Merkur 45 Bakelite

First off, this is a stunning looking razor. It looks cool and should be prominently displayed in anyone's collection. I was a bit put off by how light weight this razor is, but it was very easy to use and I got a decent shave with 2.5 passes on a Personna Blue blade. I miss the heft of the brass and stainless razors so I probably won't be using this much, but it is one of the best looking razors in my collection.

Got mine without a case (don't need one) for about €12. Fantastic as a light, effective travel razor and great at home, too. Gives me a good shave every time. Very easy to use. If I lost it, I would get another. Also makes a very good first timer's razor. Colour scheme a bit on the "unusual" side to create the Bakelite effect. A plain colour would be nicer but it's a small point.

This razor is a genius idea! Awesome shave... I also have a 34c HD so I went from heavy to feather light lol. If you are thinking of buying this go for it. From beginner to the seasoned shaver you will enjoy adding this to your rotation. A+!

Over the last two months I have grown to absolutely love this razor and my Fatboy and Super Adjustable now sit in the drawer looking sad and lonely. I can't put my finger on it, but something about this razor (the light weight, the blade curvature, the size, etc.) makes it absolutely wonderful.

Price - I paid about EUR 30 for a cased one, which is a bit on the high side, but it's Europe and everything is "a bit on the high side" here. You can pick these up uncased elsewhere for under $20! A steal!

Quality - There have been some complaints about the quality of the finish. I docked the rating two points because the plastic bumper/protector could have been finished nicer. But on the whole the razor is good quality and any of the tiny finish issues DO NOT affect the quality of the shave.

User Friendly - It's a DE. It's easy to use. Nuff said.

Grip - I've had no issues gripping this thing when hands are wet and soapy.

Ease of Blade Replacement - It's a 3-piece razor so a little more complicated than a 2-piece or a TTO. But really it's not all that complicated.

Aggressiveness - Aggressive enough to get BBS shaves every time.

Balance - I docked it two points because the very light weight takes some getting used to. But after a couple shaves you find that the lightness actually makes the razor easier to use.

All in all, I highly recommend this razor.

I really like this razor. The look is cool, it shaves well(but not the best i ever had), and is very light.

Personally, i prefer a razor with heft to it. The HD is probably my go to next to the progress or the 1904. So for me, the fact that its so light works against it. And this might cause an inexperienced shaver to use more pressure while using it, which would not be smart.

The head bends the razor at an extreme angle unlike any other Merkur I've seen. But that's not a huge problem. I did have to adjust the degree at which i usually angle a razor to my face to compensate. It certainly doesn't make this hard to shave with, in fact it might keep you a little more aware of your technique while using it.

Not sure if they are still selling this, but if they are the price isn't bad at all and its worth a try if you are looking for something different.

First, this is not bakelite. It LOOKS like bakelite, but its not. It's all injection molded thermoplastic of some kind, possibly glass reinforced. Which is OK. Bakelite tends to fade and go green with age and exposure. And modern thermoplastics are every bit as tough and hard as bakelite and a lot easier to work with and manufacture.

The only metal is the brass screw stud which tightens the cap. Even the handle threads are plastic - no insert.

The price ($19 plus shipping) is very reasonable.

This is a very traditional three piece razor along the lines of the rest of the Merkur family. It weighs almost nothing. The razor seems extremely well made and finished. The blade I used (a Feather) had a good bit of slop, which meant I had to align the blade evenly by eye before tightening the head. The blade is radically flexed in an arc by the head and seems to be a very good angle. It is hard for me to get right under my nose - typical for me and any Merkur. The shave however was amazing. I was prepared to go back repeatedly and buff, but two passes and touchup left me BBS. I haven't had this good a shave with as little discomfort in a very long time. I can get this close (maybe slightly closer) with my Cobra Classic, but it's a lot more painful and not worth it.

The rest of the shave was Queen Charlotte key lime cream applied by a Shavemac 177 in silvertip, followed by my constant companion, Spieck splash.

To summarize, this is a reasonably priced, superlight razor that shaves amazingly well. Watch that blade centering.

I am used to much heavier razors but the Bakelite Merkur is a nice change of pace.
The price can not be beat. Less than $30 for a razor and case (oh unfortunately they give you 10 free Merkur blades as well).

The Bakelite styling is cool and retro looking.
The quality is typical Merkur, great German engineering. No flaws that I have found.

It is very user friendly. I have had zero problems shaving under my nose.

The grip was not slippery, even if wet. I have had no concerns.

Blade replacement is what you expect from a three piece. No issues.

Aggressiveness, on par with my Gillette Tech or even Milord. Mild by my standards. I have been using Shark and Blue Bird blades so far.

There is no Adjustable settings so it is N/A.

The balance is fine, pretty even.

Now this is a very light razor. I think perfect for that Ditty Bag for the overnight trip or at the gym/club. Because of it's RETRO Bakelite look, it looks good anywhere.

