Slant + Feather = Mediocre Shave?

So my Merkur 37C Slant arrived last week and I spent a few days shaving with it loaded with a generic Israeli. I guess I was expecting a pretty aggressive shave and was surprised at the mildness.

Saturday I loaded that sucker up with a Feather. They usually burn me a little in my Super Speed and I figured I'd take my face clean off with the slant. Again less than expected.

Not a bad shave, really. Just not what I expected.

Hi

I have the Merkur 39c Slant and totally love it. I also use a straight for 50% of the time and really enjoy that also.With regards to your slant,I am also thinking of trying a Feather in it to see how it performs.I use Tesco blades that are a real dream,much better I think than Derbys and Gillette, they are supposed to actually be Israeli Personnas packaged for Tesco in a bland box. They are very smooth,very sharp and very cheap. I am wandering whether the feather will give a better shave than the Tesco blade,or whether it might reach that stage where the blade becomes too sharp and the shave starts to become uncomfortable.That situation can arise with a straight,whereby you sharpen the edge too much.

Regards.

77DX said:

Not a bad shave, really. Just not what I expected.

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But what did you expect? I know there are a lot of different (dubious maybe) stories around about the slants. My point is that it is just a razor that might work for you, or might not. You seem to be sorry that you are not hurt by using it. It is not a chain saw nor is it not made to hurt you!

talibeard said:

But what did you expect?

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I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting. But given this razor's reputation I didn't expect it to be milder than a 1948 Super Speed.

77DX said:

I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting. But given this razor's reputation I didn't expect it to be milder than a 1948 Super Speed.

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I cannot compare those two 'cause I never used any SS but you might have to play with your angles a bit to get a closer shave. I don't think the slant is overly agressive (not much more than the straight bar ones) but can give a closer shave in fewer passes. Due to the head design the chances of nicking yourself are maybe greater when used improperly.