Stainless Steel equivalent to R41

[jtface]

I have recently been getting the best shaves of my wetshaving life using the Muhle R41 (2013) on an 80mm iKon Bulldog handle. My quest for a razor that gets me the closeness of shave that I'm looking for has ended, but my concern is that the pot metal won't last forever. I am looking to get a stainless steel razor that will outlive me, but need it to shave as well as the R41. Does such a DE razor exist? Is there something made by Timeless or Wolfman that gives the same results?

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[JoSk]

Buy 5 spare r41 heads and you will save the money + will have r41 ready to go forever...

 

[Roy]

When my Edwin Jagger broke, the thread had snapped from the head and couldn't be removed from the handle, the handle was useless.

 

[les24preludes]

No need to worry about the base plate of the R41 - there's no friction on that. If the top cap has issues, just use another. Plenty will fit from Old Types to my go-to top cap, the Yintal Bronze. It's narrower so a mite more efficient and looks like brass to me.

 

[ryinzana]

Buy 5 spare r41 heads and you will save the money + will have r41 ready to go forever...

This would be what I’d do...

 

[gsurko]

My, my, how we create worries for ourselves.

 

[Suddenlythisoverview]

I would second the suggestions above to simply buy a few backup R41 heads. Another idea since you are looking for something in stainless that will give you the same closeness, but you don’t mention needing the same kind of blade feel, is possibly the Timeless .95 open comb. I get a better shave with the Timeless, and it’s much smoother feeling for me than the R41. I still pullout the R41 very occasionally is I am in the mood for it’s particular feel.

 

[Earl_Grey]

Buy 5 spare r41 heads and you will save the money + will have r41 ready to go forever...

This.

Remember the added SS weight will impact how the razor feels to you. If the R41 is your grail, enjoy it. Replacement heads are easy to get a hold of and to be frank - zamac heads get a way overblown bad reputation, either buy folks who have skin in the game and want you to buy more expensive items OR are sloppy with their equipment.
And I wouldn't worry that a razor should outlive you - chances are nobody wants your stuff after you are gone Future generations might just laser their facial hair off every day who knows. Don't stress about that.

 

[jtface]

Buy 5 spare r41 heads and you will save the money + will have r41 ready to go forever...

I was thinking about this [emoji23]
It would be nice to just have 1 razor, though.

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[jtface]

When my Edwin Jagger broke, the thread had snapped from the head and couldn't be removed from the handle, the handle was useless.

This was certainly a partial concern when mixing metals!

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[les24preludes]

I would second the suggestions above to simply buy a few backup R41 heads. Another idea since you are looking for something in stainless that will give you the same closeness, but you don’t mention needing the same kind of blade feel, is possibly the Timeless .95 open comb. I get a better shave with the Timeless, and it’s much smoother feeling for me than the R41. I still pullout the R41 very occasionally is I am in the mood for it’s particular feel.

Timeless is not for everybody. I had a OC .95 and sold it because it wasn't as efficient as the R41 and had very little blade feel. I didn't see the point in keeping it for those reasons. But the R41 stays. And as above, you don't need backup heads since the baseplate is very unlikely to cause problems, just the top cap and thread, and you can sit that one out until and if anything happens to it.

 

[jtface]

I would second the suggestions above to simply buy a few backup R41 heads. Another idea since you are looking for something in stainless that will give you the same closeness, but you don’t mention needing the same kind of blade feel, is possibly the Timeless .95 open comb. I get a better shave with the Timeless, and it’s much smoother feeling for me than the R41. I still pullout the R41 very occasionally is I am in the mood for it’s particular feel.

Blade feel is not something that I desire. Just the closeness of save with less passes due to efficiency.

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[Suddenlythisoverview]

Blade feel is not something that I desire. Just the closeness of save with less passes due to efficiency.

You’ve got to try the Timeless.95 OC then!

 

[jtface]

No need to worry about the base plate of the R41 - there's no friction on that. If the top cap has issues, just use another. Plenty will fit from Old Types to my go-to top cap, the Yintal Bronze. It's narrower so a mite more efficient and looks like brass to me.

View attachment 972278

That's a cool looking razor! What kind of a handle is that?

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[jtface]

My, my, how we create worries for ourselves.

