Merkur 15C

This has been my only razor since 1996, replacing the Gillette Slim Twist I had used for the previous 21 years.

What attracted me was its olde-world style and its rather compact size. It takes little room in the bathroom cabinet, and fits very easily in a toiletry bag when I'm traveling.

In my experience, the quality of the shave is only as good as the blades being used. Getting a really close shave sometimes requires me to do three or four passes, but that's probably me trying to get more life out of my blades....

The open comb style has served me well, as it has little difficulty in occasionally having to shave a 7-day growth.

The only wear in the razor so far is on the edges of the chrome head - a little bit of the chrome has come off.

So, as an 18 year user, you bet I like this razor.!

So, I bought this out of sheer impulse. I mean, it's a Merkur, what could go wrong?

Price:
The best price for a brand new razor, bar none. $25.50 from WCS, you just can't beat that.

Quality:
Built to last. I mean, this thing could take a bullet and keep on going....

User Friendly:
Not too friendly for me. Too mild, and just seems to leave me wanting more from my shave.

Grip:
Too thin, and not nearly and heavy as I had hoped. Just doesn't cut it for me.

Ease of Blade Replacement:
Well, being a three-piece, I have no problems. I, too, enjoy the three piece over a TTO...

Aggressiveness:
The REAL weak point in this razor's design. I mean, it'd be great if this had been my first DE. But, I simply cannot get a smooth shave from this thing. I've tried many different blade combinations, and I still got a mediocre result. This is strange for me, considering that I get my best shaves from a open-comb razor. I've gotten better shaves from a plain 'ol Tech than this.

Adjustability:
N/A for obvious reasons.

Balance:
Another huge weak point. I found it was a bit too light, nearly neutral. I prefer a heftier razor, such as a Fatboy or New. I simply would not have bought this if I'd known it was this mild.

All in all, I'd say if you're new to wetshaving get this razor. If you're an experienced shaver, move along. Cheap, built to last, but just too mild a shave.

I've had the Merkur Classic open comb for a little over a year.

I found this to be a great beginner razor with an immediate improvement to my shaving experience, over Mach 3 shaving, in regards to my skin not having any irritation and a greater closeness when I shave.

This razor is close, comfortable, and definitely well made. It has kept me shaving with a DE for over a year now and I will never turn back. I would recommend this to anybody looking for a solid open comb razor.

This was the first razor I bought. I have shaved with it numerous of times, but it just doesn't do it for me.





My impressions:

Price
At D.Kr. 185 (approx $ 30) the price is ok. It is the cheapest safety razor to be found in Denmark

Quality
No doubt this is a high quality razor, both fit and finish is excellent. The only reason that this razor doesn't score a 10 is the tacky cardboard box it comes in

User Friendly
I do not find this razor very user friendly. It has nothing to do with the three-piece design (which I actually happen to like), the problem lies more along the lightness and lack of agressiveness of this razor - I simply can't get good shaves with this razor. Maybe it has something to do with the open comb design aswell, though I can't tell, as this is the only open comb I have tried yet

Grip
The grip is ok, but rather thin - and ideally I would like a more agressive knurling

Ease of Blade Replacement
I like the three-peice design, in this particular razor blade allignment is perfect, no fiddeling around is required

Aggressiveness
This razor is extremely mild - way too mild for me

Balance
The balance of this razor is close to neutral, I personally prefer a razor with a heavier head and more heft to it

All in all this is not a bad razor - it just doesn't work for me. I simply can't get a smooth shave with it.


Regards.

Jakob