First Shave with the R41

Today I pulled out the R-41 for my first shave with this aggressive razor. It was a very close shave. Two passes and I was almost BBS. I am very happy with the shave.

On each stroke I could feel the blade. I did find that I had a couple of weepers, but overall very happy with this first shave. When applying the Florida Water I could really feel the Alcohol...

Below are the details the shave with a photo. This razor will definitely be apart of my rotation as I improve my technique with it. I would appreciate any feedback and guidance that would enhance my experience and learning with this razor.


Razor: R41 Utopia Handle
Polsilver Super Iridium Blade
Mitchells Wool Fat
Grooming Company Synthetic Brush
Maggards Alum
Nivea Sensitive Balm
Florida Water AS

[Image: bd7d431a8e2185d3c4ebbda35a52c154.jpg]

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Take your angle from the cap. In other words, because it's not a true open comb and has that bevel at the bottom of the "combs" angle can be deceptive. For a bit go back to training wheels mode and use the cap to rotate to blade engagement. It's actually very smooth and not very aggressive at that point. As you roll the angle a bit more down toward the comb bevel, aggressiveness goes way up.

Congrats! The R41 will give an extremely close shave once you dial in your use of it.

BTW, excellent choice of blade for use in it. I've read lots of folks choosing a not so sharp blade in the hopes that it will tame the razor and IMO that's just wrong. For it work smoothly the blade needs to chop off the whiskers cleanly and with little resistance.

Congrats! The R41 will give an extremely close shave once you dial in your use of it.

BTW, excellent choice of blade for use in it. I've read lots of folks choosing a not so sharp blade in the hopes that it will tame the razor and IMO that's just wrong. For it work smoothly the blade needs to chop off the whiskers cleanly and with little resistance.

I think I'm one of the guys he referenced In his post referencing people using a mild blade when one first gets an R41 and how he disagrees with this philosophy of using a mild blade. I posted weeks ago about getting the R41 and then subsequently about starting with a mild blade.  Safe, more forgiving, makes sense right?  Nope.  He's right.  Take the "sharpest" blade in your den or the one that gave you the closest shaves before you owned the r41 and use that blade.....an amazing shave awaits you.

I ordered a spit fire cap and it came a couple weeks ago  ...while I can tell a difference slightly and the aggression is higher, I'm not sure the 2011 variant is necessarily better than the 2013 offering...... I found after ten shaves with the spitfire it to be less negligible than the current Muhle offering IMO...  End of the day if you can find a production 11 it will offer amazing shaves and if you order the 13 on the market it too will provide amazing shaves.  The spit fire cap is outstanding in Turing a 13 to an 11 for 20 bucks albeit plastic. 

I think the hype of this razor is warranted but overblown in a lot of regards.  13 or 11 if you have a piccolo in any variant this razor will shave very close to that.  I prefer the r41 but the piccolo gives very similar results and aggression.

Congrats! The R41 will give an extremely close shave once you dial in your use of it.

BTW, excellent choice of blade for use in it. I've read lots of folks choosing a not so sharp blade in the hopes that it will tame the razor and IMO that's just wrong. For it work smoothly the blade needs to chop off the whiskers cleanly and with little resistance.

I think I'm one of the guys he referenced In his post referencing people using a mild blade when one first gets an R41 and how he disagrees with this philosophy of using a mild blade. I posted weeks ago about getting the R41 and then subsequently about starting with a mild blade.  Safe, more forgiving, makes sense right?  Nope.  He's right.  Take the "sharpest" blade in your den or the one that gave you the closest shaves before you owned the r41 and use that blade.....an amazing shave awaits you.

If I did it wasn't done consciously. If you did what I warned against, you aren't the first to do so. Over the years I've read of quite a few other folks who have done that very thing. It was those folks I was referencing.

Congrats! The R41 will give an extremely close shave once you dial in your use of it.

BTW, excellent choice of blade for use in it. I've read lots of folks choosing a not so sharp blade in the hopes that it will tame the razor and IMO that's just wrong. For it work smoothly the blade needs to chop off the whiskers cleanly and with little resistance.

I think I'm one of the guys he referenced In his post referencing people using a mild blade when one first gets an R41 and how he disagrees with this philosophy of using a mild blade. I posted weeks ago about getting the R41 and then subsequently about starting with a mild blade.  Safe, more forgiving, makes sense right?  Nope.  He's right.  Take the "sharpest" blade in your den or the one that gave you the closest shaves before you owned the r41 and use that blade.....an amazing shave awaits you.

If I did it wasn't done consciously. If you did what I warned against, you aren't the first to do so. Over the years I've read of quite a few other folks who have done that very thing. It was those folks I was referencing.

When you're right, you're right!  No bones about it.  It's hard for me to use another razor now.... The shave just isn't as close.  Side note ikon shavecraft tech.....more aggressive?  I have a Fellow wet shaver that swears this gives better and smoother shaves than the 11 or 13 variant of the r41

Congrats! The R41 will give an extremely close shave once you dial in your use of it.

BTW, excellent choice of blade for use in it. I've read lots of folks choosing a not so sharp blade in the hopes that it will tame the razor and IMO that's just wrong. For it work smoothly the blade needs to chop off the whiskers cleanly and with little resistance.

I think I'm one of the guys he referenced In his post referencing people using a mild blade when one first gets an R41 and how he disagrees with this philosophy of using a mild blade. I posted weeks ago about getting the R41 and then subsequently about starting with a mild blade.  Safe, more forgiving, makes sense right?  Nope.  He's right.  Take the "sharpest" blade in your den or the one that gave you the closest shaves before you owned the r41 and use that blade.....an amazing shave awaits you.

If I did it wasn't done consciously. If you did what I warned against, you aren't the first to do so. Over the years I've read of quite a few other folks who have done that very thing. It was those folks I was referencing.

When you're right, you're right!  No bones about it.  It's hard for me to use another razor now.... The shave just isn't as close.  Side note ikon shavecraft tech.....more aggressive?  I have a Fellow wet shaver that swears this gives better and smoother shaves than the 11 or 13 variant of the r41

The Tech is definitely aggressive. It's right in the same neighborhood as the R41, I personally think the Tech gives more comfortable shaves.

This is now the third time I've heard praise for the Ikon Shavecraft Tech in comparison to the R41.
Interesting....
...and for me the 2013 R41 and Spitfire R41 are both awesome but very different. The 2013 is smooth and effortless whereas the Spitfire has a lot of blade feel and demands good technique from you but you can feel the extra power of the Spitfire in a really satisfying way.

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So I got a Ikon Shavecraft Tech. Here's my comparison with the Spitfire R41:
http://damnfineshave.com/showthread.php?tid=1310

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