Safety Razor Of the Week, 11/16-11/22 The Merkur Slant

This week I would like to take a look at and discuss the Merkur Slant Bar Safety Razor. It surly is one of the odd balls in the wet shaving today.





A safety razor styled in a slant-bar chrome finish. (Slant bar means this razor's shaving head is slightly slanted which is designed to assist in shaving the curves of the face.) This "Heavy Duty" business means that the handle is thicker and therefore the razor is heavier than other safety razors. This razor is 3 1/4" tall with the shaving head measuring 1 3/4" long x 1" wide.
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This razor is manufactured in Solingen Germany with Old World Craftsmanship.
I do not know when the first Slant was made however it is still being produced today.
It is known as a 3-Piece DE razor that weights in at 2.7 oz / 76g
It sports a blade gap of .81mm / .032”




The Merkur 37 is the only slant bar DE by Merkur, and is otherwise the same as the Merkur HD. Merkur manufactured the slant for other brands as well, including Lunawerk, Pomco, Coles, Hoffritz, and Brumml, West-Germany.

Here are a couple nice close-up shots of the Merkur Slant Head.


I found this fantastic drawing in an older thread that shows how the Slant works.
This is a link to that thread by mozart that was wonderfully written and describes how the Slant works.
You can read it HERE




The Merkur Slant not only came in th Milk washed (seen above) and the Polished Chrome but it comes in a striking Gold tone as well.




There is another slant with is known as the Merkur Classic Style #39 - DE Safety Razor



It's heavy duty, it's heavy weight, and it’s got a long handle. It's Merkurs newest razor in the traditional Classic Style. The Merkur 39C is 4 oz. in weight while the other Classics weigh in anywhere from about 2 oz. to 2.75 oz. The overall length of this HD Long Handle is 4 inches that is about the same as the original Long Handle. The brass handle is tooled in a spiral non-slip pattern that reminds one of the old barber poles. As in all two-piece razors the knob at the base of the handle rotates to screw onto the long screw that tensions the blade and allows blade changing and cleaning. The Knob matches the design at the handle neck for a very elegant look and feel.


I owned a Slant some time ago but did not care for it. As many of you know by now that I am a huge Gillette fan but being the fair fellow that I am I decided to do a post on this rather legendary shaver. That and seeing it called “Satan’s Razor”; I had to give it another go. I must say I had fun using it this week. My shaves were clean, smooth, comfortable and nick free. Here is a shot of my SOTD this morning.



Here is a link to the Merkur Slant Bar review section here on B&B.
Check it out HERE


If you haven’t tried a Merkur Slant, for the price, go ahead and have a blast.



Any and all information about this razor is more than welcomed.


Back to Safety Razor of the Week.

I eventually will have to get this one. Not a big fan of my HD and overall like the vintage razors better. However, as this is different enough, I will get one eventually.

Thanks for this segment. The slant is on my wishlist!

We have no slant fans in the house????

Slant fan here. Selling all of my Gillettes (except the 26 Bostonian). I already have the 37c and I am going to buy the 39c and a 37g. Once again, great review Ray. I am going to clean up my drool now.

This is a great post. I am a big fan of the Slant. Good choice!

Darn you people!!!! Now I had to go and buy a Slant

Picked up the $20 one with the cosmetic crack from eBay. Should show up late this week, hopefully before I move out and away from Florida can't wait to try it out!

Must...stop...AD taking...over...

I've got a vintage Hoffritz slant in the regular rotation....it's a superb razor, and my go-to when I've skipped a day or want a quick two-pass shave that will give near BBS.

That's a nice piece Scott.

Great post Ray! Definitely a different razor than anything else available. I have gotten some great shaves from the few I have / had.

I started wetshaving with "Satan's Razor" and I absolutely love it. I have tried a lot of Gillettes over the last year and nothing comes close to the shave I get with a Slant. I use it every day, loaded with a Feather. It is a razor that demands attention to technique. The only razor I want to add to my arsenal is a barberpole Slant. After that, I'm done. The Slant has cured me of RAD, leaving me more time to indulge in my SCAD and ASAD (?) issues/problems/addictions.

As always, great post Ray. As you know I am a Gillette man myself (Hmmmm..wonder who turned me onto the wonderful world of Gillettes)??

I only use the Slant for head shaving, a truly great instrument for this!!! I have tried both the original and the 39c. For head shaving I prefer the 39c...The long handle and BP grip makes for maintaining proper blade angle on the many blind spots much easier. I have also found the BP provides a "sure" grip in wet hands. A huge plus when head shaving!!!!

Kind Regards,

One little niggle, you describe the slant as a "3-Piece DE razor". I thought there were only two pieces, the handle and slant bar that are fixed together and the top, which is removed to replace the blade.

Very nice Ray! Ive yet to try a merkur, but with threads like this I might have to.

Gunnar said:

One little niggle, you describe the slant as a "3-Piece DE razor". I thought there were only two pieces, the handle and slant bar that are fixed together and the top, which is removed to replace the blade.

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Nope, It's a 3-piece!

Yay, I'm both clubs....using Tabac soap of the week and the #39c slant razor of the week!

Now, next couple weeks we need a Gillette Super-adjustable week and a Pirates Cove Coconut soap week and I'm all set

Another nice review Ray, that white slant is striking I wish they still made them. Now that you went back and used it a week have you changed your mind either towards it or any other razor while doing these reviews?

crankymoose said:

Another nice review Ray, that white slant is striking I wish they still made them. Now that you went back and used it a week have you changed your mind either towards it or any other razor while doing these reviews?

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Not really, I had fun with the this Slant but it's been cleaned up and put back in the box. I'll keep it for the vintage value and for an assortment in my collection but I don't think I'll be taking it out again.

I'm still a die hard Gillette guy but I have a huge list to follow up on yet.
I will say I lots of fun with the Star once I got the honing down.

Gunnar said:

One little niggle, you describe the slant as a "3-Piece DE razor". I thought there were only two pieces, the handle and slant bar that are fixed together and the top, which is removed to replace the blade.

Click to expand...

Vintage slants were 3 pieces, modern versions are 2 pieces.

Aaron01 said:

Vintage slants were 3 pieces, modern versions are 2 pieces.

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It's my understanding that the modern ones are three piece as well. It's just that the knob piece has a retainer that holds it in the handle. I have read that it can be pulled out.

This will likely be my next Merkur razor and I'm looking forward to taming this one. I think I'll get it on my two year DE shaving anniversary...

Thanks for bringing all of this info together.