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In praise of the humble 15c

...and the swankier 11c as well of course.

I have to say that the Merkur OC head still delivers one of the best combinations of closeness and comfort in all of shavedom, far smoother than the Gillette "old", smoother than the NEW and even a bit better than the English Tech. In my use it's also superior to Merkur's safety bar head by a wide margin, in fact the only competition I've found that delivers a similar blend of closeness and pushbutton comfort are the Razorock Game Changer and Mamba razors (I have a BBS on order, but it's still a few days away).

My 11c died a horrible death, when the bottom plate was bent in a drop incident, but if they were still available I'd buy a replacement in a heartbeat!

Any other devotees of this fabulous razor out there?
 
Is the Merkur 11c the Gillette Old Type clone with the open comb and the thick handle? I'm inclined to say if they were popular with the consumer shaver, then Merkur would still make them. Follow the money. Merkur does.
 
Is the Merkur 11c the Gillette Old Type clone with the open comb and the thick handle? I'm inclined to say if they were popular with the consumer shaver, then Merkur would still make them. Follow the money. Merkur does.


Right? Obviously the 11c didn't sell well enough to continue in production, that doesn't change how I feel about it... as a heavier, easier to load version of the 15c or OC version of the HD 34c, I found it to be well worth the asking price.

of course YMMV
 
Right? Obviously the 11c didn't sell well enough to continue in production, that doesn't change how I feel about it... as a heavier, easier to load version of the 15c or OC version of the HD 34c, I found it to be well worth the asking price.

of course YMMV

Congratulations!! Looks like you found your ‘destination’ razor!! :thumbup: :thumbup:

(Just don’t drop it.)
 
lol, yeah the destruction of my beloved 11c was a sad event, but with the 15c (also 41c and 25c) offering the same head geometry it wasn't the end of the world.

In a sheer performance per dollar sense the 15c is "best", though the RR stainless razors have a definite pride of ownership edge... zinc alloy just isn't very sexy compared to 316 stainless :(
 
I have a vintage 11, with a silver handle. Great razor. Love how it feels in the hand. Equal in comfort of shave is the OC from Adams, which is an imprint of Merkur.
Adams Safety Razor.jpg
Merkur11.jpg
 
I also like the 15c. I learned how to shave with it and display it on the bathroom shelf. It is smooth and irritation free. Having said that I have several stainless steel razors I also enjoy.
 
Love my Merkur 15C. It was the first open comb razor which I bought and remains one of my favorites. I had hesitated to buy an open comb razor because I guess I thought they were "scary." With proper technique and beard prep, open combs are not necessarily more aggressive than a closed comb. The 15C is relatively mild. To my untrained eye, it looks a lot like my 1910 Single Ring, another of my favorites.
 
I've got a 15C as well; I PIFed my first one and then realized I should've kept it, so I bought another. I like to think of it as my "open-comb Tech" because it's mild, efficient, and darn near foolproof.
 
I still use my 11C & 41C occasionally & they both provide a fairly close & very comfortable shave. Although the heads are in theory the same, I think that the 41C shaves the best out of the two, but the 11C has far better grip.

I am sure that I read somewhere that the tooling used to make the 11C had worn out. Merkur decided that retooling was too expensive & that this was the reason for the demise of the 11C.
 
I'm about a dozen shaves in with my first DE, a Merkur 985C - same open comb head on a short, 2-piece handle.

With a sharp blade (Bic) it feels quite aggressive to a beginner (although I guess any DE would). However, it didn't take me too long to learn how to get a close shave with no nicks or irritation, if I'm very careful.

What I really wanted was a versatile razor which can handle head shaving and week-and-half growth as well as short stubble. An open comb, mild but-not-too-mild head seems to cover a lot of ground.
 
Personally, I prefer the 15C handle to the 41C retro handle and the Merkur HD handle. I also have a vintage 41 with the chromed zamak handle. It is a nice design, not too heavy, but mine has a bad case of zinc rot.

But if you like the 15C head, IMO you owe it to yourself to try a Gillette thick cap Old Type.
 
I've been using the 15c exclusively since I received it almost a month ago.

It's replaced my Rockwell 6C as a daily driver. It's so comfortable and efficient. Very maneuverable - probably due to it's light weight and slim head.

I wasn't a fan of the handle when I got it, it was almost slippery as the knurling isn't very prominent however I have absolutely no problem with it now.

Wouldn't hesitate to replace it if something happened to this one and am almost debating buying a spare one now so I'll always have one!
 
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