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Your Smoothest and Most Efficient Razors

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
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I have only one razor, an Above the Tie Windsor. With the R plate is is incredibly smooth and quite efficient. With the M plate it is silly smooth and reasonably efficient.


Interesting thread. It reminds me of tremendously enabling thread on another forum discussing most efficient razors with the least blade feel.

I'll admit not all blade feel feels the same. I'm not opposed to blade feel. Neither do I seek or value it. I'd rather there be none or almost none. That goes into what I think of as smoothness.

Also the post shave should be considered. I'm not down on Feather blades, but they are very able to give me a shave which feels smooth during the shave coupled with irritation or razor burn later. To me, a razor is bumped from the smooth category if the post shave isn't great.

Like many others, I'm in search of the PUHG razor. As smooth as the CM1 with the efficiency of the iKon Tech. Pegasus Unicorn Holy Grail.

To me, smooth also includes the ability to be a Daily Driver.



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I'm glad to see the way way overlooked Schick Krona included in this thread. To me, the handle is too thin and too long for me to love the razor but it surely is smooth, easy to use, and efficient.

The FOCS ticks all the boxes. Daily Driver. Smooth. Efficient.



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The Schick open to clean E-2 also ticks all the boxes.

So does the ATT CR1 although it's not quite as efficient as I'd like. I'm not sure yet about the SH1, but it's a damn good razor.

Plenty of other candidates have already been mentioned. To the adjustable category I'd add the Denali. The Pearl Flexi is worth mentioning maybe. I've not yet used the Rocnel Sailor but from what I've read it should be looked into. (I have one on order).

What about the Wunderbar? Very smooth and very efficient! (But, yes, it can bite.)

Today I gave the Timeless Bronze 38 a spin comparing it in my mind to recent shaves with the Windsors. Here's my little post about today's shave.

Thanks for all the interesting "contender" posts so far.

Happy shaves,

Jim
 
Only type of razor that works for me is a slant. Prefer a light weight with a short handle. Trying to find something better than my 37c. I'll try a few more and if not successful will stick with the one I have been using for the last 15 years.
 
Interesting thread. It reminds me of tremendously enabling thread on another forum discussing most efficient razors with the least blade feel.

I'll admit not all blade feel feels the same. I'm not opposed to blade feel. Neither do I seek or value it. I'd rather there be none or almost none. That goes into what I think of as smoothness.

Also the post shave should be considered. I'm not down on Feather blades, but they are very able to give me a shave which feels smooth during the shave coupled with irritation or razor burn later. To me, a razor is bumped from the smooth category if the post shave isn't great.

Fully agreed. Smooth to me also means how well the razor glides over my face without any significant blade feel or drag (drag can sometimes be a byproduct of certain metals and finishes). And post-shave is equally important to me. I particularly like razors that leave my face feeling like the beard is gone, but I never shaved. And there are several of those in my razor collection. The only one that clearly doesn't match that criteria is the Timeless Bronze because it can leave the face feeling raw if I am not careful.
 
9 efficiency for the Masamune? I find that surprising. Even leaving aside my own experience with the Masamune, which I blame partly on my poor technique, I don't frequently hear it considered as highly efficient.
I'm jealous of you all that can make these mild, negative blade exposure razors highly efficient. It almost makes me want to try the Masamune again or give the Feather a shot.

Unless you have a particularly coarse beard, very close shaves are possible with the regular Masamune with the right technique and blade: a crazy light touch and the sharpest blade you can find. My best shaves involved very thin lather that demanded focus, a fresh feather blade and a light hand.

It's all about prep and technique. The blade does the cutting, you just need to make sure the edge of the blade touches skin and hair properly when shaving.

Exactly. The issue is that razors like the Masamune are very comfortable even with some pressure, so it's easy to get tricked into using a little. And then get used to doing so and reaching for more efficient baseplates to solve the problem.
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
Fully agreed. Smooth to me also means how well the razor glides over my face without any significant blade feel or drag (drag can sometimes be a byproduct of certain metals and finishes). And post-shave is equally important to me. I particularly like razors that leave my face feeling like the beard is gone, but I never shaved. And there are several of those in my razor collection. The only one that clearly doesn't match that criteria is the Timeless Bronze because it can leave the face feeling raw if I am not careful.


I particularly like razors that leave my face feeling like the beard is gone, but I never shaved.

Which of those are in your collection.

Asking for a friend of course.

Happy shaves,

Jim
 
Which of those are in your collection.

Asking for a friend of course.

Happy shaves,

Jim

Jim.

The one that is MOST like that is the Henson AL13 + (mild version). Incredible. I am actually going to buy the Titanium version next year and give the AL13 to my son or even my wife.

My second choice for that effect is the Charcoal Goods Everyday Brass Razor. Zero blade feel, amazing post-shave.

Realistically, the Karve CB with B Plate could also count into that category, but the prior mentioned two are the leaders in the clubhouse. And I use both of them with either Gillette Yellow or Permasharp blades.
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
Jim.

The one that is MOST like that is the Henson AL13 + (mild version). Incredible. I am actually going to buy the Titanium version next year and give the AL13 to my son or even my wife.

My second choice for that effect is the Charcoal Goods Everyday Brass Razor. Zero blade feel, amazing post-shave.

Realistically, the Karve CB with B Plate could also count into that category, but the prior mentioned two are the leaders in the clubhouse. And I use both of them with either Gillette Yellow or Permasharp blades.

Thank you.

The only one of these I have is the Karve. I have the OC B baseplate. It's a very good razor. The OC A baseplate is a lot better, too, than I would have guessed.

I think I like the ATT CM1 and CR1 at least as much. The CM1 is incredibly smooth feeling.

My problem is common. I also need a good bit of efficiency. Much of my beard is easy enough, but some is very difficult, wiry, old man, tungsten carbide whiskers.

