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Top 3 DE / Bottom 3 DE

I like seeing what works best for everyone. My wallet doesn’t, but I do. Plus posts like this helped me when I was starting out.

1. Type of shaver category are you in mild/mid/aggressive (efficient)
2. What’s your top 3 favorite DE razors and why?
3. What were 3 that just didn’t work for you and why. (Or 3 you got rid of)
4. 3 razors your interested in trying

1.mid aggressive/aggressive

TOP
1.Charcoal Goods - Top of the heap for me. Love the antique brass gen 1 lvl 2 dcAlso have SS. Just a pure piece of art and a beauty to open the cabnit and look at. Nimble and since receiving it, I now understand the whole sports car reference.
2. Gillette new deluxe - love having a piece of history to shave with. And loving the shaves I get with it.
3. Haven’t received it yet, but hopefully the SS razorock lupo. Haven’t tried a game changer but looking forward to this one. Only possible downside would be the DLC coating.

BOTTOM
1. Timeless .68 scalloped top/base - The top cap seemed to get a lot of soap scum in the grooves. Head was too big for my face as I have a defined jawline and couldn’t seem to get the angle of attack right off the cliff. Ultimately too mild for me as I like to feel more blade.
2. R41 - got this after the timeless .68. Worked good for me but gave a bit of irritation. Helped me realize I wanted to search around for a more aggressive razor than the .68
3. Karve brass - ended up getting all 7 plates. Honestly not a bad razor, but reached for the CG more often. Didn’t really like the looks of the plates which I know is odd but I’m one of the OCD people who like to shave with a razor that I enjoy visually as well.
(Also Viking blade chieftain-started out on this razor as I’m an amazon user. Helped me decide I do not like TTOs)

INTERESTED
1. Haircut and shave 17-4
2. Blackbird
3. Wolfman WR2 1.15 / 1.25
 
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Top three right now:
Silver Star 3 piece, always a smooth, mild shave.
Gillette Aristocrat Junior English made. Solid machine that does just what it's supposed to.
Razorock Game changer 84. Only complaint is loading the blade.
Bottom
Muhle R41, never had a smooth shave from that one.
Yaqi Knight. More like yikee! I think this one wants me dead.
Merkur Futur. Toooo aggressive for me, and too slippery
 
R

romsitsa

Very effective, much narrower heads than usual (others would most likely call it aggressive)

Top
1. LeCoq caged head
2. Swing AB small head
3. My own GEM type single edges

Bottom:
Straight razors, stropping, honing is not for me.

Interested in:
1. Make a TTO with slightly narrower base plate than Gen 2 Aristocrats have.
2. LeCoq safety bar.
3. An unidentified open comb on ebay, the teeth are fully rounded and the comb looks to be quite narrow.

Adam
 
For me, mid-level aggressive razors fit the bill.

Top: Game Changer .84. Jury's still out on SB vs OC vs JAWS. I use all three. In keeping with my preference for "mid" aggressiveness as opposed to aggressive aggressiveness, I think I like the SB plate best.

Also top: Rockwell 6S plate 4: To me this is the quintessential mid-level shave. So smooth and easy, yet efficient enough to get the job done.

Bottom: Parker Variant. Just too aggressive for my taste. Even on its lower settings I get neck irritation. If I dial it all the way down to 1 or 1.5 I can make it work ... but then what is the point of using an adjustable? Not a fan.
 
My top three are the Wardonia, the Gibbs adjustable, and the Schotz slant. The first two require a modified blade, but it's well worth the effort in either case.

Bottom three - Gillette Tech, Superspeed, and one of those no-name German 4-piece OC in a travel case.

You didn't ask, but my top three SEs are the Schick Type I hydro-magic, the Ever Ready 1914 Little Lather Catcher, and the GEM Pushbutton. The bottom three are the GEM Contour II, the GEM Contour II, and the GEM Contour II.
 
For me, mid-level aggressive razors fit the bill.

Top: Game Changer .84. Jury's still out on SB vs OC vs JAWS. I use all three. In keeping with my preference for "mid" aggressiveness as opposed to aggressive aggressiveness, I think I like the SB plate best.

Also top: Rockwell 6S plate 4: To me this is the quintessential mid-level shave. So smooth and easy, yet efficient enough to get the job done.

Bottom: Parker Variant. Just too aggressive for my taste. Even on its lower settings I get neck irritation. If I dial it all the way down to 1 or 1.5 I can make it work ... but then what is the point of using an adjustable? Not a fan.
Similar to me except prefer 5 plate on the Rockwell.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
 
Top 3:
Muhle R-41
Charcoal Goods OC level 3 1st design.
Gillette President.

No bottom 3. I can manage to get a good shave with every razor I have.
 
1. I'm in the mid category. mild DFS most days but I go far BBS couple times a month.

2. Top 3 DEs are:
- Mamba 53 - Can't say enough good things about this razor. From the first stroke, I've loved the feel of this razor. Mild but still cuts well and just has that right crisp feel.
- Gillette Slim Twist - Mild-mid efficiency and is very comfortable. Great daily driver.
- Fatip Piccolo - Although I don't like the handle as much, the performance is excellent. Mid aggressive and gives me an excellent shave every time.

