Transitioning from slant to non-slant. worth it?

Hi everyone,

I'm new to Badger & Blade and the online universe of traditional wet shaving.

I'm also pretty new to the art itself - I have between 6 months and a year of shaving experience with DE razors. So far, it's been a wonderful journey! I often have a beard, but had to lop it off for a job interview and haven't grown it back since.

My first and only DE razor to date is the Merkur 37C slant. I bought it on advice from a friend, who thought it would work well for my coarse facial hair and sensitive skin. It performs wonderfully for me most of the time, but I get some occasional redness and irritation on my neck (between chin and Adam's apple). I typically use Astra SP and Feather blades. They are effective and generally comfortable.

I am curious about getting a new razor - perhaps a non-slant. I was just wondering if this is a good move, or a step that might not be very fruitful. While I enjoy my Merkur 37C, I am interested in seeing what improvements/difference, if any, a non-slant DE would bring.

Does anyone have any recommendations or thoughts? Specific models of non-slant I've considered are the Edwin Jagger DE89 (also the DE89 Barley model), the Muhle R89 (also the R89 Grande), and the Merkur 38C barberpole.

Thanks in advance for any feedback!

-Alex

Go vintage and try a Gillette NEW.

coonskinner said:

Go vintage and try a Gillette NEW.

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+1. I alternate primary between a slant and a NEW short comb these days.

Vintage: Gillette Tech; but be sure to use a heavier handle, such as an Ikon Bulldog, 80 or 85mm.

I would highly advice you to not get EJ DE89 or R89 in your case. While I have not tried 38C, I suspect it would not help either. They would all be a downgrade from your 37C. No razor gave me as much irritation on my neck as R89 (same head as DE89).

Of the razors I have tried I suspect R41 could work best for you. It is the razor giving me least irriation on my neck. Yes, it is aggressive and not that comfortable to shave with but the endresult is what matters: closer than any other razor with least irritation. R41 is however very picky with blade. Try R41 with GSB or Feathers.

Any Gillette NEW (or iKon OC wich is a clone of NEW Deluxe) works quite well too.

Then there is an option to wait a bit more until Razorock Stealth slant is fully released as those been trying the prototypes have been very pleased.

As with so many questions posed on this forum, you will probably get a different answer from each writer. There is no "right" answer.

In answer to your question about slant v non-slant, my experience is that the difference between the two is not as great as many people suggest. Or, put differently, I have my favorite razor(ATT R1/H1) which I prefer to my slant (IKON), but I can get a great shave from both of them. And, I prefer both of them to the open combs that I have tried(ATT R2; Gillette New LC; IKON OC). I have no idea why open combs don't work for me but every little imperfection on my face weeps at the sight of an OC razor. Go Figure! I am most definitely in the minority on that one.

And while Engblom reports that the EJ89 irritates his skin, on my face it is a shockingly mild razor. When I have only 30 seconds to shave, I grab the EJ and run it around my face like a nimble sports car. Quick and Easy. No muss, no fuss.

So, the bottom line is that there is no answer to your question. The quest for the Holy Grail of shaving is a personal journey.

Bon Voyage

coonskinner said:

Go vintage and try a Gillette NEW.

Click to expand...

Plus 1 here...

Go with an ATT; I have several DE's and it's my favorite.
Great shave and the craftmanship of the razor is second to none IMHO.

Definitely give a non-slant a try. Personally, I wouldn't go for just another one of Merkur's models just because I'd want a bit more variety than that.

Whatever you pick, you might want to practice the "Gillette Slide" with it. Mastering that will let you improve the smoothness of any razor, and I think gives you a much better feel for what's going on with your razor.

As you can see, everyone has an opinion. Some might work, others won't and the only way is to try. The smoothest, most effective razor I have used, is the ATT but it also is one of the most expensive. The good thing is there are many combinations to find that perfect fit and there is a generous exchange policy until you find the right one. In the long run it might be a better solution than buying a bunch of other razors. If that is out of your budget, you can try others and what doesn't work can usually be sold on the sale forum. The NEW might be a good place to start. There are many nice razors that end up on the BST and a good place to shop if you can be patient.

coonskinner said:

Go vintage and try a Gillette NEW.

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+1,000! Long comb or short comb. Both are superb. Get a user grade one and shave with it for a while. If you love it (odds are that you will), you can get it replated for $30-40. If you don't like it, you can sell it for about what you paid for it.

