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Open or Closed Comb

Been looking at getting a DE for traveling away from our base, which is usually weekly, and wondering what are the differences between the closed and open comb besides preferences? Does the open really shave more aggressive as I've heard? seems there is something riding on your skin in either case.
 
I would call this a classic case of YMMV (your mileage may vary).

In theory, open combs do not sweep the lather away before the blade starts to cut. Slant bar/closed comb razors are cheaper to manufacture. That's all I know about true differences.

As to my personal experience, many closed comb razors feel very rough on my skin and have a tendency to "bite" on my chin and jawline, while open combs feel and shave better. That's purely my personal experience no my own face.

I'd say that if you are curious, trying a good closed comb, a good open comb, and either a Slant or an adjustable (or both). Then you can refine what you are looking for.

For open combs, I really like my New Long Comb and will be trying a New Short Comb. I also really like my Muhle R41 2013. I really don't like my Merkur 1904 open comb.

For aggression, there are mild and aggressive razors in either category (open and closed comb).
 
Open Comb is always better. Your mileage will NOT vary. OK, perhaps I am getting carried away. I find OCs generally more effective. The Gillette NEW SC is quite mild and yet still a fantastic shaver.
 
I have been DE shaving for 6 months & in that time I have acquired 14 DE razors, both new & vintage, split 50/50 between open combs & safety bars. Overall, I much prefer OC razors, as they are, in general, more efficient, requiring 2 passes (WTG/ATG) & minor touch ups to achieve a BBS, instead of 3 passes & major touching up with any safety bar I have tried. The only exceptions would be the Merkur OCs (I have a 41c & an 11c), with these being very mild razors.

Until recently, my daily razor was a Tradere OC, but not wanting to take something this expensive on holiday, I bought a FaTip Picolo. Whilst the Picolo is nowhere near as well made as the Tradere & doesn't give such a smooth shave, it does shave slightly closer, with a bit less effort involved. At a 10th of the price of the Tradere, I would not be so upset if it got lost or stolen, but I would buy another one pretty quickly! Since getting back from holiday, I still use the Picolo Monday to Friday, with the Tradere used at the weekends.

As other posters have suggested, this is very much a YMMV call. I also have a 2013 Muhle R101 (R41 with a black resin handle) & this is even more efficient than my FaTip, but I know that my face could not stand using this every day, unlike the poster who has been using one daily for the last 5 months.
 
Once I found my Gillette NEW LC, that has been my daily razor. Not sure if it's because of the open comb or not, but it's just a nice shaver.
 
All my favorite razors are open comb. The NEW long comb, both British and American, and the New Improved are my personal favorites. Plus the open comb looks cooler than a safety bar :001_tongu.
 
A lot of this is going to vary based on the individual razors (blade curve, blade gap, etc.) If you want to try both, I would suggest something like a Gillette Tech and a Gillette New long comb if you want to go vintage, or if you want a new razor you could grab both a closed and a open comb Razorock/Cadet. You should be able to do either of these for < $50 and be able to determine better what you like in a razor.
 
I tend to reach for open combs more these days, they shave smoother for me than most of my closed/bar razors.


I have a long comb new that's probably my favorite out of all of them.
 
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