3. Bottom 3 DEs are:
- Maggard V3 razor - It works decent as a starter razor but it's too rough on my skin. I still use it from time to time for travels but I have to be careful with each stroke.
- New Wilkinson Sword razor - It looks decent but it's too rough on my skin. Not a big fan of it so passed it on.
- Baili Victory shaver - Again, too rough on the skin. It has a big blade gap with tiny blade exposure which does not work well for me. I like small blade gap with mid blade exposure + curved head.

4. I'm interested in:
- Start (CTATP) razor - Looks great and seems like a solid build. I like the different choices of heads and it just looks solid in general.
- Karve razor - Too many good reviews on this razor. I just want to try one out and see for myself
- Razorock SLOC 2.0 - I love curved head caps so this one popped in my sight. Not sure how it'll shave but just curious.
 
Similar to me except prefer 5 plate on the Rockwell.
I assumed I would be an R3, because that was the "average" plate.

I didn't even try R1. R2 was nice, rather like my 23C.

Very soon, I tried and discarded R3, but R4 was in play for months. I didn't work out that R5 was the Goldilocks Plate for a long time.

Did I try R6? Yes. It seemed to do the same shave as R5 (tick), not give me cuts (tick), yet not deliver a better shave (negative rating), and feel much more like somthing that would cut you (negative).
 

tankerjohn

A little poofier than I prefer
Okay, I’ll play. Gee, no mention of Merkur or Edwin Jagger yet? My, how times have changed. Anyway, let me get into it.

1. Mid-aggressive. I like a daily DFS. Too close and I get ingrown hairs real bad.

2. Top 3

Gillette Red Tip - Grail Razor, no doubt. Goldilocks aggressiveness and smoothness. It feels like Gillette designed it just for me.

Gillette Ranger Tech - slightly more aggressive than the Red Tip, but still excellent. Can’t beat the history behind it.

Gillette New Improved - slightly less aggressive than the Red Tip, but still excellent. My go-to open comb, when I’m in the mood for a change of pace.

3. Bottom 3

Anything Merkur - Merkur razors are great. They gave me excellent BBS shaves. I wanted to love them. But I couldn’t deny that every time I used one, I got an ingrown hair a day or two later.

Edwin Jagger DE89 - Man, I remember when EVERYONE had one of these. I had to have one too, but I never got on with it. Just too mild. Taught me to not get caught up in hype.

Fatip Grande - Another razor I wanted to love. I eventually tamed it after quite a few Sweeney Todd shaves. But it was just too much work.

4. I’m interested in:

Nothing. Really, I’m good. There might be a better razor out there than the Red Tip, but I’m done with chasing it. So maybe a backup Red Tip might be in order.

Okay, so the one thing I’d love to have is a “Property of US Army” Old Type. But that’s more for the history than the shaving prowess.
 

BradWorld

Dances with Wolfs
This is where I stand right now. But things seem to change rapidly for me, and a razor that I’ve sat on the shelf for years can suddenly become the chosen favorite. It’s the nature of our hobby.

I am a Mid aggressive shaver. Used to be firm in the mild camp, but that has evolved. Especially recently. I find myself using ever more efficient razors.

Best... as of today...

1. Timeless 95 Scalloped. Perfection. Do not have a Wolfman or Charcoal Goods yet... so for now, this is the artsy high end razor of choice for me.

2. Game Changer 84 Solid Bar. Excellent razor. Perfect shave every time. If I weren’t a serial razor collector, I could probably shave with this the rest of my life. But you know how that goes.

3. Hybrid Tech on an H&S Model C stainless handle. That handle has elevated the ranking of the Hybrid quite significantly. It has changed it from a great razor, perhaps one of the best vintages... to an amazing razor that now rivals the modern high end razors.

Worst?

1. Rockwell 6s. I can get a great shave with this razor, but the head is huge and clunky. And it’s very industrial looking. I derive zero pleasure from this razor, despite its shaving ability. I was in on the original KS campaign, so I don’t have the heart to part with it. But I never use it.

2. Fatip Grande. Total failure of a razor for me. Horrible shave. Terrible blade alignment. Not a great finish either. I know lots of people love this razor, but it’s not for me.

3. Gillette Slim Twist. Even though I love all things Super Speed, this one is a terrible shaver. Maybe mine is out of whack. Maybe by this point, the design and build quality was really getting sloppy. Who knows..

... want to try... wolfman and charcoal goods.

Ask me again in two months and I’m sure my answers will be completely different. :)
 
I can't give you my bottom three because I genuinely enjoy every razor I have shaved with. I persevere with a razor until I can shave easily and well with it.

For my favourites:

1) Rex Ambassador
I love the precision of this razor, the range of adjustment, size, balance and appearance. Perfect shaves every time.
2) ATT M2
I find this a very flexible razor on account of the mildness and the flexibility of the open comb. It has a great range of shaving angle which also gives a sense of adjustability.
3) Muhle Rocca
I feel Muhle eventually landed on the perfect balance of efficiency vs. Smoothness. Just a joy to use.
 
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