B.O.S.S. Brotherhood of Slant Shavers

[Johnnynroy]

I think the Wunderbar won’t disappoint you as a nearly daily driver. And unless you hit it with a hammer it should outlast us all. The precise way it assembles, and holds the blade, is a little bonus to every shave. Enjoy!

I haven’t seen your 37, but my old 1970s Merkur 36 slant (think 37 as a three piece with a short skinny handle) has been showing some plating failure on all three posts for a decade. It continues to function though, and my oldest son still uses it regularly. Baby your 37 a bit and it might be good backup for years.

Glad to hear that all might not be lost with my 37c! I do really love how it shaves.

Two shaves in with the RR wunderbar. At what I thought was the design angle, I got a very blood filled shave during shave one. One cut and a few nicks. Haven't cut myself since shave 2 of wet shaving, although this one was barely a cut. Looking at the razor, I don't actually understand the reason for the bloodletting. It appears to be neutral or negative blade exposure to me, but it is definitely hard to tell with the slant angle.

Shave two was much better. I had tried a very shallow angle during shave one in addition to neutral, but I have a hard time with shallow angles. I had read that the wunderbar is picky with blades, and I also recalled one gent saying he likes it at a steep angle. So, I got a Perma sharp super (my favorite blade in the 37c) used had the handle pointing at the floor. I went straight north to south first pass (which I never do) and did get some tiny weepers where this was atg on my neck, but didn't get much more blood afterwards. If I do my normal directions, I think this likely will be able to shave me daily. Although it may cut a bit too close for my growth to come back sufficiently to be shaved within 24 hours. I'm full on BBS seven plus hours after the shave which never happens for me. I don't even target BBS, I'm a DFS guy personally. I'll do some more blade exploration once my perma sharp dies, but my shave today would have been fine if I hadn't changed my direction of attack first pass. Steep is going to be the best angle for me with it I think.

Used the rest of my "baseline kit" which I use to test all my new razors or blades: Stirling Bay Rum soap, TurnNShave Quartermoon synthetic brush, Dickinson's witch hazel as an initial aftershave that I then apply a 50:50 mix of master's and Gabels Bay Rum aftershave to prior to the witch hazel drying. Some moisturizer after that has dried and I had a nice BBS.

Thanks again for the encouragement and good news, sir. Greatly appreciated.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[Tanuki]

Glad to hear that all might not be lost with my 37c! I do really love how it shaves.

Two shaves in with the RR wunderbar. At what I thought was the design angle, I got a very blood filled shave during shave one. One cut and a few nicks. Haven't cut myself since shave 2 of wet shaving, although this one was barely a cut. Looking at the razor, I don't actually understand the reason for the bloodletting. It appears to be neutral or negative blade exposure to me, but it is definitely hard to tell with the slant angle.

Shave two was much better. I had tried a very shallow angle during shave one in addition to neutral, but I have a hard time with shallow angles. I had read that the wunderbar is picky with blades, and I also recalled one gent saying he likes it at a steep angle. So, I got a Perma sharp super (my favorite blade in the 37c) used had the handle pointing at the floor. I went straight north to south first pass (which I never do) and did get some tiny weepers where this was atg on my neck, but didn't get much more blood afterwards. If I do my normal directions, I think this likely will be able to shave me daily. Although it may cut a bit too close for my growth to come back sufficiently to be shaved within 24 hours. I'm full on BBS seven plus hours after the shave which never happens for me. I don't even target BBS, I'm a DFS guy personally. I'll do some more blade exploration once my perma sharp dies, but my shave today would have been fine if I hadn't changed my direction of attack first pass. Steep is going to be the best angle for me with it I think.

Used the rest of my "baseline kit" which I use to test all my new razors or blades: Stirling Bay Rum soap, TurnNShave Quartermoon synthetic brush, Dickinson's witch hazel as an initial aftershave that I then apply a 50:50 mix of master's and Gabels Bay Rum aftershave to prior to the witch hazel drying. Some moisturizer after that has dried and I had a nice BBS.

