Stirling Soap 316 Stainless Steel Razor

Well, I spent a few days with the razors and they are now cleaned and sterilized and on their way to GlazedBoker. My comments will not be too different from the reviews that have already been posted. The leather cases the razors came in are very nice and speak to a very high quality product. The razors themselves definitely don’t depart from the quality aesthetic. The fit and finish is excellent, and you really feel like you have a high quality product in your hand. I actually liked the handle design on both razors more than I expected to after seeing them in pictures. Even after using both handles twice, I’m still not sure which one I like best.

So, what about the shaves? Again, I’m not sure I’m about to say anything you haven’t already read, but here goes. You really have to enjoy blade feel if you’re going to use these razors. For perspective, I’m sort of a mid-aggressive razor user who shaves daily. My rotation includes WR2 1.15, Timeless Ti95SB, GC84, and Karve C/D. I have a Blackbird and love the company but it’s currently for sale because it’s just too much blade feel for my taste. I would put the Stirling ST razor in the same category as my ‘Bird. It provides an exceptionally efficient shave, but with a bit more blade feel than I care for. I felt like I needed to be very careful throughout the shave. I was duly careful for a 3-pass shave using a 7 O’Clock SharpEdge (yellow) blade and Declaration Grooming Milksteak (Bandwagon Last Edition) soap, and achieved a BBS result. No nicks, cuts, or irritation.

Since the ST felt as aggressive as my Blackbird, and that’s the most aggressive razor I’ve had the occasion to use, I was a little nervous about giving the HA razor a go. And for good reason! I’ve never used a straight razor, but I have to believe the feeling on one’s face is similar. Wow....let’s just say this “hyper aggressive” razor is appropriately named. I decided to skip my normal second, XTG pass, and go straight to ATG for my second pass, and was able to achieve BBS with two passes plus touch-ups for the first time ever. While I was able to avoid any blood letting in the process, I have to say that it was a more stressful experience than I care to have when removing my whiskers. In other words, way too aggressive for my taste. By the way, same blade and soap as with the ST.

To sum up my experience with these Stirling razors, I am very impressed - though not at all surprised - by their quality. They are very well made.....look and feel fantastic in your hand. That said, they are not for the novice DE shaver....definitely not to be trifled with! If you like blade feel and prefer an aggressive and efficient shaving experience, check these out!

Excellent work and a great read. Kudos for going at the HA plate...if you've never used a razor in that space, it got to be a shocker!

Decided to go with the HA razor for the first shave and see what and how this thing delivers. First, the fit is about as good as it gets. The feel in hand is just about right with excellent grip. Balance is nearly spot on with just a bit more weight biased towards the head, which is how I prefer it. The blade alignment tabs are on the base plate which bothers me none. I’m used to installing a blade on the Gamechanger and it’s a breeze.  No difference here whatsoever. I love the handle with the knurling halfway down the handle and at the midway point there is that taper then flare again towards the top of the handle. Different and unique from any other handle that I’ve held and experienced. 

I’m not going to tell you anything different from what everyone else before has stated about the razor. Yes, it offers plenty of blade feel and cutting prowess to put it alongside the likes of the Ikon Tech, Muhle R41, Asylum RX, PAA EVO DOC, El Jefe and a few others that fail to come to mind. But, here’s the thing. Since going in I knew the razor was going to be a blade feeler and a super efficient performer, I’ve already used all those that I’ve mentioned. Light touch, good technique and let the razor do its thing. I installed a new blade, a Gillette Black Ninja which is quite sharp but, not Feather like and offers an abundance more smoothness and a less harsh feeling during a shave. Like those razors that I mentioned before, the Stirling HA delivers a super close shave in 2 passes with a slight buff on my chin. Rinsing this razor is a breeze and it can do a full pass without having to take a dip in the Agua to rinse. I had soap slopped all over my hand and handle and not once did I feel nervous about slippage or lose of grip.  BBS of the highest order. 2 small weepers on my chin from the minor buff and the slightest of irritation around Sir Adam once I passed the alum block in the area. Weepers and burn are gone in about 10 minutes and I’m just faceturbating as I write this. This razor can shave, no doubt about it. Yet, it’s not intimidating. It cuts with authority and extreme prejudice. Whiskers don’t stand a chance with this razor regardless of hair thickness, growth or coarseness. I’m very impressed with my first go. The Stirling Hyper - Aggressive razor is a baller as we say here in the east coast. It’s got shave performance in spades. Looking forward to another shave with the HA then onto the Standard version in a couple of days. 

Faceturbating....hehe. good one. Accurate too.

Great read, Gus. I had a 2011 R41 and the iTech. Pretty sure I had the CG L3 at the same time as well. I was just getting into more efficient razors then. I never really got used to the blade feel of the R41 and iTech and sold them. They both had a hollow or "tinny" feel, if that makes any sense. The Stirling HA reminded me of the other two, just more solid doing it. I guess I just described the difference in SS and zamak....anyway. I much prefer the Stirling.

