Thread: Ordering a DE

Like others have said blade gap is a lot of aggression, angle, and even weight of a razor can factor in. Open vs closed comb is more debatable.


In my very humble and personal opinion, aggressive razors are useful for difficult growth patterns, and removing a bit more hair with each pass (also they tend to clog less). The downside is that they can nick and cut more easily, and also tend to give that "flayed/raw" skin feeling more easily. If you have good technique, skip days, have inconsistant growth direction, and don't have super sensitive skin, you may find yourself taking a shine to the more aggressive end of things.

If you aren't pressed for time, shave often, have sensative skin, and a beard with fairly consistant growth direction, you'll probably prefer a milder razor with it's gentler shave.

Some shavers ( myself incldued) will start their shave agressive and go milder as the shave progresses, either with an adjustable or with multiple fixed razors. When I use my progress, for example I often go wtg at a 4 or so, then xtg at about a 2 to a 2.5, and atg at 1.


Keep in mind that, with a bit of practice, even very aggressive safety razors are really not very scarey. I use a progress on 5, a vintage gillette open comb, and even a Yuma, and don't consider any of them especially worrysome, and they are all much easier to use than a shavette or straight, at least in my experience.

YMMV, of course.