Don't Hate Me Because I Love The 2011 Muhle R-41
I blame a friend of mine who had a Muhle 41 circa 2011 that he had only shaved with one time. Not his cup of tea. I had heard about the R-41 through forum posts when it first began getting reviews.
At the time, since I rarely shave with DEs anyway, I thought, who needs a super aggressive DE that you have to shave with as if you're walking on eggs ? Besides that, it is not a slant, my weapon of choice when going DE.
So I'm talking with my friend on the phone a couple of weeks ago and asked him if he had ever tried the Muhle 2011 R-41. He tries about everything that comes down the pike so I figured he had. He offered to send it down to me to give it a whirl and I gratefully accepted. At the time I never expected I'd be buying it from him because I liked it as much as he didn't like it. Who knew ?
I generally only shave with a DE on Sunday morning because I'm always barely on time for church. So upon receiving the 41 I had a Feather blade that had 5 shaves in. I loaded that up figuring I don't want too sharp a blade for the first go with this awesome looking blade exposure.
Another true confession, when I shave with a DE I generally do one ATG pass and call it good. Even with a straight I only do a WTG and ATG, since my skin is too sensitive to do 3 passes. Anyway ...... I got an absolutely great shave with the one ATG, and the 6th time that Feather was used.
I shaved with it again the following day. Same blade. The shave was as good but I could feel the blade was done. Next day I took the Muhle out again but with an Ikon Bulldog handle and a brand new Feather blade. Two passes and a superb shave.
So I've read a lot of reviews on this razor and I know that Muhle enlarged the head a full millimeter in width to reduce blade exposure and aggressiveness. A lot of guys complaining of nicks and weepers.
For me the 2011 Muhle is a joy to use. No pressure, proper skin stretching, still with cold water and basically rubbing the 1st lather in the only prep. I hate to say it, but it shaves closer than my beloved slants.
I'm going to go back to my various Gillettes, Barbasol and various slants over the next week or two. I am enthusiastic about my long neglected DEs since finding this razor so accommodating. I'm not giving up on the straights by any stretch (no pun) but I'm going to work these contraptions back into the rotation for the time being.
Anyone shaved with both the 2011 and the later 2013 versions who can let me know if they find any difference between the experience ? Inquiring minds and all of that.