Merkur Classic 1904 - Open Comb

I have read the other reviewers comments about this razor being unbalanced and light and I have to say that I respectfully disagree. Merkur must have gotten the same feedback and made some changes because I was shocked at the weight of this razor when I took it out of the packaging. I did not find this razor to be light or unbalanced at all. I haven't put it on my digital scales yet, but I intend to this evening ( I will update the review with the weight). The 1904 razor seems well built. You are not going to get a Muhle or EJ super shiny chrome plate job with this razor but it is nicely built with a nice finish for the price. I love the retro look of the 1904 as well. I have a coarse, thick beard and this morning I was sporting three days of grow and this razor had no problem giving me a DFS with two passes (no weepers). It was a pleasure to shave with and required very little concentration on blade angle at all. I have to say for the price this money is a fantastic mild OC razor.

Fit and Finish: Excellent, this razor looks much better in person than it does on the internet. The bright nickel plating looks almost as good as my Rhodium plated NEW. Weight and balance: The razor is heavier than I expected, heavier than any of my NEW bar handles. It is slightly top heavy, but I like that about it. I have read other reviews that this razor was "light weight", I do not know if Merkur had changed the materials used in their production, but this is by no means a light razor, it feel solid and well made. Price: Excellent, priced at under $30.00 USD.Aggressiveness: This is a mild razor, I do not know how anyone could cut or nick themselves with it. Although it is mild, I was able to obtain a DFS with only two passes and some light buffing along jawline.Overall Shaving Impression: What I liked best about this razor was the ease of use. I did not have to think about blade angle, as the head just fell into place. I did not have to worry about finding the "sweet spot", the shave was effortless. I would highly recommend this razor for anyone who wants to try an open comb. It will definitely be part of my regular rotation.

At first I was dissapointed. The finish on the handle is not that good, has a few flaws and such. The patterns look great, but the markings are not deep enough for a good grip. The handle also feels just a little too short, but I guess that is the nature of this handle.

I got this razor because I love my Old OC and wanted a newer razor that could match it. Once I started shaving with the 1904, I found a whole new appreciation for it. It seems to have the perfect balance of aggression and smoothness. The comb helps the razor to glide more and enable better control. I usually shave everyday, so I need a razor that can give a close shave without irritation - this head provides that better than any TTO I have and competes with the HD and Old OC.

I may end up switching the handle out at some stage, but this razor makes it into my rotation.

The visual of an open comb can be scary, but this little jewel, well-priced, is a forgiving easy shaver, one I would even recommend for a newbie.

I've used this with a variety of blades, up to and including feathers, and it is an easy shave...but with good cutting power.

The "jeweled" handle is very attractive, but a little short if you have bigger hands, although the angular nature of the handle aids in the grip. The balance is perfect as you naturally will not apply pressure while saving, a sure fire safety valve against irritation.

All in all, this little razor has a place in my rotation (Futur, Feather, EJ89) when I want to assure myself of a DFS with no irritation whatsoever.

Give it a spin for under $27 delivered.

This is the third safety razor that I have used and is my go to razor. I find it to be very mild and forgiving on my sensitive skin. Its almost impossible to get your blade angle wrong when using this because you will see left over shaving cream with lines in it on your face. Changing the blade is the only problem that I have with this blade. This razor isn't very aggressive, on my face anyway. Its pretty cheap for a new DE, I paid approx. $27 shipped for mine. Out of a Gillette SuperSpeed and Slim Adjustable, this is my favorite razor so far!

I REALLY like the looks of this razor, the old style handle and the nickle (not chrome) finish. A beautiful instrument.

While not my favorite Merkur - I still recommend it.

What I like about this razor:
1. Open-comb provides a close shave.
2. Balance is good.
3. GREAT value for the price.
4. Beautiful looking razor

What I don't like:
1. Handle grip is acceptable but not as good as HD.
2. A little too light, the HD again is better.
3. Three piece design; prefer (yet again) the HD two piece.

I prefer the Merkur HD models (esp. the slant and open-comb) over this one. Some of you may like the barber pole variants instead; YMMV.

Even with it's short comings, it's a great secondary razor for your rotation, and I will continue to use it on a regular basis.

Well I absolutely love this razor .I've been using it a week now and I've hd nothing but close irratation free shaves .

