Are Merkur Blades Really That Bad?

[ackvil]

The conventional wisdom is that the Merkur blade is one of the worst around.

Recently I picked up a Merkur Slant on the BST forum and it came with a Merkur blade. It has been years since I used a Merkur blade and being the economical person (or cheap as my wife says) I decided to use it this week. The razor of choice was a FB.

Much to my surprise I got 3 very good shaves from the blade. The blade is not the sharpest but it was smooth. Would I go out and buy them? No, they are too expensive for what you get. However, for me they are an acceptable blade.

So, my advice is to judge each shaving product - including blades - on your own and pay no attention to conventional wisdom.

 

[El Judio Bravo]

Didn't like 'em. They didn't work for me and they're way too expensive.

 

[Mick]

I have a carton (100) of them. they are a rather nice (though expensive) blade.

Longevity is typical for me 5-7 shaves.

I believe the reason they get bad rapped so much is because Merkur razors come with them so it is unusually the first blade a new shaver tries out when they are lucky to be able to get the correct end of the razor up to their face. In the end they blame the tools. The blade gets tossed and that "bad" razor goes up on BST after only 1/2 of a shave to evaluate it before moving on to the next awful blade and terrible razor.

 

[The Dean]

It is interesting the Merkur blade gets mostly terrible reviews here. However I have seen fairly good reviews of this blade, elsewhere. Most seem to agree it isn't worth the premium price.

As turtle notes, my only Merkur blade came with my Merkur 42 razor. As I had other blades, I didn't use it for a few weeks. I eventually used in in the Merkur and had a great first shave. But it felt different than the other blades I had used previously. I could really feel/hear/sense the hair being cut on every pass. Not pulling so much, but not smooth like the blade (Astra?) it replaced. I think the Merkur was the only blade I have retired at fewer than 5 shaves. I think I put it aside after 3 shaves--not because it was terrible--it just wasn't singing for me.

Looking back, I probably should have just moved it into my Tech to see how it performed. I recently did this with a Blue Bird blade that, after a couple shaves, really wasn't doing it for me in the Merkur. In the Tech it was terrific.

 

[norton]

I'll bite.

Yes. Yes they are that bad. To explain:

Part of the problem with them is highlighted with the responses in this thread. 3 decent shaves is acceptable for a blade at a cheaper price - Shark, the Green/Yellow SuperMax, Lords, Treets...

DE blades are probably the most variable part of each person's shave, and part of why many folks get into this 'hobby' is to save money. There are much better performers available
at much better prices. Gillette Yellows, greens, blues, blacks, Personnas Red/blue/meds, Super Iridiums, German Wilkinson, Bluebirds, Astras the list goes on and on.

Merkurs, even by the 100 are priced waaay too near Feather territory. I suppose if you throw cost out, then they may be 'acceptable', but throwing cost out defeats one of the
reasons people get into wet shaving (at least until the ADs kick in).

The other reason to use them (besides just starting out) is if you tried them and for whatever reason, they worked the best on your face.
Then you would have to decide if they were worth what they cost.

 

[derjoachim]

The absolute worst shave I had, was with a Merkur blade. Maybe it was my (lack of) technique, maybe Merkurs don't play nice with my razor (an R89), or maybe they are just plain rubbish. The blade pulled from the beginning, and it appeared unable to get me a close shave.

 

[franz]

I will say that for about a year when I was blissfully unaware of this forum I shaved with nothing but Merkur blades. And they were OK for me. Got the job done.

Agreed that at their current price point there are many, many other better options.

 

[VerbaVolant]

Merkur is one if not the most expensive blade on our market. To me they are below mediocre as sharpness and it is surpassed by many other blades available at just a fraction of the price.
To me they are not worth the ten-times price tag.
I consider Merkur and Timor of somehow similar "performance", only to match the same immense price/quality discrepancy. These blades might not be the worst performers for some of us, although they certainly are the worst value on the market.
I would not buy them even if they were cheaper than Astra or Gillette.

 

[TML4EVR]

I agree. Personally I love Meeker blades. They work great for me. I believe this is an example of YMMV

 

[VerbaVolant]

I agree. Personally I love Meeker blades. They work great for me. I believe this is an example of YMMV

Same goes for TML performance. It is after all a case of YMMV.

 

[Alexis]

Taking into consideration the matter of price vs quality, there is a variety of cheap blades which have a good if not betterout come than merkurs.

 

[Toothpick]

If my memory serves me correct I only used them once, because they came with my razor when I first got in to DE's. I don't remember hating them but I do remember Astra being a lot better. I had ordered Astra as well so once the Merkur was done I moved on to them and never used Merkur again.

 

[talibeard]

Much to my surprise I got 3 very good shaves from the blade. The blade is not the sharpest but it was smooth. Would I go out and buy them? No, they are too expensive for what you get. However, for me they are an acceptable blade.

My conclusion on the Merkurs as well; 3 acceptable shaves but way too expensive for what they are. But not a bad blade, just a mediocre one with a too high price-tag.

 

[NCStateFan12]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and what works for one doesn't always work for another. That is why it is so great that there is so much variety. Personally they work good for me, but there are other blades both more and less expensive that I do like better.

 

[DrumZalot]

My Merkur 38C razor came with a free Merkur blade. With so many negative reviews they had gotten I overlooked this brand. I finally used the Merkur blade with the Merkur 38c and the shave was great. I'm not sure if I lucked out and got a particularly great blade but it I really liked the Merkur blade. From my experience the blade wasn't very sharp but it cut well and was quite forgiving. The downside was that after the first use the sharpness went downhill. If it wasn't for the price I would have definitely bought more. Unfortunately, I couldn't find out if Merkur blades worked great with a variety of other razors.

 

[Kent Kimmons]

Easiest post yet, the answer is YES.

 

[luvmysuper]

I've still got a spare if anyone wants it.

 

[Nomad1600]

I've still got a spare if anyone wants it.



View attachment 339228

LOL... obviously blade designed for open comb razors.

 

[mastershake]

I've still got a spare if anyone wants it.



View attachment 339228

+1000

 

[Lucidor]

I say so.