irritation at all!

Head: R41
Handle: MR8
Blade: Astra SP
Soap: Stirling Bergamot Lavender
Brush: Maggards Syn 26
AS: Thayers WH no Alcohol then Nivea Sensitive Balm.

I appreciate your impressions of how the R41 performs, guys. The first time I shaved with one was about two years ago when I was six months into my DE shaving journey. I used it about a dozen times with mixed results and eventually donated it to a worthy cause. Hearing what you gents have to say about it has got me stoked to try it again and I can’t wait for mine to get here.

 

[Big Nickita]

It's not defective. But it's easy to imagine someone trying to use long Gillette tech strokes with too much pressure and not enough angle getting a bad impression.

I can also understand some not getting along with it for purely ymmv reasons. Especially when they have a multitude of other razors that they love.

Mine is on an MR5 handle also. Similar to yourself, I found it much less fearsome than envisioned. While it feels not terribly aggressive. It does feel extremely efficient. There is clearly a blade in there. But it's communicating clearly, you just have to listen. You cannot rush, or use pressure with this head to even a slight degree.

Its what I love to use when mowing down long growth of more than a few days. It does it with little to no irritation with the right blade. Efficiency, good angle and a light touch brings little duress to the skin I figure.

You can ramp it up a fraction with a kai blade if you so wish.

 

[lancre]

It's not defective. But it's easy to imagine someone trying to use long Gillette tech strokes with too much pressure and not enough angle getting a bad impression.

I can also understand some not getting along with it for purely ymmv reasons. Especially when they have a multitude of other razors that they love.

Mine is on an MR5 handle also. Similar to yourself, I found it much less fearsome than envisioned. While it feels not terribly aggressive. It does feel extremely efficient. There is clearly a blade in there. But it's communicating clearly, you just have to listen. You cannot rush, or use pressure with this head to even a slight degree.

Its what I love to use when mowing down long growth of more than a few days. It does it with little to no irritation with the right blade. Efficiency, good angle and a light touch brings little duress to the skin I figure.

You can ramp it up a fraction with a kai blade if you so wish.

I imagine I will down the road a bit.

When I started DE shaving about a year and a half ago, Derby Extra was what I learned on. So they're my starting point with new stuff. After that, depending on the first shave, I try other blades. This week I'm A/B'ing the R41 head with Fendrihans MK. I & II and Maggard V3A, so I want the same blade in all razors. Later on, I'll repeat with a more aggressive blade.

 

[smu]

I have the standard 3 piece R41. The handle fits nicely in the razor stand that I have. It fits in a hole and stands upright. If I but a new handle for my R41, how do I match the diameter of the existing handle so I can continue to use the razor stand?

smu

 

[Big Nickita]

I have the standard 3 piece R41. The handle fits nicely in the razor stand that I have. It fits in a hole and stands upright. If I but a new handle for my R41, how do I match the diameter of the existing handle so I can continue to use the razor stand?

smu

The place you buy your handle from should publish the diameters and lengths of their various handles. If they don't, email the to ask, or buy elsewhere. Maggards for example have a chart with weights, lengths and diameters.

 

[lancre]

I appreciate your impressions of how the R41 performs, guys. The first time I shaved with one was about two years ago when I was six months into my DE shaving journey. I used it about a dozen times with mixed results and eventually donated it to a worthy cause. Hearing what you gents have to say about it has got me stoked to try it again and I can’t wait for mine to get here.

I'm glad I waited as long as I did to get one. Even the post-2013 R41s have been described as rather fierce, let alone the earlier ones. If I'd tried an R41 at the start, I might have been put off as well. After a year and a half, I've had time to develop some semblance of a reasonable technique, and it fits right in.

 

[Devil Dog]

Mail call included a Muhle R41 head from Maggards.

Now I have to decide what handle to try it out on. I've got an Ikon 90mm, a Merkur 23C, Maggard MR5, MR8, and MR11, and a long, heavy generic barber pole to choose from.

Suggestions, anyone?

I second the Weber bulldog. It's like they were made for each other.

 

[MntnMan62]

I have my R41 on a RazoRock SS Barber pole handle. Love it looks great.


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+1 on this. I also have an Ikon Bulldog handle but haven’t tried them paired together, probably because I like how the RR Barberpole feels with the R41. This is my second favorite “custom” pairing. My favorite is an Old Type head on the Ikon Bulldog. These two razors are my all time favorites. If I had to pick a third it would be a plain old Single Ring Old Type with the thin cap. My top 3 razors.

 

[pbrmhl]

I'm glad I waited as long as I did to get one. Even the post-2013 R41s have been described as rather fierce, let alone the earlier ones. If I'd tried an R41 at the start, I might have been put off as well. After a year and a half, I've had time to develop some semblance of a reasonable technique, and it fits right in.

I believe there's something to this--18 months of training can help with more aggressive razors.

I also believe that the world of aggressive razors has expanded significantly over the last several years. When the 2011 version of the R41 (one of my favorites) was released, there were not a lot of aggressive razors around. The Old Types, News, Slims set at 9, Red Tips, FaTips, etc. were the only competition, and they were all relatively meek (on my face). I suspect the consumer community was generally not ready for the jump step of the R41 2011, so the company scaled back the specs on the 2013 version. Since then, however, we've seen a bunch of new aggressives, including the Ikon Shavecraft Tech, ATT H, PAA DOC Evolution in stainless, Charcoal Goods Level 3, Blackbird, etc., not to mention the bevy of aggressive SEs (Asylum RX, ATT SE2, etc.). With the new levels of aggressiveness now available, the R41 2013 doesn't seem as intimidating to me as it once was. Still gives me a great shave, however!