34c should I keep trying?

[Calyshaver]

Not to sound like a broken record, but I concur with the recommendations to take a break from the 34C and come back to it some months down the road after you have more experience and your technique has developed. If not for anything else but to just experiment and use it as a benchmark for your technique development. As you learn to shave, your wants and needs will also change.

I too started out with a newer 34C (the one with the squared off threaded top cap post ) and was using mediocre blades. About 6 months later I came back to it with a Gillette Nacet blade and was amazed at how nice a shave I was getting. I cannot get myself to give it up even though I have settled on my razor lineup. There is something about the 34C I like enough to keep it, even with its crappy zamac metal squared off threaded post

 

[gpjoe]

I also started with the 34c and quickly moved on once I got my first Tech. It was recommended highly by a lot of members here as a good "beginner" razor, I just could not get it to work.

In my mind, the razor is highly overrated. I'm sure it will shave but for me there are far better options. Even though he 34c was a disappointment for me I kinda wish I could try one again, now that I've been doing this for almost two years, just to see if my technique has improved enough to make a difference.

 

[DesertIguana]

I am a visual guy, picture does = many words.

Many good U-tube on basic DE shaving.

Try U-Tube.

 

[cvac]

The current 34c is milder than the one a lot of veteran B&B members are familiar with, which is possibly why we think the 34c is a more efficient razor than you are finding yours to be.

I asked Merkur directly if the razor had been changed in the last few years to make it milder and they only said that tooling had been replaced in 2007 and 2011, nothing about the blade gap changing when I asked specifically about that. Whether Merkur admits it or not it is obvious that the threaded bolt has changed post-BK on Merkur razors. I would love to see someone measure a more recent 34C vs. the old ones from pre-BK times.

 

[Goblin]

I asked Merkur directly if the razor had been changed in the last few years to make it milder and they only said that tooling had been replaced in 2007 and 2011, nothing about the blade gap changing when I asked specifically about that. Whether Merkur admits it or not it is obvious that the threaded bolt has changed post-BK on Merkur razors. I would love to see someone measure a more recent 34C vs. the old ones from pre-BK times.

I only eyballed it by holding it next to an old 34c, as I don't own calipers or anything, but to my eye there was a discernible difference in the gap. Also, I think the change from brass posts to cast zamak took place around 2017, so their information isn't reliable.

I now wish I had shaved with it, but the evidence of my senses, plus numerous anecdotal reports, was enough to convince me it wouldn't be the same as my old 34c, so I moved it on as "boxed, unused" for maximum resale value.

What is "post-BK"?

 

[RazorTom]

I am a visual guy, picture does = many words.

Many good U-tube on basic DE shaving.

Try U-Tube.

I have, of course, watched YouTube videos.

 

[slimshavy]

What is "post-BK"?

I wondered that too. Maybe you're not supposed to shave after going to Burger King.

 

[midwestshaver71]

It's a great beginners tool for most, but not all.
I eventually went to just Feathers or Nacets as others here have, and found it to be a nice razor for those mornings I don't really care so much about the shave as I do the ritual.
That said it's the last razor I would grab to try to chase a BBS

 

[cvac]

I shave every 2-3 days.

My neck hairs laugh at the 34c. I can target the same hair from all angles and even add pressure and nothing happens except for irritation. With 1 swipe same hair is removed by the Rocca.

My tough spots under the chin, jaw line, etc also end up not so clean. Again, absolutely no problem with the Rocca. Only thing I can think of is that my hair grows very flat on my neck and jaw areas, maybe there’s just not enough blade exposure with the 34c? Also my stubble feels like a wire brush.

I have coarse black beard hair. A few flecks of gray in there now that I've gotten older. I actually think it has gotten coarser over time. But anyway the smaller the blade gap is on a safety razor, usually the narrower the range of optimal shaving angle IME. With a very large blade gap there is usually a wider sweet spot, though you still have to be careful not to do the paint scraper or vacuum-cleaner thing I see so many do.

And yeah paying attention to the hair growth pattern on your face is kinda important. Most people don't have beards that grow all the same way. My neck hair for example, grows sideways. So a "down WTG" motion is actually XTG on that portion of my face.

Another thing people rarely mention is the ability to do diagonal strokes with a safety razor. Imagine a compass and instead of going due East, we go Southeast instead. Just an example but that can be more efficient in some cases on certain areas of the face. You do have to be careful though.

