Stirling Soap 316 Stainless Steel Razor

The hyper-aggressive (HA) head and a fresh Feather blade provided an EXTREMELY close shave. I shave with a very steep angle, and I did as well with the Stirling. First pass revealed significant blade feel — like R41+ blade feel. Lots of audible feedback, too. Second pass was equal in blade feel and audio. I actually hesitated to go ATG for a third pass, but I did anyway. Insanely efficient shave. Mowed down my beard and the trouble spots under the chin. Some Proraso Green splash confirmed that this razor is a beast — sting city. I doubt I’ll be able to muster enough beard by tomorrow night’s shave.

Was it efficient? Hellyah!! R41-like efficiency.
Was it comfortable? Not for me. Not with a Feather and a steep angle. This is a beast, and for blade-feel junkies, and/or guys that shave every few days, this could be a desert-island razor. But for a daily shaver (like me) who thinks the WR2 1.25 SB is the perfect combination of smoothness and efficiency, this aggressive head Stirling is just too aggressive. Not a criticism — just an honest assessment.

The handle is really nice, and provides fantastic grip. The knurling is so aggressive it actually was clinging to my towel as I dried it off. Man, this thing is like a 15th century weapon. Incredibly unique. Nothing else like it.

My next shave will be with the tamer head. Or maybe this Stirling has frightened my beard away for a while ...

Hdad When you say aggressive head do you mean the Standard or Hyper Aggressive Head which are the 2 terms Rod used. Just want to know which head we're evaluating. Thanks

Dave in KY, I used the hyper-aggressive head tonight. Believe me, it is aptly named.

The aggressive head and a fresh Feather blade provided an EXTREMELY close shave. I shave with a very steep angle, and I did as well with the Stirling. First pass revealed significant blade feel — like R41 blade feel. Lots of audible feedback, too. Second pass was equal in blade feel and audio. I actually hesitated to go ATG for a third pass, but I did anyway. Insanely efficient shave. Mowed down my beard and the trouble spots under the chin. Some Proraso Green splash confirmed that this razor is a beast — sting city. I doubt I’ll be able to muster enough beard by tomorrow night’s shave.

Was it efficient? Hellyah!! R41-like efficiency.
Was it comfortable? Not for me. Not with a Feather and a steep angle. This is a beast, and for blade-feel junkies, and/or guys that shave every few days, this could be a desert-island razor. But for a daily shaver (like me) who thinks the WR2 1.25 is the perfect combination of smoothness and efficiency, this aggressive head Stirling is just too aggressive. Not a criticism — just an honest assessment.

The handle is really nice, and provides fantastic grip. The knurling is so aggressive it actually was clinging to my towel as I dried it off. Man, this thing is like a 15th century weapon. Incredibly unique. Nothing else like it.

My next shave will be with the tamer head. Or maybe this Stirling has frightened my beard away for a while ...

I will thoroughly enjoy putting that thing on about 4 days growth. Thanks for the report, Dan.

Dave, I used the hyper-aggressive head tonight.  Believe me, it is aptly named.

Yep, just wanted to be sure. I'm guessing the Standard is where I'd be if man enough at all. Great thoughts so far and thanks

James, enter at your own risk!

Great review and can’t wait for my turn to try both. Maybe a more tame blade like a Gillette Platinum or vintage PolSilver to tame the Hyper Aggressive a bit. Should be very interesting. Did Rod provide blade gap measurements at all?


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Rod did not provide gap information.  It’s 13 hours since I shaved, and my mug is still smooth — maybe just a very slight resistance ATG — but this was a really close shave.

I shaved with the prototype and both baseplates so I can’t wait to try this version to see if theirs any difference. The description of the couple of Shave reports from users sounds like the efficiency levels of each plate are the same as when I used the prototype. This may sound masochistic but I preferred the Hyper Baseplate. No pressure and use it like a ST8 skin stretching all through the shave kept the beast in check..

NOTE: LOOT James you have the Rocnel 2019 so you got this! No worries. Lol