My R41 Grande Review

**VirtualAsylum** · 05-06-2012, 09:34 PM

About a week ago, I received my R41 Grande in the mail. First things I noticed were build quality, blade exposure, and how nice the larger handle felt in the hand. It's a beautiful razor, even more-so in the matching razor stand Muhle sells.

I've used this razor 5 times now, and I can say with certainty that it's the best DE razor I've ever used. I am extremely happy with the purchase.

First couple of shaves were with a Dorco ST301. Not one nick, not one weeper, no irritation. Very smooth, nearly BBS shave. I thought to myself: "nice!" Great balance, feels natural to guide around your face.

After the Dorco, I threw caution to the wind and loaded up a Feather. I loved Feathers in my Merkur HD, but in my Futur and R41, I'm not so fond of them. My neck has some coarse swirling hair and the skin there is a bit concave near my windpipe. Since that skin is very sensitive, I need aggressive razors to wipe out that stubble in fewer passes. Unfortunately, the Feathers in these razors are NOT forgiving of the topography of my neck, no matter how good the technique. It's nearly impossible to j-hook or buff my neck with a Feather without getting some bad burn. In this case, I wound up with one nick, but a lot of that burn. Not a terrible shave (it was basically BBS), but not a terribly comfortable shave, either.

At this point, I decided to try a Gillette yellow. In my Futur, this blade produced one of the best shaves of my life. In the R41, it produced a great shave on my face and most of my neck, but I ended up with some pretty bad burn and redness on one stubborn section of my neck. Again, the shave results were excellent, but the comfort level wasn't. In fairness, I may have gotten overly aggressive trying to mow down a patch of stubble. I could probably get great results from the yellow with a couple more tries. I might never try though, because today, I hit paydirt!

This morning, I loaded up an Astra SP and proceeded to have *the* best shave of my life with the R41. My face and neck literally felt like a baby's backside, and I was not irritated in the least. This is no small feat, given my sensitive neck skin and coarse stubble. I was amazed- there was no irritation to be found, period--not even a HINT of it on my neck. There was also, literally, no stubble to be found. Anywhere. At all.

At this point, I'm positive that I've found my "go-to" DE razor/blade combo. The experience was so noteworthy and awesome that I'm actually pondering the future of my Futur (hah), my HD, and my Shavette. Given my extreme love affair with the Futur, that's a bold statement! I may end up keeping it for nostalgia's sake, but the R41 will be getting a lot of face-time.

When this was all said and done, it was a reminder that each razor has it's own "ideal" blade for each individual face. Astra SP's in my Futur were damn good, but not this good- and the yellows performed a bit better in that razor. Here, it was exactly the opposite; the Astra's were an even better match for my skin and the R41's blade angle. Given the lower cost of the Astra blades, this was a pleasant development.

(By the way, all of these tests were with identical prep and MWF lather, so no variables there)

Long story short, if you're thinking about buying this razor, go for it. You'll either despise it, or you'll fall completely in love with the best shaves of your life. IMO, it's worth the risk to give it a try (but give it a fair try--mild blades, sharp blades, smooth blades; try them all before you judge).

**mhdena** · 05-06-2012, 09:44 PM

I also found one blade that is perfect every time in my r41, Shark SCs. No weepers or irritation at all.
So this blade is all I use in mine.

As always YMMV.

**VirtualAsylum** · 05-06-2012, 09:50 PM

Outstanding. Are you still using other razors, or do you find yourself reaching for the R41 consistently?

Originally Posted by mhdena

I also found one blade that is perfect every time in my r41, Shark SCs. No weepers or irritation at all.
So this blade is all I use in mine.

As always YMMV.

**mhdena** · 05-06-2012, 10:15 PM

I rotate it with a Sabi and a Progress.

**cluelessdude** · 05-06-2012, 10:40 PM

I'm three shaves into the R41. All have been with my favourote Feather blades. Love the result but I have some Astra, Gillette, and Meds which ill eventually try with this razor. I won't be buying another razor! This thing is amazing!

**Mad Man** · 05-06-2012, 10:54 PM

R41 and Feathers? That's already one crazy-scary blade gap already without a feather loaded in there.

Looks like the closest to a straight you can get without actually using a straight.

Maybe one day...

**VirtualAsylum** · 05-07-2012, 03:27 PM

That's a fairly accurate description of it, I'd say. You can get an outstanding shave out of a Feather in the R41, but in my case, it's too time consuming to go slow enough to avoid irritating or cutting the sensitive areas of my neck. Other blades seem to do best in this Razor, for me anyway.

I wouldn't write this razor off on account of aggressiveness; I think it's over-hyped in that regard, to be honest. Throw a Dorco ST301 in there and you'd be hard pressed to really damage yourself. Really any of the "middle-of-the-road" blades will probably treat you fine, if you're used to DE shaving. Then, once you get used to the slightly different angle needed, you can step up to an Astra, a yellow, or a med prep to try for that perfect BBS. (Or a Feather if you're ballsy with a relatively flat/smooth facial landscape.)

Originally Posted by Mad Man

R41 and Feathers? That's already one crazy-scary blade gap already without a feather loaded in there.

Looks like the closest to a straight you can get without actually using a straight.

Maybe one day...

**Jbum** · 05-07-2012, 04:13 PM

R41 and Super-Max Platinum and Sharks for me. Both blades preform almost the same I think the Supers do just slightly better.

**cluelessdude** · 05-07-2012, 05:53 PM

Originally Posted by Mad Man

R41 and Feathers? That's already one crazy-scary blade gap already without a feather loaded in there.

Looks like the closest to a straight you can get without actually using a straight.

Maybe one day...

Honestly I'm telling you that you have to try this razor. I am SHOCKED at the reviews it gets here. Can it bite? Yeah but so can my Merkur HD. So far I've drawn blood once at one spot with the R41 in 4 shaves. I'd say with the Merkur HD I would have at least have drawn blood once.

I think this site has helped me a lot with the R41. I never went at a regular DE angle with it because people here told me not to do that. I think thats where a lot of people might be getting their problems with this razor. I'm using a very steep angle and I have moved paced the fear factor of the razor and Feathers. I don't think too much about the blade gap and aggressiveness despite me not having the biggest guts when it comes to blood. In the end you're just shaving with the R41 and Feathers just like any other razor. The same basic rules of DE shaving apply to R41. This is some of the best $40 I've ever spent.

**El-a-Menthol** · 05-07-2012, 10:37 PM

Have the R41 in rose-gold, regular handle. This baby can shave BBS with a Feather in 2 passes.
I haven't found my perfect blade yet, since Feathers are best at it's first shave (but a bit rough), good at the second (smoother but duller) and sometimes I can squeeze a third out of it and sometimes I can't. I favor blades like Crystal (Israeli Personna), Astra SP and feather.
Had some good results with a Dorco, then another, then... not so.
But it seem to do really well with sharp blades, as long as your prep and technique is good, you take your time and enjoy!