Thread: Aggressive DE Razors? It's All About Technique.

I'm probably one of the few who like the 41 the way it comes. Being it is such an aggressive razor the light handle turns it into a perfect instrument in the hand. Unlike the Pils which I hated because it too had a narrow smooth handle however it was so heavy the balance of the thing was terrible and it was constantly slipping in my hand. That is not the case with the 41.

Originally Posted by Phrank

Have you tried the "slant bar" DE's? I've heard those razor's are the closest to a straight, very aggressive razors...a website I looked at described them as for advanced users!

Thanks for the post!

Slants are not aggressive just very efficient, theory of why they work so well is based on the guillotine principle a sliding stroke which the slant produces as it shaves is more efficient and indeed on this forum many use the sliding stroke with a straight. If you want that BBS shave you normally get on a 2 day stubble with a DE then use a slant daily, but with no pressure and the right angle. I'm also assuming that your prep is good.

As far as open combs go, the Merkur 1904 is quite mild. I have an open comb Ikon that is so mild, I don't even use it. My Edwin Jagger de89 and my Merkur Progress are more aggressive. My 2c.

I've read elsewhere that open-comb/closed-bar makes no real difference to aggressiveness, and that the blade protrusion comes from the size of the gap b/w head & plate and from the geometry of their fit. This seems to jibe w/ experience (tame open-combs, aggressive closes-bars).

My 1st step into "proper" wet shaing was with an Edwin Jagger and I loved it, soon after I got the hang of using it I wanted to challenge myself so I bought a Merkur Slant Bar 37C, I remember reading the reviews saying that it had led it several blood baths when combined with feather blades, so I bough some of them too.
I must admit that my 1st shave with them was a very slow and careful business. It delivered a very close and comfortable shave.
I haven't really looked back since, only to make a move to shaving with a straight razor recently, but if im in a bait of a rush or not quite in the frame of mind to use the straight razor, the slant bar is my go to razor