I am bad at searching these forums. I read about how razors are aggressive. I finally decided to find out what that means and all the posts I have found talk about how aggressive this razor or that razor is aggressive but not how they are aggressive, did I type aggressive enough yet? So what does it mean? Is it a razor that tugs and pulls? Or is it a razor that cuts through hairs quickly? Does the razor jump out of your hand and shave your face on it's own? And what I have been able to glean, is that aggressive razors seem to only be razors like DEs and the like not SRs is that true?
What does aggressive mean?
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Ron R
I survived a lathey foreman
Aggression = Basically it is blade feel or blade exposure, there are so many ways to look at aggression. Straight razors have a naked blade so it is the most aggressive but when it comes to safety razors it changes slightly because folks can ride the bar(steep angle) or ride the cap( shallow angle) so it can become a persons interpretation on blade feel.
I took a shot at this back in 2018 also and this is my view then and it has not changed much.
You will hear Aggressive and efficient razor opinions mentioned a lot on the threads if you read a lot of articles on razors.
I have my view and it's in the ball park but its my opinion and others views are fine because they Gage it differently and nothing is written in stone.
Aggressiveness: its the parameters the manufacture has set in blade gap(predetermined or varying as like in a adjustable razor) and blade exposure(positive,neutral,negative) with guard(hybrid or dimpled or just smooth straight) and Cap(OC,normal or Scalloped) also weight (plastic, brass,stainless steel,aluminum..)all combined before a shave starts in it's static tightened blade loaded razor. As the shave starts Blade feel aggressiveness indicates as it mows whiskers.
Efficiency: With the set parameters of the razor by manufacture and blade loaded how well did it perform with good hand technique along with 1st & 2nd shave use with a new sharp blade by operator of the razor! = end results DFS or BBS. ( Another way to bump up efficiency is to shower or hydrate skin & beard with warm towel, use a new Gillette silver blue blade with your favorite razor should give you even better results.)
Some times I like to rate razors from 1 to 10 and it might eliminate a lot of words but its more a personal opinion like every thing in shaving. I made this quick chart up that in my estimation when thinking were that razor characteristics lays after about a hr after the shave by how my skin & beard feels and that determines my efficiency rating of that razor used.(A few revisions)
Have some great shaves!
I took a shot at this back in 2018 also and this is my view then and it has not changed much.
You will hear Aggressive and efficient razor opinions mentioned a lot on the threads if you read a lot of articles on razors.
I have my view and it's in the ball park but its my opinion and others views are fine because they Gage it differently and nothing is written in stone.
Aggressiveness: its the parameters the manufacture has set in blade gap(predetermined or varying as like in a adjustable razor) and blade exposure(positive,neutral,negative) with guard(hybrid or dimpled or just smooth straight) and Cap(OC,normal or Scalloped) also weight (plastic, brass,stainless steel,aluminum..)all combined before a shave starts in it's static tightened blade loaded razor. As the shave starts Blade feel aggressiveness indicates as it mows whiskers.
Efficiency: With the set parameters of the razor by manufacture and blade loaded how well did it perform with good hand technique along with 1st & 2nd shave use with a new sharp blade by operator of the razor! = end results DFS or BBS. ( Another way to bump up efficiency is to shower or hydrate skin & beard with warm towel, use a new Gillette silver blue blade with your favorite razor should give you even better results.)
Some times I like to rate razors from 1 to 10 and it might eliminate a lot of words but its more a personal opinion like every thing in shaving. I made this quick chart up that in my estimation when thinking were that razor characteristics lays after about a hr after the shave by how my skin & beard feels and that determines my efficiency rating of that razor used.(A few revisions)
Have some great shaves!
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Thank you @Ron R for a well thought out explanation, even I was able to follow what you talked about. I have used a Gillette adjustable and always at it's smallest gap. My thinking is/was the wider the gap the thicker/longer someone's whiskers are. Using the smallest gap was because I never let my hair grow that long and I also thought it meant a closer shave.
Aggressive to me means likelihood to cause irritation or injury.
Well I doubt anyone can explain it better than Ron. To me an aggressive razor is one with a larger than average blade gap. One quick example I might give is an adjustable razor. Setting 1 would be the minimum most mild or least aggressive. The higher the setting the bigger the blade gap thus the more aggressive the razor becomes.
Your instincts were good! Folks who shave daily sometimes prefer milder razors (or a lower adjustable setting) because they’re removing less growth and prioritizing comfort. There’s also some tendency when experimenting to “push the envelope” and try more aggressive razors, but find whatever works best for your routines and needs.
Hi,
Yep. The simple explanation. Not that I didn't like the full one. I loved it!
The more aggressive, the more careful you need to be while shaving.
Such as my Grandfather's Old Type. Works great! Gotta be really careful with it.
Stan
Unfortunately the word ‘aggression’ is used quite loosely and people often mean different things. Often people conflate aggression with efficiency. For this reason I avoid using the word and I use words like ‘harsh’ or ‘gentle’ or ‘comfortable’ instead.
To my mind it is important to distinguish between aggression and efficiency. I think aggression relates to the feeling on your skin as well as the propensity to create irritation, redness, cuts, etc. Efficiency is about how quickly and easily the razor cuts stubble - i.e. how few strokes are required to get the required closeness of shave, how little buffing is required.
There is usually a relationship between aggression and efficiency. More efficient razors are often more aggressive. But this isn’t always true, and the relationship isn’t simply linear. There are razors that shave very efficiently but are also quite smooth and gentle to the skin. And this is what I mainly judge razors by - how much less aggressive are they than most razors that provide the same level of efficiency (or how much more efficient are they than the most other razors with the same level of aggression or harshness/mildness)?
