Mühle R41 Review – Man it gives a Close Shave
Mühle R41 Safety Razor
The Mühle R41 is a legend of a razor in the aggressiveness department and plows through thick growth easily. It’s a modern-looking closed comb that’s popular.
Pros
An attractive modern contemporary design
The design of this razor is close to a straight razor
A good choice of various handles
This razor loves coarse growth and a few days of growth
Fewer strokes because of blade head design
Attractive and practical handle grip
Good drainage slats
Cons
It is going to be too aggressive for some guys and requires some skill
Handle grip is fine but not as good as knurled types
After reading up about the fierceness of Mühle R41 safety razor I was quite apprehensive about how it would perform on my face and if I would lose any facial parts I might rather keep.
It turns out I had nothing to fear, and it was one of those better than expected type of experiences.
As the title of this article states ‘Man it gives a close Shave’, it was super close, excellently close!
Anyway, it’s not just about me and my face; let’s delve into who the Mühle R41 might be best suited for and give you some facts, shaving experience, and opinions.
MÜHLE brand – The company that makes the Mühle R41 is a German family-based business that’s been in operation since 1945. It has become a brand known worldwide for its high quality shaving brushes and safety razors. The most popular safety razor made by MÜHLE is the Mühle R89.
Mühle R41 Description & Features
The German made safety razor Mühle R41 is what’s known as a three-piece open comb type. It’s a classy-looking contemporary razor!
- Materials and Finish – Although I cannot find the exact materials used on the company’s website the handle is likely to be brass, with a die-casted razor head and galvanized surfaces, and chrome-plated.
- Open comb – An open comb razor head means the bottom section of the head is not straight or flat. The R41 has very large grooves that allow the blade to work through a user’s facial hair more easily. Open combs love thick and tough growth to plow through.
- Three parts – When the handle is screwed off the head comes apart in two pieces which gives you a three-piece set up. The Twist model (more about that shortly) is a two-piece razor.
- Blade replacement – As mentioned, the R41 is a three-piece razor and the blade is placed on the three posts on the top section of the head. While a three part razor is not as easy to change blades as a two-part or butterfly –it is much easier to clean.
- Handle – The handle is an engraved type that does offer much anti-slip. Three types of handles are available for the R41; standard length engraved, grande engraved (long), rose gold standard length engraved, and twist engraved (long-bottom cap twists off).
- Blade gap – I am not sure of the actual blade gap and with open combs this is not an important factor when weighing up its aggressiveness. How the blade is seated in the razor head, and the angle it protrudes makes this blade aggressive. The blade gap on a razor like the Merkur Futur (aggressive as heck) gets its aggressiveness from the gap between –the blade and the bottom lip of the head, which is very different from the Mühle R41.
The Four Mühle R41 Versions
The head on the different models remains the same. It’s just the handle length and design type that changes.
R41 Standard
The standard traditional model has a shorter handle length of 94 mm and it comes apart in 3 pieces when changing blades.
Dimensions: 41 mm (W) x 94 mm (L)
Weight: 64 g
R41 Grande (long)
The R41 Grande is the same as the traditional standard model with the only difference being the length which is 107 mm which also increases the weight.
Dimensions: 41 mm (W) x 107 mm (L)
Weight: 90 g
R41 Twist
The R41 is the same length as the Grande (107 mm). The main difference being the razor head is removed when twisting the bottom cap off. It’s a two piece razor, rather than three.
Dimension: 41 mm (W) x 107 mm (L)
Weight: 90 g
There is also a rose gold model ‘R41RG‘ which is the same as the standard R41, with a rose gold colored handle.
Which model from the R41 range should you choose? I have found the Grande size is much better when handling the razor, although I must admit that the fiddly bits near the nose and other parts have felt easier with standard-length safety razors in general.
I would primarily go with the Grande though over the standard size, for the ease and comfort of using a razor in my hand, and for the ‘extra weight which helps the razor do the work‘ while shaving from the extra weight!
It will depend on what size your hand is most comfortable with when choosing one of these, and if you have big hands, then the Grande is likely to be much better.
The Twist model is a great feature for those that want blade replacement to be slightly easier.
How well does the Mühle R41 perform and Shave?
Before reviewing the Mühle R41 here, I used it for a few weeks shaving to see how it performed with a few days of growth, and a couple of days –just to get the hang of it.
On the first occasion of using the R41 I was a little more than apprehensive. I knew it was among one of the top aggressive razors on the market.
I made sure I had 4 days of growth and gave it a shot. It was totally mean on the growth, and still very comfortable.
It was totally mean on the growth, and still very comfortable.
One stroke of this on many areas removes everything and feels remarkable.
What I would advise is to make short strokes on the first pass. Just a couple of inches or so will do, as this can enable a user to get familiar with the razor, and it just functions much better like this on the first pass when there is plenty of growth.
I did two passes on the first occasion and then continued that way without needing to have three. To be fair, the first pass removes so much, but as I have awkward areas and strange hair growth patterns on my neck that makes me have to do quite a lot of cleaning up leftover bits.
Overall it was loads better than I thought it would be. I had less to fear than I did.
The shave was so close, super close.
Handle Grip 7/10
The engraved handle grip is not the best kind of grip, unlike knurled and others. However, for me it is fine, although I know others may not favor less grip.
Weight and Balance – 8/10
The Mühle R41 is what you might consider a light-medium weight safety razor. To me, it does not feel light, but I do prefer a razor to feel heavier.
In terms of balance, it balances out very well, as it should. A user can allow the razor to kind of lean against their face easily while shaving.
Look & Design – 10/10
The look and design are a kind of masterpiece in my eyes. Its chrome-plated look and razor style is modern and posh without costing an arm and a leg.
MÜHLE has perfected the head; it’s so precise and keeps the blade perfectly aligned.
Ease of Use – 7/10
While I find the R41 easy enough to use, although I am quite cautious, I can see others might struggle with the need to be cautious. It is not the same as shaving with the likes of a Mühle R89 or Merkur 34C where a user has room to rush while shaving; however, those that can get along with shaving while applying caution will be rewarded with a mega close shave.
Value for Money – 10/10
I would say this razor is worth every penny or cent ($44 standard, $56 Grande, $57 Twist).
Final Thoughts – and who is the Mühle R41 best suited for?
There’s no doubt that the Mühle R41 is mean beard cutting tool that cuts a very close shave. It’s the closest safety razor I use that’s almost a straight-edge razor, and because the blade is so horizontal it functions in the same way.
It does require some respect and cautious small strokes are best taken while getting familiar with using the R41. However, when given respect it is a great tool that gives the best shave.
On suitability, those that might shave every 3 or more days, have tough hair growth, or even those with sensitive skin may benefit from using this razor (fewer passes and strokes).
Beginners that are just starting out wet shaving with a safety razor would not really start out with the R41. However, if the razor user finds using safety razors easy enough and needs a tool that can remove a decent amount of growth effortlessly in a mean fashion then they could go for it .
Guys that get lumps, bumps, and spots on their face will struggle with the Mühle R41. It’s gonna chop the buggers off – milder razors are the way to go for these Gents.
My Mühle R41 is a keeper. On a 3 or 5-day growth accumulation, it comes out to play!