I think the open comb is designed with long hair in mind (beard/whiskers trimming or getting rid of your weeks-old facial hair). The open teeth does not bend the long hairs before cutting and the fact that the blade actually sits on the teeth (with no space in between) is a clog-proof feature (nice when shaving long hair). The latter feature makes it slightly less effective for everyday shaving. I do use it for my daily shaving with very good results, though.

Cuts through long hair with incredible ease, wanna quick proof ? Shave your armpits (or a different hairy part of your body) amazing! When I remember doing this with a sensor, I'm smiling all the way to my ears.
As for the adjustable capability claim (see the link), it's rubbish, whatever his dubious ancestry, this is by no means adjustable-not even by 1/8 turns, keep it fully tighten!

Well, this comb design is good ONLY for beard trimming and stuff, I replaced it with a normal gillette head taken from a vintage gillette travel razor (1$ on ebay), they use the same screw, and boy, I was realy impressed!!!!!!!!! incredible, what I have been missing all the time!
The resulting razor (merkur handle and gillettte head) is quite handsome too!

Good razor, though not my first choice. I find it more aggressive than my Progress and sometimes transfer blades from the latter after a few shaves to make it less harsh. Blade replacement is not really much more difficult than in a two-piece. Its relative lightness means it's tempting not to concentrate, which is fatal. No need to buy one if you don't already have one, but if you do, it makes a nice change now and again.

I think this razor is light and very user-friendly. I had been using a Gilette slim adjustable for 6 months or so before adding this to my collection, both using Merkur blades, and I found the precision, smoothness, and closeness much easier to obtain on the Merkur with very little effort. If I use a slow, steady hand to barely skim the surface of my face and do 3 passes with this razor, I get BBS shaves akin only to straight razor barber shaves, which I consider the standard against which all my other shaves are judged. When used properly this way, I can splash alcohol aftershave on my face with virtually no sting -- in other words, no errors. This is the DE I go to when I've had some bad shaves with something else -- I can get super close shaves while letting my skin heal from my previous straight-razor indiscretions. I also can't really tell what the open comb is getting us here, but the only way I'd be able to figure it out would be to buy a 1904 regular, and I don't really see any reason to do that. This is the razor I will probably give my brother when I am finally able to convince him to start using a DE, I trust it that much.

A very affordable razor, with good grip & visually appealing. However, the comb profile is the 'old style' where the (modern thin) blade sits on the teeth without leaving a gap. This means it doesn't work too well as a razor.

You can shim the blade to create a gap - this improves the shave considerably but it still isn't as nice as a vintage Gillette NEW from the 1930's.

It is a real shame that Merkur didn't put a better comb head on this attractive looking razor.

Regards
John

The antique design of the handle makes this a very attractive razor for the collection. The open comb model, however, is not my choice for a great shave. Advertising for this model of razor reads, "...open-comb version is preferred by men with a heavier beard." I have a heavy beard, so I went with this version. After extended use, I fail to see the benefit.

Price - At $27, this is a very affordable razor.

Grip - The 6-sided, faceted handle is visually appealing. It definitely makes this razor look like something your grandfather might have shaved with. Aside from visual appeal, the grip is not great. The "pommel" of the razor is slick, making it difficult to keep a grip on while shaving.

Ease of Blade Replacement - Being designed like some of the first DE's available, this razor is made up of 3 pieces: the handle and a 2-piece head that sandwiches the blade into place. You must be VERY CAREFUL when screwing the handle into place as it is easy to let a finger slip and draw blood.

Aggressiveness - This is a very tame razor. As the second razor I purchased, it was a good beginner's razor, but It just doesn't provide enough bite for someone with DE shaving experience.

Balance - The balance of this razor is just OK. It is extremely light weight which makes it difficult to not push the razor into the skin.

User Friendly / Quality - As stated before, I believe this to be a good beginner's razor (although I would recommend a closed comb), but it is nothing special for an experienced user. The grip is not the best which could cause some problems, and blade replacement is not the best. While balance and weight are not perfect, I still find this to be a quality razor. It is well made and should last a lifetime.

*** I just ran across a post about open comb razors on another board that was posted by Brett Graver (also a member here). You can find it at:

http://www.shavemyface.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6232

This sheds some interesting light on open comb razors, and the interesting fact that they were actually designed to be adjustable. I don't think I'll be trying mine this way, however, as it seems a little dangerous.