I think it is a definite buy and worth the price.
JB

I've just had my second shave with the new Merkur Bakelite.
Both were as BBS as I've ever had. Very little irritation.
It did take quite a bit of work to get there though, as the razor keeps the blade pretty close to the guard. But I will say that even with the extra work required, I didn't get any extra irritation from it. And I'm surprised that mere plastic could keep a blade just in the right place to produce such a good result.

Not very aggressive. But I was using a Red IP blade; next time I'll try a Feather.
Toward the end I purposely started getting a bit reckless, just to see if it would nick myself. Nope.

Loading was simple, but of course the 3-piece design requires you to handle the blade a bit more.

Looking forward any chance of them making something with this design in chrome or steel, or even a different color (the red and black color is kinda neat, but also kinda tacky).

At this price ($19 before shipping from Lee's Safety Razors), I can toss one of these and a 5-pack of red packs and forget about it. So that's nice. Owning two of the same razor didn't seem like an option before now.

I didn't get a case with mine, though. Too bad.

I'll probably be leaving this in the shower as my go-to razor during the week. Weekends will still see my EJ89L or Merkur 38C.

Recommended.

What a great little razor!

At $27 shipped, with Merkur case, and 10 blades, this is a heckuva deal. I bought mine for a travel razor. I thought it looked interesting, and I liked that it was Bakelite (well, mostly Bakelite). I tried it out, and got a DFS with no effort. The Merkur 45030 is very easy to use, but you'll need to change your technique a bit if you're used to a Merkur HD or other heavy razor. The 45030 is very light, and the angle of the blade is quite steep.

I've been using the 45030 daily for a couple of weeks now, and my face is happy about it. I can get a closer shave with a HD, but I get a more comfortable daily shave with the 45030.

This is a three piece razor, so you have to take it completely apart to change blades.

I would recommend this razor to a new DE user or anyone wanting to add something different to their rotation.

This has become my favorite razor. I can't get a bad shave out of this thing.

Today was my third shave with a Shark blade.
I only bought this razor on a lark, but have been surprised how good it is.
It is light like a toy, in fact it felt a little like a disposable, but shaves like an excellent machine.
I would like the company to ship without the box or blades, but add another blade base in open comb style. Should be possible and you would have the best of both types.

I received my Merkur 45 Bakelite and I have now had three shaves with it. For the first shave I loaded up a Shark blade and used my Gold Dachs soap with it. The shave was very smooth with absolutely no irritation. At times it was almost like I couldn't feel the blade on my skin. This is due to the light weight construction of the razor. I had a BBS shave with only 2 passes. The next day I tried the same combo of blade and soap, and same results, great shave. So after the last two great shaves I thought I'd switch to a Feather and use my Tabac, well all I can say is WOW I had the best shave ever. No exaggeration. I have a couple Gillette Superspeeds, a Merkur HD open comb, a Merkur HD slant, a Muhle R41 open comb, a Merkur Vision, and a Gillette fatboy and NONE of them have ever given me as good a shave as this. I think it must be the lightness of the razor that allows you to have a better feel of how much blade pressure you are applying, but whatever it is I love it. Now I have a dilemma as I don't really want to use any other razor, but I have all these ones that I really like, I don't know which to use I guess that's a good problem however. I know some have complained about the cost, but you have to remember that the razor comes with a nice Merkur case which retails for around $10 itself, plus a pack of Merkur blades that are probably $5 or so. I don't like Merkur blades, but I plan on using them since they were free. I think they might actually work pretty good in this gem of a razor. I bought this with all intentions of using as my travel razor, but it is going in permanent rotation.

slantman;2198574 said:

The Merkur 45 Bakelite is as you might guess an extremely light weight razor topping out at 14 grams. The head appears to be designed after the Progress and uses the same blade bend. The aggressiveness is about a #3 on a Progress. This is a 3 piece razor which is not quite all plastic as the bottom plate screw appears to be brass. The blade snugs down nice and even so no concerns there. I could easily get away with 2 passes but I do 3 as a matter of habit. There is nothing left of my beard after using this razor. It hard to believe a toy like plastic razor can accomplish this but it does without any fuss.

I am using a Kai blade at the moment

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Seem to be avail now at a local company..I just ordered one.I don,t know if we are able to mention supplier so I didn,t but if you look on google for Merkur #45 it is ROYALShave available.(in CA)

The Merkur 45 Bakelite is as you might guess an extremely light weight razor topping out at 14 grams. The head appears to be designed after the Progress and uses the same blade bend. The aggressiveness is about a #3 on a Progress. This is a 3 piece razor which is not quite all plastic as the bottom plate screw appears to be brass. The blade snugs down nice and even so no concerns there. I could easily get away with 2 passes but I do 3 as a matter of habit. There is nothing left of my beard after using this razor. It hard to believe a toy like plastic razor can accomplish this but it does without any fuss.

I am using a Kai blade at the moment