Another vote for a vintage Gillette NEW - I find the shave to be very smooth yet effective with my LC. You can pick them up relatively cheaply too.

After Slant, I'd suggest that Mühle R41 or Gillette New are the only ones that would represent improvement in performance.
I've been through many, and have sold off everything except the Mühle. I really need nothing else and have had no regrets.

Life is too short.... Try as many razors as you can

I would also advise against an R89 based on the description of your beard type.

I often wonder if senstive skin is more a result of treating your face in way that most faces wouldn't agree with. It took me a while to find a shave routine that made my face happy. I found my skin was no longer sensitve when I stopped using supersharp blades, lots of passes, scented soaps & creams and creams/lotions/potions. Sticking with palmolive, mitchell's wool fat, arko alongside friendlier edges and old spice or floid done wonders for me. YMMV and all that, try out different things, but I do think senstive skin is in part a result of pandering to the notion in many cases.

Razor wise, I think you should definitely try some other razors & blade combos. From the few de razors I've tried, one of which was a Merkur Slant, I'm a big fan of the 40's style Gilette superspeed. In other news the EverReady/Gem SE 1912 model is pretty cheap to pick up and a joy to use, I much prefer the stiffer SE blade to the DE blades for comfort and ease of use.

Does B&B think a man with one razor should buy MOAR, yeah.

In regards to modern razors, I would think any of those ranking as 7.5 or above on the 1 to 10 point scale would probably provide a sufficiently different (and quite possibly better) shave to your Merkur slant (which is pegged at about 5.5 on the scale):



All of these should also be usable at the "steep angle" where you start with the razor handle parallel to the skin and then pivot the razor on the safety bar/comb until the blade edge hovers just above your skin. More on steep angle shaving at: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/410369-So-what-is-the-steep-angle

Also, while it is not on the chart yet, an adjustable Merkur Futur on the higher settings would also be yet another option, providing an "aggressive" to "extremely aggressive" shave.

Don't fear the term "aggressive", it just means it can bite if you aren't careful. Many shavers get a much more efficient, closer (or longer lasting) shave with less irritation to the skin by using razors on this end of the scale. YMMV. It all depends on your skin/beard/technique/etc.

If it's in your budget, I'll agree with others' comments here that you would probably love the ATT H1 or H2. If not, the Cadet / RazoRock OC is likely the least expensive in the list. The FaTip OC is a favorite of some and considered more tame than the R41. And the R41 is a favorite of many, but would likely be the most challenging and longest transition before you were able to consistently get great shaves from it.

Welcome to the forum.
The EJ89 and its variants would be a downgrade from the 37C, in my view. The FaTip OC would be worth trying as would the Progress. The adjustable gap of the Progress opens up numerous variations.
However, perhaps some work on technique may cure the irritation you occasionally get.

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your fantastic feedback! It's great to see all these tips and suggestions! The wet shaving journey continues!

These days I regularly use a 37C and a Merkur Progress (adjustable safety bar razor). I started out with the Progress, switched to the 37C at the six month point, and used it almost exclusively on a daily basis for six months. Along the way I also picked up a Gillette Travel Tech, a bulldog handle for the travel tech, and an Ikon Slant head for the bulldog handle. I would recommend you consider the Progress if you want to try a non-slant razor. The adjustable feature did not seem that important when I was starting out, but the experience with the 37C led to me to try different gap settings for different razor blades in the Progress, and I found I was generally getting better shaves at milder settings. As others have mentioned, the 37C is not particularly aggressive, but it does have a varying gap between the blade and the safety bar along the head because of the head geometry.

I don't want to dissuade you from trying and collecting different razors, but the issues you describe are likely not related to the differences between slant and non-slant razors. The most common reasons for irritation are insufficient hydration before the first pass, using too much pressure, and going too directly against the grain before there has been enough beard reduction. Since you have been shaving for a while and are not having general irritation issues, it is most likely grain or hydration. I gather it is common to have a grain change along a line just above the Adam's apple. I would think about the direction of your first pass (and other passes too) in that area. In my case, the grain is mainly NS from chin to Adam's apple and changes abruptly to SN along a line at the top of my Adam's apple down. So my first pass is NS from chin to down to that line and then I switch to SN from the bottom of my neck to top of Adam's apple. If I just started with the grain at the bottom of my neck and continued, I would get a good deal of irritation in the area right below my chin.

Alan