Vintage Merkur Slant?

OK folks, you all know about how much I just love the Merkur...

In the quest to keep an open mind and fair portrayal of safety razors, I have been on the hunt to acquire more and different razors outside of my passion for Gillettes.

This has lead me to purchases of razors I don't care all that much for (and I have made no bones about that) in order to continue what I started.

This week I purchased another Merkur Slant in order to do a future piece on it.

I was told that this one below was a vintage model. Can you folks please let me know more about it like dates of manufacture and so on?

This one has not been used and is in almost mint condition. Even the cardboard shipper shows very little in the way of wear. In fact I have seen new shippers in much worse condition.

Ray, whether you like them or not, that sure is a great looking speciman. The case and outer box look like they just came off the retailer's shelf.

The only thing I know about the slants is that the "older" ones, whatever that means, have the handle like in your picture and the smooth cap. I have a Pomco Diagonal (a brand named Merkur slant) that looks similar to yours which I am reasonably sure is pre WWll.

The "newer" ones I've seen have a different handle and "depresions" on the sides of the cap that more or less line up with the "teeth" in the safety bar.

Unfortunately, I have no idea of when these changes were made or even if the handle change and the cap change were coincidental.

Below is a picture showing the differences from the one in your picture. This is the current razor. The picture is from "Vintage Blades" website.

By the way, Ray, I've had a couple of other Merkurs and didn't care for them at all, but my Pomco shaves quite well. Before I got addicted to SE's, I used the Pomco in rotation with a Gillette New and a Red Tip SS. I considered them all to be pretty much on a par with each other.

Regards,
Tom

Photo from "Vintage Blades"

Thanks Tom, I have also owned a Slant that came in a box of razors at one time or another. It was like the one I have pictures here but without the painted (?) finish. I know it's an older one but the question is just how old.

You know me and vintage things. It was all I could do when I bought the new 38C to report on. This one is clean for sure. I am having a difficult time wanting to use it. I may just be forced to purchase another to test ride...

Wow, so many folks here talk about their Slants but no one can tell me about this one? Come on folks!!!

thirdeye said:

Wow, so many folks here talk about their Slants but no one can tell me about this one? Come on folks!!!

Click to expand...

Ray, i remember someone getting in touch with Merkur regarding a Vintage Merkur Progress razor with similar packaging. I will see if i can dig that out for you. The two razors should be in the same time line based on the outer shipper.

I have one just like it (from chessman?) and when I was looking around for information, the best I could find was that it was pre WWII, because it was not listed as W. Germany. Very nice razors. Mine unfortunately has a crack, but it is still beautiful, and a great shaver.

Ray, this is thread i mentioned and i believe the basis for Rodd's theory.

Edit: I don't know where i came up with the similar packaging angle.

Don't tell me, let me guess. You got it on ebay with a buy it now for $25 and change. Chessman on here runs that sight and sells them. I got one last month. They work great. And they are not the blood-thirsty monsters that some of the slant people on here said they were. I like mine a lot. It is a great shaver. They all seem to have that same crack in the handle, but it doesn't seem to effect anything. Have fun with your new razor, and let us know what you think of it.

-Mb

I'm not the biggest slant-fan in the world but in that condition? You want to sell that, thirdeye, give me a shout.

scottish steve said:

I'm not the biggest slant-fan in the world but in that condition? You want to sell that, thirdeye, give me a shout.

Click to expand...

Go to ebay and do a search for Merkur. The fellow has the same razor listed with the buy it now of twenty five bucks. He must have gotten a slue of them.

I got the one in the first photo from Robert Waits the editor of the highly recommended Safety Razor Compendium. He told me that he believed it was circa 1925.

The pair in the second photo are new old stock. Note the one on the left had an earlier shipper and the Gillette clone handle. The one on the right depicts the slant on the shipper and has the heavier handle that we know and love. I am not sure of when the change was made. The one on the right also has a different case.

As a side note I have only scored one Merkur Slant with W. Germany stamped on the handle and it is a gold plated Merkur re-brand stamped Braggi. It has the thinner profiled Gillette clone handle so they were still producing them in that style post WWII.

Whether the new style handle still in use today was also in production then remains to be discovered. Perhaps there are older catalogs or ads that would tell us that but I have yet to see any.

Slant-Fan said:

Go to ebay and do a search for Merkur. The fellow has the same razor listed with the buy it now of twenty five bucks. He must have gotten a slue of them.

Click to expand...

I purchased mine two weeks ago and the handle is in substantially worse condition than Ray's. I'm not sure if these were prioritized on condition or the seller is pulling them at random, but with everything ymmv.

If you're unfortunate enough to get a less-than-stellar example, expect plate loss/spotting on the handle in addition to someloss of the white paint, and the crack is a little longer than I expected, perhaps ~1.25". That having been said it's still a remarkable shaver and worth the money spent.

Ray, if you find you dislike your razor I would be more than happy to take it off of your hands, if only for the handle. Otherwise I think I'm going to spend some time figuring out how to frankenstein this head onto another handle.

Isn't the screwing of the handle of the top slant different compared to the screwing of the bottom (left) slant as shown here:

I assume, this razor is older than the current offered vintage-slants on ebay.

I didn't realize these razors were that great of a find for me. I'm glad everyone is happy with them. That is a great picture of your razor thirdeye. Would you mind if I used it for my ebay posting in the future as I still have more of these to sell.

I wish Merkur's boxes still looked like that. I think the packaging looks much better than their current stuff.

Chessman said:

I didn't realize these razors were that great of a find for me. I'm glad everyone is happy with them. That is a great picture of your razor thirdeye. Would you mind if I used it for my ebay posting in the future as I still have more of these to sell.

Click to expand...

Wouldn't it be better to photo each one? They're not all in that condition surely and it'd be a hell of a letdown for the buyer if it didn't look like that? I looked on ebay.co.uk and ebay.com and couldn't find them, tho that might have been partly as I was trying to work at the same time! Chessman, do you have one in 100% mint condition and if so how much you want for it? PM me?

Bought one from Chessman.
My first slant and a great shaver. The only thing to remember is- dont get cocky if you didn't get nicked, it will bite. But there is almost no chance of a cut if your mind doesn't drift away.
I got a closest shave in my life. Closer than with a straight!
If you want a slant, I suggest this cool vintage one from Chessman

I like the vintage slant a lot, because...

- it is designed for the contours of your face
- it gives a clean and easy shave
- no adjustments to make
- this razor is built to last a lifetime
- uses standard double edge blades
- it is silver polished to retain his handsome appearance
- has a knurled handle for a better grip with wet hands
- is guaranteed against defects and breakage
- it has the built-in natural shaving angle...

...as seen here:

Double_Edge said:

I like the vintage slant a lot, because...

- it is designed for the contours of your face
- it gives a clean and easy shave
- no adjustments to make
- this razor is built to last a lifetime
- uses standard double edge blades
- it is silver polished to retain his handsome appearance
- has a knurled handle for a better grip with wet hands
- is guaranteed against defects and breakage
- it has the built-in natural shaving angle...

...as seen here:

Click to expand...

Nice brochure where did you come across it? Double_Edge, you gotta come join the Slant Lovers Clubhouse.
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/group.php?groupid=19

Thank you for posting this, Double_Edge.
Now we have it with black letters on white paper: This is
"The razor for the man who demands the ultimate in shaving comfort."