Your not interested in really learning... That is fine. My last thoughts on the subject. You keep bringing up examples that have nothing to do with shaving. A civic is a huge difference from a race car....a expensive golf club is often different from cheap... Head design and such. A good golfer will take cheap clubs and play great gold. Safety razors have pretty much been the same for a long time. Using a 1890 kampfe Star wedge is basically like using a new model today. There is very little difference. And before it is asked yes I do have the razors to prove it. What makes the difference is often not the tool but the technique. Learn the technique and any raxor is your daily driver without have to worry about blood. Done here.
As already mentioned above, I am not a huge fan of the term aggressive. For the most part you can make any razor more or less aggressive by adjusting the angle, just like in straights. It seems to me that most people call razors aggressive when they have more potential to bite. There are definitely razors that fall into this category. This does not make a razor any more capable of giving a close shave. Just think of what you are doing at the basic level: scrapping a blade with a bevel across the skin. If done at the right angle, this will cut the hair off at skin level and not irritate the skin too much. There really is no way for a razor to improve on this. The trick is finding the right angle to get the bevel in relation to the skin. Some razors are more intuitive than others for various people, but with a little practice and technique, anyone should be able to get a BBS shave from any razor. Some razors may have a wider range of angles that give an acceptable shave than others, but all will have a sweet spot for this. At their basics, though razors are the same.
Yes, I can also get the same results from my Feather ASD2 as I do from my Fatip Grande (early mk1 version). This is after switching to DE in 2013, and it did take awhile to acquire the knowledge of my personal direction of beard growth and the WTG, XTG and ATG techniques combined with subtle skin stretching like barbers use to get great shaves without irritation. For me personally, the Fatip Grande has never felt smooth during the shaving stoke (as so many report that it does) regardless of steep or shallow angles on my part or choice of blade. I think it's far too easy to cut oneself with it and other than the fact that it's made of brass it's a poorly constructed razor with lousy tolerances (I've had three of them). My Gillette Old Types are almost as aggressive but safer. You can begin a downward stroke right under the middle of your nostrils and can sense the blade edge whereas milder razors such as my Techs and Super Speeds have a narrower window and I don't really feel that blade at the commencement of the stroke. I can only get that area with the inverted ATG pass. But now that I have solid technique and am familiar with these different razors, I can get the same results. I must also agree wholeheartedly with FaceScraper. There has been a propagation of "truisms" on the various shaving forums that imho are nonsense. The "nothing will ever shave as close as a straight" routine. Unless it shaves below the level of the epidermis it isn't any closer than a DE blade touching the skin. It just sounds manly and cool to keep repeating it over and over. Straight shaves can result in closeness because the barber (or person shaving themselves) is employing skin-stretching and careful application of directional pressure. And more often than not they're being a little more thorough and prudent as they shave, not just whipping the razor around like they would a DE. If the same focus is applied to DE shaving you'll get the same results. And I've had my Boker Straight razor made shave ready by one of the best in the business and even he will tell you that DE blades are actually a sharper edge. Another good one is this talk of blade "chatter" and the all-important rigid razor. Never had a blade "chatter" in any razor, because it's held against the top cap during the stroke (unless you're shaving backwards). It's a micro thin wafer sliding along a lubricated surface not a playing card held with a clothspin flapping against bicycle spokes.
When it comes to shaving, yes - each and every razor can give you the same end result - a very smooth face. Blade gaps and geometry differ slightly. The materials and weight vary. But, in the end, none of those attributes make or break the ability to cut hair at skin level. And no, you don’t have to be a complete wombat to buy an ATT razor. I plan on getting one at some point - just because. I would, however, be a complete wombat if I expected it to perform any better than one of my vintage Gillettes. As a hobby, there are tons of choices - based on preferences. That’s part of the fun. For those who aren’t hobby shavers, they have it made. They won’t be tempted by the beauty of a Timeless razor. They won’t buy expensive brushes and soaps. They’ll use what they have, get smooth shaves, and be quite happy with it.
I use my straight razors 3 times per week and have been at it for 3 years now. I will venture to call that a long term commitment.
57% of your experience is NOT on SR over that time period. Would that perhaps explain inability to use as efficiently? You have only committed to rotating them into usage, and they only see the minority of usage time. Huge difference in perspective and experience versus daily open blades over the same time period. My point was, and still is, if you actually commit to them they'd become just as an efficient process as safety razors are currently.
Wait! Hasn’t your mantra been that a razor is a razor is a razor? My point was not about efficiency or the quality of an SR shave. My SR shaves are as every bit as good as DE shaves. In my experience, SR shaves take longer to complete the DE shaves. No need to question my abilities. Do you measure efficiency in time or number of passes? Perhaps you have another measure. How many shaves before one has enough experience in your opinion? I have somewhere around 350 SR shaves behind me right now. Not enough? SR shave times were discussed at length in a thread in the straight razor section some time back and I do not recall any of the daily experiences SR users stating that they did their shaves in 5 minutes. I believe I recall one or two members saying they could if they had to, but they would not necessarily get satisfactory results. I do not think you should be leading non SR users into thinking that they can get in a proper and safe SR shave in 5 minutes.
Next you will be telling which Island I live on.....sheesh. Your older then me... Yes. Shhhh Now your just being Silly!! For the record your all on report and out of the will. Including those who hit the like button. !!!
I think you need to get your BRICKS out. It is a good day for chucking. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
This has been a most enlightening and useful thread. I do thank you all for the great comments. More than anything, it has made me happier. It means that the razors I currently possess can all do the job admirably, if I learn the right technique for the razor. There is no better razor out there that will do a better job. Thinking through the logic (I have teutonic ancestry), makes it undeniable. I had incorrectly assumed that different gaps in razors where designed to move the blade off the skin, so an adjustable would go from zero; on the skin; to whatever setting off the skin. But knowing that each razor is designed to touch the skin, obviously means they all have the potential for a BBS shave. It also dispels the idea that an SR can shave closer as you can't get closer than already being on the skin. Having learnt the above I shall now focus on my technique. I understand the basic 30° angle for shaving, and the concept of riding the cap; although I'll attempt it next ensuring no pressure whatsoever. Are there any other tips for the R89 and R41 specifically?
