Merkur 37C Slant

Fantastic to hear - the 37C is my first and favorite razor! Such a pleasure to slice through stubble with this quality shaving instrument!

120inna55 said:

Before today, I'd never used a slant. I just used the 37C for the first time today. 48-hr stubble - head & face. Absolutely incredible shave! 3 passes. Very little touch-up needed. I know it's early, but I'm thinking this is going to be my go to razor.

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Ok folks, I know this thread has sort of turned into a "I love this slant" thread, but I shaved with it yesterday and thought "meh". Not that it was a bad shave, mind you, but it sort of felt like a smooth shaving R41 with half the results. I'd say the smoothness of pass one was smack dab between a Merkur 38C and a R41. The blade angle/exposure was indeed fairly aggressive, but I don't really feel like it did me more or less favors than others.

Did I do something wrong, or would folks say this is the typical experience?

For background, I've shaved with everything from Gillette Techs/Olds/News Merkur 38C up through a R41, straights (roughly 20 different ones).

Jason, have you tried keeping the flat surface on the side of the head parallel to your skin? That's a good starting point. Mine is not quite as efficient as an R41, but not far off. Good luck!

davidsilva said:

Jason, have you tried keeping the flat surface on the side of the head parallel to your skin? That's a good starting point. Mine is not quite as efficient as an R41, but not far off. Good luck!

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I'm a head shaver, so I do the back of my head mostly by feel, and I found that I was subconsciously tilting the head so that the blade scraped across my scalp at the same horizontal angle as my standard safety bar razor. On my face, top, and sides, it's much easier to visually align the head to the proper angle to keep the blade slanted at the intended angle. It's a subtle difference, but when you hit the proper angles (both blade angle to the stroke and blade angle to the skin) you'll know it.

Having said that, I didn't notice a huge difference in the closeness of the shave overall, but I can get the same shave as with my Popular with one less pass and little to no touch up.

It wasn't that it did or didn't shave, it was more that I wasn't impressed. I think I WAY overhyped it in my head. I'm not sure there is an end-all-be-all razor, but I had hoped it would've been the 39c.

It was a decent shave, don't get me wrong, it just wasn't a show-stopper.

Ok, update. I hadn't shaved over the weekend and only did a single WTG pass on Friday. Effectively had three days' growth. Today I used a different blade (last time was Personna Lab, today was a Polsilver SI).

All other things being equal, I really enjoyed the 39c today. Nice and smooth, heavier than I recalled on my first go. Mowed down three days' growth like a champ on the first pass. Did a second, XTG, and notice some fairly audible feedback. I hadn't noticed that earlier, but I liked it.

All in all, I think this will stick around for a little while. Nice shaver.

I feel the best thing about the Merkur slant is that it shaves very smoothly. It feels mild but is very efficient at cutting your beard. I have a R41 2013 and a Joris which are quite aggressive and the Merkur slant shaves just as close but much smoother. A pleasure to use.

+1

I have used the R41 and fatip. Both great razors.
But the slant feels so mild and smooth, and yet gives a shave as close as the other 2 razors.
Wish I had discovered the slant earlier...

DirtDiver said:

man... now I think I want a slant.

Q: Does holding the razor head at an angle = slant? or are there other differences to the head that make it perform differently than the angle?

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My understanding is that an effective Gillette Slide (look up the mantic69 video) with a normal Straight Bar Razor = Slant. That is what leads many long time DE shavers to call the slant a "gimmick" razor that solves a problem that doesn't exist. But, handled incorrectly, a Gillette Slide is much more dangerous. In my opinion, the slant accomplishes the same thing in a much easier and safer way.

Tell me about it, I received my 37c a week ago and it seems to have tamed my feather blades. Great little shaver.

gwsmallwood said:

...In my opinion, the slant accomplishes the same thing in a much easier and safer way.

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And it does it in places you wouldn't be able to accomplish a slide, like the back of your head.

gwsmallwood said:

My understanding is that an effective Gillette Slide with a normal Straight Bar Razor = Slant. That is what leads many long time DE shavers to call the slant a "gimmick" razor that solves a problem that doesn't exist.

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Not true, a slant has the blade twisted into a helix (like a push mower) and combined with the added rigidity offers quite a different shaving experience.

nemo said:

Not true, a slant has the blade twisted into a helix (like a push mower) and combined with the added rigidity offers quite a different shaving experience.

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...and it LOVES a feather (IMHO).

Is the 39 the same as a 37 with a long handle?

Slim Geezer said:

Is the 39 the same as a 37 with a long handle?

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Yep, same head. From what I hear virtually identical to the Hoffritz slant as well.

Dear all,

I used the Hoffritz only for 2 times and impressed how cleanly it shaves. However I also have neck irritation, the same I have with DE89 and do not have with R41 and other open combs.

I am not a newbie in T-razors, about 2 years of experience with DE89, R41, Progress. Do you think I can be poor shaving technics with particular razor? Or slants is not for me?

I have a 37C and yes I think the 'aggressive' this is a little over played. It's pretty efficient I must say, especially if you've gone a couple of days without a shave. One thing though is I find it a little less accurate for fine work like touchups, sideburns and control where you have hair whiskers that are growing on several planes in one area. I think I need to work on my technique a little more to compensate for the torqued blade. I might try one with a Swedish Supersteel - this blade seems to 'wake up' all my razors for the better.

Blade loading is something that requires attention as well to get the blade alignment just right - Here is a great instructional video - it helped me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ott7ZTIYHew

davidsilva said:

Jason, have you tried keeping the flat surface on the side of the head parallel to your skin? That's a good starting point. Mine is not quite as efficient as an R41, but not far off. Good luck!

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Agreed! I actually find I get a smoother shave with my R41 over my 39C too...but concentration is a must with the Muhle R41!

Guys, I've been using my new 37c for the past week, and to be honest, it's tearing the crap out of my face. I've tried the light pressure approach (lighter than I use with my 38c), but afterwards my AS really lets me know how brutal it was. I don't think is a lather issue, but could it be that my blade isn't suited for a slant? I exclusively use Bic Chrome Platinums and they've served me well in my 38c.

Any thoughts on what I should change up?

Thanks in advance!

Try Feather.