Merkur 15c Classic Safety Razor, open tooth

The 15C is a great beginner open tooth razor. I had been using the Merkur 1904 and felt that I needed to take my shaves up to the next notch......open comb! I did my research and the 15C seemed to be the best option. I have to say that I am getting the most consistent BBS shaves ever with this razor. I read somewhere that King Gillette said that the open tooth razor was the best in design for the closest, most comfortable shaves. He was right on.

On to the razor..... It has the perfect heft...not too heavy & not too light. It has the same knurled handle of the HD. Also this razor is three pieces: the handle, the comb, and the head. Blade replacement is super simple. The overall fit and finish is top notch.

Bottom line....if you are looking for a great razor that can deliver BBS and comfortable shaves....pick up a 15C.

I finally got around to purchasing an open-comb DE razor and after much investigation, I decided to go with the 15C. Here's my take on the razor; I've used Feather blades exclusively to this point.

Price: Quite fairly priced at West Coast Shaving and somewhat cheaper there than I've seen at other online shops. Regardless of where you buy it, the 15C is worth the cost and will not break your budget.

Quality: Solidly built. The plating is excellent with no blemishes and the knurling is well done with no rough spots.

User Friendly: The thin head makes this razor extremely easy to maneuver in tight spaces. It's also very easy to see and feel if you have the right shaving angle or not: if you see tooth marks from the comb or smeary lather, you have the wrong angle, while a clean swath indicates you're right on.

Grip: I've never felt the razor slip when my hand is wet or has lather on it. As noted earlier, the quality of the knurling on the handle is excellent and the handle is long enough to be comfortable without getting in the way. The handle is heavy enough to let the razor do most of the work without feeling like an unwieldy chunk of metal in your hand.

Ease of Blade Replacement: Typical three-piece razor blade replacement. The open-comb design leaves a little more blade exposed than you may be used to, which can be a little alarming if you're not expecting it.

Aggressiveness: I've heard this razor described both as aggressive and as mild. I feel that it is mild in the sense that unless you're at the perfect angle, you're really not going to cut yourself. That said, the blade is held very rigidly and the head design holds the blade closely enough to your skin that you can easily slice off the top of a pimple or bump without noticing until after the fact. I feel it's very close to the perfect balance between aggressiveness and comfort.

Adjustability: Not applicable because this razor is not adjustable.

Balance: Excellent; slightly handle-heavy, just the way I like it.

Overall: I stated in my last review (GEM G-Bar) that I wondered why I bothered with any other razors because I didn't think it was possible for a DE to shave me as closely as my G-Bar. It's nice to be proven wrong. Smooth, comfortable, BBS shaves are now a daily occurrence, even on my neck. I can now shave closely enough using my normal prep and three-pass routine that "five o'clock shadow" means five in the morning the next day, instead of five in the evening.

The Merkur 15C is a must-have razor.

I picked up a Merkur 15c off the buy and sell board a few weeks ago I would have a current razor to compliment my Gillette Slim Adjustables.

After a couple of days of getting used to the 15c, all I can say is my slim Adjustables are on extended sabbatical in the vanity drawer in the shave den. I get BBS shave in 2.5 passes which is what counts.

I used Mama Bears, Mitchell's Wool Fat, CE Sienna and Prorasso shave soaps over the course of a week to see how each behaved with the razor. I can report the 15c delivers with flying colours.

I marvel with the engineering simplicity and durablity of the razor, only three pieces and you can't go wrong with that. Changing blades is not quite as simple as with the Gillette Slim Adjustables but that's a small price to pay in terms of convenience.