I don't like the Henson handle because it's too long and skinny. I don't like the too long CG handle either but realize the Everyday can be ordered without the handle, and (maybe) used with a non-CG handle.

Folks who like the Henson really like it. Probably for good reasons.

Happy shaves,

Jim
 
Fully agreed. Smooth to me also means how well the razor glides over my face without any significant blade feel or drag (drag can sometimes be a byproduct of certain metals and finishes). And post-shave is equally important to me. I particularly like razors that leave my face feeling like the beard is gone, but I never shaved. And there are several of those in my razor collection. The only one that clearly doesn't match that criteria is the Timeless Bronze because it can leave the face feeling raw if I am not careful.
Agree 100% with this! I am into DE shaving, but not for collecting. My Parker 91R with a Wilkinson Sword(G), gives me the smoothest, and most efficient shave I could ask for, all in one pass. Only get 5 shaves out of the blade before I have to do a bunch of clean ups, or do a 2nd pass. But, thats just me. And, I have noticed that some blades are a tad wider for more blade exposure. I think that is what is happening when I put a Wilkie in my Parker. Just my .02...
 

never-stop-learning

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When all is said and done, I evaluate my razors on two things: smoothness and efficiency. Smoothness is quite subjective, but for me it is a composite of all of the factors that make the shave comfortable during the shave. Efficiency is perhaps measurable, but I have no effective tools to do so. I rate a razor's efficiency by feeling how smooth my face is after my normal two pass shave. Here is how my current razors, DE and SE, rank on those two criteria:

View attachment 1374992

Perhaps interestingly, the razors with the highest composite score are not the ones I use most often. I am biased towards efficiency over smoothness, and the Dart gets used as much as all of the others combined. What razor(s) do you have that excel in both smoothness and efficiency? Has anyone found anything with the efficiency of the Dart and R41, but which is noticeably smoother?

Edit: Looking this over, I wonder why I didn't rate the Dart and R41 higher in efficiency. I have never used anything more efficient, but I guess I'm just leaving open the possibility that such razors exist. That said, after reconsidering, I would probably push both of those up to a 9 in efficiency.
I've been pondering how to post an answer to this thread that brings value and is informative.

We all have individual skin, face, beard type, beard growth pattern, shave expectations, etc. Kind of difficult to find a common set of terms, measurements, perceptions, scales, etc. upon which to agree.

My personal search is for highly EFFECTIVE razors. My evaluation formula is simple: Efficient + Smooth = Effective.

Couple of currently made DE examples:

Roedter 1909: Monstrous Efficiency + Low Smoothness = Low/Medium Effective.

Henson Al-13 Medium: Low/Medium Efficient + Medium Smooth = Medium Effective.

Fatip Lo Storto Originale: Efficient + Smooth = Effective (and a pleasure to use).

Blackland Ti Blackbird: Highly Efficient + Very Smooth = Highly Effective (and my Top DE Big Dog).

I certainly don't expect folks to agree with my methodology or where I personally rank razors, but it works for me. :)
 
For me, I only use razors that I find smooth and efficient. I also prefer to be able to shave daily with them. That being said, my top smooth and efficient razors include:

Henson Ti22
ATT Windsor
Tatara Nodachi
H&S 316-PO76
Blackbird
Aristocrat copper plated
Yates 921-H (just got the H plate and man ole man does it perform)

Honorable Mention goes to Rocca, 3one6, and R41GS (for multiple days growth)
 
For me, I only use razors that I find smooth and efficient. I also prefer to be able to shave daily with them. That being said, my top smooth and efficient razors include:

Henson Ti22
ATT Windsor
Tatara Nodachi
H&S 316-PO76
Blackbird
Aristocrat copper plated
Yates 921-H (just got the H plate and man ole man does it perform)

Honorable Mention goes to Rocca, 3one6, and R41GS (for multiple days growth)
That Henson Ti22 will be joining my den in January. I LOVE the way the AL13 shaves but would simply prefer a bit more weight.
 
I think a good smooth blade like a vintage Wilkinson Sword covers a multitude of razor sins when it comes to smoothness and comfort, but anyway, my take is:

1) Rocnel Sailor 2021 adjustable - Smoothest and most efficient, set above 2. adjusting upwards, it gains more efficiency without sacrificing smoothness
2) WR2 1.35 SB and 1.45 OC are both up there, with 1.35 SB slightly smoother for me. I haven't tried gaps higher.

These variants of razors normally the first wtg pass is very close (good enough), and 1 more atg pass achieves BBS for me.

Below the line, needs 2 passes
Gillette New Deluxe - Somwhat efficient and smooth due to OC design but still very enjoyable
Gillette New Improved - a bit more efficient than New but sacrifices smoothness, different blade angles and more exposure
Gillette Fatboy - Can be smooth at lower settings, but loses too much efficiency. At highest settings generally not smooth enough
Rex Ambassador at 3 or above - Efficiency was decent but never really glided over my face.
 
9 efficiency for the Masamune? I find that surprising. Even leaving aside my own experience with the Masamune, which I blame partly on my poor technique, I don't frequently hear it considered as highly efficient.

The only razor I've had that was more consistently efficient than my Masamune was a Wolfman WR2 1.05. I've had some vintage Gillettes that could match the Masamune some days, but not always. YMMV.
 
For me it's a toss between 2 vintage Gillettes - President and Aristocrat 48-50. Both are supremely smooth and efficient, but I would rate the former as smoother and the latter as more efficient.
 
Efficiency is important. Smoothness is a factor I consider most important. When I need my shave to last longer I put a second blade in my gillette tech (spacer between the blades). .i do not sacrifice efficiency and the need for my next shave is extended 3 to 4 hours.
 
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