It was you, my dear fellow, that put me onto the R89 head having the brass centre post. Previously, I would rather have bought EJ. Thank you.I kept the R89 in my rotation; it shaves at 30' (an intuitive, ergonomic and comfortable shaving angle for a DE), it shaves through a relatively wide-angle range, its efficiency increases with familiarity and technique, it is superbly balanced and weighted with certain handles, it has a scalloped safety bar, the brass centre post and female thread increases durability, the chrome plating, which is the best I have seen, ensures superb glide, it is forgiving and easy to use. I find it more efficient or smoother or more ergonomic than many Gillette's of yesteryear. That said, I am enamoured with my £4.99 Lord Smart S625 which is more efficient than the R89 and far better than the Merkur it is based on.
I have a few mint Gillette techs that I purchased in leather travel kits a few years ago. I will try and compare it with the modern entry level razors.I would bet that all those DE89 clones shave the same, or very nearly half as good as a Tech.
is it the edwin jagger or muhle r89 youre referring too?I kept the R89 in my rotation; it shaves at 30' (an intuitive, ergonomic and comfortable shaving angle for a DE), it shaves through a relatively wide-angle range, its efficiency increases with familiarity and technique, it is superbly balanced and weighted with certain handles, it has a scalloped safety bar, the brass centre post and female thread increases durability, the chrome plating, which is the best I have seen, ensures superb glide, it is forgiving and easy to use. I find it more efficient or smoother or more ergonomic than many Gillette's of yesteryear. That said, I am enamoured with my £4.99 Lord Smart S625 which is more efficient than the R89 and far better than the Merkur it is based on.
Muhle R89...is it the edwin jagger or muhle r89 youre referring too?
Btw just curious are there any open comb r89's?Muhle R89...
No, that's an R41.Btw just curious are there any open comb r89's?
Cool didn't know that thanksNo, that's an R41.
What's the muhle rocca like compared to the r89?When I came to traditional shaving, after much agonising I settled on the long handled Merkur 23C as "the right choice for me" ... a pal from a different hobby sent me some vintage to play with (Gillette Parat, Gillette Superspeed Red Tip and a Gillette New) and the doors blew wide open. Within weeks I'd tried all manner of vintage and that continued for a good two to three years where I tried out literally everything ... and I mean, everything.
It was probably a year before I tried an actual DE89. It was the special edition Jet model (DLC coated), which was quite a thing at the time. Lovely shaver, that. My son took a liking to that one and I managed to get another (thanks @MrK1 as the limited run had indeed finished) and he still uses that as his sole razor.
I have a cigar box that holds a small collection of favourites of this type of razor ...
Muhle DE89
Muhle R41
Merkur 15C
Bevel (Clone)
RazoRock Teck
Yaqi Open/Closed Comb (DLC)
Gillette KCG ... sort of an R89/M23 cross
... but since the release of the Muhle Rocca, this lot rather feels like a previous epoch that has been well and truly surpassed.
A Weidi and another Yaqi.The Yaqi head is the same as the Yintal without the indentations on the guard bar.I have recently started picking up DE/R89 clones and other entry level razors. I started with a Wilkinson Sword Flip top in 91 and went onto a Vintage Krona in the mid 00's. Only in 2015 did I pick up the EJ Kelvin. I hadn't really got into DE razors until the Fatip Testina Gentile arrived last year or early this year. I haven't caught the expensive stainless steel DE bug...
What are your favourites? What did you progress from?
View attachment 78837
EJ Kelvin
Fatip Testina Gentile
Yaqi DLC
King C Gillette
Mühle R89 replacement head
Merkur 33C
Yintal - also available from Qshave. Maybe a Maggard v3a head. A Feather AS-D2 style handle.
Open Comb
Fatip Gentile Grande
As most are recent acquisitions that I haven't used intensively I cannot advise on differences or how aggressive each razor is.
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