HMMM? some interesting results when I changed things up...

[CMur12]

Brian, I find the Tech very usable without the shims. But I like a very mild razor while you like a very aggressive one.

- Murray

[ShadowsDad]

Yes, I knew someone would write that.

I don't have the percentages but I bet there are 20 mild razors sold for every aggressive razor. There's a reason for that. Yes, I know I'm outnumbered.

[CMur12]

Brian, you and I sit somewhat on the two extremes. I think most shavers choose something in between your choice and mine. I know we have others here who like aggressive razors, also. I just figure you guys must have incredibly tough hide!

- Murray

[Ouchmychin]

I have a mild tech and a Fatboy. For a while I used to think I needed an aggressive razor and I didn't use the Tech for a few years. I set my fatboy to 3 for 3 passes than set it to 7 for a final polish. Eventually I realized that I was just tearing up my face scraping off the top layer of skin. I reset the Fatboy to 1.5 for all passes and just polished away there too and got bbs eventually. Then I tried the Tech and it felt aggressive. Ha! If you must have that burn, I would go with an adjustable and for really aggressive get a Futur. I have one of those and it is, believe me.

[brothers]

Merkur Progress can be aggressive also, depending on the setting. The early Tech model with triangular holes in the base plate is more aggressive than the very mild Tech version that replaced it in the early 1940's.

[vferdman]

I see this thread was started in 2008, so I am a little late , but it is my experience that Super Speeds are not meant to be used with loosened doors. They are too mild for me, but in my beginner time I loved Super Speeds and had a small collection of them. I found they respond very well to shimming, but loosening the doors is never a good idea as the knob wanders and opens more during the shave and then you get an unstable system with unpredictable results. This is why Gillette developed an adjustable TTO. A shim is way simpler, super stable and accomplishes the adjustment in a much more repeatable way.

On the aggressive vs. mild score, as I learned my technique with DE I began increasing the aggressiveness to the point of trying a straight (I liked it, but not putting in the time to really make it usable). At this point my ideal shave is Progress set to 4 or something like a Cadet open comb, either with a Personna super (lab) blade. Anything less aggressive than that will result in either less than BBS or irritation of my sensitive skin. I find aggressive razor with a sharp blade and good technique is the cure for irritation. This is because of less mileage of blade-skin contact during the shave. I simply do not have to go over any area as I do with a mild razor/blade. I have since got rid of all my TTOs, Techs and other mild razor and now the mildest I have is Gillete New long comb, which I like, but don't expect a BBS without some rework on trouble spots. Progress on 4 just leaves my face and neck clean, smooth and irritation free as does RazoRock/Cadet OC head (usually riding on the Ikon handle). I am seriously considering trying a 2013 Muhle R41, but not in a hurry as I got the tools to get consistent BBS already.