SPECIAL PRICE: Parker 91R Safety Razor

he Parker 91R shaves well and will produce a really smooth shave. I consider it a "Medium" aggressive razor compared to my Edwin Jagger - King C Gillete - both of my Baili razors - Merkur and Muhle (in no particular order) In fact its the most aggressive razor I have.

Having tried it with a variety of different blades it does appear to be consistent in its ability to slice through whatever facial growth I have. Its also consistent in feeling less smooth when operating, compared to my other razors despite using a variety of creams and soaps to cushion the blade travel.

This IS worth having - I'm not convinced its a "Beginners" model despite the advertising hype and enthusiastic reviews given by other uses (who I suspect are actually seasoned wet shavers) and in use it does require a little more control and care than say an Edwin Jagger DE89 which is a "mild" razor or a Baili BD179 butterfly which is a very mild unit.

There is a definite aggressive feel to this razor and although ALL DE razors have the potential to cut, dice and slice - this feels on the edge of doing all of that - but doesn't quite do it.

I've been shaving since 1974, before the invention of the plastic disposable, so I do have some experience .

I would not put anyone off buying this, even as a first razor - but if you are looking for something which will produce a buttery smooth shave with zero irritation because of skin sensitivity issues - then you might be better starting off with something a little less dramatic than the Parker 91R.

Its a good razor - and once you have mastered a mild one this would be great to move onto. Its not going to replace any of my other razors as its a wicked bit of kit to shave off a couple of days growth for those times when I cant be bothered to shave for a day or two.

Something to note here though - I normally make a 3 pass shave, with the grain, across the grain and finally against the grain, in that order. The Parker 91R achieves the same feel and closeness BUT only needs a 2 pass in order to achieve it, that demonstrates how aggressive it is AND it leaves me with a tiny bit of skin irritation. However, that's normally resolved with the application of a small amount of post shave balm I keep for just that purpose.

Its not a ruthless unit and it may be tempered by the type of blade you have, but if you are just moving into DE shaving then be cautious with this one.

UPDATED: 9 July 2024 - AHA. I have resolved the aggressive nature of this razor whilst keeping the effectiveness of the shave. I just added a shim. A shim is just an old blade with the cutting edges removed by using scissors. Take the head of the razor apart and place the shim into the top cap FIRST, then the blade then the base plate and finally re-assemble.

RESULT = a less aggressive feel to the shave whilst still maintaining a wonderful 2 pass shave AND minus the little bit of skin irritation this razor sometimes gave me. Youtube has a bucket load of videos about shimming and normally I don't do this but felt I needed to tame the razor just a bit. So glad I did too.

I’ve decided to go “old school” purely out of economy. The high end brands are getting so expensive! This way I can get a good shave for a lot less

Great razor, fantastic fast service at a great price