Thread: Closed Bar/Open Comb

Originally Posted by Obie

...Stubbleduct,
The Muhle R89 is a good choice. The razor is well made and delivers a silky shave...

Oh, I agree! Very silky. With Astra blades or Gillette 7 o'clock blades it's amazing. You'' get a VERY nice shave with one of these, and without any fear of nicks; but still a close smooth shave.

A bowl, brush and good quality cream or soap is a whole new world. I like a thinner lather for use with my DE...

Originally Posted by Stubbleduct

This may same like a silly question, but, what exactly is meant by "agressive"? My assumption is that it just has a lot of razor exposed, so you could cut through a weeks growth very easily, or mow your lawn with it. Also, I am concerned that an open tooth razor will snag hairs, if your beard is kind of long. Generally if I get a bit long, I will knock it down with my beard trimmer, than shave it smooth, which makes me feel like a an open tooth is unnecessary. Also I feel like a slant bar will slice through longer heavy growth without needing to knock anything back electrically, thereby not needing an open toothed razor as well. Though it may just be neat to have?

The level of aggression is determined by amount of blade exposed and the angle of the blade itself. An aggressive razor requires a light touch and typically requires a low angle; poor technique is punished with razor burn and blood.

IME there is no need to trim down your beard before using a DE if shaving on a semi regular basis. I've shaved off 5 days of growth with no issues at all (the slant does this very well ), you just have to rinse the razor a little more.