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Slants - Looking for some basic info. Will they Krueger me? Why get one?

For many years the only razor I used was a vintage Merkur slant from the 1950s. It is very efficient considering how mild a shave it delivers. What I don't like about the slant design is it makes it difficult (for me anyway) to get a clean accurate edge on the bottom of my sideburns. I keep them slightly long and getting the right angle is complicated by the angle of the blade.
 

Phoenixkh

I shaved a fortune
I saw a razor I took a fancy to, but i'm not in the market for another razor. But, as most of us so often do, I was inventing reasons to get it. It's a slant, and I've never used a slant before. So, it made sense to get a bit of info about them. I finally stopped being coy (and worried that people would think it foolish) and actually posted the razor, with the others in its line. I just felt funny saying hey, I saw a green ABS razor with gold flecks, and I'm trying to talk myself into buying it. It's a double slant. Of course, if everyone said slants are aggressive, problem solved, I don't need an aggressive razor right now... but alas, I may have to give in and get it. Thanks for the other options though (and always good for anyone else reading the thread). Someone else mentioned the Parker as well, sounds like a nice one.
Borwish said his wife likes her Henson AL13 mild a lot.
My wife loves her Henson and prefers to just use a bar of Dove soap.

She said the Henson does better than anything she's ever tried for under her arms and that Cella Bio does a good job of cutting through deodorant residue.

I'm thinking about getting one for my wife. She has resisted moving away from her Gillette Venus razors. She has the regular Venus and the Venus Bikini Trimmer. I think she'd like "our" soaps better than the cream they sell these days, but I'm at a loss when it comes to what would work best for women.

I asked in another thread... do women have problem areas like men do? What I mean by that is.. knees... underarms? What is the most challenging thing or things you face when shaving? If that is too personal, I apologize.
 
For many years the only razor I used was a vintage Merkur slant from the 1950s. It is very efficient considering how mild a shave it delivers. What I don't like about the slant design is it makes it difficult (for me anyway) to get a clean accurate edge on the bottom of my sideburns. I keep them slightly long and getting the right angle is complicated by the angle of the blade.

I'm the same. My approach, when shaving with a slant, is to err on the side of caution on the WTG pass (N>S), and then use the XTG pass (earlobe to lip) to define the edge. Works a treat! :)
 
Borwish said his wife likes her Henson AL13 mild a lot.


I'm thinking about getting one for my wife. She has resisted moving away from her Gillette Venus razors. She has the regular Venus and the Venus Bikini Trimmer. I think she'd like "our" soaps better than the cream they sell these days, but I'm at a loss when it comes to what would work best for women.

I asked in another thread... do women have problem areas like men do? What I mean by that is.. knees... underarms? What is the most challenging thing or things you face when shaving? If that is too personal, I apologize.

My wife loves her Henson mild. It's her preferred razor but she also has a Twig and a vintage Gillette Starburst. I finally convinced her to try my Parker semi-slant. That's coming up tomorrow, I will update then. BTW she loves Stirling soaps with her Omega synthetic brush.
 

FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
My wife loves her Henson mild. It's her preferred razor but she also has a Twig and a vintage Gillette Starburst. I finally convinced her to try my Parker semi-slant. That's coming up tomorrow, I will update then. BTW she loves Stirling soaps with her Omega synthetic brush.
Have you ever tried the old Starburst yourself? I ask because I want to buy my wife one, but if she doesn't like it I will have to use it!
 
I'm thinking about getting one for my wife. She has resisted moving away from her Gillette Venus razors. She has the regular Venus and the Venus Bikini Trimmer. I think she'd like "our" soaps better than the cream they sell these days, but I'm at a loss when it comes to what would work best for women.

I asked in another thread... do women have problem areas like men do? What I mean by that is.. knees... underarms? What is the most challenging thing or things you face when shaving? If that is too personal, I apologize.
You might do well to start a thread to ask those questions, in their own right, rather than here, because you'll get more feedback.
I think women's shaving experiences as much as men... their hair type, skin sensitivity, etc, and even problem areas.

I have more chin hair than a lot of women, my hair is fair, and when it was less thick and not as much, I'd pluck it out. But that wasn't tenable when there was more of it. The depilatory creams smell bad, can easily burn, and after that still not do a good job. So, I finally started shaving my chin. It was a hit on the self-esteem. Most women don't talk about it, and facial hair on women is still stigmatized. Anyway... obviously its not as much area as a man, my difficult areas are right under my chin, to the left and right of center... its really hard to get a close shave, it is always feeling like dense stubble. The hair goes down my neck to my adams apple, thinning out as it goes, but some very coarse hair... and a whole patch in the front grows sideways, which causes some issues in technique. I don't usually shave against the grain...maybe just a touch up on a stubborn spot. I almost never nick my chin and neck.

Underarms are sort of tricky in that you are shaving into a hollow. There is a bit of holding down or stretching out skin sometimes, especially if its got particularly long. Really rare for nicks, but I have to be careful of aggressive razors or blades, as I can get some burn and sensitivity.