FWIW I just hacked off 2 days of growth with an EJ DE89 and that's not a much more aggro razor than the 34C. Angle is a bit different though, as it is with every razor. I could have achieved the same result with a 34C if I wanted, because 2-3 days of growth is no big deal. I prefer to shave every day when I can though, but will usually take at least 1-2 days off per week.

Bottom line is that your angle was probably a bit off and you have trouble maintaining the narrower sweet spot of the 34C. If the Rocca works better for you, no reason not to use it instead. I would be curious about your result if you tried shaving 4-5 days in a row with the Rocca and whether you had irritation. If so, that would be a big clue that your technique is sub-optimal in general.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I have coarse black beard hair. A few flecks of gray in there now that I've gotten older. I actually think it has gotten coarser over time. But anyway the smaller the blade gap is on a safety razor, usually the narrower the range of optimal shaving angle IME. With a very large blade gap there is usually a wider sweet spot, though you still have to be careful not to do the paint scraper or vacuum-cleaner thing I see so many do.

And yeah paying attention to the hair growth pattern on your face is kinda important. Most people don't have beards that grow all the same way. My neck hair for example, grows sideways. So a "down WTG" motion is actually XTG on that portion of my face.

Another thing people rarely mention is the ability to do diagonal strokes with a safety razor. Imagine a compass and instead of going due East, we go Southeast instead. Just an example but that can be more efficient in some cases on certain areas of the face. You do have to be careful though.

FWIW I just hacked off 2 days of growth with an EJ DE89 and that's not a much more aggro razor than the 34C. Angle is a bit different though, as it is with every razor. I could have achieved the same result with a 34C if I wanted, because 2-3 days of growth is no big deal. I prefer to shave every day when I can though, but will usually take at least 1-2 days off per week.

Bottom line is that your angle was probably a bit off and you have trouble maintaining the narrower sweet spot of the 34C. If the Rocca works better for you, no reason not to use it instead. I would be curious about your result if you tried shaving 4-5 days in a row with the Rocca and whether you had irritation. If so, that would be a big clue that your technique is sub-optimal in general.

Spot on!

When I moved from the Edwin Jagger razor that had been my primary razor for a few years, to the Game Changer 68 that is my primary razor now, it took me 14.1/2 weeks to reach the same calibre of shave that I was getting before. That's after being a double edge shaver for 30 years.

In the early shaves with this razor, I could still get close and comfortable shaves, with no sign of the red runny stuff, but they took effort and concentration. I wasn't used to that.

My shaves got better after a week, then better again after another. Eventually the learning curve flattened out, and I could just pick up the razor, and let the shave happen, instead of focussing and making it happen.Three and a half months later, I could gently wipe away four days growth with it, with no conscious effort, and the 68 is a very mild razor.

Now that I am back to the "the razor knows what to do" level shaves, and I have been using it so extensively, I could probably be back to "why won't this damn thing work properly?" If I picked up anything else. However, I will be sticking to this razor now, as I don't fancy going through another three month recalibration anytime soon.

 

[cvac]

What is "post-BK"?

post-bankruptcy

 

[cvac]

I only eyballed it by holding it next to an old 34c, as I don't own calipers or anything, but to my eye there was a discernible difference in the gap. Also, I think the change from brass posts to cast zamak took place around 2017, so their information isn't reliable.

I now wish I had shaved with it, but the evidence of my senses, plus numerous anecdotal reports, was enough to convince me it wouldn't be the same as my old 34c, so I moved it on as "boxed, unused" for maximum resale value.

Well if anyone does have two examples or even more I would be very interested in a complete breakdown of the differences with pics and measurements.

 

[RazorTom]

I have coarse black beard hair. A few flecks of gray in there now that I've gotten older. I actually think it has gotten coarser over time. But anyway the smaller the blade gap is on a safety razor, usually the narrower the range of optimal shaving angle IME. With a very large blade gap there is usually a wider sweet spot, though you still have to be careful not to do the paint scraper or vacuum-cleaner thing I see so many do.

And yeah paying attention to the hair growth pattern on your face is kinda important. Most people don't have beards that grow all the same way. My neck hair for example, grows sideways. So a "down WTG" motion is actually XTG on that portion of my face.

Another thing people rarely mention is the ability to do diagonal strokes with a safety razor. Imagine a compass and instead of going due East, we go Southeast instead. Just an example but that can be more efficient in some cases on certain areas of the face. You do have to be careful though.

