buying razor parts?

[heat sink]

I have a Merkur 23, the long-handle classic three-piece (handle, top, blade guard). This leads me to wonder if I can buy just the blade guard from a 23C so I can try both straight guard / open comb without buying a complete razor. I haven't seen any of the obvious retailers selling individual parts in this manner. Any recommendations?

-=Mark

 

[dpmtherrien]

Have you tried contacting Merkur directly?

 

[Hansel]

If anything comes of this, let me know. Maybe there's a place out there that can supply some stuff like this I don't know of yet.

I'm in the market for the head assembly (Top plate and guard) for a Gillette Ball end Tech, chrome plated; or, a similar assembly with compatible threading, as long as it's less aggressive than a Feather Portable.

 

[dpm802]

I have a Merkur 23, the long-handle classic three-piece (handle, top, blade guard). This leads me to wonder if I can buy just the blade guard from a 23C so I can try both straight guard / open comb without buying a complete razor. I haven't seen any of the obvious retailers selling individual parts in this manner. Any recommendations?

-=Mark

I've never seen individual parts for sale, and I think you'd waste a lot of time looking for one. Just go ahead and buy the 23C, so you can find out what all the fuss is about.

I'd love to see Merkur or some indy-manufacturer put out a 3 x 3 combo set, with 3 heads (Comb, Straight, Slant) and 3 handles (HD, Long/Thin, Barberpole) that would be completely interchangeable. That way, the end-user would get 9 razors for the price of 3. I think it would be a big seller.

Another item I'd like to see available is a razor with an asymmetrical head. Comb on one side, Straight on the other. Two razors in one. Perfect for travel.

 

[heat sink]

I decided to check with some US vendors. As suspected, parts are not catalogued individually for order (which is not to say that dovo/merkur might not make some arrangement, but I didn't get that far.)

My first attempt was an email to the sales team at bestgroomingtools, as they are a local (Long Island) business, and carry a wide range of Merkur products. A day or so later, I got an email from Rob, confirming that they had no way to order individual parts. He then added that he had a spare 25C guard lying about, and if I would give him my address he would be happy to post it to me, gratis.

Score! What a great offer! I decided to buy a few packs of razors to beef up my sampler stock, and a tube of Speick cream for travel, so they would not have to front shipping for a freebie to a non-customer. All I had to do was add a comment to my order referencing the email, and my order was processed and shipped same-day.

So, while I can't say I've learned much about any secret sources to order Merkur parts, I have learned that the staff at bestgroomingtools take the time to investigate even the oddball requests.