smithmts
07-19-2012, 11:43 AM
Yesterday, after about two and a half years of DE shaving and somewhere around 700 shaves, I shaved with a Slant for the first time. I am left amused that it took me this long. I’ve decided to take the time to explain how I finally got here, in case it can be useful to someone else out there that doesn’t really know what they want in a razor.
When shopping for my first DE razor, prompted by a couple of Lifehacker and Art of Manliness blog posts promising a much cheaper way to shave (among other things, but this was what caught my attention), I had three criteria in mind: (1) it had to be CHEAP (under $30), (2) it had to be heavy – which in my mind meant solid and durable, which was important since this was the last razor I would ever own, and (3) it had to look really cool – not too modern, but modern touches were OK. Again, I was going to own this forever. What I eventually ended up with was the Parker 89R.
258958
From day one, the shaves were better than I was getting with my Schick Quattro, or the Gillette Fusion before that, or the other Quattro before that, or the Mach 3 before that, or the Remington Titanium electric razor before that. I did find that the 7am blades sucked (YMMV, as I am sure someone will point out if I don’t), and the Wal Mart blades were much better. I experimented with Feathers (which never did cut me, interestingly enough), but otherwise was pretty satisfied for a while.
About 6 months later, I decided I wasn’t satisfied with the shaves I was getting, and that the answer was a razor with different aggressiveness – but what level? That led me to decide on an adjustable. Prowling eBay, I became enamored with the Gillette Black Beauty, more than anything else simply because I liked the look. I bought a user grade for about $20.
258960
I had to adjust to the new angle, which was a bit steeper (handle more parallel to face), but otherwise I switched and didn’t look back for about a year and a half, at which point I decided it was time to get serious about the whole wet shaving package. I got a brush (Yes, I was going without a brush up to this point, using everything from canned goo to bar soap) and a blade sampler. At some point, I decided I wanted to re-visit the feathers in the Parker. I was shocked by attributes I didn’t even notice when I switched to the Black Beauty, but found much preferable: the angle, which was shallower, and easier for me to maintain correctly, as well as the weight of the handle, which sat much nicer in the hand.
I switched back, settling into a routine using the Parker with pretty thick shim. By February I had been on B&B a while, and it seemed like the Gillette NEW was the next option to try – reports were that it had a touch more aggressiveness than the EJ 89 (Which seems to me like it is probably pretty similar to the Parker), and the idea of an open comb razor was starting to interest me. I mulled over it for a month, and pulled the trigger.
When the NEW came in, I was in for some big shocks. Firstly, the handle was TINY. Or so I thought. Apparently, my perception of razors in pictures was completely off. It soon became clear that the NEW was, in fact, the more common handle length (about 3”), and my Parker was a long handle! Who knew? Secondly, the handle was light – I had done enough research to guess that the handle would be hollow, but was still surprised by how light it was.
I used it for about a week, and had decided that it just wasn’t for me. I saw a post by someone on B&B suggesting to stick it out for at least a month, so that’s exactly what I did. After some practice, a NEW head/Parker handle frankenrazor became my default setup. While I wasn’t in love with it, the blade exposure (not to be confused with the bladegap) became something I didn’t want to part with.
Finally, I had enough data to figure out the formula I thought would really work for me:
· A 4 inch, heavy handle (at least 3oz)
· Positive blade exposure (look for those B&B posts with the blade exposure pictures if you don’t know what I mean)
· Shallower cutting angle (handle more perpendicular to the face)
Then I read an article about The Slant Concept (http://shavenook.com/thread-the-slant-concept) on the Shave Nook, which does a great job at explaining the merits of slant razors and the “guillotine cut.” That got me thinking about a slant, which up until this point was simply not something I was interested. Before the Tooth-Comb R41 came out, the Slant had the same reputation, and I just didn’t feel the need to demonstrate my masculinity that way. One day I had a few days growth, and tried something similar to what Mantic59 calls the Gillette slide, except I used shorter strokes, and it worked beautifully. I stuck with the technique, but I couldn’t pull it off on my neck.
So, finally, the stars aligned, and I had the epiphany (insert angels’ chorus here) that the Merkur 39C Sledgehammer/Barberpole Slant was perfect for me. It is one of the heaviest razors out there (A full ounce heavier than my Parker), had well-thought out blade exposure (Read the Shave Nook article for more info), a shallower cutting angle, and of course can do the slant cut by design instead of technique. By the way, I had also read that it is not as unforgiving as its reputation suggests.
258961
So, finally, it came in yesterday, by which point I had convinced myself that I had over-hyped it (much like the NEW) and was going to be terribly disappointed. I loaded a Personna Red, tried to lower my hopes, and then proceeded with the all-around best shave of my life. It was everything I hoped it would be and more. The handle and angle were comfortable. Not only was it efficient, but I got that perfect hair cutting sound that is very rare for me. It was also more forgiving than the NEW or the Parker. Bite-wise, it was as gentle as the Black Beauty on 1 or 2. I was also able to make an ATG 4th pass, which I don’t think I have ever done before (It usually takes something like 2 WTG and 3 XTG before an ATG doesn’t chop me up). Plus the 2-piece design is kewl.
