Suggestions something between a muhle r41 and merkur slant?

I am looking for suggestions for something between a muhle r41 and merkur slant?
My slant is comfortable as heck, the r41 I really can't get te hang of (6 months of on and off)
Looking for something new to try.....

 

Cobra Classic Razor. I have experience with a Merkur slant and it struck me as the most of aggressive of DE's , never tried the R41, watching youtube vids of guys surgically dissecting their faces with them put me off,I saw how aggressive the beast was.

I find the Cobra the closest shaving and most efficient razor to use and I have a coarse beard. On another forum there was a passaround ,thats how I got to use it and it blew my other razors out the door and onto ebay.

Its costly, $169 thats a draw back perhaps but you get free shipping and it comes with a 20 pack of Feather blades.

 

I use the R41 and the merkur slant and get fine shaves out of them, so I'm probably not the right person to give you advice. Every tried a Merkur Progress? Very good razor, the Cobra tops the slant and R41 for me and is one of the few razors that remained in my rotation, (even though I had to pay over a $100 extra to get it to my address)

 

I've never tried the slant but use the Progress on a daily basis, and have used my son's R41 with great delight and respect. The progress is the most adept because you can get a much closer shave than the number 5 setting by simply continue spinning it around for another 5 dots of extreme blade gap. But, who wouldn't want a razor with the name of COBRA? I have a new bucket list item, especially after reading the reviews in this thread.

 

How about Fatip/Joris ? Easier than R41, but more aggressive than average. I don't have a slant, but I suspect the Fatip/Joris would fit the bill.

 

I'm really starting to prefer injectors over DE's and I think a Cobra is going on my Christmas list

 

Merkur future maybe? That cobra looks sweet but pricey.

 

I like my Futur a lot.

 

Can you dial a future up to a r41 aggressiveness ?

 

It would seem that an adjustable razor would be the way to go. The Merkur Progress comes highly recommended by many people. It can be very aggressive or purr like a little kitty.

 

I've never used an R41 but I've never seen a need to open up the Futur all the way. I'm sure somebody who's used both can give you a better idea but I'm pretty sure the answer will be yes.

 

Injectors are the way forward! I get such good shaves from them, my Progress and my slant that I was happy to let my Cobra go.

 

Talk to me more about injectors

 

I have a R41 and a Merkut slant and love them both. I also have an above the tie Atlas with H base plate. It also gives great shaves and is between the R41 an the slant in aggressiveness. It is expensive but the workmanship is superb.

 

This is a very quick and loose scale and of course my own opinion but I have used all the razors discussed bellow. If a R41 is an 11,,,,,,,, it goes to 11 ;-) in aggressiveness and a Feather ASD1 is a 1, I'd set them up similar to below. This might change some if I really sat down and thought about it more and there are a lot of razors I have not tried that could fall in here too. I left out adjustables because they can fall many places along the scale.

1. Feather
2. Std. Gillette SS
3. Gillette Red Tip
4. Tie (EJ / Std Merkur)
5. x
6. Merkur Slant
7. ATT R1
8. SABI
9. X
10. Fatip
11. R41

 

Injectors are pretty awesome. If you haven't tried one, it's worth a go. They're not really aggressive in the same way a DE is though. The blade angle is flatter. Because you hold the head pretty much flat against your face, it's really easy to maintain a proper blade angle and I can get great irritation free BBS shaves with them.

You can pick up injectors pretty cheap. $5-$10 seems to be the going price for a good shaver in decent condition. Blades cost a little more than DE blades but they last 2-3 times longer too.

 

I would suggest a Merkur Futur or a vintage Gillette Adjustable. I've been using the same Gillette my father gave me 39 years ago and have always had excellent results. I just bought a new Merkur Barberpoll, don't tell my dad, and it seems to be as aggressive as the Gillette set on about 6.

 

I think my issue with the r41 is blade flex. If my technique less than perfect, I can feel it flex.

 

That's one problem you don't have with an injector since the blades are thicker.

 

Exactly why they now have my interest