Don't Fear the Slant...

[dalecooper51]

Being relatively new to double edge shaving, I have listened to enough advice that I was leery of the slant. There's a bunch of chatter about it being overly aggressive and only good for heavy coarse beards. Well I saw one for a good price on BST and figured I would give it a shot as I could always sell it off if it didn't work for me.

I had my first shave with the slant this morning and I have to say, I like it. Popped a day 2 Israeli Personna in it and after a nice hot shower had one of my best shaves since I've started with DE razors. No nicks or weepers, no irritation, just a very nice close shave.

You must pay attention, but I found this no worse than shaving with the Feather Portable or Progress. I have a fairly light wiry beard and the slant worked out great for me. I'm glad that I gave it a chance.

 

[slantman]

You did very good. The slant is used just like the HD but always no matter what razor you use be mindful that the worst blade is still very sharp.

 

[JPDyson]

I personally found the Slant a no-brainer to use; mind your angle and pressure, and it's no harder than a typical DE. YMMV.

 

[nEver-Ready]

I personally found the Slant a no-brainer to use; mind your angle and pressure, and it's no harder than a typical DE. YMMV.

+1 - I regularly use both my Merkur slant and several vintage slants and find them to be great shavers and no more difficult to use than other DE's. I found the "fear the slant" mantra to be one of the myths of wet shaving - at least for me. If you use them just like you would any other medium-aggressive DE you should be just fine.

 

[amspratt]

I've been interested in trying a slant for some time, and I suspect a slant will be one of the next razors I buy. However, I'm so happy with my current rotation that it's going to be tough to justify getting another razor.

 

[funkyb]

I have a love hate relationship with my slant. It's a great shaver and I love the results, but I hate how touchy blade alignment is in that thing. I have to 'twist' the head and blade in opposite directions as I'm tightening it to get proper angles on it.

 

[Duncanh48]

The slant needs to be treated with the same respect as any other DE, it is an agressive razor and I foud it didn't really suit me, but never really had any problems with using it.

 

[California Cajun]

Being relatively new to double edge shaving, I have listened to enough advice that I was leery of the slant. There's a bunch of chatter about it being overly aggressive and only good for heavy coarse beards. Well I saw one for a good price on BST and figured I would give it a shot as I could always sell it off if it didn't work for me.

I had my first shave with the slant this morning and I have to say, I like it. Popped a day 2 Israeli Personna in it and after a nice hot shower had one of my best shaves since I've started with DE razors. No nicks or weepers, no irritation, just a very nice close shave.

You must pay attention, but I found this no worse than shaving with the Feather Portable or Progress. I have a fairly light wiry beard and the slant worked out great for me. I'm glad that I gave it a chance.

That's easily my favorite DE razor, hands down!

 

[Barbash]

I picked up a Merkur 37C a month or two back because I wanted to see what all the fuss was over a slant and it has become my favorite DE razor(I typically use straight razors).
It is a little more aggressive than the HD, Progress, or Open Comb DE razors I have/had, but like has been said if you take your time and watch your angle and pressure it is a great shaver.
I used it the other night with a new Feather and got a nice BBS with no nicks or razor burn

 

[dalecooper51]

I know I have only used it once so far, but I am glad that I picked it up. Felt just like using my HD, but with better performance. I had no problem aligning the blade either. I just pulled up on the end tabs slightly as I was tightening the head. It's the same routine I use with the HD or other razors.

I may revisit the feather blade after I wear this one out to see if it works better for me in the slant. They didn't do well for me in the other razors I've tried.

 

[Rumbaldi]

This just makes me want a slant all the more.

 

[DE Shaver]

Yes, the slant seems to make shaving a little easier, provided you maintain good technique.

 

[Not The Original Kermit]

"fear the slant" may be one of the myths of wet shaving, the other I've heard is "feathers aren't for beginners"

neither should pose any problems provided your technique is correct.

I've had no difficulty using my slant and I've upgraded to a sledgehammer with feather blades.

no problems whatsoever and I'm getting some of my best most comfortable shaves.

 

[dreadpirate]

I have had good results with my slant. And I use a Feather.

 

[solar]

this just makes me want a slant all the more.

+1

 

[jkcerda]

Being relatively new to double edge shaving, I have listened to enough advice that I was leery of the slant. There's a bunch of chatter about it being overly aggressive and only good for heavy coarse beards. Well I saw one for a good price on BST and figured I would give it a shot as I could always sell it off if it didn't work for me.

I had my first shave with the slant this morning and I have to say, I like it. Popped a day 2 Israeli Personna in it and after a nice hot shower had one of my best shaves since I've started with DE razors. No nicks or weepers, no irritation, just a very nice close shave.

You must pay attention, but I found this no worse than shaving with the Feather Portable or Progress. I have a fairly light wiry beard and the slant worked out great for me. I'm glad that I gave it a chance.

would you suggest a slant over a feather portable?
are they both just as aggressive?

 

[dalecooper51]

would you suggest a slant over a feather portable?
are they both just as aggressive?

I don't have enough time with the slant yet to give you an honest answer. My initial impressions with the slant is that it will be a damn fine shaver for me. As always razors and blades are a YMMV affair. I've used the slant 3 times since I've had it and have gotten great shaves with it. If you have any time in with a Merkur 34 HD, you can shave with the slant. From a user stand point it handles the same, just with a bit more performance. It was definitely worth the $30 shipped I paid for a lightly used one.

The feather portable is one heck of a good razor. I own two of them and they were most definitely worth $8 I paid for each of them. One lives in my travel kit and the other has become my go to razor. The handle was a little small for daily use, so I had been using it with an old Gillette bar handle I had here. I just received a Bull Mastiff handle tonight and will be using the feather portable head with it. My first few shaves with the portable did not reach full potential as I had to learn the razor, but now it is one of the best performers I own.

This may sound like an enabler speaking, but I would buy both especially if you could find either used.

 

[notthesharpest]

would you suggest a slant over a feather portable?
are they both just as aggressive?

They're definitely quite different from each other. Not everybody who likes one, likes the other also.

For me, the slant is more "aggressive in a good way", and the Portable is more scratchy. Obviously just one opinion.

 

[Blue_2]

Don't fear the slant, respect the slant!