Parker 91R Razor

Price - best among all the DE razors currently for sale

Quality - was 7 due to the fact I bought two , one for the travel bag . One was perfect --- one the blade sat in with one edge more exposed than the other ( does not seem to affect the shave however ) but still not very good fit and finish. I have heard that Parker is working on the fit and finish and it is better these days .

User friendly - I had no problems with it

Grip - was the best of any razor I have ever used to date

Ease of Blade Replacement - easy enough for me


Aggressiveness - this razor shines in this department. It gives close shaves. My favorite razor so far .

Adjustable - n/a


Balance - very nice balance

I'm not going to grade this razor because the one I had was defective. There is probably a rotten apple in every bunch. I tried four blades (two each from different manufacturers) and only two of them reached my face.

Since I was new to DE shaving I blamed myself for the shortcomings rather than the razor. Finally I described my problem to one of the vendors represented on this forum and he was able to tell me it was defective. He also mentioned that he planned to stop carrying this model. A Merkur was recommended as my next razor and I have not had any problems since.

Based on my experience I tend to recommend what works best for me.

For my first review, it seems appropriate for the subject to be my first DE razor, the Parker 91R.

Price: This razor is inexpensive at most online sources and is a fair value for the dollar spent.

Quality: The plating on my sample is excellent and all the pieces fit together smoothly. The manufacturing quality is pretty good, but I rated it an eight because if you don't assemble the razor and blade exactly right, the blade will be misaligned. It takes some fiddling to get the blade, cap, and safety bar aligned properly. Whether this is a manufacturing defect or just the nature of this design, I can't say.

User Friendly: I like three-piece razors because of their simplicity and robust design. It's easy to clean and durable. Overall the 91R meets these criteria, but I had to dock a couple of points for the blade replacement issue I'll discuss in more detail below.

Grip: Excellent. The checkered handle and flat knob at the end allow very positive control of the razor at all angles and with all grips, wet or dry.

Ease of Blade Replacement: I took major points off of blade replacement for this razor because of the alignment issue I mentioned above which makes replacing the blade far more fiddly than it should be. I also would rather see a bar on the cap where the blade sits than just the two pins because I think it would hold the blade in place more securely while you screw the pieces back together.

Aggressiveness: I'm never really sure how the one to ten scale works for aggressiveness; for my purposes, I assume that one means the razor is not aggressive at all and ten means that the razor is a meat slicer in disguise. The 91R is a very aggressive razor with a sizable gap between the blade and the safety bar. If you aren't careful, it's very easy to nick yourself. However, careful shaving is rewarded with a very close shave. You also need to pay attention to lathering and razor technique because you can really irritate your face with a full four-pass shave; with my technique somewhere past the "fumbling newbie" stage, I can get a DFS every time with three passes.

Adjustability: Not applicable because this is not an adjustable razor.

Balance: Excellent. The razor is weighty without feeling awkward or top- or bottom-heavy. The weight is well-distributed and the razor is easy to control.

Overall: I've been fairly harsh on the shortcomings of this razor but overall I do like it because it can provide you with an extremely close shave. I'm not sure if the faults of this razor are by design or result from manufacturing defects in my particular razor. Either way, inspect this razor in person before you buy it if you can. I recommend this razor for someone who has prior experience with wetshaving and is looking for a bargain; persons new to wetshaving should consider a different razor unless they have steady hands and are willing to bring a laser focus to every shave while they learn.