Something a little more agressive than my Merkur 34C

Maybe I'm not prepping as much as I should, but I've noticed that shaving is much easier if I loosen the blade slightly, it seems to be more aggressive.

What razor would you recommend me that's a bit more aggressive than my Merkur? I've been shaving with it for over 4 years now.

The blades I use are Feathers.

Thanks

R41.

I kid, I kid ...

Gillette NEW if you're OK with vintage, if not, I'd recommend a Merkur Progress.

nuclearblast said:

R41. [emoji3]

I kid, I kid ...

Gillette NEW if you're OK with vintage, if not, I'd recommend a Merkur Progress.

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R41 only if you shim it with at least 4 blades, right? [emoji1]

You might want to try a slant if you haven't already.

I've never tried anything else but my Merkur and cartridge razors before that.

What's the joke about the R41 that I don't get?

The R41 is know to be one of the most aggressive razors made

eos said:

What's the joke about the R41 that I don't get?

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devinirwin3 said:

The R41 is know to be one of the most aggressive razors made

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Yup, the R41 would be a huge step up in aggressiveness.

dabrok said:

R41 only if you shim it with at least 4 blades, right?

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The 41R is only slightly less aggressive than the guillotine.

Go for the Merkur 37C (slant). It's more aggressive than the 34c, but still very pleasant over a R41. The R41 is a "far right" aggressive razor on the razor scale. Where the 37c is less aggressive but a pleasure to shave with.

Baby steps......

HexChrome said:

Go for the Merkur 37C (slant). It's more aggressive than the 34c, but still very pleasant over a R41...

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I completely agree.
Got bored with my 38C which is the same as the 34 but has a longer handle. Bought a Progress and a 37C slant a month ago, and am enjoying the slant more than anything. Funny thing is, it actually feels less aggressive so I guess the right term is 'more efficient'. Certainly a logical and affordable step up for you, eos.
Have used Feather and Polsilver blades in it, both with good results.

I second the recommendation of the Progress for new production razor. It is an adjustable razor that at its lowest setting is virtually the same as the 34C but has the ability to shave much closer by dialing up to increase blade exposure.

I pair mine with a Gillette 7 o'clock Super Stainless (Russian) and it's my daily driver.

There are many vintage Gillette's that will work also, and Edgar's recommendation of the NEW is a good one.

This is the wrong forum to be suggesting this, but have you tried more blades besides feathers? Feathers are known to dull after the first couple of shaves. Some still get good shaves, but I'd look into trying different blades.

I'm following this thread as I too am looking for a second razor and want to try more aggressiveness. The progress sound good. Any other recommendations? Not too worried about price if its quality. Sorry. I don't mean to take over the thread.

I started with a 34C, then tried a bunch of vintage Gillettes, including a Red Tip and a Slim adjusted to 9. I couldn't get a close shave out of any of them. I then went the aggressive razor route, including the ATT H2, FaTip, Wolfman open comb with an increased blade gap of .74mm, Mongoose stainless steel, Muhle R41 (first 2013, then 2011), Gem MMOC and 1924, and Ikon Shavecraft Tech, among others. For me, shaving is not fun unless I get a really close, long-lasting shave. Only the aggressive razors do that for me, and they're all I use. For an inexpensive introduction, I suggest the FaTip (although it's my least favorite of my aggressives). It's cheap. If you want to spend a few more bucks for a great shave that's closer, longer-lasting and just as smooth, I heartily endorse the R41 2013.

I've always been a bit off the beaten path, and perhaps my face is different from most, but I really demand a close (BBS) shave. R41s and Ikon Techs work best for me.

The gillette slim on 4 is a notch more aggressive than the Merkur 34. And you have 5 more agressive settings to play with

JohnG10 said:

The gillette slim on 4 is a notch more aggressive than the Merkur 34. And you have 5 more agressive settings to play with

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Indeed. Slim/Fat boy on 7 is very nice.

well if your talking about vintage razors, the slim, Fat boy are great razors and adjustable if you feel like a more or lass aggressive shave. But I find thee most aggressive out of the adjustable razors is the $1.90 or Black Beauty. I feel like with the Feather blades you can get all the aggessiveness you would want out of it. I can not speak of modern DE razors, I don't own any to be able to make a suggestion there.

Agree on 37c slant, that was my destination after three years with the 34c HD. This year I switched over to a shavette but I still like going back to the 37c every now and then.

FaTip works great with Feather blade. Try it. But remember, the key is no pressure at all