Thanks again for the encouragement and good news, sir. Greatly appreciated.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Sorry to hear that the Wunderbar is off to a rough start. I don’t have much faith in my ability to bestow unsolicited shave advice remotely, but... I do prefer my Wunderbar with a shorter and lighter handle than the stock RazoRock stainless steel. I cut my RR Ti Halo down a couple cm. It is my first choice Wunderbar handle these days.

 

[Johnnynroy]

Sorry to hear that the Wunderbar is off to a rough start. I don’t have much faith in my ability to bestow unsolicited shave advice remotely, but... I do prefer my Wunderbar with a shorter and lighter handle than the stock RazoRock stainless steel. I cut my RR Ti Halo down a couple cm. It is my first choice Wunderbar handle these days.
View attachment 1000757

Somehow some of my post got truncated. The second shave at a steep angle gave me light at the end of the tunnel. Much better shave. I get some slight weepers on most shaves. I am still struggling to control my adult acne which gets planed off by nearly any razor causing weepers. I'll occasionally overshave an area as well causing weepers. My second shave didn't give me extras over what I normally get, unlike shave one. No sting from the aftershave either, which is usually my telltale "ya overdid it" sign. I'm still mostly BBS now, closing in on 12 hours out from the shave. Incredibly close shave. I'm pretty sure that I'll have the hang of it after only another few shaves and it'll be the daily driver I was seeking.

I did find myself choking up on the handle quite a bit, but don't know that I'll need to cut it down. I'll definitely keep that in mind if I find myself not liking the handle. I got the titanium Halo handle, nice and light and a good balance for the head.

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[Tanuki]

Somehow some of my post got truncated. The second shave at a steep angle gave me light at the end of the tunnel. Much better shave. I get some slight weepers on most shaves. I am still struggling to control my adult acne which gets planed off by nearly any razor causing weepers. I'll occasionally overshave an area as well causing weepers. My second shave didn't give me extras over what I normally get, unlike shave one. No sting from the aftershave either, which is usually my telltale "ya overdid it" sign. I'm still mostly BBS now, closing in on 12 hours out from the shave. Incredibly close shave. I'm pretty sure that I'll have the hang of it after only another few shaves and it'll be the daily driver I was seeking.

I did find myself choking up on the handle quite a bit, but don't know that I'll need to cut it down. I'll definitely keep that in mind if I find myself not liking the handle. I got the titanium Halo handle, nice and light and a good balance for the head.

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Excellent choice on the Ti Halo handle. I do best with short handles due to the habits formed from decades with a 3” Gillette ball end Old Type and a 3” Merkur 36 slant as my only razors. My other excuse is that I really wanted to see if I could cut titanium. Rumor was that it would be really difficult.

I reread your post and saw that shave 2 was already much improved, better than my first impression. Seems you are on the fast track!

 

[Schnitzel52]

After a week on the road wit a Gillette New as my travel razor I’m back home a back to my German 37. Two days of DFS and liking the Merkur Super Platinum blades.

 

[Klinker]

TUESDAY 08.23.19 SOTD
RazoRock German 37 Slant HD handle / Shark SS (3) / Vulfix 1016 Pure Badger / TOBS Sandalwood​

 

[Klinker]

FRIDAY SOTD 08.26.19
RazoRock German 37 Slant HD handle / Shark SS (2) / Fendrihan 25x60 Plissoft / TOBS Sandalwood​

 

[Klinker]

Picked up a brand new Merkur 37c HD. Other than being a two-piece razor, which is more convenient, the shave is very similar to my Razorock German 37.

 

[GAW9576]

View attachment 1002936
Picked up a brand new Merkur 37c HD. Other than being a two-piece razor, which is more convenient, the shave is very similar to my Razorock German 37.

Very nice. I really want to get a 2 piece razor. I like the photo, did you have a back drop or is that photoshopped?