Thanks for the read.

Tonight’s shave was with the ST or Standard Gap razor with roughly about 24 hours worth of stubble. As I mentioned previously with those shaves, they were extremely long lasting. Today was almost the same as yesterday’s stubble but, I gave it a couple more hours and there is just a bit more stubble to work with for the evening shave. Took the same Gillette SP (Black Ninja) from the previous two shaves with the Stirling HA and just dropped it into the Stirling ST. The handle here has the knurling just about in the middle but, leaning slightly towards the top half of the handle. Surprisingly, it still felt good in the hands and I never needed to readjust or look for an area that I felt comfortable with. Two fingers & thumb on the knurled area and my pinky towards the bottom for guiding balance. Felt just as comfortable and balanced as the HA’s handle set up. Truthfully though. I like the HA handle just a bit more. Anyways, the shave was really an excellent 2 pass affair. I’ll add that the Gillette SP is still feeling sharp & smooth and in the ST version it was really a great combo. I like efficient and yet smooth and I don’t mind a bit of blade feel. What the HA offers is leaps and bounds over the ST in blade feel yet, the ST delivers a very good efficient shave with the blade feel toned down quite a bit. I was able to really move this razor quickly and comfortably all around my face and neck with little to no fear of putting red dots all over my face. This is not a mild shaver but, it is very smooth with just the right amount of blade exposure to get the job done really well. An uneventful shave that left me with another BBS finish. 3 down and 1 more shave to go before I get these ready to make a trip across the country. 

I’ll tell you now. I’m really liking these 2 offerings from Stirling....

GlazedBoker Agree +1 that even the ST head is very efficient and not a mild razor by any metric. And with decent technique both the ST and HA versions can yield excellent results with some blade feel. Glad you've had such a positive experience to date and Rod seems to have defined his target audience with these razors. Thanks for your reviews.

This has gone into the category of instabuy for me based on these reviews. Rod, may I ask how you plan to make us aware the razor is ready? I want to be sure to buy before you run out of stock. Also, is there any difference in the way the matte versus the polished shave?

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This has gone into the category of instabuy for me based on these reviews. Rod, may I ask how you plan to make us aware the razor is ready? I want to be sure to buy before you run out of stock. Also, is there any difference in the way the matte versus the polished shave?

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I wouldn’t worry about them selling out, unless it’s a very small initial production run. These things are beautiful but a super niche product given the blade feel and aggressiveness. I don’t foresee there being a run on them.

This has gone into the category of instabuy for me based on these reviews. Rod, may I ask how you plan to make us aware the razor is ready? I want to be sure to buy before you run out of stock. Also, is there any difference in the way the matte versus the polished shave?

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I'll send out an announcement via our email newsletter and on social media as soon as they are ready. I don't foresee them selling out. Between the ST and HA, I think I've got 400 being machined. I don't expect them to sell out because I expect people to balk at the 200 plus price tag, and I am going to be very upfront when I market them that a customer shouldn't buy them unless they are 100% positive they can handle a razor this aggressive.

All of the first batch will be mirror finish. I haven't had any made in the matte finish yet.

This has gone into the category of instabuy for me based on these reviews. Rod, may I ask how you plan to make us aware the razor is ready? I want to be sure to buy before you run out of stock. Also, is there any difference in the way the matte versus the polished shave?

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I'll send out an announcement via our email newsletter and on social media as soon as they are ready.  I don't foresee them selling out. Between the ST and HA, I think I've got 400 being machined.  I don't expect them to sell out because I expect people to balk at the 200 plus price tag, and I am going to be very upfront when I market them that a customer shouldn't buy them unless they are 100% positive they can handle a razor this aggressive.

All of the first batch will be mirror finish.  I haven't had any made in the matte finish yet.

And when will there be a matte finish?

My time is done with these two great razors. They've been cleaned & sanitized with Barbecide then dipped in Alcohol. All packaged up and ready to be dropped off at the post office and headed to gwsmallwood. Will pm with tracking info.

I will include my final thoughts on both razors later today as I had no time last night to get it done because of a work related issue.

This has gone into the category of instabuy for me based on these reviews. Rod, may I ask how you plan to make us aware the razor is ready? I want to be sure to buy before you run out of stock. Also, is there any difference in the way the matte versus the polished shave?

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I'll send out an announcement via our email newsletter and on social media as soon as they are ready. I don't foresee them selling out. Between the ST and HA, I think I've got 400 being machined. I don't expect them to sell out because I expect people to balk at the 200 plus price tag, and I am going to be very upfront when I market them that a customer shouldn't buy them unless they are 100% positive they can handle a razor this aggressive.

All of the first batch will be mirror finish. I haven't had any made in the matte finish yet.

I am definitely purchasing the HA but wondering if there will be an option to just get the SA baseplate?


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