Interesting question - you'll find pages over pages of discussions about this topic on the wet shaving forums.

I'll try an explanation to the best of my knowledge though. To me, the aggressiveness of a razor is mostly connected to blade exposure. You have the razor head with base plate and the cap, with the blade fixed between those two. Now imagine a straight line between the cap's edge and the safe guard (doesn't matter whether it's open or closed comb). Blade exposure describes how far the blade protrudes over that imaginary line and how much it touches the face. The less it does, the more mild a razor appears to be. And in most cases the blade will be bent in a certain angle - this angle is another defining factor. Oftentimes both of these things are connected to the size/shape of the blade gap, meaning the opening between cap and base plate.

And then there's the human factor You can turn even "mild" razors into aggressive beasts by using too much pressure or choosing the wrong angle while shaving.

Razors like the EJ89 and the Super Speed are considered beginner friendly because the are more forgiving as far as user errors go. You have to try pretty hard to hurt yourself with these.

On the other hand I know some people that started wet shaving with a Mühle R41, which is one of the most "aggressive" razors on the market. They say they like the more direct feedback from the blade, so that they have more control over what they are doing.

Fantastic post, should be a sticky

I think this link is very helpful to your cause. Good luck!
Always remember YMMV.

EJ 89 seems to be an universal answer
But Razzorock has made an EJ 89 head combined with some great handles , even SS ones for less money

Hey, guys, thanks for explaining the aggressive and mild terms for me. That really helps! PoM, I especially liked the picture with the diagram you provided. That helped immensely!

As I thought about the various recommendations that have been provided here, I really like the idea of finding one of those Gillette Super Speedy razors. So I went out today and found a couple of Gillette DE safety razors at a local shop, and one in particular really stood out to me. However, I was hoping you guys might be able to help me figure out what it was that I was looking at. Upon closer inspection, all I could find on it was the Gillette name, that it was made in the U.S., and that it said "Off Patent."

When I was reading up on the Gillette DE safety razors, one of the articles I read said that the ones from the late 1940's-1955 were some of the best made and after that, they weren't made as well. Do you guys know if that's true? The article also mentioned that many of them have the year it was made somewhere on it and to look for it so you know you're getting one from when they were made better.

Also, do you know if Super Speed should be somewhere on the razor? If it's not normally on the razor, how do I know if it's one of the Super Speed models. Lastly, what does "Off Patent" mean? Thanks for any help you can offer in helping me identify what I was looking at today.

They will not say what they are. It's hard because you just have to know the shape of them. I'm useless at that. The date code if it has it will be on the bot to of the head on either side of where the handle is attached. Mine is a Y2. Hopefully you can make out the picture. My razor is dirty it was my daily driver last month and needs a deep clean.

the letter is on the left side near the door hinge and the number on the right same place.

Here is a chart with the date codes.
http://www.razorarchive.com/gillette-date-codes. Mine was the 2nd quarter of '53.

You can see the date ( barely) on the picture of my super speed. On the left is the "A" Year and the "1" on the right side for the quarter of the year. This one has a date code of "A1" meaning that it was produced the first quarter of 1955. Now you even have an idea of how old I am

Thanks for the pics, Ducky and Spyder. I'm going to go back to the shop and take a closer look at the razor again ans see if I can figure what it is. I've also been looking at some of the Gillette SS razors available online, and I think I might go with one of them if I don't go with the one at the local shop. Thanks again, you guys.

Take some pictures when you are there. Somebody here can surely tell you what you are looking at.

Thanks for your reply, twhite. I went to the shop today, and it turns out they're closed on Mondays. I'm heading out of town tomorrow to go see my family, but when I get back into town next week, I'll go back and take some pics if I can. I might just go with one of the ones I've seen online instead. Whatever I decide, I'll post pics of the one at the shop or what I get online, if I go that route instead.

Welcome to the fun side of shaving. Razor aggressiveness is determined by gap, exposure, and head geometry. Closed versus open affects the way the razor interacts with the lather. Pick anything really, and stick to it for a while. Master one razor, all the others will become intuitive. Good luck to you!

Thanks for the warm welcome, the information, and the advice, Bama!

I'm down in Phoenix now visiting my family for Christmas, and I'm hoping there might be some time for me to hit up some of the local antique stores in the area. My hope is that I get lucky and stumble across a good deal on a Gillette SS razor. I know there are a few different brands and models that have been recommended to me, and the one thing that keeps coming up from people here and other places online is that the Gillette SS razor is one of the best made and beginner-friendly safety razors, so that's why I'm looking to find a good deal on one of those if I can. I've found a ton of them online, but if I can, I'd like to find one while I'm down here so I have one to take home and not have to wait for one to be shipped to me.