First shave with new Merkur 1904

My Merkur 1904 arrived late yesterday (Sunday) by priority mail. I fought off the urge to shave, and cleaned it with rubbing alcohol, followed by a brief soak in barbicide. I then loaded an Astra SP blade for today's (Monday) shave.

This morning I cleaned my face with a glycerin based face soap, lathered up using C.O. Bigelow (my go to for now), my scuttle, and my well worn Semogue 1305 brush.



I obtained a near BBS shave with 2 passes, with some buffing due to a witch hazel cleaning, and a spritz of Pinaud Clubman.

The 1904 seems to be a great basic razor. My only complaint is that it feels too light--I may swap out the original handle for a Parker 24 C or Weber Bull Dog handle to see which is easier for me to hold.

Well done! Congrats on the new razor. Enjoy!

Nice!

Awesome, and it's the OC version. I hope you enjoy it. I think the handle is hollow and that's why it feels so light.

I think this is one of the most under rated razors. The smaller handle makes it so nimble.

Excellent razor, enjoy!

The safety bar version is my go to razor. Very much under rated.

tincup said:

The safety bar version is my go to razor. Very much under rated.

Click to expand...

Is that a different head than the 34c?

I have both the open comb and closed comb versions. I like the closed comb with a longer handle. I use the handle from the Merkur 23C. I like the original handle with the open-comb 1904. It can get slick. I rub my wet fingers on an alum block to help with the grip.

Congrats!
I enjoy trying heavier handles on some of my razors. I find it can often improve the performance of the razor. Keep us posted.