On the Slant

[Labarum]

Have I got this right? A slant head razor has the blade in the head at a slight angle, so when you advance the razor head across the face at right angles to the head, the blade is slicing the hairs at the offset angle rather than taking them straight on?

The offset of the blade means one end is more exposed than the other, so the razor has to be used more carefully. But surely, the offset angle could be maintained while the head guard was re-engineered so it followed the actual line of the blade?

Can the effect of a slant head razor be mimicked by drawing the razor across the beard at a slight angle - an advanced technique I have seen on YouTube?

[elosamurai]

I've never read a more accurate analysis of the Merkur Slant!!
And yes the same can be mimicked in other implements, but great care must be used or at least experienced with it.. The slant head guard makes it safer to do so..
On the other hand I've applied the "slide" with my straights all the time,, I also pay for the mistakes.

Just don't run the blade at such a horizontal slide that ur slicin...ok?

[Kmitch]

Labarum,
The Slant is not the beast alot of people purport it to be but like the advice above, it must be used with care, attention, and short strokes. IMO they give great shaves.

[Labarum]

And my secondaryquestion?

"But surely, the offset angle could be maintained while the head guard was re-engineered so it followed the actual line of the blade?"

Or is that extra exposure of blade at one end not an issue?

[Patrick D]

I was "fraid" of the Slant when I first got it, but after I had shaved my chin to BBS with no damage at all on the first shave, we're becoming fast friends.

I'm down to where 2 passes and some touch up on those PITA spots and I'm good to go. I will say you don't want to lose focus or start to think you can treat it like a M3 with all the blade that's exposed. I think it's a great shaving machine!

[ouch]

I put a few incredibly crappy drawings on this thread.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...t=16407&page=2

[BroJohn]

Can the effect of a slant head razor be mimicked by drawing the razor across the beard at a slight angle - an advanced technique I have seen on YouTube?

Well, it's not quite the same. The Slant head actually induces a 'twist' to the blade with the effect that the edge ends up having a constantly varying radius, where the instantanious radius of curvature at each point on the blade edge is unique. This effect cannot be duplicated by simply taking a linear edge, and making an angular, sliding type stroke. (although that type of stroke works pretty well, too)

-- John Gehman

[ouch]

That's another reason why the slant stands alone in the pantheon of great DE razors.

[Labarum]

Clearly I won't undertand this till I get one in my hands - even the good pictures I have seen on this forum cannot explain all in three dimensions.

So the blade not only slices the hair partially from the side, but scoops it out of its root as it cuts? The blade will actually lift the hair before it sheers through. Now thats clever - the effect of a multi-blade, but with only one cutting edge.

Or has my appreciaciation of what that twist in the blade accomplishes failed?

[BroJohn]

Clearly I won't undertand this till I get one in my hands - even the good pictures I have seen on this forum cannot explain all in three dimensions.

It does take an appreciation of 3-D geometry to understand. Unlike a regular DE, the edge curvature of the Slant is relative to the axis of propagation, and the surface normals constantly vary along the blade edge also. A high-end 3D CAD/CAM system clearly shows this, but I can't illustrate that here on a bulletin board.

So the blade not only slices the hair partially from the side, but scoops it out of its root as it cuts?

No.

The blade will actually lift the hair before it sheers through.

No, there is no 'lifting of the hair' but the Slant does induce 'shearing' action that is different from the typical 'slicing' in the conventional DE. Think of the progressive shearing when using scissors instead the instant cut when using a punch. Another way to think of this is the progressive shearing of grass when using a reel type lawn mower vs the instant whacking of grass with the blade of a rotary lawn mower.

Perhaps in the future, I can get some illustrations together for B&B that would show the relationship. For now, accept that the shaving qualities of the Slant differ in a unique, positive way relative to the conventional DE.

-- John Gehman

[DEwey]

Originally Posted by Labarum

And my secondaryquestion?

"But surely, the offset angle could be maintained while the head guard was re-engineered so it followed the actual line of the blade?"

Or is that extra exposure of blade at one end not an issue?

I'm a rather new DE shaver and have had a slant (with the dreaded (and loved) Feather Blade) for a week. I've got to say, I love it ! Sure, the thing looks a bit scary but it really shaves great - and I have a wirey beard and sensitive skin. I don't know what brave soul designed and tried this model for the first time, but get over the looks and uneven blade exposure, IMHO it's there for a reason and, most importantly, it works beautifully! In my first week with the "SlashBar" I have had one tiny nick and, due to inattention, I clipped the edge of my lip once. Not exactly a bloodbath ! The shaves, however, were closer and more comfortable than with my Open Comb and Superspeed. The Slant is already my "go to" razor! It may not be for everyone, but I say, give it a try -

[DEwey]

Originally Posted by BroJohn

Well, it's not quite the same. The Slant head actually induces a 'twist' to the blade with the effect that the edge ends up having a constantly varying radius, where the instantanious radius of curvature at each point on the blade edge is unique. This effect cannot be duplicated by simply taking a linear edge, and making an angular, sliding type stroke. (although that type of stroke works pretty well, too)

-- John Gehman

Well put!

