Stirling Soap 316 Stainless Steel Razor

Not the Ikon Tech  !!?

It's been a while since I've used one, as I sold mine a few years ago, but yes.  Blade feel reminded me very much of the Tech.  As I mentioned, this razor feels more like what the Ikon Tech could have and should have been.

This is encouraging for me. I loved my ikon tech. But, the ikon tech always just caused too much irritation.

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Not the Ikon Tech  !!?

It's been a while since I've used one, as I sold mine a few years ago, but yes.  Blade feel reminded me very much of the Tech.  As I mentioned, this razor feels more like what the Ikon Tech could have and should have been.

This is encouraging for me. I loved my ikon tech. But, the ikon tech always just caused too much irritation.

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Mr. Smallwood is exactly correct. The HA plate has the same blade feel as the ITech and the 2011 R41. However, those two always had a "hollow" or "tin" feel to them for me. The Stirling feels more solid. If you always wanted a SS versions of the two legendary beasts, Rod hooked you up.

It boggles my mind how people say things like "I loved the razor, but it always caused irritation."  For me, if a razor causes irritation, I don't love it.  I need my razors to shave my face without causing irritation before I feel attached to them.  

And while I'm stirring things up, I'll add that I'm not sure I really understand the idea behind really aggressive razors, either.  Even a mild razor will deliver a fine shave if you know how to coax one out of it.  I'm not sure what advantage a very aggressive razor holds. 

Maybe it's just me.

kingfisher , in my limited experience with this razor I noticed a fair amount of stinging when I would use my alum block. I call that irritation, but afterwards the stinging went away completely. I am fairly new to shaving so I chalked it up to my own inexperience. But even if it never gets better as far as irritation goes, I would still like this razor. One reason for this I didn’t even notice until after I passed the razor on. The first time I shaved with my own razor  I was amazed at how soon the stubble returned! With the stirling razors, I would be bbs for twelve to eighteen hours but with  mine (Merkur 20c) I would notice stubble as soon as six to eight hours after. Sorry if that’s too long winded but those are my reasons! YMMV!!

It boggles my mind how people say things like "I loved the razor, but it always caused irritation."  For me, if a razor causes irritation, I don't love it.  I need my razors to shave my face without causing irritation before I feel attached to them.  

And while I'm stirring things up, I'll add that I'm not sure I really understand the idea behind really aggressive razors, either.  Even a mild razor will deliver a fine shave if you know how to coax one out of it.  I'm not sure what advantage a very aggressive razor holds. 

Maybe it's just me.

Maybe they like the face feel of the razor? Maybe they liked how close it cuts? Maybe they dont have good technique...or lack the patience to coax a razor to work? Maybe they like variety. Or dont shave daily. Or just enjoy having the ability to forget "it's about beard reduction" and slay a weeks growth in a single pass. They might only do one pass. Lots of possible reasons as to the "why". My personal favorite it simply, "because"...followed by "all of the above". Takes all kinds, but I totally agree, the reasons can be mind boggling.

It boggles my mind how people say things like "I loved the razor, but it always caused irritation."  For me, if a razor causes irritation, I don't love it.  I need my razors to shave my face without causing irritation before I feel attached to them.  

And while I'm stirring things up, I'll add that I'm not sure I really understand the idea behind really aggressive razors, either.  Even a mild razor will deliver a fine shave if you know how to coax one out of it.  I'm not sure what advantage a very aggressive razor holds. 

Maybe it's just me.

Why so serious?

I loved the smooth, close shave it gave me.

But, if I used it for 3 or 4 days in a row, I would start to get irritation.

I fail to see what's so controversial about my preferences.

And while I'm stirring things up, I'll add that I'm not sure I really understand the idea behind really aggressive razors, either.  Even a mild razor will deliver a fine shave if you know how to coax one out of it.  I'm not sure what advantage a very aggressive razor holds. 

Maybe it's just me.

Maybe they like the face feel of the razor? Maybe they liked how close it cuts? Maybe they dont have good technique...or lack the patience to coax a razor to work? Maybe they like variety. Or dont shave daily. Or just enjoy having the ability to forget "it's about beard reduction" and slay a weeks growth in a single pass. They might only do one pass. Lots of possible reasons as to the "why". My personal favorite it simply, "because"...followed by "all of the above". Takes all kinds, but I totally agree, the reasons can be mind boggling.

LOOT makes a lot of good points. But I feel the need to add my own. I have been using DEs for over 6 years. During that time, I've tried tons of them. I'm also an engineer, so I know a thing or two about controlled experiments. Over years of experimenting with different razors, soaps, blades, techniques, etc. I've found that razors like the MMOC and R41 work far better for me than mild razors. I spent around 6 months with a DE89, and no matter what I tried, I could not get an acceptable irritation-free shave with that razor (or any other mild-to-medium razor). A single pass with the grain every 2-3 days with a more aggressive razor is what works for me. It's not about being macho or anything. It's just the only thing that I enjoy using.

Sorry, Czech Czar, not trying to be overly serious.  

And there is absolutely nothing at all controversial about your own preferences.  And I honestly don't care what they are.  I just didn't understand them, and was looking to understand other points of view.  

I appreciate the posts of LOOT, gwsmallwood, and Jimmyfn explaining the many possible reasons why a person would prefer an aggressive razor.

I tend to like aggressive razors myself (ikon tech, r41, etc.) but sometimes too much blade feel leads to harshness for me and I just pass on it totally...two razors come to mind, the karve OC F plate and the GEM MMOC..

I'm curious how the HA razor compares when it's my turn to try them out.

I tend to like aggressive razors myself (ikon tech, r41, etc.) but sometimes too much blade feel leads to harshness for me and I just pass on it totally...two razors come to mind, the karve OC F plate and the GEM MMOC..

I'm curious how the HA razor compares when it's my turn to try them out.

More blade feel than the MMOC. Never tried the Large F. I've tried the E and didn't find it very efficient in comparison to it's blade feel.