Smoothest Razors In Your Experience (Modern Only)?

[Goblin]

I will be honest...after many years and many razors, I still don't really understand what people mean by a "smooth" razor.

I definitely notice differences in relative smoothness for different blades, but for razors the degree of smoothness seems to be mostly influenced by the shave angle, and as the user that is within my power to change.

There are a handful of razors I could say aren't "smooth" due to some problem like excessive blade chatter, although I probably wouldn't say that. I would say, "This razor suffers from too much blade chatter."

I guess you could say that mild razors are likely to be smoother than aggressive razors, but that's kind of self-evident - the discussion might just as well be about aggression. Also, once you get into the area of using aggressive, blade-forward razors, the blade becomes proportionately more significant in determining how the razor feels, since it makes more thorough contact with the skin. Take a very aggressive razor that doesn't feel smooth and take the blade out. Bingo! It's smooth!

So, I guess I find most razors are adequately smooth if you use them with a suitable blade and a suitable shave angle, and any differences are sufficiently minor as to be inconsequential. Am I the only one who feels like that?

 

[Greg788]

I will be honest...after many years and many razors, I still don't really understand what people mean by a "smooth" razor.

I definitely notice differences in relative smoothness for different blades, but for razors the degree of smoothness seems to be mostly influenced by the shave angle, and as the user that is within my power to change.

There are a handful of razors I could say aren't "smooth" due to some problem like excessive blade chatter, although I probably wouldn't say that. I would say, "This razor suffers from too much blade chatter."

I guess you could say that mild razors are likely to be smoother than aggressive razors, but that's kind of self-evident - the discussion might just as well be about aggression. Also, once you get into the area of using aggressive, blade-forward razors, the blade becomes proportionately more significant in determining how the razor feels, since it makes more thorough contact with the skin. Take a very aggressive razor that doesn't feel smooth and take the blade out. Bingo! It's smooth!

So, I guess I find most razors are adequately smooth if you use them with a suitable blade and a suitable shave angle, and any differences are sufficiently minor as to be inconsequential. Am I the only one who feels like that?

The logic / theory of what you're saying makes sense, but I think we have to keep one thing constrained/fixed in this, which is shaving angle. These are safety razors, after all, which are ASSUMED to work properly (most efficiently) at 30 degrees. Thus, your argument implies that ANY razor's design or geometry, however funky or BAD, can be overcome with enough trial and terror via shaving angle and blade experiments. But if 30 degrees shaving angle is assumed, my experience proves otherwise. I've tried several purportedly mild razors that, at std. 30 degrees shaving angle, were just terrible with 3-4 different blades of various sharpnesses, coatings, etc. (I think blade grind is a key that's kept proprietary from us, incidentally). Some razors, from mild to aggressive, just suck in my experience, *at least for me*. My opinion: a razor should work properly at 30 degrees. If it doesn't, I don't have the time or patience to muck with it. Too many other options out there...

 

[Halfbeard]

I agree with you @Goblin !

I have thought about this - smooth <->agressive , shallow <-> steep.

Take a very aggressive razor that doesn't feel smooth and take the blade out. Bingo! It's smooth!

Is shavette smooth or argessive ? You cannot say that. The angle is smooth or agressive.
You said - take a blade away and agressive razor is smooth. I say take a (safety)razor away and blade is smooth (with right angle).

Today i used Yintal Bronze that is consired medium argessive. In my early days of shaving it was too much for me. But today with no(light) pressure and shallow angle it was very smooth and enjoyable.

 

[SevereWX]

I've been shaving daily since the late 1980's, and I can't really say one razor is smoother than another. Any perceived "smoothness" is significantly changed based on what blade is in it, the condition of the blade, and the slickness of the lather on any given day. To that end, the time of the day changes how a shave feels too. An early morning shave always feels smoother than a late evening shave, hence I prefer to lather up and mow down the ol' whiskers before my first cup of joe.

 

[tomas1870]

I have thought about this - smooth <->agressive , shallow <-> steep.

Is shavette smooth or argessive ? You cannot say that. The angle is smooth or agressive.

