My take on the I kon slant

Gary H said:

No sorrow on this one I have tried over 150 different razors since I started this hobby some old some new some cheap and some expensive. Of all the razors I have tested I have just 5 in my permanent stable the rest have been sold and or piffed away. I did not start this thread to slam Ikon but to give an honest opinion and my opinion is that this razor just is not for me. My biggest gripe is like I said before the extra width of the head this leaves a stripe of lather when shaving very annoying the engineer who came up with this idea should be immediately fired. My second and third gripes are that the head is poorly polished a matte finish making for a sticky razor and the blade alignment is a pain to get correct it should be drop and lock. My two likes are the look and feel of the razor. So that being said my Islant will be offered up on BST tomorrow night I gave it a fair try.

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I never had any intention of buying the I-slant, but I nonetheless enjoyed reading this very informative extended review. My Merkur is the only slant I need (not really sure I need that one).

I bought an OSS earlier in the year and have waited for the slant to arrive. I love the durable construction of these razors and may have to pull the trigger on the slant. It's a fine looking piece of equipment!

Gary H said:

Let's cross our fingers and hope the Tradere slant comes to the market soon this I can guarantee will be one of the finest slants ever created.

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That would be great if Tradere comes out with one. I've heard nothing but good things about their products. I was looking into buying a Tradere but they were out of stock so I opted for an Above The Tie Titan. I love the high quality of ATT. I would love for them to come out with a slant as well. However if Tradere comes out with a slant I will be one of the first in line.

rand77 said:

+1

It's all about the stainless. Plating wears and chips, and is particularly problematic for pot metal razors. Stainless should wear much better, its a much more durable material. Brass is great, but a Hoffritz Slant isn't exactly cheap either.

Just on the stainless alone, I think the price tag is justified, particularly for a hardware item. Being the only stainless steel slant is quite intriguing, I'll probably be picking one up if Tradere doesn't release a slant bar model in the near future.

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The problem with stainless steel is that it rusts pretty easily. Yes, it will last virtually forever, but if you don't keep it dry and store it without the blade you'll get rust inside the head within a month or two.

Your basic crappy pot metal razor, on the other hand, is lovingly plated with a pretty thick layer of chrome.


Just sayin.'

kingfisher said:

The problem with stainless steel is that it rusts pretty easily. Yes, it will last virtually forever, but if you don't keep it dry and store it without the blade you'll get rust inside the head within a month or two.

Your basic crappy pot metal razor, on the other hand, is lovingly plated with a pretty thick layer of chrome.


Just sayin.'

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Yep, that's why I take out the blade and dry off my stainless razors after every shave. I'm just not sold on the durability of pot metal razors due to the brittle nature of the metal. There are lots of stories of threads being stripped, and the entire screw head breaking off. Also when the plating wears off a pot metal razor, the razor will go bad fast.

Plated brass is is a great choice evidenced by the durability of vintage razors.

The way I see it there are 50-100 year old razors floating around everywhere with plenty of good plating still there so the way I see it a new Merk should easily outlast most of our remaining life time. If I buy two Merks this should cover myself and my Grand kids and for only around $85 total.

After reading multiple reviews, I'll be sticking to my Merkur slants...for now. I see the islant more like a new car that has just hit the market. It's likely to have some flaws that, unfortunately, people are going to find after they've spent their hard earned dollars. I've already read about snapped blades found in the head, and water retention in the head (after the shave) causing blades to rust out- if the head is not dried out/ cleaned after a shave. No doubt it's a quality made item, but it sounds like it might need some tweaking if the manufacturer decides to make an updated model.

I don't know a lot about feather, but just as an example, they're known for a quality product and their AS-D1 was replaced by the D2.

kingfisher said:

The problem with stainless steel is that it rusts pretty easily. Yes, it will last virtually forever, but if you don't keep it dry and store it without the blade you'll get rust inside the head within a month or two.

Your basic crappy pot metal razor, on the other hand, is lovingly plated with a pretty thick layer of chrome.

Just sayin.'

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rand77 said:

Yep, that's why I take out the blade and dry off my stainless razors after every shave. I'm just not sold on the durability of pot metal razors due to the brittle nature of the metal. There are lots of stories of threads being stripped, and the entire screw head breaking off. Also when the plating wears off a pot metal razor, the razor will go bad fast.

Plated brass is is a great choice evidenced by the durability of vintage razors.

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I have never seen a speck of rust on my AS-D1 and never remove the blade or break it down after a shave, just rinse and shake.

I am just about 99.9% positive the reason for the rust on the Ikon is due to the grooved matte finish inside and out if you look at a magnified picture of the Ikon finish you will see grooves. When rust or clear pre rust leaks into the grooves it just gets lodged deep in the finish and spreads requiring too much maintenance.

That's one of the things I like best about B&B, candid product reviews by someone who isn't trying to sell me whatever it is they're reviewing. The Ikon looks nice but unless it shaved 3 times as well as the Merkur I wouldn't want to spend 3 times as much as the Merkur. Thanks for the heads up.

I bought the I-Slant about 2 months ago. It is certainly has a heft and build that says quality, but the finish was not perfect. Frankly, it should be at this price. When I brought the imperfections up to my seller, Bull Goose, the response was 'you have to expect minor cosmetic defects'. Hmm...

As for the shave itself, I just may be among the 7% that Michael Ham*** says don't like slants. After two months and over 20 shaves using Wool Fat along with either Feather, Personna Med Prep or Astra blades, I still find my skin more irritated than any of my other four razors (EJ 89, Muhle R89, Gillette Fat Boy, Gillette Aristocrat), without experiencing a closer or more efficient shave to compensate for the added irritation. I also find the alignment of the blade a bit tricky in the I-Slant. Finally, the razor is a bit too heavy for optimal blade angle control.

Well, like everything related to our fine hobby, this is just one man's opinion. I'd love to hear others' reaction to my comments.


(***Leisure Guy's Guide to Gourmet Shaving -- a truly excellent book -- intelligent, yet understandable and humble; great guide for newbies, but also as a very good lifetime reference for experienced shavers.)

PS Anyone like to trade my I-Slant for a lightly used Ikon OSS? I'm only half kidding, boys.

Robbit said:

When I brought the imperfections up to my seller, Bull Goose, the response was 'you have to expect minor cosmetic defects'.

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Thanks for pointing out this one.

I have to disagree with the original poster. I have not used a Hoffritz but I use the Merkur Slant as a travel razor (I don't want to lose the Ikon on the road) and it was my daily shaver for about 1 year. I love the Merkur but it simply does not compete in comfort with the Ikon slant though it does give a great shave. I will also say that the Ikon gives me a 2 pass BBS with light touchup and the Merkur is ALWAYS a three pass with touchup. It is a high priced razor. I do not regret buying it. That's my 2 cents.