Open comb razor....

Hi I have decided to buy another razor. I currently use a EJ de89 and have done for 8 months. As I have a very dense and tough beard I figured maybe an open comb razor would give me a better shave. I use feather and gillette 5 o'clock yellows and they seem to work well.
I was looking at a merkur 15c open comb. Is this a good option and are there any others you can recommend. Thank you.

Terry,
Are you open to using vintage Gillette razors? If so, the "old type" and the "NEW" are fantastic open comb razors, and tend to be attainable if you keep an eye on the B/S/T.
That being said, I think you may get more responses on your question if you post it in the safety razors sub-forum. There's even a huge thread devoted to open comb razors and helping new folks enjoy them (brotherhood of the open comb).
You may want to ask the mods to move your thread over there.
Best of luck!!!

I think you will be suprised on how smooth of a shave an OC can give. I believe the 15c has the same head as the pre 2011 Muhle R41's, and If that's the case, your in for one heck of a razor!!! That's the one razor I wish I had back was my r41, pre 2011 of course, the 2011 is wayyyy to much "openness" for me.

Vintage gillettes - mild, gets the job done.
fatip - more aggressive than your dE89
R41 (2011) - very aggressive but can be tamed...

I too agree the pre 2011 R41 is a great razor, one of my favorites, but the old and new Gillettes are great for the price. These would all get my votes, enjoy your shave!

I own only one OC razor, the Fatip Picolo. The shave is super close anf the razor price is very goos too. Mine arrived with no problems at all. I find for me it's a little too aggressive so it gets used with a few days growth.

While I'm here then what would be a good mild OC razor. Currently using a super adjustable set on 7.

The Merkur 15C is an excellant choice!

Hi! The 15C is a fine razor. my GO-To modern OC reccomendation used to be the Merkur 11C since it has the same handle as the HD 34C and is really easy to handle and rather mild. Unfortunately the 11C has been discontinued. Keep an eye out for one though, they are fantastic mild shavers.

I also would reccomend a vintage Gillette NEW razor. Short comb or long comb. Many people begin their love affair with OC's with a NEW.

Stop over in to the Double Edge subforum and join us in the BOTOC (Brotherhood Of The Open Comb) thread. All of our brothers (and sister) are more than happy to discuss razors any time!!

I have begun my love affair of OC's with a Gillette new. Fantastic and currently my daily shaver!

I bought mine because of my beard (toughness, thickness) and still enjoy it on occasion. It gives me a close and gentle shave, but I found later that more blade exposure was needed for me to get a true BBS, which is why I mostly use a Futur.

Just need to point out that there were two "pre-2011" R41s.

The 2010 R41 had the Merkur head - same as 15c, 1904 etc

The 2009 R41 was the same as the Fatip, which is quite a bit more aggressive than the Merkur head but less aggressive than the 2011 R41.

Gillette New & Old OCs are both fantastic, as is the FaTip. With a couple days' growth, they're my go-to razors.

Slant?

Oscroft said:

Just need to point out that there were two "pre-2011" R41s.

The 2010 R41 had the Merkur head - same as 15c, 1904 etc

The 2009 R41 was the same as the Fatip, which is quite a bit more aggressive than the Merkur head but less aggressive than the 2011 R41.

Click to expand...

I may be wrong- but I was under the impression that the 2009 open comb from Muhle was called the old R89- not the R41. I have this razor- and yes- it is just a better plated Fatip- which I also have.

fcdiscus said:

I may be wrong- but I was under the impression that the 2009 open comb from Muhle was called the old R89- not the R41. I have this razor- and yes- it is just a better plated Fatip- which I also have.

Click to expand...

There are pictures in this thread and this one, showing all three R41s.

There were two different model Fatips too, so the old R89 might have been the other Fatip, and there's also a suggestion that the difference between the OC R89 and the Fatip R41 was the finish - I'm sure it's all on the BOTOC thread, but there's 194 pages of it so far and I can't face searching it.

Oscroft said:

There are pictures in this thread and this one, showing all three R41s.

There were two different model Fatips too, so the old R89 might have been the other Fatip, and there's also a suggestion that the difference between the OC R89 and the Fatip R41 was the finish - I'm sure it's all on the BOTOC thread, but there's 194 pages of it so far and I can't face searching it.

Click to expand...

I always use Google and use the 'site filter', and then a keyword search when I want to search for something specific.

Put in badger blade, and then the 'more results' then search the keywords/keyphrases you want.

I'd give my vote to the Long Comb New, which is what I converted to after using my EJ89L for over a year. The EJ is just too mild now, and I guess there's no going back.
'

Just got a Gillette NEW open comb (not sure if it's long comb though?) and it shaves great.

I always thought it was the R89 too.....

Get a r41 (2011) it's a great razor! It's not as hard to tame as some suggest.