Why do people want more aggressive razors than the 40s to 60s Gillettes?

[FL shaver]

I just had four shaves out of town with a Gillette Travel Tech with a Bakelite handle. I used a Bic Chrome Platinum blade for all four shaves. The software: Speick cream for two shaves, Waleda cream, and Wilkinson sword stick. Great shaves. Almost as good as I get with my usual Merkur 34C at home. I always wonder why I use anything else, because the small sacrifice made in aggressiveness is probably worth the decreased frequency of irritation/weepers.

 

[juno]

I can use the Feather or a Red Tip on 3 days growth fine. I was surprised with the Feather in that regard. 3 passes. DFS. Not BBS but smooth comfortable and no irritation at all. And I can do it again tomorrow or wait 3 more days. However, I have had razors that practically required 3 days between shaves.

 

[StillShaving]

I thought aggressive and efficient razors were easier to use because of the wider cutting angle?

I tend to agree that once masters using a light touch and has reasonably good technique, then an aggressive razor might be easier to use. Imagine a DE with a 1/8" blade gap (exaggerated for discussion), where the user is riding the cap and shaving somewhat by blade feel (the safety bar is much like a car seat belt that is never engaged). Swapping out this razor for one with a 1/4" blade gap (something twice as large) but no other geometry change should make little difference, since technique has been dialed in to ride the cap. If the angle of attack ever got too steep then maybe there is some unwanted skin abrasion but since a light touch was mastered long ago there is usually little skin damage or need for an alum stick. And since blades are cheap and frequently changed there is no concern about potentially reduced blade life. This shaver is happy to get a close shave nearly every time without much fuss.

In contrast, an extremely mild razor is easier to use without getting any razor burn, but it is harder at providing as close a shave. Since one can not rely on just using a light touch but needs to make more frequent angle adjustments throughout the shave. So it might take longer (more passes or slower movements to better maintain ideal angle of attack) to get as close of a shave as compared to an aggressive razor (i.e. harder to use). But on the flip side if one is only looking for an DFS or acceptable shave then mild razor can be used to shave very quickly without much worry of skin damage (i.e. easier to use).

Ultimately, I think it depends on the ultimate end goal of the shaver and their experience, technique, and personality. When I am traveling or otherwise in a hurry I like a mild razor so that I can shave very quickly. For aggression I like to use a shavette.

 

[RB3812]

I was thinking about why there is a fad today for ever newer and generally more aggressive or mid aggressive razors. Yet the big sellers of the 1940s and 1950s when almost all men shaved with DEs tended to be mild Super Speeds or Tech equivalents. Many now find even the Fatboy and Slim insufficiently aggressive at the top numbers.

My best guess for this is that today men are less likely to want or need to shave everyday. They are more likely to alternate between carrying heavy growths or beards and then shaving. And for some there is less practice doing regular shaving with mild razors. They want efficiency and the ability to deal with rough, heavy beards. In contrast men in the 40s and 50s not only would shave everyday but do an evening shave or risk looking indecent at an evening public event if five o'clock shadow was too severe. Today's socially acceptable shave -- usually visible stubble -- would have gotten you kicked out of most good houses.

People also point to the earlier Gillettes as having more blade gap. But I think the older blades didn't cut as well or got dull more quickly. Certainly that's what an older professor who passed away in his nineties told me. He claimed that in the 30s the blades would dull too easily and all were amazed at how much sharper the Wilkinsons and Gillette stainless steels of the 1960s were. So on average the two systems cut equivalently. In contrast, today many like the most aggressive early razors with some of the best of today's blades like the Feather and GSB.

This is all just shooting the breeze. So any opinions welcome.

My modest collection includes one Gillette Super Speed, one Fat Boy Adjustable, and one Slim Adjustable. I set the two Adjustables on 5, and that seems to be about the same as the Super Speed. I alternate daily between the two Adjustables, and the Super Speed is my travel razor, since it came with the original case. I honestly can't tell the difference between the shaves I get with any of the three!

A few years ago, I decided that I had to have a NEW razor from one of the fancy shaving stores, so I ordered one of the brand names....Muehle, I think. From the get-go I could tell that it was WAY too aggressive for me....it felt like
I was ripping my whiskers out, one at a time!!! Luckily, the company honored its money-back guarantee, so I sent it back and have stuck with my old standbys ever since!!!

 

[KW Driver]

my diatribe

the other aspect I left out was, in addition to building a skillset, I got to a place I could sleepwalk through a quick 2 pass shave with my Fatip and Gems. a 3-4 minute 2 pass BBS. it was boring. a better quality result from what was turning back into a chore.

what I like about straights is I get the same quality of shaves, but I have to be present. I need to clear my mind of distractions, and just shave. it's a zen meditation for the period of time I spend doing it. it's a ritual.

soak the brush, strop the blade attentively so not roll the edge or cut the strop. hop in the shower. hop out. build the lather (face lathering), pick up the razor and empty the mind. feel the pressure and angle of the blade. listen to the whiskers. watch. relather, another pass. attentively rinse the blade without hitting it on the faucet or sink, without getting water on the tang during and between passes. quick dry of the blade. rinse the face, rinse and dry the brush. thoroughly dry the blade, then strop the edge dry.

that's the ritual that I enjoy. there's very few activities that require true presence during them without training mentally to focus on a task. most often, they include a real risk to life and/or injury I've found. so this one's nice, and safe. I way outlived the "live fast, die young, and leave a pretty corpse" stage of life. I tried pretty hard to though. there's no good reason I'm still here. so I'm ok with the 'walk down the hill..." choice too.

when I started out, I got some of that with DE/SEs. it faded quickly with my mastery of those techniques. a less efficient razor that required more passes, maybe more pressure and skin stretching, buffing... those annoyed me. they were inferior designs to me. yes they all can produce an acceptable shave, but not the best shave/experience. I want that quality, with a tool that I have to match in ability. that's my satisfaction.

 

[bkatbamna]

Because I like it and it works for me. I get the best shaves from modern aggressive razors like the Futur, r41, ATT H1 and H2, Charcoal Goods Level 3 OC, and the Wolfman OC WR1 0.91. Everything else that I have including the red tip is just slightly less than the results I get from the listed.