Don't Fear the Slant!

[kjparker]

I had my first shave with a slant last night. A merkur hd slant, loaded with a red IP.

I have to say this was a great shave. The mantra of go slow and no pressure really rings true with these bad boys, but respect them, and you will be rewarded!

The difficult spot on my neck was bbs where I normally struggle. It was by no means the perfect shave, but it will only get better with practice!

If you have been avoiding a slant because you were scared, fear not! Dive right in, you wont be sorry!

 

[dpm802]

My Sledgehammer Slant (39C) with a Feather blade is my favorite razor ... I get BBS in 2.5 easy, comfortable passes every time. It even gets that tricky spot under my right ear that has defied every other shaving method for the last 35 years, although I did have to develop a special J-hook technique to reach it.

My only regret with this razor is that I can't use it every day. It does its best work with 3+ days of stubble to harvest, so this is what I break out when I haven't had a shave for a while.

 

[Tralfaz]

I had my first shave with a slant this morning - a Merkur HD Slant with a Derby blade. It was great!

I too had read all about the Slant being for experienced shavers (I've only been at this for 3 months or so) but I wanted to try one since I seem to get better shaves from more aggressive razors like my vintage Gillette NEW.

I managed to get good results in all of my trouble spots with no irritation or nicks. The blade just sailed through my beard!

It's only been one shave, but I am hooked!

 

[Hair apparent]

I had my first shave with a slant last night. A merkur hd slant, loaded with a red IP.

I have to say this was a great shave. The mantra of go slow and no pressure really rings true with these bad boys, but respect them, and you will be rewarded!

The difficult spot on my neck was bbs where I normally struggle. It was by no means the perfect shave, but it will only get better with practice!

If you have been avoiding a slant because you were scared, fear not! Dive right in, you wont be sorry!

Hmm, have you been reading my mind, or are you me in a paralell down under world? I had my first shave with a Merkur slant, with a red IP last night. Very impressed.

 

[eyeguy]

I hope to have my first shot with a slant tonight. I think I'll go with a Red IP since that seems to be the preferred blade with these & see what happens. Since I'm still fairly new, I'm still very careful with my technique, which I hope turns out to be a good thing using this particular razor.

 

[kjparker]

I hope to have my first shot with a slant tonight. I think I'll go with a Red IP since that seems to be the preferred blade with these & see what happens. Since I'm still fairly new, I'm still very careful with my technique, which I hope turns out to be a good thing using this particular razor.

Dont take the red IP as the preferred blade, for me, it was just what I found first when I reached into my blade box.

I alternate between astra SP, Shark SC, Supermax SP, red IP's etc...

Second day running shaving with the slant, I think I found my go to razor!

 

[eyeguy]

Dont take the red IP as the preferred blade, for me, it was just what I found first when I reached into my blade box.

I alternate between astra SP, Shark SC, Supermax SP, red IP's etc...

Second day running shaving with the slant, I think I found my go to razor!

Ahhh! Much appreciated! It didn't come in today, so maybe tomorrow I'll get to try it out. I have a feeling that the slant is either gonna my BBS everytime razor or my skin grater!! Its either the IP, Shark, Derby, or a Feather to start off with. I love the Feather, but with a slant, hmmmmm, not so sure.

 

[Danricgro]

The slant is not nearly as scary as some would have you believe. It is aggressive but not to an extreme. Just use solid technique and good prep and you will be just fine.

 

[honed]

The slant is like a good woman.
Treat it with respect & care & you'll have a good time.

 

[Jaymo]

The slant is good. I have been using my Merkur 37G a lot here lately. It's a fantastic shaver. It's almost as aggressive as the aggressive side of my Neillite 400. I don't find it to be rough or difficult to use, at all. I used mine last night, with some cheap shave gel that I bought at Dollar Tree for $1.00/tube and it worked great. It seems to like creams best, and cream/soap mix second best, but it gives great shaves with soap pucks and sticks, too. Too bad the Progress isn't offered in a slant version. I'd buy one in a minute.

 

[Dude123]

This is also on my "to try" list, but parts of my neck seem to be sensitive, so I may work on technique for a while before ordering one. My cheeks seem to be able to handle most of what I throw at them so far, but haven't tried my straight yet

 

[eyeguy]

I'm hoping to give it a go tomorrow evening since it never showed today!! I'm comfortable with my technique & don't think twice about a Feather in a Fat Boy on 9. Kinda lookin forward to tomorrow evening!!

 

[Jaymo]

If you use a Feather in a Fatboy set on 9, you'll have no problems with a Merkur slant.

 

[shawnmaze]

I have been shaving DE for 5 years but never really on forums or boards until recently. I have been shaving with Vintage SS, Merkur HD, & Future and more than happy with results. I am already being tempted by the Stainless Steel razors (Feather/Pils), but I am curious about the Slant.

What is the reasoning or design benefit of a slant? Why is it supposed to work better etc (in theory at least)?

 

[Patrik]

Hmm, have you been reading my mind, or are you me in a paralell down under world? I had my first shave with a Merkur slant, with a red IP last night. Very impressed.

Funny... This morning I too shaved with a Slant for the first time, also with a Red IP. Pure awesome. Tomorrow I'm going to try it with a Feather.

 

[eyeguy]

I have been shaving DE for 5 years but never really on forums or boards until recently. I have been shaving with Vintage SS, Merkur HD, & Future and more than happy with results. I am already being tempted by the Stainless Steel razors (Feather/Pils), but I am curious about the Slant.

What is the reasoning or design benefit of a slant? Why is it supposed to work better etc (in theory at least)?

A traditional DE cuts the hair straight on where a slant hits it at a slight angle. I'm gonna find out this evening just how good these are. My cased Pomco diagonal finally came in!

 

[mkc1mjb]

Shaved for the first time today with my new Merkur 39c (Thanks to B&B B/S/T). All I can is "wow"!

 

[eyeguy]

Just finished my first slant shave with the Pomco & all I can say is wow. Not BBS, but very close to it. I did my typical 3 pass just like I normally do so I could see the difference, (I didn't want to focus on BBS) but I don't think BBS would be too much work. Certainly less work than with my others! If I didn't have crop circle patterns for a beard, I bet it'd be BBS easily.
For anyone who might be leary when it comes to trying one out, I used a Feather & shaved like I normally do. Not with reckless abandon, but certainly not slow either. Just 3 quick passes, hoping like crazy I wouldn't slice my cheek off. All in all, I'm extremely happy.
I'm still gonna buy a Pils & a Feather though, only because I can't resist the RAD!!

 

[jdudley76]

The slant is my everyday razor. Once and a while I pull out a SS or something else but always regret it because the shave is terrible and irritating in comparison.

My slant shaves are smooth (DFS-BBS) and TOTALLY irritation free. I can't stress that enough...no irritation at all. The blade just seems to slide over the skin (but not the hairs, it annihilates the hairs). And nicks...they're pretty rare. I have to be pretty tired to accidentally nick myself, but that goes for any razor.

I use a vintage Merkur slant from chessman with an Astra blade. This setup is head and shoulders above any 'non-slant' I've tried.

 

[Jaymo]

The slicing action of the blade in a slant tugs and pulls a lot less than the chopping action of a blade in a straight bar razor. It's amazing how well they shave. I now find myself not wanting to use my non-slants.