FWIW I just hacked off 2 days of growth with an EJ DE89 and that's not a much more aggro razor than the 34C. Angle is a bit different though, as it is with every razor. I could have achieved the same result with a 34C if I wanted, because 2-3 days of growth is no big deal. I prefer to shave every day when I can though, but will usually take at least 1-2 days off per week.

Bottom line is that your angle was probably a bit off and you have trouble maintaining the narrower sweet spot of the 34C. If the Rocca works better for you, no reason not to use it instead. I would be curious about your result if you tried shaving 4-5 days in a row with the Rocca and whether you had irritation. If so, that would be a big clue that your technique is sub-optimal in general.

Coincidentally, I shaved 3 days of growth with a DE89 and RK blade last night and got a nice shave. I too make diagonal passes on my neck, especially in the "valleys" that are hard to reach. At the end of 3 passes with my DE89 I had some touch up to do in my usual problem areas, this time I decided to loosen the top cap a bit thus increasing the blade gap--actually worked like a charm! Maybe I should have listened to all those posts that told me to get an adjustable.

It really is only the spots on my neck where the hair grows flat that I have major issues with. I can literarily go over the same spot on my neck 5 times with all different angles and from all directions without the hair being cut. With a larger blade gap though, it is like I took a scalpel to the hair and I can get the cut with 1 swipe. I wonder if cutting hairs that lay flat is just physically impossible with a small blade gap razor? I'm not an engineer, so can't explain why blade gap makes such an obvious difference here.

 

[cvac]

I wonder if cutting hairs that lay flat is just physically impossible with a small blade gap razor? I'm not an engineer, so can explain why blade gap makes such an obvious difference here.

Doubt it. You may just be barely scraping part of the blade and then mostly running the safety bar over the hairs rather than cutting them. Sorta like a bad paint scraper. That's not going to work well.

Sometimes a few gentle facial contortions and simply varying the angle should help. Again this is a technique issue, most likely.

In the 15+ years I have been doing this, I've never had to use a shim or "open the head" to make a bigger blade gap on any normal razor to get a good shave. I simply did the best I could when starting and got better at using a DE over time.

 

[guitarslinger]

Don’t blame yourself when a mild zinc razor sucks.

The rocca is a great razor that should work well for years to come.

 

[timetofly]

I continue use the first DE razor I ever purchased - Merkur 23C, however, I had considered the 34C.

I have pretty much abandoned my EJ89
and occasionally use my 23C, and have opted to use Gillette vintage. Gillette had it totally correct from the get go. Can't get much better IMO.

 

[Dtownvino]

 

[JPO]

My problem area is on my lower neck. Razors with neutral to negative blade exposure don't work well for me in this area.
The hair grows flat to the skin in every direction. To pick up those hairs with a mild razor I need to do more buffing, which my skin doesn't like.
I don't have any issues when I use more efficient razor, like the Blackbird.
When I use straight razors I need to increase the angle to pick up those stubborn hairs on my lower neck.
I have been using straights and de razor now for more then 25 years, so I think I have a good idea of how these tools work.

I would just use the Rocca and revisit the 34c if this is something that is on your bucket list

 

[DesertIguana]

Don’t blame yourself when a mild zinc razor sucks.

The rocca is a great razor that should work well for years to come.

Well I had a Zinc Razor years until it slipped, and hit tile floor. My fault because the handle was slippery, and the Razor hit tile after it fell from my hand.

I am not going to defend Zinc, but man people use Zinc Razors, and are happy with what they haver.

Personally I use Vintage Gillettes, and maybe in future with buy something Modern. Not Zinc, MIM, Real Machined Metal.

 

[jamesdeluxa]

My problem area is on my lower neck. Razors with neutral to negative blade exposure don't work well for me in this area.
The hair grows flat to the skin in every direction. To pick up those hairs with a mild razor I need to do more buffing, which my skin doesn't like.
I don't have any issues when I use more efficient razor, like the Blackbird.
When I use straight razors I need to increase the angle to pick up those stubborn hairs on my lower neck.
I have been using straights and de razor now for more then 25 years, so I think I have a good idea of how these tools work.

I would just use the Rocca and revisit the 34c if this is something that is on your bucket list

I'm the same. Milder razors just don't cut it for me (pun intended?), and more buffing is a problem for skin.

I currently run a Lupo .72 and GC .84.. I'll eventually try the .95 and 1.05 plates for said razors.