Merkur Slant proper blade alignment

[RaiserLiebe]

Just received a new 39c from Lee's Razors Saturday and shaved around 1 pm. Very smooth DFS at least- no nicks, little feedback from alum, and I have so little stubble 18 hours later that there is no need to shave. Great fit and finish too, no complaints there. LOVE the Sledgehammer!

Blade alignment? Following suggestions in this thread, I put the cap upside down (with screw up) on towel on countertop, dropped the blade in, screwed the handle on, and it worked perfect. It seems to me (no disrespect to others, for whom getting the blade edge parallel to the guard bar seems to work) that having the blade edge parallel to the top cap is what you want. I found it difficult to see that the blade alignment is good when viewing from above the top of the cap with the handle pointing away. So I tried looking along the edge of the blade, and could see from that perspective more easily that the sharp edge and the edge of the top cap were parallel. So that seemed to work well for me.


Cheers!

 

[Haiku]

Just received a new 39c from Lee's Razors Saturday and shaved around 1 pm. Very smooth DFS at least- no nicks, little feedback from alum, and I have so little stubble 18 hours later that there is no need to shave. Great fit and finish too, no complaints there. LOVE the Sledgehammer!

Blade alignment? Following suggestions in this thread, I put the cap upside down (with screw up) on towel on countertop, dropped the blade in, screwed the handle on, and it worked perfect. It seems to me (no disrespect to others, for whom getting the blade edge parallel to the guard bar seems to work) that having the blade edge parallel to the top cap is what you want. I found it difficult to see that the blade alignment is good when viewing from above the top of the cap with the handle pointing away. So I tried looking along the edge of the blade, and could see from that perspective more easily that the sharp edge and the edge of the top cap were parallel. So that seemed to work well for me.

View attachment 256328
Cheers!

Son of a gun.

Never thought to simply do that, ie. put the head down upside down, drop in the blade, place the razor handle on of of the thread and tighten down. You're right, it works perfectly. The razor self-aligns the blade. Learn something new every day.

Son of a gun.

I just love this forum.

 

[StubbleShaver]

Son of a gun.

Never thought to simply do that, ie. put the head down upside down, drop in the blade, place the razor handle on of of the thread and tighten down. You're right, it works perfectly. The razor self-aligns the blade. Learn something new every day.

Son of a gun.

I just love this forum.

This is exactly what it said to do in the instructions that came with my 39C!

 

[Haiku]

This is exactly what it said to do in the instructions that came with my 39C!

I've owned two slants from Merkur a gold and a chrome - and neither of them came with instructions. My vintage Merkur also did not come with instructions. Good that they're providing instructions now.

 

[IngrownGuy]

I think you all are a little confused on this and making it way more complicated than it is. Place the holder with the three posts upside down on a surface. Put the blade in it. Place the handle on top of the screw, tighten it till it stops, and voila, YOU'RE DONE! It is not meant to be pushed around or anything. There is supposed to be a big gap underneath it and it should lay against the top of it. It is slanted that way. It's not supposed to be super dramatically slanted. Stop making it more complicated than it has to be.

 

[brucered]

I think you all are a little confused on this and making it way more complicated than it is. Place the holder with the three posts upside down on a surface. Put the blade in it. Place the handle on top of the screw, tighten it till it stops, and voila, YOU'RE DONE! It is not meant to be pushed around or anything. There is supposed to be a big gap underneath it and it should lay against the top of it. It is slanted that way. It's not supposed to be super dramatically slanted. Stop making it more complicated than it has to be.

but it should be parallel to the blade guard and even on both sides. they all seem to have issues with alignement. mine is gone, so i can't check it again.

but i do remember there was some play in it. with an EJ or Muhle, there is no way to misalign the blade, the merkur on the other hand

 

[Go West Young Man]

I think you all are a little confused on this and making it way more complicated than it is. Place the holder with the three posts upside down on a surface. Put the blade in it. Place the handle on top of the screw, tighten it till it stops, and voila, YOU'RE DONE! It is not meant to be pushed around or anything. There is supposed to be a big gap underneath it and it should lay against the top of it. It is slanted that way. It's not supposed to be super dramatically slanted. Stop making it more complicated than it has to be.

Actually, Merkur slants have some play in them, the blade can twist a little side to side.
If you look at it from the top of the cap, the blade should be parallel to the cap, but it can sometimes push out too far one way or another and dig into your face.

 

[kosby]

Hell, I say throw a blade in it and shave. It isn't that complicated.

 

[brucered]

Hell, I say throw a blade in it and shave. It isn't that complicated.

ok, throw a feather in a merkur slant, slap it tight and lets us know how it turns out.

 

[warhawk]

Hell, I say throw a blade in it and shave. It isn't that complicated.

+1,000,000

I have been shaving with my 37C and recently 37G for about a month and I carefully place the blade of choice, load it up, and I get some magical BBS face and dome shaves.

WARHAWK

 

[kosby]

ok, throw a feather in a merkur slant, slap it tight and lets us know how it turns out.

It worked for me. A Feather in a 37c was my favorite combo for months until finding a better blade.

 

[brucered]

It worked for me. A Feather in a 37c was my favorite combo for months until finding a better blade.

thanks. i had the same issues with it that Go West Young Man described, play in the blade from side to side. 1 side more aggressive then the other.

