For fans of the EJ DE89 and Muhle R89

[m949]

Razor: Mühle R89 Traditional - Rosegold
Blade: KAI
Brush: ARNO 28mm, Silvertip Badger, Galactic Halberd
Soap: Martin de Candre - Rose (sample)
A/S: Twoface Brothers - Original After shave Lotion
EdP: Byredo - Rose of No Man's Land

Next time when you take your R89 for a shave, pair it with a KAI blade and go to town. Thank me later.

 

[bartje-p]

I'd rather use a Feather, Nacet or Dorco Prime in this razor (and many others). I do not like a Kai blade in any of my razors I'm afraid.... so I won't be the one thanking you (for this ) #YMMV

 

[m949]

I'd rather use a Feather, Nacet or Dorco Prime in this razor (and many others). I do not like a Kai blade in any of my razors I'm afraid.... so I won't be the one thanking you (for this ) #YMMV

Funny, I feel exactly the same way about Astra SPs. They seem to work great for many folks, for me they are the worst. Blades are really the most YMMV part of the shave.

 

[DesertIguana]

Both 89's are good Razors, the BAD is that MIM Process Head, it is very anti Tile, and Hard Surfaces. Broke mine when it fell and hit tile. Not sure if the 89's are the World Most Popular Razors, but if I had 10CENT for everyone else er made, sold, owned, or cloned, I would live in DESERT MOUNTAIN EASTATES in Big house.

 

[SaguaroSmart]

I revisited the Muhle R89 today with Gillette Nacet.

Honestly I had forgotten how great a shave this razor gives with a sharp blade. It is so easy and intuitive yet if you perform your 3 passes you will be very close to BBS. As far as a mild comfortable razor, it's an excellent design really.

Since the thread is about people who are fans of the R89 / DE89, we should organize and all write an email to Muhle to ask them to produce a stainless steel version of the R89. After all they did an SS and titanium version for the R41 so I'm convinced if there is enough people showing them there is a market for a stainless R89, they could make one.

 

[ShavingPrimate]

After all they did an SS and titanium version for the R41 so I'm convinced if there is enough people showing them there is a market for a stainless R89, they could make one.

It's so odd that they don't?

Possibly because they have the R91, which is an improvement in efficiency?

 

[SaguaroSmart]

It's so odd that they don't?

Possibly because they have the R91, which is an improvement in efficiency?

Never head of the R91, what is it ? Are you referring to the Muhle Rocca ?

 

[ShavingPrimate]

Never head of the R91, what is it ? Are you referring to the Muhle Rocca ?

Sorry, my bad. I was referring to the Muhle Rocca, which I own in stainless.

 

[Trollky]

Today I had one of those utterly flawless shaves that I would happily repeat every day for the rest of my life and it just so happens that the razor is the TOBS No. 89 (aka DE89)

 

[SaguaroSmart]

Shaved with the Muhle R89 again this morning and I can confirm that in my fairly large razor collection, nothing shaves like it. I have other razors that I enjoy just as much of course but they shave different. (Karve Overlander, Lambda Athena, Aylsworth Apex 70, Rockwell 6s, GameChanger 68P and others).

I almost find it silly that a $30 zamak razor shaves so well and so uniquely, It's borderline ironic that on the shave alone, it can compete with many $150 to $200 mild razors that were CNC machined out of fancy materials and to be fair, I won't name them but many very expensive razors I've tried did not shave nearly as nice. Obviously this is subjective but I don't think I'm alone here.

The R89 / DE89 design has remained for close to 35 years as one of the most sold and acclaimed mild razors for a reason, the reason is: the design is genius, it just works, it provides the true beard reduction and in fantastic fashion. With a sharp blade it truly cuts smoothly with no drag or scraping felt, it is extremely comfortable even against the grain yet efficient enough to progressively get you to DFS+ or BBS- territory. The optimal angle is super intuitive to maintain.

Now the caveat ? If you have a coarse and dense beard with a complex growth pattern, it can still get you to BBS- territory but due to its very mild nature (small or neutral exposure) it will require excellent technique, meaning j-hooking, Gillette sliding and having an outstanding understanding of your growth pattern. Due to this, beginners that have said density, coarseness and complex growth pattern lose patience and want to "graduate" to a more aggressive razor thinking a different razor will get them what they want with much less work (which is partially true as it does take a lot of time to develop advanced technique).

The reason I'm writing all this ? This was my experience, I started with a Edwin Jagger DE89 and while it taught me the basics, after 6 months or so I felt like I had to move on to other more aggressive razors because I could never get remotely close to BBS, even DFS was hard to achieve with my beard and growth pattern. I shaved several years with other razors only to end up getting a Muhle R89 given to me by a family member and revisiting it. Let's say that I was astounded by how different a shave I was able to achieve and almost did not recognize the razor but It's because since then I've changed my technique so much, my passes are nothing like what they used to be so I can get the most out of the razor.

Anyway, this is just another of those long shaving reflections after yet again another flawless shave delivered by the Muhle R89.