Mühle Rocca Review – An Aggressive Stainless Steel Razor
Mühle Rocca Safety Razor
The Mühle Rocca is a stainless steel safety razor from the German brand Mühle that’s a solid razor. It is weighty and has an aggressive nature on coarse growth.
Pros
An attractive modern contemporary design
Ideal for coarse and heavy growth
Various handle designs to choose from
It's a razor that can last a lifetime and more
Handle design provides sufficient grip
Good drainage slats and excellent blade cap fitting
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
It is a bit pricey, but it is made from stainless steel (to be expected)
The Mühle Rocca is a fairly new safety razor to join the top quality brand family of razors ‘MÜHLE’. I believe it came on the market in 2016 and gained some popularity after 2018.
After using and reviewing the Mühle R89 and Mühle R41 I had no idea of what to expect from the Rocca. I had experienced a comfortable mildness from the R89 and then the comfortable fierceness of the R41, so who knows how the Rocca was going to fair.
Let’s delve into who the Mühle Rocca might be best suited for and give you some facts, shaving experience, and opinions.
The Brand – MÜHLE, the brand is a German company that is known worldwide for its high quality shaving products, especially their safety razors and shaving brushes. They have been crafting, making and trading since 1945.
Mühle Rocca Description & Features
The Mühle Rocca, just like other Mühle safety razors has more than one model available. This always relates to the various handles and finishes available, not the razor heads design.
The four Rocca models are the R94 (Pure Matt), R96JET (Jet Black), R96 (Black Handle), and R95 (Birch Bark handle). More about these further on……..
- Materials and Finish – These razors are made from stainless steel, which is strong and durable and a reason why they are more expensive than brass handle-coated types and others. The finish is satin.
- Closed comb – The safety bar bottom section of the razor head has a row of grooves, and underneath the grooves, it’s flat. This design is safer and easier to use than open combs.
- Three parts – When the handle is screwed off, the head comes apart in two pieces which gives you a three-piece setup.
- Blade replacement – As mentioned, the razor comes apart in three pieces. The blade is placed on the center screw and the two small notches before screwing the head and handle back together. It’s a simple traditional safety razor setup, and while they are not quite as easy to replace blades with compared to a 2-part or butterfly razor type, they clean up easier.
- Dimensions & Weight – 41 mm width (head) x 105 mm length, and weighs 80g.
- Blade gap – This is an important factor when measuring a safety razor’s aggressiveness, but not the only factor. I cannot get a measurement as yet for the Mühle Rocca of the gap between the blade and bottom safety bar; however, it is much more than the Mühle R89 and other light-medium aggressiveness razors and closer to one of the Merkur Futur or Progress adjustable razor measurements.
The four Mühle Rocca models
As mentioned above, the Rocca has four models, and here are the differences and similarities. It’s all about handles and finishes!
There are some differences in pricing, with the R94 being the cheapest and costing around $100 and the R96JET costing the most at around $135.
Which model from the Rocca range should you choose? It’s purely about personal preference for looks. The birch bark looks very different and attractive, with a nice feel to it.
How well does the Mühle Rocco perform and Shave?
I have not seen any other blog or forum mention this, so it might just be me. This razor felt like shaving with the Merkur Futur and Progress adjustable on say level one of the Futur or less, and the design with the reservoirs are similar.
I did not have fun shaving with the Mühle Rocco the first time, which was partly due to me being careless and cutting myself, and using the wrong blades.
Personna and Derby blades worked well for me with this razor, and the Feather blade did not work well –too aggressive.
A couple of weeks ago I was shaving with the Mühle R41 which is more aggressive than this razor; however, that is not because of blade gap; it’s the design. The Rocco seemed more aggressive, or I just had to be more cautious to prevent cuts than with the R41, although that did improve when I started using the Personna and Derby blades.
Once I got the hang of the Rocco everything was fine, and it gave a good close shave after 2 passes and some cleaning up.
It was not love at first shave though, like with the R41.
Handle Grip 8/10
The handles on Mühle safety razors generally offer less grip than others. This is not to say they don’t provide enough, as they certainly do.
Other than the birch bark, the razor handles have a kind of deeply engraved plastic that offers plenty of grip and not the roughness of knurled handles. The birch bark is a different feel.
Mühle does a great job at making many of their safety razor handles look modern while providing substantial grip.
Weight and Balance – 8/10
The Mühle Rocco weighs in at 80g, which is leaning towards the heavier side for safety razors that many users, including me, favor. The head seems to balance very well and leans on the face nicely while shaving, which helps the razor do the work.
Look & Design – 9/10
The look and design of this Mühle razor speaks out loud with modern and contemporary appeal. Some users call it a masterpiece in design.
The modern razor head design looks great, and the way the head with the slots fit together is very compact –this is good for aligning the blade.
I’m also a big fan of the base plate gutters that keep debris clear from the blade. A dip in water and all the debris is gone.
Being a solid stainless steel razor means you have this razor for life. It’s super durable.
Ease of Use – 7/10
As this razor leans towards the aggressive side, due care should be taken until a user gets more familiar with using it. I imagine some people are comfortable and shave with ease on their first shave with the Rocco, but we are all different.
Choosing the right blade is important for users here. Feather for some guys may be too sharp, and you might be best to try something like Astra or Derby blades at first.
Value for Money – 8/10
While the Mühle Rocco is priced at the upper end of the safety razor price range (from $100 – $135) it is still worth the cost if it’s a razor that works for you. Stainless steel razors are generally more durable and robust and weigh more.
Final Thoughts – and who is the Mühle Rocco best suited for?
I would say this razor is for intermediate users and for guys who like a beefy safety razor that’s quite weighty. It’s not a razor I would suggest for a beginner who’s just starting out wet shaving with traditional safety razors.
The wider blade gap will benefit guys with heavier and coarse growth rather than men who shave daily with minimal growth.
The Mühle Rocco is also going to interest those who like the modern look and features. The bark appearance is very stylish.
I have seen it mentioned that the Rocco is something in between the Mühle R89 (light – medium aggressive) and the Mühle R41, which is at the top end of aggressiveness. However, I feel it leans more towards the R41 in aggressiveness and has a similar design as the Merkur Futur and Progress (of course, there are enough differences here too).
One thing for sure is that the right Gents to match this razor will get a super close shave after 2 passes with the Mühle Rocco.