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if it got tightened and wasn't centered, it was an annoying shave. if it was loaded square, there were no issues.

 

[IngrownGuy]

thanks. i had the same issues with it that Go West Young Man described, play in the blade from side to side. 1 side more aggressive then the other.
if it got tightened and wasn't centered, it was an annoying shave. if it was loaded square, there were no issues.

I am honestly pretty confused with what everyone's issue, including yours, is with alignment. All I do is put a blade in flat in the three posts and then tighten it up nicely. That is all. It's not meant to be fooled with anymore. What is your issue that you need to tinker with it? Mine is level on both sides just doing that and there is nothing else that needs to be done. They are just like any other DE. Do not over think it.

 

[7 O Menthol]

I am honestly pretty confused with what everyone's issue, including yours, is with alignment. All I do is put a blade in flat in the three posts and then tighten it up nicely. That is all. It's not meant to be fooled with anymore. What is your issue that you need to tinker with it? Mine is level on both sides just doing that and there is nothing else that needs to be done. They are just like any other DE. Do not over think it.

You're coming off pretty pushy for only having 5 posts to your name.

Thank you for sharing your experience. Understand that it's entirely possible that other gentlemen may have a slightly different experience.
Mileage varies. Move on.

 

[brucered]

I am honestly pretty confused with what everyone's issue, including yours, is with alignment. All I do is put a blade in flat in the three posts and then tighten it up nicely. That is all. It's not meant to be fooled with anymore. What is your issue that you need to tinker with it? Mine is level on both sides just doing that and there is nothing else that needs to be done. They are just like any other DE. Do not over think it.

i'm not overthinking it, and i'm not the only one that has had issues with merkur slants. clearly the blade alignement or posts on the Slant (and other merkurs for that matter) are not 100% wiggle free. there is room for some play, and i recall it being the same on my 39c.

here are a few Slant, blade alignment threads (there are more)

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/136417-Blade-Alignment-in-Slant-Razors
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/122708-Almost-willing-to-bet-on-Slant-blade-alignment
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/304695-Merkur-39C-slant-bar-alignment
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/290901-A-question-for-slant-razor-users

glad yours is working for you. enjoy.

 

[StillShaving]

First off, I know this issue has been mentioned here many times, and I have read all the articles here and on the other forums. While some people think that the blade should be parallel to the slanted bar, others think the blade should parallel to the top. Now the whole purpose of a slant razor is to cut the whiskers like a guillotine would cut. I know someone here on B&B contacted a "lady" who works for Mekur and asked how it should be done and she said the blade should be parallel to the top not the bottom.
But shouldn't the blade cut the whiskers in a guillotine motion? If the blade is parallel to the top on the head, then it kills the whole purpose of a guillotine (slicing) cut, doesn't it?

First picture shows the blade to be parallel to the top.
View attachment 255540
The second picture shows the blade to be parallel to the bottom making the blade look like a guillotine.
View attachment 255541

I think both are guillotine-like in that the safety bar and head are twisted and not square with the handle when pulling straight down. Part of the recommendation to keep parallel with the top cap may be to increase the blade gap towards the lower end of the safety bar, increasing the overall aggressiveness. Though the way the head is twisted maybe it all works out to be the same effective gap, at least in theory. Its been a while since I have used my slant but I do remember it being more tricky to load than other DE razors.

 

[brucered]

I think both are guillotine-like in that the safety bar and head are twisted and not square with the handle when pulling straight down. Part of the recommendation to keep parallel with the top cap may be to increase the blade gap towards the lower end of the safety bar, increasing the overall aggressiveness. Though the way the head is twisted maybe it all works out to be the same effective gap, at least in theory. Its been a while since I have used my slant but I do remember it being more tricky to load than other DE razors.

thanks, and i agree, but it should be this way.

the issue i had with the merkur slant (as that is the one the OP was referring to), is that if it should load AND hold in a certain position, why can't merkur get it to be worry/trouble free? the feather razor, R89 and all my gillettes hold the blade 100% in place, no wiggle, both sides shave exactly the same.

all it would mean is an extra post or different blade holding gadget (as you can see, i'm quite technical with my wording).

i can almost guarantee, if and when Tradere makes one, the blade alignment issue with Slants will be corrected once and for all.

 

[dieselfuel79]

My face is crooked, so the uneven blade ends up working famously for me.
Ok, I jest. I put the blade in with the head upside down as well.

 

[rajagra]

Why would they design the top cap so it doesn't align with the blade edge? That would be crazy.
Clearly the intent is align the blade with the top cap.

So why aren't the top cap and the guard parallel?
As pointed out in this thread, the angle of the blade relative to the skin varies from one end of the blade to the other (by 5° by my measurement) and possibly the extra exposure at one end compensates for the milder blade angle.



Does that mean you can't use the razor with the blade aligned with the guard? Of course not. But I would be very careful to check that the blade doesn't crease in the process - I have noticed this once in a photo.

 

[IngrownGuy]

I didn't mean to come off as offensive. All I am saying is that it is supposed to wiggle when you place the blade in upside down before tightening because is crooked, the whole idea behind a slant. How do you load a blade in yours? The proper way is to put the top cap upside down flat on a surface, place a blade in it, and tighten. Then you shave.