Merkur Blades and Newbies Like Us

I had to bust out the styptic pencil on my neck this morning and my face is burning.

I'm getting through my second week of DE shaving with a Merkur HD using Merkur Platinum blades and I'd like to offer these observations.

The Merkur blade really tugs! I prep well enough, take my time, and make sure I've got cream where I draw the blade but so far I am finding these blades to be a tugging bumpy experience on my beard, particularly under my chin and neck XTG or ATG. I'm wondering if this is universal.

I shave daily and get a BBS pretty much, but today I am feeling the burn. I've got 4 more of these Merkur platinum's to try and then it's on to another one from my letterk sampler, my Wilkinson Swords, or my Gillettes. I'm thinking I'll try the Dorco's next as per westcoastshaving.com's suggestions.

Put the merkur blades down and go on to one of the other blades in your sampler pack. The agony of using those blades that you are experienceing is just not worth it.


marty

htownmmm said:

Put the merkur blades down and go on to one of the other blades in your sampler pack. The agony of using those blades that you are experienceing is just not worth it.

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Yeah, that is what I'm starting to think. I just figured I should give them the ole college try before moving on. From B&B postings, I gather blade preference is quite individual.

Hi there,
You actually did yourself a favor (sort of) by using those Merkur blades first. You now have an excellent reference point to judge other blades by. Plus, you've been perfecting your technique. Two weeks is plenty to get the feel of how each blade suits your face.
Now........dump those nasty things, and try one of the other choices you mentioned. I'd bet money your shave will improve dramatically!
I think you should soon start having a LOT more shaving fun.
Martin

Interestingly enough I received some 7 AM Platinums from another B&B user. They're one of the cheaper brands and have a split following, but I like them a LOT more than the Merkurs or Derbys. I get a much smoother shave.

L. Martino said:

Hi there,
You actually did yourself a favor (sort of) by using those Merkur blades first. You now have an excellent reference point to judge other blades by. Plus, you've been perfecting your technique. Two weeks is plenty to get the feel of how each blade suits your face.
Now........dump those nasty things, and try one of the other choices you mentioned. I'd bet money your shave will improve dramatically!
I think you should soon start having a LOT more shaving fun.
Martin

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Exactly, you'll know how luxurious crystals, personnas etc can be after being tortured by these for a week or two. I still have nightmares of these things jumping out of the medicine cabinet at night and attempting to carve up my face while I sleep.

The Merkur Platinum is out of the razor and into the bank. I'll try a couple of Crystal Platinum Chrome Blades next.

L. Martino said:

Hi there,
You actually did yourself a favor (sort of) by using those Merkur blades first. You now have an excellent reference point to judge other blades by. Plus, you've been perfecting your technique. Two weeks is plenty to get the feel of how each blade suits your face.
Now........dump those nasty things, and try one of the other choices you mentioned. I'd bet money your shave will improve dramatically!
I think you should soon start having a LOT more shaving fun.
Martin

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Very true! Shaving with a rusty file will hone your technique, and make other razor blades look much nicer by comparison. I used Merkurs for the first couple of months (came with the Razor), and I didn't get bad shaves, in all honesty. But they aren't the best blade out there.

Given the razor burn I got this morning, I need to go back to shaving with rusty files to get better at this, but I'm unwilling to give up my ATG pass, and unwilling to make peace with the stubble in the hollows by my throat.

Jesse

soapbox said:

I'm unwilling to give up my ATG pass, and unwilling to make peace with the stubble in the hollows by my throat.

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I hear you.

~(Right hand raised)~

I vow to continue doing a 3 pass as needed, and to buff under my chin as best as I can, as long as those 'skers defy me to do so!

~(Amen)~

King of Kailua said:

~(Right hand raised)~

I vow to continue doing a 3 pass as needed, and to buff under my chin as best as I can, as long as those 'skers defy me to do so!

~(Amen)~

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I think taking this oath should be a requirement for all new members in the future. OUTSTANDING.

I had the same experience with merkurs. I started out with them and got okay shaves until the blade got dull. Then they tugged like mad. I'm using derbys now and enjoying them much more.

The only comparison I can make to shaving with a Merkur blade involves a butter knife and a Dremel moto tool. But of course YMMV.

Telecastick said:

The only comparison I can make to shaving with a Merkur blade involves a butter knife and a Dremel moto tool. But of course YMMV.

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My comparison was similar...but it amounted to flying over the handlebars of a bicycle going 45 MPH downhill on a bed of cinders, rusty soup cans, and jagged pieces of glass.

The PACKAGING was cool, though!

Mr. Gillette said:

My comparison was similar...but it amounted to flying over the handlebars of a bicycle going 45 MPH downhill on a bed of cinders, rusty soup cans, and jagged pieces of glass.

The PACKAGING was cool, though!

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God I love this place.

I'd say after a couple of weeks of DE'ing that I only want to keep the Murk blade for three shaves. There seems to be a big difference between day 1 and 3.

YMMV indeed! The Merkurs are my favorite blade, followed closely by Dorcos. Blade choice is something you really do have to decide for yourself, and you can only know by trying a bunch of different ones.

For me it kind of depends on the razor I'm using. Merkurs are usually OK in most of my razors. As said before, if it's not working for you then try something else. The Sweedes should work great.



==Tom

By day three with the Merk's I also notice I have a pretty good 5 o'clock shadow by...well 5pm (scratchy)! And it appears my neck is still irritated and a bit bumpy from the morning's face tilling. I may have to give my neck a break tomorrow morning and not shave.

I started DE shaving back in the beginning of the year. I also started with the Merkur blade and thought that the whole thing might be a mistake. Once I recieved my sample pack of blades I quickly realized that DE shaving is the best and the Merkur blades are simple horrible. Right now I'm really enjoying the Swedish Gillettes.

King of Kailua said:

By day three with the Merk's I also notice I have a pretty good 5 o'clock shadow by...well 5pm (scratchy)! And it appears my neck is still irritated and a bit bumpy from the morning's face tilling. I may have to give my neck a break tomorrow morning and not shave.

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It's hard to gauge how your technique is doing when your face is still irritate from the previous day. If you can, giving your face a day off is a good idea, I think.

Also, consider rotating through the Merkurs faster so you can have an excuse to start using another brand. I didn't notice much difference in the shave quality until around the fifth shave with a Merkur, but clearly they're always duller with each shave, so maybe dropping them in the blade safe after only a few shaves will improve your results?

As always, let us know how it goes.