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Merkur 23C worth keeping?

Afternoon all

I bought, what I thought, a new Merkur 37C for £20 odd but they have sent me a Merkur 23C instead. I already own a DE89 and Muhle R89. Therefore is it worth me keeping this even though the price is reasonable or return? Never tried a 23C before.

Thanks
 
I like the Merkur safety bar head. Its different from the de89 /R89 head. If anything is redundant in your den it's the R89 /de89, as it's the same razor head.
Why not try the 23c? Just do it.
 
I have one. I like it. Apparently it's the same head as the 34c...seems like I read that somewhere. It's pretty mild but efficient with the right blade. I'd guess it's my second favorite razor out of about 20 (mostly vintage stuff, though). I use the same razor 95% of the time but this is the one I grab to mix it up a little.
 
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Keeping it. Couldn't resist to try it tonight. Not sure if it was the longer handle but loved the fact I could throw it about and still get a great shave even with a blade 4 shaves in. Actually think it's better than my EJ89 and DE89. I like rotating razors each time so one for the collection.
 
It was the opposite for me. I found the 89 series to be much smoother shaving then the 23C, and 34C and it seems like a lot of people agree with this. But some are opposite and prefer the Merkur heads. It’s been awhile since I tried the Merkurs so perhaps I should revisit them.

Try a shim in your R89 if you want to up the efficiency a tad while still remaining very smooth. It’s about the only negative thing I find with the 89 is the lack of efficiency of more aggressive razors but it’s not bad, especially with a shim and was my favorite razor until recently when a couple modern ones overtook that position.

My favorite now is the RazoRock GameChanger 84p which is about the cheapest SS razor you will find and out shaves every more expensive razor I’ve tested so far.
 
It was the opposite for me. I found the 89 series to be much smoother shaving then the 23C, and 34C and it seems like a lot of people agree with this. But some are opposite and prefer the Merkur heads. It’s been awhile since I tried the Merkurs so perhaps I should revisit them.

Try a shim in your R89 if you want to up the efficiency a tad while still remaining very smooth. It’s about the only negative thing I find with the 89 is the lack of efficiency of more aggressive razors but it’s not bad, especially with a shim and was my favorite razor until recently when a couple modern ones overtook that position.

My favorite now is the RazoRock GameChanger 84p which is about the cheapest SS razor you will find and out shaves every more expensive razor I’ve tested so far.

Thank you for the advice. I will try that as I do still enjoy going back to those ones. Just need a little more bite and this might do it.
 
IMHO there's no need to shim the R89. Working on the technique is the key. Finding and holding the correct angle. Same with the direction your hair grows.
Mild razors force you to do this, so for me they are more difficult to use than mor aggressive ones which dont require an exact Shaving angle.
I'm a big fan of geofatboys Shaving videos. He uses a neutral angle in the first two passes and rides the cap on the third pass. That's a very good idea too.
And turn off the radio while Shaving. It's easier to hear your beard being cut.
 
I think it is more to do with me using my Merkur Progress or R41 more and therefore I enjoy the aggressive feel more compared to the milder ones I have.
 
Keeping it. Couldn't resist to try it tonight. Not sure if it was the longer handle but loved the fact I could throw it about and still get a great shave even with a blade 4 shaves in. Actually think it's better than my EJ89 and DE89. I like rotating razors each time so one for the collection.

Good man!! The only way to tell if you like a razor is to give it a spin!! :thumbup1::thumbup1:
 
IMHO there's no need to shim the R89. Working on the technique is the key. Finding and holding the correct angle. Same with the direction your hair grows.
Mild razors force you to do this, so for me they are more difficult to use than mor aggressive ones which dont require an exact Shaving angle.
I'm a big fan of geofatboys Shaving videos. He uses a neutral angle in the first two passes and rides the cap on the third pass. That's a very good idea too.
And turn off the radio while Shaving. It's easier to hear your beard being cut.
My hair is reasonably coarse and I can only shave up on my neck, if I shave downwards like most people it results in lots of irritation.

And I always have spots even with the most aggressive razors where you can still see a little black stubble. These spots are much less with a shim so to me they are useful. I have tried about every angle imaginable and usually riding the cap is what gets you the smoothest for me like in Geos videos.

I imagine if I had thinner hair or could shave down on my neck I wouldn’t have these issues.
 
Good choice on your decision to keep it!
I, too, have the DE89 and the 23C. The only complaint that most don't like about the 23C is the handle length.
 
Keeping it. Couldn't resist to try it tonight. Not sure if it was the longer handle but loved the fact I could throw it about and still get a great shave even with a blade 4 shaves in. Actually think it's better than my EJ89 and DE89.
Good decision to keep it ans I too think the Merkur is better than the EJ DE89, just by a tad though. You can also experiment and using the EJ handle on the Merkur 23C.
 
All Merkur SB heads are basically alike. I don't mind the long handle, but other handles will interchange. I have used the 23c head on a short stainless steel handle and liked it a bit more that way.
 
I can’t really remember my merkur 23c.

I gave it to a relative. Bought a DE89 head only when I think it was on sale for $20ish shipped?

Shaves are similar enough where it’s a draw for me. The DE89 is a much better quality razor though and the finish was what won me over.

My Weber outdid both of them, now that’s kind of regulated to the back of the rotation for “fiscal“ reasons.
 
The 23c was the second de razor I first started using de razors. I really enjoyed using it. At the time I preferred modern razors but preferences changed and I prefer vintage razors with shorter handles now
 
It was the opposite for me. I found the 89 series to be much smoother shaving then the 23C, and 34C and it seems like a lot of people agree with this. But some are opposite and prefer the Merkur heads. It’s been awhile since I tried the Merkurs so perhaps I should revisit them.

Try a shim in your R89 if you want to up the efficiency a tad while still remaining very smooth. It’s about the only negative thing I find with the 89 is the lack of efficiency of more aggressive razors but it’s not bad, especially with a shim and was my favorite razor until recently when a couple modern ones overtook that position.

My favorite now is the RazoRock GameChanger 84p which is about the cheapest SS razor you will find and out shaves every more expensive razor I’ve tested so far.

I tried a shim with my R89 for the first time today. Possibly the best I've had with that razor. Always found I needed more passes than most with the R89 leading to some irritation but it was three and done today and feels fantastic.

Thanks for the idea. Will be a constant going forward now with my milder razors.
 
Going back to the shim advice, I used a 2 blade shim this time and it did a fantastic job. Better than a 1 blade shim. Carved through a few days growth easy with no aggressiveness with a mild blades 4th use.

If anyone, like myself, have Edwin Jagger DE89s or razors similar, gathering dust due to being too mild, I highly recommend it too.
 
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