I know I know, its a tiring subject. From what I understand, the general consensus is that one wouldn't give these blades to their enemies, use them for one's own face. My question is this; For a company that seems to position itself as the the go-to name as it relates to DE razors, why would they make such a poor blade to go with them? Is this a matter of the merkur blade only working with a merkur razor, or are the blades universally substandard, regardless of the razor you work with? Thoughts?
Merkur Blades (AGAIN)
- Thread starter Thelonius1
- Start date
Well again i will say i have no issues with theses blades whatever razor i pop them into, and i echo what others on here say that blades are a personnel thing, of all the blades i have tried dorco to me so far are the worst i have tried yet some on here love them, i will say that considering the price of mekur blades i dont think they are any better than some blades costing a lot less but i get some good shaves from these blades.
I've been using a Mekur blade for my first month of DE shaving and I haven't had any problems with it. My shaves are getting better (and nearly as good as cartridge at this point). I haven't tried anything else yet.
I think they're OK, just very overpriced for what you get. I think that's what gets people: for what Merkur charges, these should be truly outstanding blades, like, for example, the Feather. Instead they're just...meh.
Some folks have had absolutely horrible experiences with them, but that's true of every blade.
Some folks have had absolutely horrible experiences with them, but that's true of every blade.
It doesn't even work well in a Merkur razor, in fact out all of the razors I have tried it in, it performed the worst in a Merkur. A lot of pulling, and skipping.
I am going to go with the blades are universally substandard. They are mediocre in every way, and considering their price a total rip off.
- Thread starter
- #6
Fair enough, I would tend to agree that as to blades YMMV (Red Pack Personna's just don't do it for me, for instance) but I've had inconsistent shaves with just about any blade, I think that may be due to my being less than one year into DE shaving. However, if I had a favorite, it would be a Wilkinson Sword, which I understand to be fairly middle of the road. Merkur's were my first blade and I did alright with it until I got the bug to try different blades, go figure.
If i would be in vacation somewhere without DE blades for my razor i would rather buy a yellow BIC than have a shave whit Merkur blades.
With a quick check at an online vendor I came up with the following prices per blade for some favorite brands, just for comparison:
Crystal $.20/blade
Derby .35
Astra Plat. .40
Feather .45
7o'clock .45
Merkur .47
BIC .55
Based on either a single pak or the smallest multi pak price/the number of blades.
Crystal $.20/blade
Derby .35
Astra Plat. .40
Feather .45
7o'clock .45
Merkur .47
BIC .55
Based on either a single pak or the smallest multi pak price/the number of blades.
Some other member once hit the nail on the head: Would you expect BMW to produce excellent tyres as well?
YMMV but my only real problem with these blades is the price-tag; when I could get these for the same kinda money as, let's say, Derby they still would not be my #1 but there would be at least a 100 waiting in the blade drawer..
Maybe more.
Maybe more.
DE's are a backup to my straight shaving so I don't use a DE that often. However, I find that Merkur can give an excellent shave. I suspect they are too sharp for some. Wilkinson (German made) and Personnas are gentler by comparison.
The one that came with the Futur box just tore my face up, but fresh Merkur blades didn't. YMMV.
Merkur blades are not that bad, I had worse blades... I would expect for the price to be a bit sharper and smoother. They can still do the work, they are just not the best experience out there. A Feather is much better and cheaper!
So you tried the ones I sent you, and got the same results?
Sorry, my above statement is a little misleading.
I don't have the Merkur razor any longer, so I couldn't re-test with a Merkur; the first time around they performed quite badly in the Merkur.
After revisiting the blades after about three months (using the blades you sent me), I found the Merkur blades to be passable, but not great.
Derby,Feather, and Red IPs perform better for me.
While the Merkur blades are passable, they are not a good enough blade to warrant their higher price tag.
I tested them in a Slim Adjustable, a Knack, and a Red Tip, they performed just average in all three razors.
They were not super smooth, and they were not super sharp either. Not awful blades, but not worth the higher dollar cost either.
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to retest them.
I documented my most recent round of testing with the Merkur blades here:
Revisiting Merkur Blades
~John~
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I generally use crystals or red pack personnas. But I finally tried some Merkur blades about a week ago. I go 4 shaves and pitch the blade but the Merkur I think would have maybe done 5 or 6. It went after 4 according to my stubbornness! Impressions: quality all the way. Sharp - you bet. Holds the edge - yes! No burn no pulling, just a real dfs! I'll probably get a bulk buy shortly. Nope I'm not giving up my others but the Merkurs are definitely a good blade in my book! Real good! And I'll be using them often.
My feeling is that they're mediocre at best. IMO, its a real shame that many newbie wet-shavers start their journey with them. What's more natural than receiving your new HD (or whatever the razor of choice happened to be), dropping in the blade that came with it, then proceed to butcher one's face. How many shavers might have said, "this sucks", and gone back to their old M3?
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