For me is more
mild <-> agressive
razor can be mild but not smooth and same for other side, agressive (better to say efficient) and very smooth
proper angle differ for each razor

 

[Submariner]

I like my Rockwell T2 SS, but I don't have a lot of other razors with which to compare.

 

[Ckmaui]

agree on smooth hard to put finger on as that is more a gap ting

I might say my favorites for build and quality and just how good they shave are Timeless in Ti and Wolfman
I do want another wolfman in Ti though

and for me, the Titanium just has a feel that SS does not have but you have to be Ok with a touch less weight and of course this I am sure is a personal preference but when you read posts of those that get Ti razors most are sold on them as being a fav material

 

[Tirvine]

Smooth, mild, easy to use on autopilot...

I am sure there are other ways to describe this, and I have long been a proponent of the belief that although any razor can be used to place the blade at the optimal position and keep it there, not everyone can do this. A razor with a bit more gap and exposure can seem easier because it presents a wider window of close but not quite perfect angles, and a milder razor can seem easier because its window of possible angles avoids the more dangerous possibilities. So all in all it comes down to a good blade and good technique. I usually use a much loved mild razor, and shaving feels silky smooth until the blade gets crotchety. I have also used some fairly aggressive razors, and they can all provide that same smooth feeling but require much more attention. As long as you use good blades and the razor clamps well, I would think they would be tied for the quality of the shave they are capable of providing for the right user. So maybe the real question is, "How do I ensure that every shave feels silky smooth?" The answer is, "The same way you get to Carnegie Hall."

 

[Halfbeard]

The logic / theory of what you're saying makes sense, but I think we have to keep one thing constrained/fixed in this, which is shaving angle. These are safety razors, after all, which are ASSUMED to work properly (most efficiently) at 30 degrees. Thus, your argument implies that ANY razor's design or geometry, however funky or BAD, can be overcome with enough trial and terror via shaving angle and blade experiments. But if 30 degrees shaving angle is assumed, my experience proves otherwise. I've tried several purportedly mild razors that, at std. 30 degrees shaving angle, were just terrible with 3-4 different blades of various sharpnesses, coatings, etc. (I think blade grind is a key that's kept proprietary from us, incidentally). Some razors, from mild to aggressive, just suck in my experience, *at least for me*. My opinion: a razor should work properly at 30 degrees. If it doesn't, I don't have the time or patience to muck with it. Too many other options out there...

So you real question is - what razor shaves at 30 degrees.
Because you don't have time and patience for razors with other degrees.

 

[Island]

I've not found the secret to smoothness, but it does vary between razors, blades, soaps, wetness, and prep. Blade angle is important as slicing is gentler than scraping.

Aggressiveness has little to do with smoothness for me. A Feather AS-D2 and a blackbird Ti are both very smooth. I find the timeless .95 sb smoother than a Masasume or Overlander. The Henson mild is neither smooth nor efficient for me.

There must be something about razor geometry, as even with different blades, different prep and soaps, the smooth razors always seem smoother than the others.

 

[Trollky]

The smoothest razor I have tried is hands down the Merkur 37C. It would be my perfect razor except that smoothness makes it too easy to over-shave.

 

[Goblin]

These are safety razors, after all, which are ASSUMED to work properly (most efficiently) at 30 degrees.

Why would you assume that? I never heard the 30° thing until long after I started DE shaving, and I count myself lucky. Based on what I have seen it causes a lot of new shavers problems when they take it literally, and being a literal minded person I would probably have been one of them!

I can't count the number of times I have seen newbies insisting their angle must be right because it's exactly 30°, yet still getting uncomfortable and inefficient shaves. The angle at which a razor works most efficiently and comfortably is something that a shaver needs to learn how to find by feel - it doesn't matter what the measurement is in degrees.

My opinion: a razor should work properly at 30 degrees. If it doesn't, I don't have the time or patience to muck with it.

Of course, you are entitled to shave how you like with what you like, but I would still contend that someone who is prepared to adjust their technique for each razor will be able to get smooth and comfortable shaves from razors that you would reject.

And if that's true, then the idea that "smoothness" is some inherent property of the razor itself doesn't really hold up.

