A while ago I purchased a slant razor which gave me some issues. It was a German 37 C and I had some extremely rough shaves with it before realizing that the blade needed to be manually aligned and the design of the head was rather imprecise. I returned it and gave up on slants. Recently, however, I purchased a chrome Yaqi Mellon and a separate stainless steel handle for a very low price. The engineering of the Mellon is very precise and the razor is very comfortable. Despite a significant amount of blade-feel and tactile and auditory feedback, I would characterize it as a mild and efficient shaver. I never imagined that an open comb design could be this comfortable and easy to use.
The experience with the Mellon led me to ordering a Fatip open comb slant from Connaught. I meant to order the fat handle version, but I guess I wound up selecting the Piccolo. What a strange and wonderful razor this is! The brass handle is heavy and the crooked head is very efficient and gentle. Whereas the Mellon provides blade feel and auditory feedback, the Storto has none. The only issue with the Fatip is that I do have to maintain a light touch on upstrokes. Both are uniquely wonderful.
I have been using the same Wizamet blade in these two razors for several weeks. Today, I switched to a Gillette Red Tip and the shave was rougher by comparison. I was not able to achieve a BBS shave in two passes as I have been doing with the open combs. I believe that the modern razors that have been designed and manufactured with the latest techniques have surpassed the iconic DE razors of the past. The head of the Mellon is so precisely engineered that the blade is automatically locked into a perfect alignment. The blade alignment in the Fatip Slant may have a tiny amount of play, but I have never had to adjust it manually. Considering the irregular shape of the head, that's pretty amazing.
In any case, if you are at the point where you are a bit bored with your closed comb razor, I would highly recommend either of these modern wonders.
The experience with the Mellon led me to ordering a Fatip open comb slant from Connaught. I meant to order the fat handle version, but I guess I wound up selecting the Piccolo. What a strange and wonderful razor this is! The brass handle is heavy and the crooked head is very efficient and gentle. Whereas the Mellon provides blade feel and auditory feedback, the Storto has none. The only issue with the Fatip is that I do have to maintain a light touch on upstrokes. Both are uniquely wonderful.
I have been using the same Wizamet blade in these two razors for several weeks. Today, I switched to a Gillette Red Tip and the shave was rougher by comparison. I was not able to achieve a BBS shave in two passes as I have been doing with the open combs. I believe that the modern razors that have been designed and manufactured with the latest techniques have surpassed the iconic DE razors of the past. The head of the Mellon is so precisely engineered that the blade is automatically locked into a perfect alignment. The blade alignment in the Fatip Slant may have a tiny amount of play, but I have never had to adjust it manually. Considering the irregular shape of the head, that's pretty amazing.
In any case, if you are at the point where you are a bit bored with your closed comb razor, I would highly recommend either of these modern wonders.