Lord 1822

I took a break from obsessively following the news – everyone's new biggest pastime here in Cairo – to try out one of those razors that Lord sent me a a few months ago. I've been shaving with a Lord Smart for a while, so I put it on the shelf for a bit to see what I thought of the Lord 1822.

The 1822 has exactly the same head (a Merkur clone, if I heard right) as the Smart, but the handle is metal, rather than plastic. Granted, it's very light metal, so it's not as thought the handle is that much heavier than what I'm used to, but it definitely makes a difference. It's a bit shorter than the Smart's handle, which changes the balance as well.

And the balance suits me very well. Feeling brave, I loaded it with the one-off Lord Super Chrome blade that came with the razor, even though I have tried Super Chromes before and really disliked them. I was amazed to find that the Super Chrome works well with the 1822. Unless I've developed my technique a great deal in the past few months, which I guess is possible if not very likely, then I have to conclude that the handle makes a really significant difference to the shave. In the Smart, Super Chromes abraded me badly; in the 1822, the Super Chrome has given me several comfortable, smooth shaves without so much as a weeper. (And to think I nearly threw out my freebie packs of Super Chromes as junk!)

These Lord razors and blades are increasingly impressive, as I move up the scale. I'm pretty curious to see how the 1822 handles the Platinum, as well as my usual standby blade, the Super Stainless.

And now back to watching the news.

I am glad you lived through the turmoil unharmed!

I love that humble razor which went from travel-razor to the most used in my den. Is it my best and most precious razor? Hell no, but it is the only one that has backups (3 pieces even) and they are there for a reason.

Lord 1822 is one of my favorite razor as well. Cheap, affordable, relatively well made, and most of all, it shaves great.

It was the first DE I used (aside from the dollar store joke that I bought to see what a DE should not be like). I'm still impressed every time I shave with it, if it wasn't for B&B with all the pretty pictures and stories of other razors, it probably wouldn't have any competition!

I just received one today in an Amazon order and I'm surprised at the quality. Yes, there are finish issues on the head pieces but they fit together well (unlike Parker 3-piece heads that wobble) and the blade is held every bit as well as a Merkur or Muhle/EJ.

Most impressive is the handle. It's aluminum but it is perfect for this razor. It's long, screws in perfectly and - most importantly - affords perfect balance to the razor. When I read that this razor had an aluminum handle, I immediately thought that when I got it, I'd replace it with the long handle from my Merkur 23C. But that handle doesn't screw into the head easily and it really doesn't suit it as well as the aluminum one. It doesn't look "cheap" either. Aside from the color variation that comes from being another material, it's actually quite handsome with no visible flaws.

Looking forward to trying this razor out. The only potential issue that might affect the shave (that I see anyway) is the embossed "LORD" logo on the head. We'll see if it affects the razor's glide in any way.

The logo won't hurt you! Promissed.

The only thing I can knock it on was that the head had a lot of smudges on it right out of the packa vigorous alcohol wipe took care of that though. There are a few ugly plating issues on the side of the part where the blade sits, but I've seen similar and it won't affect the shave.

It came with a Lord Platinum blade and I loaded that in there. Lord blades haven't treated me well in the past. We'll see.

I PIFed mine to a newbie on another forum, but not because I didn't like it. On the contrary, it seemed like an excellent razor to start with, and maybe to keep on with as well. I got feedback from him after a couple of months that it was working out really well for him.

It's just that I had many other first rate razors for shaving, and didn't mind passing a few on. I have kept my Lord Smart, though.

Slivovitz said:

I PIFed mine to a newbie on another forum, but not because I didn't like it. On the contrary, it seemed like an excellent razor to start with, and maybe to keep on with as well. I got feedback from him after a couple of months that it was working out really well for him.

It's just that I had many other first rate razors for shaving, and didn't mind passing a few on. I have kept my Lord Smart, though.

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I was thinking it would be the perfect newbie razor, too. At $10 and if it shaves well, it could easily be the best option for a newbie.

Ntguy has been selling this razor for a mere $10 shipped, and at that price it is one of the best values in wet shaving. It's an excellent razor all around, and not just in it's price range.

I'm very happy with the Lord Smart. So much, in fact, that I picked up an aluminum "Improved" handle from Cooncatbob.

No, the finish is not the best, but the shave is excellent for the price. This pair has completely displaced my Merkur HD at this point.

(Click the picture for more.)

Aside from the length, how does that "Improved" handle compare to the Lord one? Probably better quality but does it affect the balance being shorter?

michiganlover said:

Ntguy has been selling this razor for a mere $10 shipped, and at that price it is one of the best values in wet shaving. It's an excellent razor all around, and not just in it's price range.

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People pay $10 for a Smart or an 1822? That's a 1000% mark-up from the retail price around here! This adds to my suspicion that the higher-quality manufactured items are exported for sale. It'll be interesting to see if, when I try some Lord blades that I buy away from Egypt, they're better balanced than the domestic retail products.

Okay, the more I use this razor the more I like it. Four shaves, 2 different blades, zero weepers, zero nicks, zero irritation, zero redness. And with canned goo to boot!

I usually shave every 3 days because of sensitive skin, but this bad boy has allowed me to shave every other day. Tonight I compared it side-by-side with my Merkur 23C, the closest razor I have to it in terms of head geometry and overall length. The Merkur 23 is heavier of course, but even though the head on the Lord is supposed to be a clone, I noticed that it curves the blade ever so slightly more than the Merkur, closer to the curve a blade gets in a EJ/Muhle razor.

For the first pass, I shaved half my face with the 23C and half with the Lord 1822, botth with a Lord Platinum Class blade on their 2nd shaves. With the 23C I felt the blade more. With the Lord, I felt the guard. I felt like if I had a lapse of attention or technique, I wouldn't have drawn blood, it was that good. It protects the skin like a Gillette TTO, but scythes through hair like a modern Muhle/EJ. And at the end of the shave, for the 4th time, the Floid AS didn't burn (despite me using foam to shave with).

I'm starting to think that if anyone out there has sensitive skin they should look seriously at this razor. I already have a backup in route....

Kevan said:

Tonight I compared it side-by-side with my Merkur 23C, the closest razor I have to it in terms of head geometry and overall length. The Merkur 23 is heavier of course, but even though the head on the Lord is supposed to be a clone, I noticed that it curves the blade ever so slightly more than the Merkur, closer to the curve a blade gets in a EJ/Muhle razor.

Click to expand...

I have both the LP1822 and the Merkur 33C and the Lord, intended as a travel razor, displaced the Merkur at home. Not that the 33C is no good; it is just not shaving as good as the Lord. Easier and at least as close the Lord gets the first prize for user-friendlyness!

I never expected it either. My customary Fatboy/Feather AS/Muhle R106 rotation has been benched. With how cheap the Lord Platinum blades are, if they last my customary 3 shaves each, that's something like 2.5 cents a shave or something. Couple that with this thing excelling with even canned goo, it just might be the cheapest shave out there.

Kevan said:

Aside from the length, how does that "Improved" handle compare to the Lord one? Probably better quality but does it affect the balance being shorter?

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Sorry about the delay -- forgot about this thread!

The handle is 4.25" but is very light. Definitely heavier than the plastic handle though while being much nicer to look at.

This actually gets more usage than my Merkur 34C and a EJ DE89L.

It seems to be developing quite a following. I use this razor and the suoerchrome blade and its shaving me amazingly well.

I have been on the "confirm purchase" button for an EJ or Merkur a few times now but each time I think no, I actually dont need to. I think I will get a couple more 1822's and keep them aside just in case.