I've been using the same DE razor for several months now; an Edwin Jagger DE89BA11 Barley. It's a nice razor, and I love the chrome. But I hadn't tried any other DEs, yet. I've been curious about the Merkur slants, so I ordered one. I picked up a "blemished" Merkur 37G, the same as the 37C, but with gold plating, at ShavePlace.com (look in the seconds and closeouts section) at a good price. There's nothing visibly wrong with the razor, that I can find. Though it doesn't have any stamping or numbering under the razor head, it does say Merkur and have their logo on the handle. This morning was my very first attempt using this slant razor. I popped in a new Feather blade, lathered up, and off I went. (Be careful with blade alignment, as you load and tighten the razor. I noticed it had some wiggle room, so just be sure the blade is loaded straight.)
The first swipe just blew me away. Absolutely. Positively. BLEW me away! It's super-smooth! My DE89 never felt this good. I did my first three passes, and they were all very smooth. That slicing action that the slanted head brings really is nice! I did need to pay a bit of attention to the angle at which I held the razor, but it seemed to be a bit more forgiving than my DE89, amazingly. Of course, there were a couple of little nicks, as I learned I needed to be a little careful going ATG. I also found that I needed lighter pressure, compared with my DE89, especially ATG. But, overall, I'd say it was, by far, the nicest shave I've had with a DE. Not so much in terms of BBS or not, since I can usually achieve BBS with my DE89. But in terms of how smooth the blade glides over my face, how nice the razor feels as it shaves, forgiveness, etc.
Some say the slants are more aggressive than most DE razors. I don't know that I'd agree with that term. I'd say they're more efficient. I didn't feel like the razor was more harsh on my skin, or that I had to be that much more careful with it, compared to my DE89. In fact, it seemed easier than the DE89. I found that, because it slices the hairs more easily, I could actually use the lighter pressure that everyone keeps saying we should use with our razors when shaving. I felt that with my EJ that I needed to use a little bit more pressure to get it to cut the hair well, and that it would sometimes result in nicks and cuts that could have been avoided. Even the Feather blades required the extra pressure. But the slant just breezes right through.
So, forget the DE89. *sigh* One shave in, and I'm now in love with my slant!
The first swipe just blew me away. Absolutely. Positively. BLEW me away! It's super-smooth! My DE89 never felt this good. I did my first three passes, and they were all very smooth. That slicing action that the slanted head brings really is nice! I did need to pay a bit of attention to the angle at which I held the razor, but it seemed to be a bit more forgiving than my DE89, amazingly. Of course, there were a couple of little nicks, as I learned I needed to be a little careful going ATG. I also found that I needed lighter pressure, compared with my DE89, especially ATG. But, overall, I'd say it was, by far, the nicest shave I've had with a DE. Not so much in terms of BBS or not, since I can usually achieve BBS with my DE89. But in terms of how smooth the blade glides over my face, how nice the razor feels as it shaves, forgiveness, etc.
Some say the slants are more aggressive than most DE razors. I don't know that I'd agree with that term. I'd say they're more efficient. I didn't feel like the razor was more harsh on my skin, or that I had to be that much more careful with it, compared to my DE89. In fact, it seemed easier than the DE89. I found that, because it slices the hairs more easily, I could actually use the lighter pressure that everyone keeps saying we should use with our razors when shaving. I felt that with my EJ that I needed to use a little bit more pressure to get it to cut the hair well, and that it would sometimes result in nicks and cuts that could have been avoided. Even the Feather blades required the extra pressure. But the slant just breezes right through.
So, forget the DE89. *sigh* One shave in, and I'm now in love with my slant!