End Result: DFS. I am going to do great things with this bad boy, and think the Slant should be one everyone’s RAD short list.
When shopping for my first DE razor, prompted by a couple of Lifehacker and Art of Manliness blog posts promising a much cheaper way to shave (among other things, but this was what caught my attention), I had three criteria in mind: (1) it had to be CHEAP (under $30), (2) it had to be heavy – which in my mind meant solid and durable, which was important since this was the last razor I would ever own, and (3) it had to look really cool – not too modern, but modern touches were OK. Again, I was going to own this forever. What I eventually ended up with was the Parker 89R.
258958
From day one, the shaves were better than I was getting with my Schick Quattro, or the Gillette Fusion before that, or the other Quattro before that, or the Mach 3 before that, or the Remington Titanium electric razor before that. I did find that the 7am blades sucked (YMMV, as I am sure someone will point out if I don’t), and the Wal Mart blades were much better. I experimented with Feathers (which never did cut me, interestingly enough), but otherwise was pretty satisfied for a while.
About 6 months later, I decided I wasn’t satisfied with the shaves I was getting, and that the answer was a razor with different aggressiveness – but what level? That led me to decide on an adjustable. Prowling eBay, I became enamored with the Gillette Black Beauty, more than anything else simply because I liked the look. I bought a user grade for about $20.
258960
I had to adjust to the new angle, which was a bit steeper (handle more parallel to face), but otherwise I switched and didn’t look back for about a year and a half, at which point I decided it was time to get serious about the whole wet shaving package. I got a brush (Yes, I was going without a brush up to this point, using everything from canned goo to bar soap) and a blade sampler. At some point, I decided I wanted to re-visit the feathers in the Parker. I was shocked by attributes I didn’t even notice when I switched to the Black Beauty, but found much preferable: the angle, which was shallower, and easier for me to maintain correctly, as well as the weight of the handle, which sat much nicer in the hand.
I switched back, settling into a routine using the Parker with pretty thick shim. By February I had been on B&B a while, and it seemed like the Gillette NEW was the next option to try – reports were that it had a touch more aggressiveness than the EJ 89 (Which seems to me like it is probably pretty similar to the Parker), and the idea of an open comb razor was starting to interest me. I mulled over it for a month, and pulled the trigger.
When the NEW came in, I was in for some big shocks. Firstly, the handle was TINY. Or so I thought. Apparently, my perception of razors in pictures was completely off. It soon became clear that the NEW was, in fact, the more common handle length (about 3”), and my Parker was a long handle! Who knew? Secondly, the handle was light – I had done enough research to guess that the handle would be hollow, but was still surprised by how light it was.
I used it for about a week, and had decided that it just wasn’t for me. I saw a post by someone on B&B suggesting to stick it out for at least a month, so that’s exactly what I did. After some practice, a NEW head/Parker handle frankenrazor became my default setup. While I wasn’t in love with it, the blade exposure (not to be confused with the bladegap) became something I didn’t want to part with.
Finally, I had enough data to figure out the formula I thought would really work for me:
· A 4 inch, heavy handle (at least 3oz)
· Positive blade exposure (look for those B&B posts with the blade exposure pictures if you don’t know what I mean)
· Shallower cutting angle (handle more perpendicular to the face)
Then I read an article about The Slant Concept (http://shavenook.com/thread-the-slant-concept) on the Shave Nook, which does a great job at explaining the merits of slant razors and the “guillotine cut.” That got me thinking about a slant, which up until this point was simply not something I was interested. Before the Tooth-Comb R41 came out, the Slant had the same reputation, and I just didn’t feel the need to demonstrate my masculinity that way. One day I had a few days growth, and tried something similar to what Mantic59 calls the Gillette slide, except I used shorter strokes, and it worked beautifully. I stuck with the technique, but I couldn’t pull it off on my neck.
So, finally, the stars aligned, and I had the epiphany (insert angels’ chorus here) that the Merkur 39C Sledgehammer/Barberpole Slant was perfect for me. It is one of the heaviest razors out there (A full ounce heavier than my Parker), had well-thought out blade exposure (Read the Shave Nook article for more info), a shallower cutting angle, and of course can do the slant cut by design instead of technique. By the way, I had also read that it is not as unforgiving as its reputation suggests.
258961
So, finally, it came in yesterday, by which point I had convinced myself that I had over-hyped it (much like the NEW) and was going to be terribly disappointed. I loaded a Personna Red, tried to lower my hopes, and then proceeded with the all-around best shave of my life. It was everything I hoped it would be and more. The handle and angle were comfortable. Not only was it efficient, but I got that perfect hair cutting sound that is very rare for me. It was also more forgiving than the NEW or the Parker. Bite-wise, it was as gentle as the Black Beauty on 1 or 2. I was also able to make an ATG 4th pass, which I don’t think I have ever done before (It usually takes something like 2 WTG and 3 XTG before an ATG doesn’t chop me up). Plus the 2-piece design is kewl.
End Result: DFS. I am going to do great things with this bad boy, and think the Slant should be one everyone’s RAD short list.