Legs are pretty straightforward, except knees and shins. I seldom get nicks on my knees, but a weeper might happen once in awhile, put a brand new blade in and be daydreaming and not taking care. I usually don't get my shins nicked, but when I do, I seem to really skin myself, so I'm always extra careful.

Other than bare minimum needed for a non-bikini swimwear pass, I don't do nether regions, so no help there.

Though I've been DE shaving for about 7 years now, there is a lot I'm learning still. I feel I have a pretty good take on razors, but not so much on soaps, though I'm working on fixing that. I"m putting in an order for three soaps. So far the ones I've tried range from bad to adequate. At various times I've just used bar soap, mostly goat milk's soap, or olive based soap for shaving.

For the record I found the Gillette starburst too mild. Liked the weight and length, but not quite up to the task.
 
Have you ever tried the old Starburst yourself? I ask because I want to buy my wife one, but if she doesn't like it I will have to use it!
My two cents... it was too mild. My recollection was that it was about the same as my SS Flare, or a bit milder. I liked the length, weight, balance though.
 

FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
My two cents... it was too mild. My recollection was that it was about the same as my SS Flare, or a bit milder. I liked the length, weight, balance though.
Thanks so much for replying. I am certain that she didn't start shaving her legs until the cartridge era came about, and I think she uses pressure while shaving. To be honest, 90% of the time I probably use too much pressure when I shave with a DE razor.

But she might surprise me. She is very "fluid" in her technique, and might translate well to a double edge. She shaves her legs nearly, if not every day in the warm "weeks" of Summer here in Michigan, much less in winter. She is blessed with light colored, fairly soft leg hair, and wears pants for most of the cold months. Pity, as it was her legs that first caught my eye back in that summer of 1985, lol!

Listen to an old man rambling on! Time to go to bed, and grow whiskers.
 
Thanks so much for replying. I am certain that she didn't start shaving her legs until the cartridge era came about, and I think she uses pressure while shaving. To be honest, 90% of the time I probably use too much pressure when I shave with a DE razor.

But she might surprise me. She is very "fluid" in her technique, and might translate well to a double edge. She shaves her legs nearly, if not every day in the warm "weeks" of Summer here in Michigan, much less in winter. She is blessed with light colored, fairly soft leg hair, and wears pants for most of the cold months. Pity, as it was her legs that first caught my eye back in that summer of 1985, lol!

Listen to an old man rambling on! Time to go to bed, and grow whiskers.
You mention a good point that I forgot to mention... frequency of shaving.

Unlike my younger days, I'm not off running around doing stuff all summer long. As mentioned, I'm fair skin/blonde hair. As I've got older the hair on my legs has got more sparse. I usually, in summer, shave maybe 3-4 days for my legs, more often if I get in swimming more often. Fall to Spring I don't shave often, could be a week or more.

If she is shaving daily, or almost daily, then it could be fine. It wasn't useless by any stretch, but if it was one of those 'oh look, a forest' times, it struggled. If it helps for further comparison, the fact that my Flare had trouble giving me a close shave for my legs, and my Parker 26C was a bit aggressive, was the main reason for getting a new razor. I'd say Starburst would be in the 2-3 range of my Slim, and my Flare is more a 3-4, with a 5 just getting into a little bit aggressive.

If neither of you like it, it would always make a nice PIF or Saint Sue Auction. I'm guessing women's razors don't' show up too often.
 

FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
You mention a good point that I forgot to mention... frequency of shaving.

Unlike my younger days, I'm not off running around doing stuff all summer long. As mentioned, I'm fair skin/blonde hair. As I've got older the hair on my legs has got more sparse. I usually, in summer, shave maybe 3-4 days for my legs, more often if I get in swimming more often. Fall to Spring I don't shave often, could be a week or more.

If she is shaving daily, or almost daily, then it could be fine. It wasn't useless by any stretch, but if it was one of those 'oh look, a forest' times, it struggled. If it helps for further comparison, the fact that my Flare had trouble giving me a close shave for my legs, and my Parker 26C was a bit aggressive, was the main reason for getting a new razor. I'd say Starburst would be in the 2-3 range of my Slim, and my Flare is more a 3-4, with a 5 just getting into a little bit aggressive.

If neither of you like it, it would always make a nice PIF or Saint Sue Auction. I'm guessing women's razors don't' show up too often.
Excellent post. And yes, I don't remember seeing a Starburst on the St. Sue auction in the 5 or so I've been here....
 
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My wife loves her Henson mild. It's her preferred razor but she also has a Twig and a vintage Gillette Starburst. I finally convinced her to try my Parker semi-slant. That's coming up tomorrow, I will update then. BTW she loves Stirling soaps with her Omega synthetic brush.

So my wife tried my Parker semi-slant on her legs today. It's a little too aggressive for her, got a nick and a couple of weepers. But glad she tried it.
 

FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
So my wife tried my Parker semi-slant on her legs today. It's a little too aggressive for her, got a nick and a couple of weepers. But glad she tried it.
I'm not a woman, but I have played one most of my life. BUT.... my hypothesis is this: a guy ain't got much territory to cover in shaving. Wimmen's gotsta shave parts nearly standing on their head, AND the back of their leg. Blind. Shoot, that'd be like me shaving my nape left handed and blindfolded. Bound to get a cut.

Glad I was born a boy! Ol' Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and wearing heels, lol.
 
I only use slants because they are the only razors that I can use every day without getting severe skin irritation. They are efficient in that they are very effective at removing hair but also kind to my skin. As such, I can get just as close a shave from a mild slant (i.e. modern Merkur 37) as I can from an aggressive conventional razor but without my skin looking like minced beef. An aggressive slant might "Krueger" you but I don't feel any need to have anything too aggressive as it defeats the objective.
 

Phoenixkh

I shaved a fortune
I've really enjoyed the women's input to B&B. I'm taking notes. I would really like my wife to enjoy shaving as much as I do.
 
Slants work on the same principle as a French Guillotine. Rather than chopping whiskers off a slant will slice them off. The belief is that this is a more efficient and comfortable method of removing hair, or heads. No special technique is required to use them. Opinion varies as to their effectiveness.
😳😳😳
 
I'm not a woman, but I have played one most of my life. BUT.... my hypothesis is this: a guy ain't got much territory to cover in shaving. Wimmen's gotsta shave parts nearly standing on their head, AND the back of their leg. Blind. Shoot, that'd be like me shaving my nape left handed and blindfolded. Bound to get a cut.

Glad I was born a boy! Ol' Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and wearing heels, lol.
🤣
 
You mention a good point that I forgot to mention... frequency of shaving.
You mention a good point that I forgot to mention... frequency of shaving.

Unlike my younger days, I'm not off running around doing stuff all summer long. As mentioned, I'm fair skin/blonde hair. As I've got older the hair on my legs has got more sparse. I usually, in summer, shave maybe 3-4 days for my legs, more often if I get in swimming more often. Fall to Spring I don't shave often, could be a week or more.

If she is shaving daily, or almost daily, then it could be fine. It wasn't useless by any stretch, but if it was one of those 'oh look, a forest' times, it struggled. If it helps for further comparison, the fact that my Flare had trouble giving me a close shave for my legs, and my Parker 26C was a bit aggressive, was the main reason for getting a new razor. I'd say Starburst would be in the 2-3 range of my Slim, and my Flare is more a 3-4, with a 5 just getting into a little bit aggressive.

If neither of you like it, it would always make a nice PIF or Saint Sue Auction. I'm guessing women's razors don't' show up too often
Unlike my younger days, I'm not off running around doing stuff all summer long. As mentioned, I'm fair skin/blonde hair. As I've got older the hair on my legs has got more sparse. I usually, in summer, shave maybe 3-4 days for my legs, more often if I get in swimming more often. Fall to Spring I don't shave often, could be a week or more.

If she is shaving daily, or almost daily, then it could be fine. It wasn't useless by any stretch, but if it was one of those 'oh look, a forest' times, it struggled. If it helps for further comparison, the fact that my Flare had trouble giving me a close shave for my legs, and my Parker 26C was a bit aggressive, was the main reason for getting a new razor. I'd say Starburst would be in the 2-3 range of my Slim, and my Flare is more a 3-4, with a 5 just getting into a little bit aggressive.

If neither of you like it, it would always make a nice PIF or Saint Sue Auction. I'm guessing women's razors don't' show up too often.
Okay, here goes, I'm taking the plunge. Yes, this is me at my nerdy weirdest. I was looking at putting an order into Top of the Chain for soap and razors. I do NOT need another razors. And then I saw a green translucent razor. And it had sparkles. And it looked funny. And it is based on a horror monster. I was hooked. There is a whole line, and while the Filament was neat, I thought it would show dirt/waterspots/soap too much. Crimson Ghost was considered, but it seemed a bit dramatic to shave with a red razor. Then, a very close second, was El Fantasma, because it is glows in the dark! However, the winner is La Criatura because though Blue is my favourite colour, Phantom Blue looked boring.. and I like green, and IT HAS SPARKLES! Yes, I can be that juvenile. Also, to go all vintage, it reminds me of the plastics in the 60s that were used for water tumblers, that had gold flecks in them. In fact a lot of 50s/60s stuff had sparkles. So less unicorn, more nostalgia.
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Holy cow!!!!! Look at all of them. Like a kid in the candy store😊💈
 
I have the plastic PAA slant.....it's not efficient at all.... will gift it to my bro as a travel razor. He wants a Merkur Bakelite but those are now impossible to fin. And then I just got some "German" old new bakelite recently....now that is just unpleasant.
I thought there would be a few of them kicking about, so out of curiosity took a peek. Just by happenstance, there is one up now. Looks a bit scuffed. Price was surprisingly low. Listed on both .com and .ca
 
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