B.O.S.S. Brotherhood of Slant Shavers

Brian G r a f s t r o m said:

Good to know. Thanks, PGHChris!

I will say, the past 13 hours have been a horrifying study for me in the bad customer service of both Merkur and Ikon, and the bad quality of Merkur; still have yet to determine if Ikon's quality is good --- thought it was, but now I'm not so sure.

At the end of the day, does Merkur or Ikon make the better product? Which company is more likely to replace a defective piece? What should be my visual inspection checklist when buying either product? Sorry for the newb. questions. Please feel free to direct me elsewhere if this is the wrong thread or sub-forum in which to ask these questions. Thanks.

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I sold my Merkur, and I have all the iKon pieces except the OSS plate (which doesn't interest me). It is a crying shame that people have had such bad dealings with iKon, as I believe their product to be first rate. However, all the current iKon stuff I have now was purchased used from B&B members. The only thing I purchased direct was an extra OC and Standard baseplate - and have since sold those plates while they were still new as there really was no reason the have spares.

All of my iKon gear is top notch. There is no comparison as far as quality is concerned over Merkur. Where Merkur will have obvious machine marks, and rough edges, the iKon pieces (all of them, not just the Slant) are smooth and look precision made.

I can't help you on who would be more likely to replace a defective product, so my recommendation would be to buy either one from a reputable vendor that is a B&B member (BullGoose, WCS, Italian Barber, etc.), and if you have a problem they will likely take care of you and deal with the manufacturers or distributors themselves.

hdjj00 said:

Hello gents! Recently acquired this beauty. With the exception of some blistering on the cap, the razor is in excellent, NOS condition. Very light plastic handle, but really great, aggressive shaver. Anyone else grab one of these?

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Just got got the same razor, I shaved with it paired with an UFO handle...I still have to "learn" it .
for the time being I found it a little bit ...harsh

tam

Thank you for the additional insight/input, PGHChris.

hdjj00 said:

Hello gents! Recently acquired this beauty. With the exception of some blistering on the cap, the razor is in excellent, NOS condition. Very light plastic handle, but really great, aggressive shaver. Anyone else grab one of these?

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I bought the same razor. That one gave me the closest shave so far, compared to the Merkur 37c, 39c, 36, 43, Hoffritz slant, Ben Hur Slant and the Ikon slant.

I'm not really sure what the etiquette is for posting to this sort of thread, but I figure I should post here before adding a BOSS to my signature. Apology's if I'm being uncouth, but I picked up a 37c and have been loving my shaves for about 2 months. Just thought I would join in expressing my love of the slant razor.

used to have a 37c. passed it to a friend, just picked up an ikon slant head to use with my short bulldog handle. looking forward to having a slant again, though i know it won't be my daily driver.

hdjj00 said:

Hello gents! Recently acquired this beauty. With the exception of some blistering on the cap, the razor is in excellent, NOS condition. Very light plastic handle, but really great, aggressive shaver. Anyone else grab one of these?

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Apollo razor - Dunno whether mine is the same model (mine has a steel tip/cap) but here are a few pics of my Apollo slant. I don't use the original plastic handle - see the pics with UFO handles. I find it a bit harsh as a shaver. My main and favourite slant (so far) is the Merkur 39c. I am think of getting an Ikon slant...

I'm wondering if anyone of you guys tried shimming a Merkur or Hoffritz slant and what your experience was.

Ziglar Slant from the Ziglar Razor Corp. in Chareston South Carolina, late 1950's.. Has been reviewed before on B&B but not here in B.O.S.S. It's a VERY close shaving open comb slant.. Head is wider than the blade, akin to the Ikon stainless slant..here is one of the older links:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/12228-Ziglar-Slant

and some pics:

Question. I currently have a 37C and like it very much. I want a SS razor and a slant to boot and have decided on the iKon. Sadly, I can't find anyone who has the iKOn slant in stock. So I figured I would pick up the iKon standard and add the slant head. Who sell just the slant head? I can't seem to find it anywhere.