 

[Klinker]

Photoshop

 

[Flintstone65]

Greetings fellow BOSSes -- I have come to redeem myself. Many moons ago I was a DE shaver who focused almost exclusively on slants or vintage open combs (the older the better). But just as I was just getting started on focusing mostly on slants, I was lured to the dark side....Single Edge

But I have returned to my roots....and within the last week or so I have focused on acquiring the slants I was interested in before the distraction. Here are 3 that have just arrived:

A Fasan (all the way from Deutschland), The PAA BOCS (all the way from the BST), and The Wunderbar (all the way from Canada...and the BST). I'm looking forward to trying each out, and will also do a comparison shave between the Fasan and it's doppleganger/clone the PAA BOCS. I'll be posting the shaves here. If anyone has some advice or guidance on any or all of these razors, don't hesitate to jump in.

 

[Johnnynroy]

Greetings fellow BOSSes -- I have come to redeem myself. Many moons ago I was a DE shaver who focused almost exclusively on slants or vintage open combs (the older the better). But just as I was just getting started on focusing mostly on slants, I was lured to the dark side....Single Edge

But I have returned to my roots....and within the last week or so I have focused on acquiring the slants I was interested in before the distraction. Here are 3 that have just arrived:

A Fasan (all the way from Deutschland), The PAA BOCS (all the way from the BST), and The Wunderbar (all the way from Canada...and the BST). I'm looking forward to trying each out, and will also do a comparison shave between the Fasan and it's doppleganger/clone the PAA BOCS. I'll be posting the shaves here. If anyone has some advice or guidance on any or all of these razors, don't hesitate to jump in.

View attachment 1003595
View attachment 1003596

Steep/neutral angle with the wunderbar. Try out a lighter handle if it seems too heavy. I have the titanium handle and love the weight. The wunderbar is more aggressive than I was expecting. Steepening the angle helped me begin to enjoy it much more. I still am figuring it out. Got some weepers again today that I wasn't expecting. Resolved very quickly without more than my normal post shave routine though. Hope you enjoy them!

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[Ron R]

Glad to hear that all might not be lost with my 37c! I do really love how it shaves.

Two shaves in with the RR wunderbar. At what I thought was the design angle, I got a very blood filled shave during shave one. One cut and a few nicks. Haven't cut myself since shave 2 of wet shaving, although this one was barely a cut. Looking at the razor, I don't actually understand the reason for the bloodletting. It appears to be neutral or negative blade exposure to me, but it is definitely hard to tell with the slant angle.

Shave two was much better. I had tried a very shallow angle during shave one in addition to neutral, but I have a hard time with shallow angles. I had read that the wunderbar is picky with blades, and I also recalled one gent saying he likes it at a steep angle. So, I got a Perma sharp super (my favorite blade in the 37c) used had the handle pointing at the floor. I went straight north to south first pass (which I never do) and did get some tiny weepers where this was atg on my neck, but didn't get much more blood afterwards. If I do my normal directions, I think this likely will be able to shave me daily. Although it may cut a bit too close for my growth to come back sufficiently to be shaved within 24 hours. I'm full on BBS seven plus hours after the shave which never happens for me. I don't even target BBS, I'm a DFS guy personally. I'll do some more blade exploration once my perma sharp dies, but my shave today would have been fine if I hadn't changed my direction of attack first pass. Steep is going to be the best angle for me with it I think.

Used the rest of my "baseline kit" which I use to test all my new razors or blades: Stirling Bay Rum soap, TurnNShave Quartermoon synthetic brush, Dickinson's witch hazel as an initial aftershave that I then apply a 50:50 mix of master's and Gabels Bay Rum aftershave to prior to the witch hazel drying. Some moisturizer after that has dried and I had a nice BBS.

Thanks again for the encouragement and good news, sir. Greatly appreciated.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

@Johnnynroy l have also a Wunderbar and for what ever reason a Personna red works the best. The razor can be mastered and give good results with a gentle steep apporch and no plunking it on the skin to start a stroke because it let's you know it with a cut from my experiece. I shaved 7 days in a row when I first got mine with not a lot of issues but there are easier razors to use also!