'We' sure do! [emoji16]

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[gvw755]

Last night I just shaved with my Muhle Rocca. Though it is a smooth bar, it had a similar blade feel to the R41 and was just as efficient. You might want to try it out.

 

[jtface]

This.

Remember the added SS weight will impact how the razor feels to you. If the R41 is your grail, enjoy it. Replacement heads are easy to get a hold of and to be frank - zamac heads get a way overblown bad reputation, either buy folks who have skin in the game and want you to buy more expensive items OR are sloppy with their equipment.
And I wouldn't worry that a razor should outlive you - chances are nobody wants your stuff after you are gone Future generations might just laser their facial hair off every day who knows. Don't stress about that.

I enjoy the weighty feel of the iKon handle!
I don't want to pass my razor on... I just want to be sure that I am able to use it til I croak... I'm only 29, so I'm hoping it will need to last a bloody long time!

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[BigJ]

Buy 5 spare r41 heads and you will save the money + will have r41 ready to go forever...

+4! Good solution since you have found your Zen!!

Some Zamak razors are still working well after decades of daily use. But just in case...

 

[muzichead]

Lets face it... This hobby isn't the same for everyone and what will work for some won't for others as I see posted all the time. I have found that most times I just need to something to see for myself what it can and can't do for "me"!! With that said, I have previously owned more than my fair share of razors in my short time using a DE and just seemed to have problems with everything that came along or was suggested and long story short, I no longer own any of the usual razors I've tried but the one thing I kept seeing posted was to give Timeless a try. Still to this day that is being suggested and I now understand why...

A year ago February I found a deal on a Titanium Timeless .95SB in the BST and it was game on from that moment. So much so everything else in my den had to go as it didn't shave or yield the results the Ti95SB did and found myself picking it up every shave for several months anyway... That led to wanting to try the Stainless version and at the same time I found another deal on the BST for a SS95DC, SB/OC version and the RAD is gone as well as the search for the perfect razor!! I agree with what was posted earlier in this thread that the .95 OC is on par with the R41 in shave quality yet it is a much more forgiving shave.

Because of my Timeless razors I am an every other day shaver now and my 2 pass BBS shaves last for an entire day and then feels the same as a DFS that lasts well into the next day so I only shave every 48hrs, give or take. I also find that if I have gone 3-4 days, either razor has no problem and will give me the same 2 pass BBS that I had at 48 hrs and never a hint of irritation. I could probably shave with any razor out there today but in the end, why would I want to when I know that when I pick up either of my Timeless razors I will get the exact shave that I desire and never have to worry about ever having to change my technique for this or that other razor... It might sound boring but its the results that count for me!!

 

[jtface]

Lets face it... This hobby isn't the same for everyone and what will work for some won't for others as I see posted all the time. I have found that most times I just need to something to see for myself what it can and can't do for "me"!! With that said, I have previously owned more than my fair share of razors in my short time using a DE and just seemed to have problems with everything that came along or was suggested and long story short, I no longer own any of the usual razors I've tried but the one thing I kept seeing posted was to give Timeless a try. Still to this day that is being suggested and I now understand why...

A year ago February I found a deal on a Titanium Timeless .95SB in the BST and it was game on from that moment. So much so everything else in my den had to go as it didn't shave or yield the results the Ti95SB did and found myself picking it up every shave for several months anyway... That led to wanting to try the Stainless version and at the same time I found another deal on the BST for a SS95DC, SB/OC version and the RAD is gone as well as the search for the perfect razor!! I agree with what was posted earlier in this thread that the .95 OC is on par with the R41 in shave quality yet it is a much more forgiving shave.

Because of my Timeless razors I am an every other day shaver now and my 2 pass BBS shaves last for an entire day and then feels the same as a DFS that lasts well into the next day so I only shave every 48hrs, give or take. I also find that if I have gone 3-4 days, either razor has no problem and will give me the same 2 pass BBS that I had at 48 hrs and never a hint of irritation. I could probably shave with any razor out there today but in the end, why would I want to when I know that when I pick up either of my Timeless razors I will get the exact shave that I desire and never have to worry about ever having to change my technique for this or that other razor... It might sound boring but its the results that count for me!!

That is exactly where I want to be. 1 razor, 1 blade brand, 1 brush and 1 soap. I will use various aftershaves depending on the seasons but the rest will stay the same!

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