SLANT: First Shave

[noahpictures]

My Merkur 37C arrived today. I was excited and a bit nervous about shaving with it for the first time. I loaded it with a new Derby blade and I shaved in two passes (WTG, XTG) plus touch up and it performed great and got a DFS near BBS with no nicks or weepers.
The razor is well balanced, very aggressive and gives great feedback while shaving; meaning it let me know if I became reckless and applied too much pressure. It seems like the slant might become my favorite Merkur razor.

I am thinking about buying the 12C (open comb); is there anyone here that has tried an open comb razor that beats the slant?

[MajorBurnz]

I like the New Improved Big Fellow and the New Deluxe Belmont better than a slant. They're both OC, quite aggressive, but still very smooth shavers.

My vintage Hoffritz/Merkur slants had better QC than my new production Merkur slants. They shaved about the same, however. Nice and smooth, but I prefer OC razors.

I've yet to find a New Deluxe variant I didn't like, but apart from the Big Fellow, I've not liked other New Improved Gillettes. Strange.

[MikeLip]

Open combs are not necessarily more agressive. And I have found the slant to be pretty non-threatening. In fact it's one of my least irritating razors. The blade angle cuts with almost no pressure and very little required buffing and touchup, which leads to almost no irritation.

[Dave Deluxe]

If you are looking for a Open Comb that provides a nice close shave, investigate the OC Micromatic. They are inexpensive to buy and once you use one everyting else will seem timid.

DD

[salisburyyates]

I couldn't seem to get the technique right for my slant to work. I had gotten to the point where it wasn't giving me nicks, but the darn thing refused to give me a DFS no matter how many passes I took. I am chalking that up to technique for sure, but it was very frustrating.

[noahpictures]

I suppose the only possible contender would be a Gem Micromatic. I think I am going to stick DE razors for now.

[BladeRunner001]

I love the slant too...it does a pretty good "clean-up" job :thumbup1:. I used it in combination with a regular HD...always BBS. Well, this was before my straight razor days :001_smile.

[Den]

I have never used a Slant or Merkur 12C but I do have the 15C OC and it has the same head. I get great shaves with it. Especially in the mustache and lower neck area where I normally find it tricky to get BBS. Not with this one though. I'm not doing away with straight bar razors, but I think open combs are best for me.

[Sledgehammer39]

My Merkur 37C arrived today. I was excited and a bit nervous about shaving with it for the first time. I loaded it with a new Derby blade and I shaved in two passes (WTG, XTG) plus touch up and it performed great and got a DFS near BBS with no nicks or weepers.
The razor is well balanced, very aggressive and gives great feedback while shaving; meaning it let me know if I became reckless and applied too much pressure. It seems like the slant might become my favorite Merkur razor.

I am thinking about buying the 12C (open comb); is there anyone here that has tried an open comb razor that beats the slant?

I have both and I gotta give the edge to the slant on this one compared to the 12C. However, my old Muhle R89 OC beats my slant hands down shave pass to shave pass. Of course YMMV applies.

[Den]

If your mind is made up about getting an open comb, you could also get a hold of Cooncatbob and have him make you one with the Gillette NEW head OC. Plenty of great comment on the Gillette NEW and how well it shaves.

Have a look at the masterpieces from his site: https://sites.google.com/site/bobsrazorworks/razor-handles

[noahpictures]

I love the slant too...it does a pretty good "clean-up" job :thumbup1:. I used it in combination with a regular HD...always BBS. Well, this was before my straight razor days :001_smile.

I have read a few threads of guys shaving with slant and an HD or 38C. What is the HD for? Sideburns?
I don't think I'll cross into straights because of the amount of time it takes to sharpen the blade.

[noahpictures]

If your mind is made up about getting an open comb, you could also get a hold of Cooncatbob and have him make you one with the Gillette NEW head OC. Plenty of great comment on the Gillette NEW and how well it shaves.

Have a look at the masterpieces from his site: https://sites.google.com/site/bobsrazorworks/razor-handles

Thanks for the link and the info, there're some 'perty' OC razors.

[noahpictures]

I have both and I gotta give the edge to the slant on this one compared to the 12C. However, my old Muhle R89 OC beats my slant hands down shave pass to shave pass. Of course YMMV applies.

Now you have me interested in the Muhle R89OC :w00t: I am trying to control my RAD. I already have six razors :thumbup:

Thanks for the info.