 

[Flintstone65]

Steep/neutral angle with the wunderbar. Try out a lighter handle if it seems too heavy. I have the titanium handle and love the weight. The wunderbar is more aggressive than I was expecting. Steepening the angle helped me begin to enjoy it much more. I still am figuring it out. Got some weepers again today that I wasn't expecting. Resolved very quickly without more than my normal post shave routine though. Hope you enjoy them!

@Johnnynroy l have also a Wunderbar and for what ever reason a Personna red works the best. The razor can be mastered and give good results with a gentle steep apporch and no plunking it on the skin to start a stroke because it let's you know it with a cut from my experiece. I shaved 7 days in a row when I first got mine with not a lot of issues but there are easier razors to use also!

Thank you both for the advice. It will take some concentration for me to use a steep angle -- I usually start every razor with a ride the cap strategy and then steepen gradually to get the cut; plus I've been using a lot of SE's which tend towards a shallow angle. I will be trying the Wunderbar with a shorter lighter handle -- the one it came with is a bit of a monster, but it will likely work well for some of my other razors.

 

[Johnnynroy]

Thank you both for the advice. It will take some concentration for me to use a steep angle -- I usually start every razor with a ride the cap strategy and then steepen gradually to get the cut; plus I've been using a lot of SE's which tend towards a shallow angle. I will be trying the Wunderbar with a shorter lighter handle -- the one it came with is a bit of a monster, but it will likely work well for some of my other razors.

Glad to hear you're going to use a different handle. I don't have one of those handles specifically, but I've had a similar length stainless from maggard and it was a monster.

Some reviews mentioned using a very shallow angle with the wunderbar. I am not skilled enough to use it in this manner as I have adult acne that doesn't like it when I plane off the top of the blemishes... I have more control with the wunderbar at a steep angle. And what Ron says about plunking it on your skin is dead accurate: I think that was how I got my cut during my first shave was placing it a bit too haphazardly on my skin to start the stroke. Deliberate movements are key with the wunderbar. If I feel the blade, I am usually going to see blood not long after. If I just hear it cutting, it'll be an excellent stroke. Amazingly efficient.

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[Johnnynroy]

@Johnnynroy l have also a Wunderbar and for what ever reason a Personna red works the best. The razor can be mastered and give good results with a gentle steep apporch and no plunking it on the skin to start a stroke because it let's you know it with a cut from my experiece. I shaved 7 days in a row when I first got mine with not a lot of issues but there are easier razors to use also!

I will try a Red in it sometime. My favorite blades, perma sharp super, work very well in it. I tried a Personna Lab Blue and it was a horrid shave. The perma sharps are the right amount of sharp (very) and the right amount of smooth (very) for me to use the wunderbar. I still get some weepers and if I plunk it down to quick I'll even get a tiny nick. I haven't decided yet if it actually is more efficient than my 37c. I am leaning towards it being about the same efficiency. Someone needs to make a stainless 37c already!!! Either that or I should just stock up on RR German 37 heads and chuck them in the trash when the screw falls off lol.

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[Ron R]

I will try a Red in it sometime. My favorite blades, perma sharp super, work very well in it. I tried a Personna Lab Blue and it was a horrid shave. The perma sharps are the right amount of sharp (very) and the right amount of smooth (very) for me to use the wunderbar. I still get some weepers and if I plunk it down to quick I'll even get a tiny nick. I haven't decided yet if it actually is more efficient than my 37c. I am leaning towards it being about the same efficiency. Someone needs to make a stainless 37c already!!! Either that or I should just stock up on RR German 37 heads and chuck them in the trash when the screw falls off lol.