An analogy to illustrate what I am getting at: let's say you are going to get some shots. One week you go and the nurse just jabs the needle in without taking much care - it's really painful. The next week you go for a booster and it's a different nurse. She uses exactly the same type of hypodermic, but takes a bit more care over what she is doing. This time it's not painful. Was the pain you experienced the first time a property of the hypodermic, or the technique of the nurse?

Is shavette smooth or argessive ? You cannot say that. The angle is smooth or agressive.
You said - take a blade away and agressive razor is smooth. I say take a (safety)razor away and blade is smooth (with right angle).

Yes, that's true. With an open blade, angle is everything - and that proves how important the blade angle is overall for a smooth shave.

 

[kaufdrop27]

This thread needs 100% more Henson

 

[Trikuha]

Rockwell 6s feels smooth to me... some say the 6c is even smoother because of the chrome finish

I have both, the S and the C. The C seems softer to me than the S. I also don't have much experience with the DE since I only have the Rockwell and a Tatara Masamune. I find the Portuguese softer than the Rockwell 6C plate #4 but less so than with #3.

 

[Goblin]

The smoothest razor I have tried is hands down the Merkur 37C.

Theory: you find it smoother because the slant of the razor gives you a slicing cut, rather than the push-cut that you get from making shaving strokes perpendicular to the angle of a regular, non-slant razor head.

I am not a slant guy particularly, but I use a sliding stroke for most of my shaves for the exact same reason. In fact, early Gillette instructions recommend a sliding stroke for a smoother shave!

 

[thombrogan]

The answer is, "The same way you get to Carnegie Hall."

My shaves usually take less time than my recitals and there are no lyrics for me to mispronounce.

 

[gpjoe]

Stainless steel Timeless 68SCL is the smoothest I've used.

 

[Phoenixkh]

The logic / theory of what you're saying makes sense, but I think we have to keep one thing constrained/fixed in this, which is shaving angle. These are safety razors, after all, which are ASSUMED to work properly (most efficiently) at 30 degrees. Thus, your argument implies that ANY razor's design or geometry, however funky or BAD, can be overcome with enough trial and terror via shaving angle and blade experiments. But if 30 degrees shaving angle is assumed, my experience proves otherwise. I've tried several purportedly mild razors that, at std. 30 degrees shaving angle, were just terrible with 3-4 different blades of various sharpnesses, coatings, etc. (I think blade grind is a key that's kept proprietary from us, incidentally). Some razors, from mild to aggressive, just suck in my experience, *at least for me*. My opinion: a razor should work properly at 30 degrees. If it doesn't, I don't have the time or patience to muck with it. Too many other options out there...

I’m not sure our experiences are a match. I have several of what I consider the top tier, modern razors. I believe the sweet spot angles for each of them varies. Probably not to a huge degree but I don’t expect them all to shave at exactly the same angle. All of them are smooth for me or they wouldn’t be around as “smooth and comfortable” are personal requirements for me.

When I showed up on B&B, I thought I was in the “Steep Angle” crowd but I’ve since adopted the “Let the razor determine its best angle”. I’ll bet you actually do the same, i.e., go by the feel and the sound to get to the sweet spot, though I’m certainly open to correction if I’m wrong. Truth be told, the only time I pay close attention to the razor angle is if I know I’m going to be writing about it. Most of the time, I just shave in a way that gets me smooth, relaxing, comfortable yet close results.

I was trying to come up with a decent illustration of this and though it is likely to be better understood by fans of American baseball, I think the angles we are discussing are similar to how the best hitters go with what the pitcher offers. Hits to the opposite field, for example. Even home runs to the opposite field if that’s how the are being pitched. Does that make any sense? Going with what the razor offers as far as angle?

I’m sure blade choice and other things factor in as well, of course.

 

[kingfisher]

Meta-4 is up there.

 

[Cafebarian]

Meta-4 is up there.

I would say out of mine it is the smoothest also.

Karve CB
PAA DOC Ascension
Razorock Gamechanger
Razorock BBS
These are all smooth razors but the Homelike Start is noticeably smoother as is the Meta-4