Last week I wanted to share my thoughts on a famed aggressive DE razor, the R41, compared to my collection of vintage bakelite and polymere razors. Most of these are quite aggressive and very effective, yet easy to use.
For reasons I still do not understand, the "R41" I used turned out to have a base plate similar to the Piccolo. Some kind members pointed this out to me. You can imagine my embarrassment and understand I had to order the correct base plate and use the real R41 and share my thoughts again.
I will keep it short. The notorious R41 is no match for most of my bakelite and polymer vintage razors. Not only do they combine aggressive design with very smooth and effective shaving: they are much easier to manouvre.
I often wondered why most of these razors are much more aggressive than most modern DE razors. It may well be people were better shavers in these days (1930 to 1950), since there had no cartridge razors to start their shaving life. Maybe some members would like to share their thoughts on this?
While the result of the shave with the R41 was good, the shave itself was rough. The razor tugged. A lot. I read many members mentioning this. That's why I loaded a sharp blade. And tried two different soaps, with no noticable difference. The shave was really uncomfortable.
I'm not trying to dismiss the Muhle R41. Many seem to enjoy this monumental razor. But it clearly is not for me.
Taking in to account most of my vintage, many in NOS condition, were dirt cheap, I would like to urge those thinking about a next step in exploring more aggressive razors to consider looking at a bakelite or polymer vintage.
For reasons I still do not understand, the "R41" I used turned out to have a base plate similar to the Piccolo. Some kind members pointed this out to me. You can imagine my embarrassment and understand I had to order the correct base plate and use the real R41 and share my thoughts again.
I will keep it short. The notorious R41 is no match for most of my bakelite and polymer vintage razors. Not only do they combine aggressive design with very smooth and effective shaving: they are much easier to manouvre.
I often wondered why most of these razors are much more aggressive than most modern DE razors. It may well be people were better shavers in these days (1930 to 1950), since there had no cartridge razors to start their shaving life. Maybe some members would like to share their thoughts on this?
While the result of the shave with the R41 was good, the shave itself was rough. The razor tugged. A lot. I read many members mentioning this. That's why I loaded a sharp blade. And tried two different soaps, with no noticable difference. The shave was really uncomfortable.
I'm not trying to dismiss the Muhle R41. Many seem to enjoy this monumental razor. But it clearly is not for me.
Taking in to account most of my vintage, many in NOS condition, were dirt cheap, I would like to urge those thinking about a next step in exploring more aggressive razors to consider looking at a bakelite or polymer vintage.