My assumption is that most of us welcome greater efficiency, and prefer less aggression / harshness / skin damage. Or at least given two razors with equal efficiency most of us would prefer the one that is gentler to the skin (i.e. less aggressive). That’s why I don’t think you can usefully describe a razor without differentiating between aggression and efficiency, or without enough experience with other razors to compare.
To my mind it is important to distinguish between aggression and efficiency. I think aggression relates to the feeling on your skin as well as the propensity to create irritation, redness, cuts, etc. Efficiency is about how quickly and easily the razor cuts stubble - i.e. how few strokes are required to get the required closeness of shave, how little buffing is required.
There is usually a relationship between aggression and efficiency. More efficient razors are often more aggressive. But this isn’t always true, and the relationship isn’t simply linear. There are razors that shave very efficiently but are also quite smooth and gentle to the skin. And this is what I mainly judge razors by - how much less aggressive are they than most razors that provide the same level of efficiency (or how much more efficient are they than the most other razors with the same level of aggression or harshness/mildness)?
My assumption is that most of us welcome greater efficiency, and prefer less aggression / harshness / skin damage. Or at least given two razors with equal efficiency most of us would prefer the one that is gentler to the skin (i.e. less aggressive). That’s why I don’t think you can usefully describe a razor without differentiating between aggression and efficiency, or without enough experience with other razors to compare.
Shaving (with a blade of any sort, but not foils/screens) actually involves two separate but connected processes: hair removal and exfoliation.
Ladies talk about exfoliation in much the same way we do, without the confusion of hair removal. You will hear one say she loves XXX Volcanic Slate and Pumice scrub, another will say that it leaves her face raw and she prefers Silky Unicorn Pony Lips, made from triple-ground corn husks.
So. Hair removal can be accomplished by the "mildest" of razors, Gillette Black Beauty on 1, late '50s SuperSpeed, etc. Hair removal + exfoliation is "more efficiently" accomplished with greater blade exposure(e.g., a more "aggressive" razor), allowing it to remove the upper layer of dermis along with hair. Your skin will rebound slightly after dermabrasion/exfoliation, giving that BBS feel. The greater the exfoliation, the "longer lasting" the shave.
Ladies talk about exfoliation in much the same way we do, without the confusion of hair removal. You will hear one say she loves XXX Volcanic Slate and Pumice scrub, another will say that it leaves her face raw and she prefers Silky Unicorn Pony Lips, made from triple-ground corn husks.
So. Hair removal can be accomplished by the "mildest" of razors, Gillette Black Beauty on 1, late '50s SuperSpeed, etc. Hair removal + exfoliation is "more efficiently" accomplished with greater blade exposure(e.g., a more "aggressive" razor), allowing it to remove the upper layer of dermis along with hair. Your skin will rebound slightly after dermabrasion/exfoliation, giving that BBS feel. The greater the exfoliation, the "longer lasting" the shave.
To me, aggressive razors have a lower predictability score. An aggressive razor is more likely to bite you and draw blood.Hi,
Yep. The simple explanation. Not that I didn't like the full one. I loved it!
The more aggressive, the more careful you need to be while shaving.
Such as my Grandfather's Old Type. Works great! Gotta be really careful with it.
Stan
Efficiency is the ability of the razor to mow through your whiskers in fewer passes.
I have highly efficient razors that are very predictable (not aggressive) and other highly efficient razors that are not as predictable (aggressive).
Just how I personally evaluate razor performance.
Hi,
I find Aggressive is also Efficient. My Old Type is very Efficient, but I have to be careful with it or it will bite as it is also quite Aggressive
My Fasan Double Slant is also very Efficient, but it is not Aggressive. It cuts the whiskers every bit as well, if not better, than the Old Type but it doesn't bite unless I really screw up (like shave 90 degrees off). Additionally, I can use a much faster pull rate on the Fasan which aids in how the slant does the job. If I pulled the Old Type like that I'd need bandages.
Stan
I find Aggressive is also Efficient. My Old Type is very Efficient, but I have to be careful with it or it will bite as it is also quite Aggressive
My Fasan Double Slant is also very Efficient, but it is not Aggressive. It cuts the whiskers every bit as well, if not better, than the Old Type but it doesn't bite unless I really screw up (like shave 90 degrees off). Additionally, I can use a much faster pull rate on the Fasan which aids in how the slant does the job. If I pulled the Old Type like that I'd need bandages.
Stan
Aggression is a subjective term (actually it is not well-defined either).
Efficiency is a subjective term.
Blade gap and exposure are objective terms (they can be measured and proven).
Therefore, infinite definitions of Aggression exist, depending on the subject’s perspective.
Efficiency is a subjective term.
Blade gap and exposure are objective terms (they can be measured and proven).
Therefore, infinite definitions of Aggression exist, depending on the subject’s perspective.
More blade exposure, can shave closer to the skin, more potential for cuts and uncomfortably close shaves.
There are a few newer razors now available where blade gap and exposure don't tell the whole story. One such example is the Lambda Athena. It has zero blade exposure and a small gap but is very efficient. The head design is unique. I get 12 hour shaves when using it but it's very smooth and comfortable.
I agree with the rest of the general sentiment... aggression and efficiency are subjective. I would lean on @never-stop-learning / David's definition, however.
I tend to prefer razors that fit into the "mild but efficient" category. That said, I don't really have enough experience to qualify that. I do know, my top 5 razors all provide comfortable, smooth, relaxing yet close shaves that last 12 hours for me if I do my part.
I agree with the rest of the general sentiment... aggression and efficiency are subjective.
I would lean on @never-stop-learning / David's definition, however. I tend to prefer razors that fit into the "mild but efficient" category. That said, I don't really have enough experience to qualify that. I do know, my top 5 razors all provide comfortable, smooth, relaxing yet close shaves that last 12 hours for me if I do my part.
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