Ordering a DE

It's been almost exactly a year now since my first straight razor shave and I, by no means, consider myself an expert at this point. But I want to start branching out a bit to experience more. I've been considering a DE for quite some time now to use when I travel and when I need a quick shave. (I still like to take my time with the straight and enjoy the experience)

My main question, which I'm sure has been explained in the past (as well as just about every other question a wet shaver might have), is regarding "aggressiveness." I see this term used quite a bit when trolling through the DE section. Can someone maybe explain a bit more to me what is meant by this terminology? I'm not sure if it means more direct contact with the blade or if it means something regarding the head that some prefer and some do not (similar to the grind of a straight).

Of course, I'm looking for the closest shave possible so I'm game for a more aggressive DE if that will be the result, but I want to be sure I'm interpreting this correctly.

For reference, I'm going back and forth between the Muhle R89, R41, and the EJ 89L

I just purchased a EJ89L; it came yesterday. I never shaved with a DE before and I've only been shaving with a straight for a few months now.

The EJ is a wonderful razor. The blades it came with did the job. Like I said, I had never used a DE (or any safety) before, just cartridges. It was extremely easy to use and gave me a shave better than I get with my straights. That's because I'm still a newbie with straights and they take a lot more skill than the DE. Heck right out of the box I got the best shave of my life with the EJ 89.

I think aggressiveness has something to do with how much the blade sticks out; some blades are adjustable to where you can control this. The EJ is not, but for me it was perfect; its reputation is well deserved from my perspective.

Just FYI, I purchased it for travelling, to give me a better baseline for me as to how good a shave I should be attempting to attain in the short term using a straight (letting me know what is at least possible), and just to vary things up a little bit. My wife may also use it; she learned with her dad's DE razor.

Yeah aggressiveness usually means the blade exposure and blade curvature as well.
I'd say for a first DE, don't buy a 2011 R41, it's a unforgiving beast that can rip your face off easily. I have one and it's one challenging DE for sure. It demands perfect prep and perfect lather, even more so than a straight razor.
That said I've had some awesome shaves with it, but for a first you'd be much better off with a EJ89, Merkur 34C or 37C for a first DE.

Aggressiveness is a combination of blade angle and the gap between the safety bar and the edge.

With an adjustable razor, you can change the aggressiveness with a knob: the gap between the edge and safety bar can be increased or decreased.

As for angle, here's an example between the R41 and the R89:
http://www.thesuperiorshave.com/images/muhle_r41_5.jpg
Photo from The Superior Shave

You can see that the R41 (left) has a much flatter angle, making it much more aggressive.

By the way, I believe the EJ89's use the same head as the Merkur R89 (and every other Merkur except the R41.)

I do have the R89, and it's an extremely smooth shaver.

Awesome, thanks!

If I'm understanding correctly then, the primary thing I have to decide is blade angle and feel/weight of the handle? (obviously there are some other factors but these would be the main ones from what I gather)

I am also a new wet shaver, working on the straight shave when I have lots of time but using a DE when I have less (I still do my best never to hurry my shaves anymore, I spent too many years doing that and not enjoying anything about shaving). I just bought a Parker 91R to start with, which is an inexpensive ($25) DE razor made in India. It's a good quality piece with decent weighting and I have nothing to compare it to, but it has given me great shaves.

From what I've been reading comb razors like the R41 will always be more agressive than flat bar razors, which flatten the skin slightly just ahead of the edge of the razor blade. The R41 is known as a very aggressive razor because it has very short open comb teeth and a flat blade angle (as helpfully shown in the image above). Kinda like shaving with a straight. :)

Gentlemen,

The Edwin Jagger 89 actually uses the Muhle shave head, not Merkur. It's a wonderful shaver. Both the Muhle R89 and Edwin Jagger 89L, then, have the Muhle shave head. The Muhle R41 is an open comb, and more aggressive than the other closed comb razors in the Muhle and EJ category. You can't go wrong with any of these razors. Good stuff.

I think in many ways an open comb like the R-41 can be thought of as a miniature shavette. That blade is pretty much right on your skin so your blade angle is critically important. I would not call it a safety razor by any means.

That's great Mark.

I have an EJ DE razor myself and love it.

thanks for all of the info guys, I think I'm going to go with the EJ to get started. I want to be sure I like using a DE before I go with something more expensive if I'm going to get similar or the same results.

the 41 sounds tempting because I want the challenge but I think I'll feel more comfortable at work if I don't have gashes and wounds all over my face for the first week or so.

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.

Looking back on my week using a DE, it went very well. I went with the EJ89L and I'm very satisfied. It's a very reasonably priced razor, seems to be of really good quality, and looks great.
As of now, I've only used Derby blades but I also bought Shark, Astra, Merkur, and Feather so I can get a bit of a sample of how the feel varies by brand.

My pros and cons so far will likely change with experience but for the time being, I still much prefer the straight razor.

I find that using the same techniques and shaving patterns, I have much less irritation and razor burn when using a straight. The shaves are very comparable but I still give the edge (haha) to the straight razor.

I prefer the DE in terms of quickness and readiness (no stropping needed). The learning curve, if there was one at all, was far less. I got a great shave around the chin and jawline on my first shave with the DE - I can't say as much for the straight.

Finally, and my main concern with the DE is that I don't seem to get as much feedback from the blade. I'm sure for now, it's an angle problem but I just don't have the feel of the DE yet in terms of knowing how well the shave is going (hard to describe this one).

All things considered, I really enjoy it and like I said, even after just one week the shaves are comparable so it's going to be great to have this in my arsenal for a quick shave or for traveling.