EJ DE89BA11 vs. Merkur Barberpole

Don't know how to do a poll, sorry.

I am looking to get a safety razor. I mostly shave with straights now but would like a DE just for the fun of it. I am thinking about these two razors mainly. Which would you pick?

Which is more aggressive?

The Barley all the way.



The plating of the EJ surpasses the Merkur by a mile.

More impressions and photos of the Barley Chrome here.

The EJ has my vote, unless your looking for 4 inch handle and heavy razor.

Another vote for the EJ DE89...smooth shaver.

Sorry, regarding your aggressiveness question, I believe the EJ is more aggressive. According to our wiki...

EJ DE89L - .76mm gap
Merkur 38C - .64mm gap

Also, as xillion mentioned, the plating on EJ razors is much, much better.

Another vote for the EJ from me!

While the DE89L is nice, the 38C gives me a BBS shave.
My vote is for the 38C

After what another member went through with Merkur there's no way I'd even consider their razor, besides the 89l is a great razor.http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=207495

The plating quality on EJ's make Merkur look like turds quite honestly, and I also feel the plating quality of Merkur matches Parker.
My EJ89L is flawless, and the Barley is a highly attractive razor. I can't wait to see if Muhle comes out with their similar version using this type of knurling.

I have both bot Merkur and EJ/Muhle products. Both sahve well, but i'm getting tired and having to align the blade in my Merkur (HD), and the EJ/Muhle build quality is better.

My vote is the EJ.

shanman said:

The plating quality on EJ's make Merkur look like turds quite honestly, and I also feel the plating quality of Merkur matches Parker.
My EJ89L is flawless, and the Barley is a highly attractive razor. I can't wait to see if Muhle comes out with their similar version using this type of knurling.

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I've quoted this before but it's some nice camera work. I think the Muhle R89 is already quite similar to the new EJ Barley, and the "balance" of the Muhle is favorable (to me). One of the reasons I may consider the new Barley (I already own the 89L and the Muhle R89) is I might "gift" the 89L to my brother because the new Barley reminds me of my vintage Gillette Ball Techs (quite nice razors in their own right).

xillion said:

Just received the new Edwin Jagger DE89BA11 Barley Chrome plated. The quality of the plating is superb.
The handle is a bit heavier (47 grams) than the DE89L (44 grams). The knurling is very fine, to me it feels like a
fatter ball end Old Type. Overall the razor is nicely balanced and feels great in the hand. I will give it a go tomorrow.

Weight comparison from left: Mühle R89/R41 handle, EJDEA89L handle, DE89BA11 handle, DE89BA11 complete.

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I bought the DE89BA11 as my first DE razor and couldn't be happier. Looks incredible, feels nice in my hand, and most of all I've enjoyed using it - and a beginner, have done so with virtually no nicks, cuts or weepers.

nathanb said:

Which would you pick?

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I'd pick the DE89 (used both, prefer the DE89) but what I'd pick doesn't really matter. I don't get why forum users (not just here) always seem to poll for popularity when trying to decide. What's popular and what's best suited to you aren't necessarily the same thing.

nathanb said:

Which is more aggressive?

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The DE89 is milder.

I wasn't polling for popularity but rather trying to get a consensus on what people thought was a better razor.

Many people have given lots of great feedback about the two different razors that has nothing to do with popularity - quality, fit and finish, aggressiveness.

Thanks everyone for the feedback!

I still don't know which one is more aggressive as I have gotten people saying different things, but as always YMMV.

I think I may pick up the EJ but will sit on it a few days and think about it.

nathanb said:

I wasn't polling for popularity but rather trying to get a consensus on what people thought was a better razor.

Many people have given lots of great feedback about the two different razors that has nothing to do with popularity - quality, fit and finish, aggressiveness.

Thanks everyone for the feedback!

I still don't know which one is more aggressive as I have gotten people saying different things, but as always YMMV.

I think I may pick up the EJ but will sit on it a few days and think about it.

Click to expand...

Your answer, no question about it, is the Merkur.