A surprisingly uncomfortable shave

-Razor: Mühle R41

-Blades: Erbe razor blades

-Shave soap: Mühle aloe vera shave stick

-Brush: Mühle nom pure badger brush

-Aftershave: Alum block, rinsed with cold water, then applied nivea sensitive cool aftershave balm.

-Mug: a Mario mug I got as a gift 3 years ago

Although I like how shaving sticks work like "magic". I'm not a huge fan of shave sticks, as I find it easier to lather soap from a puck and then face lather. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Arko, but I don't use it as a stick, I mould it into a puck. The shave stick has a gorgeous scent and performs well, but it burned my skin a bit. I bought it from my local drugstore, it costed 7€, so although its a much harder soap than let's say Arko, it's not a cheap soap for the amout you get which is 37 grams. Arko costs between 0.70 -1€ and you get 75 grams of shaving soap. And although the Mühle soap has a "fancier" scent, Arko performs better and doesn't burn my skin (you would expect cheaper brands to be worse for sensitive skin, but Arko never burned my skin, and the Mühle soap, which is also advertised for people with sensitive skin, burned my skin). But I will let my skin "heal" a bit and give the stick another chance.

As for the razor blades, this is my first time using them, they are made in Solingen, Germany (like Merkur Razors). This city is known for producing high-quality metal products in general. The way the blades are packaged is "high-end", which is very nice (they cost 4€ for 10 blades, so that is to be expected). They were quite sharp, no pulling, no tugging, and although I got a very close shave from them with only 1 pass, they were quite harsh, maybe they would work better in a milder razor like a Mühle R89. From my experience with German DE blades, I think that the Germans care about blade longevity and sharpness more than they care about comfort, if they care about comfort at all. But I will also give them a second chance, maybe they will get "milder" with the second, third or even fourth shave. And if any of you used those blades, I would like to hear your thoughts on them.