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The RR German 37 is a good slant and I bought a extra head before getting a deal on my RR Wunderbar so I agree with you on replacing the head every 5-10 years after wearing one out . When I do shave with the Wunderbar and nail the technique properly the beard does not really come back after 11 hrs. It took me a while trying different blades and slowly leaning towards steep technique approach which is not my preferred method and the Personna red blade works in my slants for me and others find a good blade that works for them. The RR German 37c or Merkur 37c or 39c are just great razors & forgiving IMO. The Razorock Wunderbar is a great razor but the technique or skill level has to be on the mark to get a better shave than the 37c or the Razorock 37!
Have some great shaves!

 

[Flintstone65]

Well tonight was my first Wunderbar shave -- net net: it went very well. My thanks to all of you for helping it go smoothy! It is a smooth shaver, so much so that you really do need to listen for the audio. I did find the best angle for me was on the steeper side. First pass was very smooth, no weepers or nicks -- it is very nicely efficient. The second pass also smooth, but two weepers, but I couldn't tell you what happen....I was shaving a different part of my face, and suddenly I see blood on a part that I had finished a while ago. Third pass was just a touch-up....at that point one of the weepers had already disappeared, the one on my chin went quiet after a witch hazel splash. In the end it was a solid DFS and I'm looking forward to my next Wunderbar appointment.

Here's a couple of pics and hardware/software details: handle was a Weber bulldog, blade was a Voskhod (4), Cella soap and Yaqi 26mm Timberwolf brush.

 

[Flintstone65]

Just a quick follow up and slight revision to the post above....the shave was far more BBS than DFS....it has been 18 hours, and yes I have stubble, but not near as much as I usually do. At around the 10 to 11 hour mark, most of face still felt very smooth; and could have easily passed for a socially-acceptable-shave. I was going to try for a shave at the 24 hour mark, but I don't think so....next shave will be tomorrow (maybe even Saturday ).

Very impressed with this razor on the first time out of the gate. I don't mind the occasional temporary weeper, but I absolutely do mind irritation -- and there was no post-shave irritation at all. Plus, and I know it has been said MANY times, but the build quality on this thing is just stunning!

 

[Flintstone65]

Today was another Wunderbar shave. First the software/hardware: Wunderbar on a Weber Bullldog handle with a Voskhod blade (5), using a 28mm RazoRock Plissoft Beehive to lather Nivea Sensitive Skin cream. If I had a RazoRock soap to use, I could have had a near-complete RazoRock shave.

So here's the thing: I'm having a weird time with this razor. The first pass is always fine, but once most of the hair is removed (which happens on the WTG pass), the second pass seems to be destined to produce at least one small weeper, as well as a potentially careless mistake which gives me a weeper-like cut. The third pass is my clean up, but I find that I need a full-on "clean-up" not "touch-up" with this razor. It strikes me as smooth feeling while I'm shaving, very efficient on the first pass, but aggressive on follow-on passes and not as efficient in terms of getting BBS without a heavy touch-up. It's possible that I'm not maintaining my angle well after the first pass.

I'm not sure if that makes any sense at all, but I am starting to understand why some of the folks who have raved about the shave, have also put their Wunderbar up for sale after a while. I have razors that require dedication to technique -- and that's okay -- but I feel like I'm walking on egg shells whenever I start my last two passes. All that said, I find that 20 to 30 minutes later my skin feels incredibly smooth, irritation free, and even the weepers are distant memories. This razor is putting me through my paces, and while I'm not yet enjoying the actual shaving, I am thoroughly enjoying the results. This is only shave #2 -- and I'm constantly telling people that they need to give a razor several shaves to build muscle memory and understand the idiosyncrasies -- so I guess I'm just kibitzing to you Bosses about my learning curve.

And I just scrolled up and found a statement that seems to encapsulate how I'm currently feeling:

When I do shave with the Wunderbar and nail the technique properly the beard does not really come back after 11 hrs.

The RR German 37c or Merkur 37c or 39c are just great razors & forgiving IMO. The Razorock Wunderbar is a great razor but the technique or skill level has to be on the mark to get a better shave than the 37c or the Razorock 37!

I have the RR German 37, and I figured the Wunderbar would deliver better results, easier -- and so far the end results have been better, but it's hasn't been easier....yet.