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Merkur Bakelite 45

Hi all,

Just received my Bakelite 45 after a extended wait due to delivery issues, first impressions very very small!! I'm new to de shaving and my only other and first razor is my merkur 38C which is a lengthy beast by comparison. I had expected a light (plastic) razor for traveling and touch up shaves but I almost felt as though they had left a section out of the box hehe.

I intend to have a crack at it this evening to see how it does, does anyone else have any experience with one of these?
 
It's a fun shaver and great for any traveling. I really like mine. If they made them in camo, Merkur wouldn't be able to keep up.
 
Yes indeed the color scheme is an acquired taste, personally I like it but camo would be awesome
 
Right!! So my impatience got the better of me an I decided to take this miniature razor for a test run sooner rather than later. What can I say "size didn't matter in this instance" I loaded up with a new dorco st-301 (not a big fan) but I've been using them for the past two weeks in the 38c so I figured It would make for a better comparison. Choice of lather for today was col conks Bay Rum soap (mmmmmmm Bay Rum). After my pre shave prep and a good lather on my whiskers, I suddenly felt a wee bit dubious as I removed the razor out of hot water ready for the first stroke. As a noob, thoughts like "is this really a good idea" what if It cuts my face up" as I glimpsed at my trusty 38c from the corner of my eye,chrome glistening in the mirror light thinking maybe I'll try the new razor tomorrow.

Courage set in, with my daily intentions of a 3 pass,I begun. To my surprise this thing was as frisky as a Mazda mx-5 (Mazda miata I think in the rest of the world) it was smooth, it was flexible and quite frankly required much less respect than the 38c. As a slight grin appeared through the masses of father Christmas lather over my mouth, I knew this was going to be great, and sure enough it was!! Now don't get me wrong this is much less aggressive than my 38c and what is typically a 3 pass regime turned into 4, but you know what? it didn't really matter, mostly because it was so gentle yet effective, that I covered 4 passes in the time it takes for 3 using the 38c. Now the results were not as great as the 38c and I achieved what I believe is a dfs rather than a bbs, I put that down to the shear weight and agressiveness of the 38c making for closer passes, but then again it could well be my technique as I am a noob, and I need to get in a few more shaves with this wee beast before I pass final judgement. Reconsidering my statement of it being small, I think Merkur has come up with a good length to weight ratio on this one, and although made of plastic it is yet another piece of fine German engineering.

The Bakelite 45 was primarily purchased as a travel/touch up razor. But after this great experience it may well become a rotational item with the 38c

Price vs quality of shave, in my limited experience UNBEATABLE, and if I had of known then what I know now I just may have brought the Bakelite 45 as my first razor and move up to the 38c second. I highly recommend this to anyone that's considered it, for the price I highly doubt anyone would be disappointed.

I know reviews/input from noobs may not be so well regarded. But I thought it would be nice to share my personal experiences with this, and it may encourage a fellow noob to consider a Bakelite 45 as a first razor.
 
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Have the 45 from when it came out last year (I think) I used it in my rotation for several months. A great razor and not that little when compared to other Merkur DE's such as the 1904, anyhow the colour is a mamite thing (like it or loath it). I always thought if Merkir did a chrome version they would have had a real winner.
 
Thanks for posting your experience.

We welcome and value everyone's opinion here, regardless of experience or hemishpere!
 
I know reviews/input from noobs may not be so well regarded. But I thought it would be nice to share my personal experiences with this, and it may encourage a fellow noob to consider a Bakelite 45 as a first razor.

Funny, I like seeing reviews from newer shavers. They frequently remind me of important attributes I probably don't pay much attention to, anymore. There's also more excitement in them.
-- Chet
 
Funny, I like seeing reviews from newer shavers. They frequently remind me of important attributes I probably don't pay much attention to, anymore. There's also more excitement in them.
-- Chet



Thanks, and where would we be without alittle excitement.:adoration:
 
Have the 45 from when it came out last year (I think) I used it in my rotation for several months. A great razor and not that little when compared to other Merkur DE's such as the 1904, anyhow the colour is a mamite thing (like it or loath it). I always thought if Merkir did a chrome version they would have had a real winner.

mamite? sounds like a yeast based spread we have here in NZ callled Marmite (mmmmmmm Marmite), I suppose you're right regarding the size, Just based on my limited exposure to DE razors it sits very small compared to the 38c
 
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I love the Merkur Bakelite - I've got two of them...

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I think they shave extremely well, and I think it's partly down to the head geometry and how it puts quite a lot of bend on the blade. They're much better than either the price or the lightweight plastic suggest.
 
Merkur 45 is a good little razor. You'd have to try really, really hard to cut yourself with it. (Ditto the Weber DLC head with Classic handle, even though it weighs six times as much.)
 
Merkur 45 is a good little razor. You'd have to try really, really hard to cut yourself with it. (Ditto the Weber DLC head with Classic handle, even though it weighs six times as much.)

Agree, and I don't know if it's just me, but it would seem that blade angle isn't quite as important as my other razor
 
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