The Slant...Not so aggressive!

[oldspiceboy]

I recently acquired a vintage Merkur Slant and I have found it to a rather mild shaver contrary to what most people say. At first I though it was the blade perhaps. Walmart Personna's. But the same blade used in my 38C BarberPole delivers a far more aggressive shave. I went into my first shave expecting trouble along with a scary close shave and it just didn't happen. Not sure why that is! Rather disappointed with the results. Good thing I didn't buy a new one and spend almost 50 bucks on something that just doesn't deliver for me. The handle on the other hand! I like it way more than the barberpoles handle.

All that being said I wonder if the blade gap is different on the new slants versus the old ones. Mine came in the metal case like the Hoffritz Slants are found in. So it must be pretty old.

Any and all input is appreciated!

[baba]

I love my slant as well, I was terrified of it at first, but there was no reason to be. If you use good technique, its like a hot knife through butta. Smooooooth.

[oldspiceboy]

Well thats the thing. It provided a very smooth shave with no bite. When you take an adjustable razor turned up or you have one of the more aggressive ones you can feel that the razor has more bite to it. I was expecting that from the slant and found that it just didn't have that. It shaved well enough though. I just find it funny that people label it a beast of a razor in terms of aggressiveness but my experience suggests something totally different.

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

I won a Slant recently in a PIF and love it - great shaves and on a poor day still get a DFS. The fellow who PIF'd it to me found it too aggressive for every day use as did the fellow before HIM. I've concluded that with any razor we are going to all get different outcomes. This mainly from the variable of different skin and different beard density. Me, I am about as average as they come in both categories and it works terrific, not even a weeper yet.

[SharpEdge]

It can take a while to find the optimum head angle to get a good "slice".

[Mysterio]

Well thats the thing. It provided a very smooth shave with no bite. When you take an adjustable razor turned up or you have one of the more aggressive ones you can feel that the razor has more bite to it. I was expecting that from the slant and found that it just didn't have that. It shaved well enough though. I just find it funny that people label it a beast of a razor in terms of aggressiveness but my experience suggests something totally different.

Well it sounds like you used it right, then. Even an aggressive razor shouldn't be grating at your skin in my opinion. Someone with more experience please correct me if I'm wrong, but if you have an adjustable open so it has a wider "more aggressive" blade gap you're still supposed to keep the proper angle and it should NOT bite at you. Because of the wider blade gap it can get at the whiskers more, attack longer growth and take off more per pass... you also then have the POTENTIAL for more nicks, bleeding, irritation etc. if your technique is bad. If your technique is GOOD, I would expect you to get a nice smooth shave, just like you did. Congrats, sounds like you have great slant technique. I think it sounds a bit odd to say "I got a nice smooth soft shave the very first time but the thing's not aggressive enough," I think you're misinterpreting the term, or perhaps I am.

Aggressive <> Pain, bite and irritation. Not inherently at least.

[AcridSaint]

Well, I think that most people who say it's the most aggressive thing they have tried probably use Techs, SS, Krona and a number of other "regular" razors. I just got a slant and find it far more aggressive than my Krona, Feather travel razor, or the Lord L6. I'm sure it's not more aggressive than a Futur or a Slim on 9 or whatever and probably not as aggressive as most open comb razors. It's all relative. I think the shave is great, however, and I don't feel I need anything more aggressive.

[CyberJCM]

I got a slant recently, both 37c and 39c. I won't go back to anything else. I love how I can get a great shave in 1.5 - 2 passes, half the work with an extremely smooth feel. It glides easily, doesn't feel harsh or scrapy, and slices whiskers nice and low with what feels like minimal effort. Once I dialed up my Super Adjustable to 9, and it felt like scraping paint. Any razor that feels like that, even just a little, isn't worth it to me when I can get just as close or even closer with my slants and in half the passes!

I personally just can't understand how some guys have so much trouble with it, and give it the overly aggressive label. If by aggressive you mean, it's face feel is harsher or sharper then I flat out disagree. I will say take care with the slanted corner, it can nick you pretty easy if you're careless. Thats the worst of it though. However, if by aggressive you mean whisker cutting power, the ease at which it mows 'em down, then the more the better I would think. Whats the problem?

Guys are getting scared by it before they've tried it based on those opinions that say they should be. Don't Panic! It's a great shave!

[Quintar]

Even an aggressive razor shouldn't be grating at your skin in my opinion. Someone with more experience please correct me if I'm wrong, but if you have an adjustable open so it has a wider "more aggressive" blade gap you're still supposed to keep the proper angle and it should NOT bite at you. Because of the wider blade gap it can get at the whiskers more, attack longer growth and take off more per pass... you also then have the POTENTIAL for more nicks, bleeding, irritation etc. if your technique is bad. If your technique is GOOD, I would expect you to get a nice smooth shave, just like you did.

Exactly. Aggressiveness is just how much blade is exposed relative to the safety bar, it's not how harsh the razor feels. A straight razor would have infinite aggressiveness and they can be as smooth as silk...

[Gareth]

I have a slant, it is actually the first DE razor I have used, and so far I love it. I am still learning but out of the 8 or so shaves I have done I have had a few great ones (with Astra blades). I am still learning proper directions of passes after mapping my beard but I think with 1 WTH and 2 XTG passes, especially when I start using feather blades, I will get a BBS shave for sure. I have very little irritation so far using this razor and I think it is certainly forcing me to practice good technique. I would encourage anyone to use one of these razors, even beginners. I am looking for another razor so I can compare and realize just how good the slant is.