[Treedoc]

I've just ordered a Slant myself, I'm hugging myself in anticipation of its delivery. BroJohn..., wha?? I understood about 25% of what you said! Sounded good though.
John.

[rubyist]

I just had my first slant + feather shave this morning after being a new DE shaver with an HD for about 3 weeks. Do not sweat this razor, if you can use a regular DE without mangling yourself, you can use the slant. I absolutely love it, got very close with no irritation or cuts. It's simply spectacular.

BroJohn's comment about the twisting is very accurate. Hold your hand in front of you parallel to the floor and imagine that is the razor. Now if you simply slant it you'd have e.g. the left side up and the right side down on one side, and if you could flip it over, as in your razor, you'd have left side down right side up. They wouldn't be the same, so it's not really a simple slant.

If you had fingers of steel you could imagine holding a blade at opposite corners, say at the NE corner and SW corner. Now bend each of those corners downward, that's the slant. In that fashion looking at it from either edge you'd have a curve going downward left to right.

I truly love this razor. It is a piece to be admired and respected, but never feared. Get one!

-Scott

[Slant-Fan]

I have a variety of vintage Gillette 3 piece and TTOs and have shaved with all of them but the Slant is the best razor I have shaved with so far. IT is scary looking when you first get it and it takes a bit of getting used to but for using the weight of the razor and getting a close shave I find a Slant with a Feather unbeatable. As always YMMV.

Jimmy

[Hawkeye5]

"It's simply spectacular."

Agree Scott. A Slant Bar razor provides perhaps the best DE shave on the plant.

Has any other manufacturer produced a slant bar other than Merkur? I know some are branded under different names, but made by Merkur.

[rubyist]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye5

"It's simply spectacular."

Agree Scott. A Slant Bar razor provides perhaps the best DE shave on the plant.

Has any other manufacturer produced a slant bar other than Merkur? I know some are branded under different names, but made by Merkur.

I know from reading liesureguy's blog that Hoffritz makes one, not sure if there are any others.

He actually wrote up a small comparison yesterday between the Merkur and Hoffritz slants. It looks like the Merkur "won" :)
-Scott

[Haiku]

The offset of the blade means one end is more exposed than the other, so the razor has to be used more carefully. But surely, the offset angle could be maintained while the head guard was re-engineered so it followed the actual line of the blade?

I tried to quote the above, but somehow messed up.

No, not quite. The offset angle is maintained, it does follow the actual line of the blade. The exposure of the blade is exactly the same all along its length. The head twists the blade so that the edge is "slanted" or angled when one looks at the blade "edge on" the left side is "higher" than the right. When one looks at it in relation to the edge guard, or the bar, ie. from "down" looking at the top of the head, the edge of the blade is exactly evenly exposed.

Look at the pictures under the Reviews tab. You'll see it. But when you get one in your hands you'll get it right away.

The big trick is that when inserting the blade one has to ensure that it is positioned so that the edge does in fact line up with the edge guard all along its length. This is a bit hard to describe but perfectly clear and easy when you get one in your hands. Don't tighten up the head all the way. Tighten it up part way, look at the head from the top so that you can see the edges of the blade and line up the cutting edge of the blade with the guard head.

[Haiku]

Originally Posted by rubyist

I know from reading liesureguy's blog that Hoffritz makes one, not sure if there are any others.

He actually wrote up a small comparison yesterday between the Merkur and Hoffritz slants. It looks like the Merkur "won" :)
-Scott

Here's what I was able to discover. If I'm wrong on any of this, please let me know, I'd love to learn more about the history.

Hoffritz was (is) a high end cutlery store in New York. In years gone by, they sold slant razors made by Merkur under the Hoffritz name. In other words, they sold store-branded Merkurs. Today's Merkurs look a whole lot like the ones from 40 years ago, but there are some improvements, notably to the top cap. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that there are other changes as well that were incorporated into the design over the years. But, from all the pictures I've seen, the Hoffritz razors from 40 and 50 years ago look pretty much identical to today's Merkurs. One big difference by the way is that Hoffritz did sell some that had handles that were painted white. I don't know whether they were chrome underneath.

[Haiku]

Originally Posted by DEwey

I'm a rather new DE shaver and have had a slant (with the dreaded (and loved) Feather Blade) for a week. I've got to say, I love it ! Sure, the thing looks a bit scary but it really shaves great - and I have a wirey beard and sensitive skin. I don't know what brave soul designed and tried this model for the first time, but get over the looks and uneven blade exposure, IMHO it's there for a reason and, most importantly, it works beautifully! In my first week with the "SlashBar" I have had one tiny nick and, due to inattention, I clipped the edge of my lip once. Not exactly a bloodbath ! The shaves, however, were closer and more comfortable than with my Open Comb and Superspeed. The Slant is already my "go to" razor! It may not be for everyone, but I say, give it a try -

The slant is not designed to have uneven blade exposure. The blade exposure is in fact even if the blade is loaded correctly. When you load the blade, look at the razor from the top. Line up the edge of the blade with the guard. Then tighten. If you don't do that, you may well get uneven expousre and that is what leads to cuts. I suspect that is what leads folks to talk about this razor as something to be feared.