Last Friday I received a Merkur 37C in the mail. I used it the next day after taking a day trip out to Mojave, CA for a photographic outing. I showered and prep'ed my face as normal and I must say it is a great razor and provided me with a decent shave. I do have to get used to it though. My first 2 passes were good but my ATG pass was a little harsh. The razor bit me a few time under the chin due to poor technique. I am looking forward to using it again, perhaps tomorrow.

i recently added a Lutz Slant to my lineup which includes the iKon and the 37C. Gave a very nice shave and the two different sides is very interesting.

Has any one tryed the just released Razor Rock "Stealth" slant?

I am in. I own a Merkur 39C

DE Meister said:

Has any one tryed the just released Razor Rock "Stealth" slant?

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Actually hasn't been released for sale yet. I believe that happens this weekend.

The slant razor generating the most comment this last year was the new all stainless steel Ikon slant that appeared in the marketplace about mid-2013. Some loved it and others couldn't wait to sell their razors on the B/S/T generally criticizing Ikon for engineering deficiencies that resulted in cap pins that were a little small to precisely hold the blade in place on the base plate and line up parallel to the edge of the cap. Whatever the technical merits and demerits of the razor it was the first modern slant produced by any company. Manufactured out of stainless steel it presumably will last a lifetime. With the blade in the proper alignment most rave about the quality of the shave. Alignment can be achieved with a little patience.

The new Ikon is a copy in most ways of the Mulcuto Needle Point razor of the 1930s. Mulcuto first began manufacturing razors about 1910. The MUL stands for Paul Muller. He settled the operation in Solingen, Germany. The Needle Point guard was patented in both Germany and the United States (1751215) in 1930. Originally designed for a safety bar double edge razor it was "twisted" to become Mulcuto's most famous slant. They also made a couple of diagonal models but the spiral slant was the flagship. This was the razor that Ikon updated some 80+ years later. It is rarely seen and not many have survived because it was fabricated with everyone's favorite material....Zamak and subject to relatively quick degradation. Many of the surviving Mulcuto razors are the diagonals made of sturdy plastic, which does not pit and degrade as quickly.

The shave offered by both the Mulcuto Needle Point and the Ikon slant are predictably very similar. Smooth and efficient are the chief characteristics of both razors with the Ikon making more noise in the cutting process therefore giving more feedback. It is a marginally larger head overall as the Ikon totally covers the razor blade. The Needle Point bed is dimensionally identical in width (34.5 mm) with both razors having 10 teeth on each guard. Overall the Ikon head is about 43.5 mm wide with Mulcuto being 40 mm. The across axis of the base plate on both is the same. The Ikon head weighs 36 grams while the Mulcuto is 28 grams and overall the Ikon is 72 grams with the aluminum handle shown and the Needle Point is 56 grams. With the normal Ikon Bulldog handle the razor is substantially heavier presumably having a positive effect on the performance of the head. I prefer shaving the Ikon with the lighter handle which forces concentration on technique, at least in my opinion and experience.

The pictures below show some of the comparisons noted above between the two razors. While similar in feel and performance I would give the edge to Ikon and it is a very nice example of how a successful model from the past can be updated to the present with modern materials. That probably makes the difference as the geometry is very similar.

The Mulcuto Patent for the Needle Safety Bar

Zepp Nice write up. I am guessing you can write that Mulcuto off the list or is it someone else's?

My biggest gripe albeit a small one was the size of the head. It proved a little cumbersome for me.

I really enjoyed that; good info and thanks for sharing. I love my iKon slant - I'm going to be on the look out for a Mulcuto now!

Lamboy said:

Zepp Nice write up. I am guessing you can write that Mulcuto off the list or is it someone else's?

My biggest gripe albeit a small one was the size of the head. It proved a little cumbersome for me.

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Carlos,
Off the list. Found it in France of all places. Pretty rough in terms of the plating but good enough to use. May have it re-plated at some point.