Merkur Slant blade alignment

[engblom]

Please, answer to this poll only if you get a good shave from a Merkur Slant!

Very soon I will get my Merkur 37C, maybe even tomorrow. I have been reading quite a bit of threads about it and I noticed the debate about the correct blade alignment. Even though I read several threads, I never got any final conclusion. Some just let the blade be loose and they tighten the cap, other do compicated adjustment with cork and everything between. I decided to make a poll in order to see what the majority thinks.

 

[martym]

I just eyeball it and try to see that about the same amount of blade is exposed on both sides.
the 37c is my daily razor

 

[Haegar]

Same blade alignment on each side (= blade edge), which is not possible if you align the blade edge parallel to any part of the razor. If you hold the cap upside down in your palm drop in a blade and then put the baseplate & handle on top, tighten sligtly (still sitting upside down in your hand) before holding the head between two fingers and thighten firmly, the blade will sit in the Merkur slants as it should. No further "aligning" necessary.

 

[RaiserLiebe]

Set the cap upside down on the counter, hold the blade in position by the end-tabs, screw on the handle. Check to see that blade edge is parallel to cap. Repeat if necessary, This is the method the manufacturer recommends, FWIW. Works for me.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/87841-Slant-Bar-Loading-the-Blade
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/299792-Merkur-Slant-proper-blade-alignment

Cheers

 

[Copierguy]

Combining most of the first 3 replies tells the story. Assemble upside down as stated, to check alignment after assembled view looking straight down at the cap and if all has gone well the blade edge should "appear" parallel with the cap edge.

 

[dfoulk]

I just put the blade in the cap in my hand and lightly hold the side tabs as I tighten it. No matter how you load it just take a good look at it before you start shaving with it. Blade should be alligned with the cap with equal blade protruding from each side. It's not that complicated. Most times it goes together perfectly without any issues, you just have to eyeball it before using it.

 

[DrAwkward]

Set the cap upside down on the counter, hold the blade in position by the end-tabs, screw on the handle. Check to see that blade edge is parallel to cap. Repeat if necessary, This is the method the manufacturer recommends, FWIW. Works for me.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/87841-Slant-Bar-Loading-the-Blade
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/299792-Merkur-Slant-proper-blade-alignment

Cheers

This is what I do.

 

[creekwalker]

God help us. There appear to be two distinct ways to align the blade so that it looks the same viewed from either side. One is to align the blade with the cap, the other is to align it with the guard. (Aligned with the guard is the way I do it, and the way that has struck me as far more logical.) From looking at the references here (some for the second time), it seems that this razor shaves well, but differently, each way. Somewhat to my own astonishment, I've been convinced that I should give the "other" method (aligning the blade with the cap, as viewed from the side) a try sometime. "Sometime" might be next week, it might be next year...

 

[Joe_Karp]

Same here, I've tried both approaches...and if God Is listening bless me when I play with the angle on my Slant.

 

[ackvil]

Take a look at the wiki. This is how my slant looks and I get great shaves with it.

 

[AirForceMX]

Im still confused by all this! If the blade is meant to be aligned to the top cap then why did Merkur make the safety bar have a gradually increasing gap (small on left bigger on right)? Its supposed to be a slant razor not a varying blade gap razor. When you align the blade to the safety bar the blade looks much more "slanty" and there is even blade gap along the safety bar. I AM LOST!

 

[mrvrsick]

I would answer, but I just had a relatively horrible first shave with the slant. I didn't pay ANY attention to blade loading, but definitely will tomorrow.

 

[cranston37]

Take a look at the wiki. This is how my slant looks and I get great shaves with it.

View attachment 381673

What kind of stand is that?

 

[RaiserLiebe]

Im still confused by all this! If the blade is meant to be aligned to the top cap then why did Merkur make the safety bar have a gradually increasing gap (small on left bigger on right)? Its supposed to be a slant razor not a varying blade gap razor. When you align the blade to the safety bar the blade looks much more "slanty" and there is even blade gap along the safety bar. I AM LOST!

The high blade gap on one side coincides with a shallower angle; The smaller blade gap at the other end coincides with a steeper angle. So both sides shave the same.
Cheers

 

[engblom]

I just experienced the worst shave in my whole life with my new 37C. The more narrow side of the cap is really biting badly. This is the side that is on the left if you hold the head towards the ceiling and look at the razor. I have never had this many nicks, not even as a complete newbie with R41.

To locate the fault, I tried dry after the very bad shave to sense where it was hurting. I was pulling really feather light along my cheek. I could feel how it was scratching on the more thin side of the razor. I took a piece of cardboard and tried to slice on both the left and the right side. It was always biting the cardboard on the left, but cutting cleanly on the right.

Something is either really terrible wrong with my razor or then the blade is wrong put. As the majority of the slant users keep it aligned to the cap, I aligned it to the cap.

 

[creekwalker]

engblom, I wonder too if you might have been issued a defective slant. With regard to the other possibility, the only thing I can think to suggest (and this is a stretch) would be to look strait down at the head and make sure the blade looks even on each side from that vantage point.

 

[creekwalker]

The high blade gap on one side coincides with a shallower angle; The smaller blade gap at the other end coincides with a steeper angle. So both sides shave the same.
Cheers

Interesting! I appreciate the explanation, even though I don't yet understand it (not trying to be cute).

 

[ackvil]

What kind of stand is that?

It was made by Muhle and I bought it about four years ago. Here is a better photo of it.

 

[Haiku]

I have to confess that I'm completely confused. I've always aligned using the "bumps' on the bar as my guide, not the edge of the cap. When I load the blade with the razor upside down, that's how it aligns. If I align to the cap, the edge of the blade is clsoer to the edge of the bar on the right side and further away on the left. Is that what people are saying?

Would someone post a picture of the razor looking down from a bird's eye point of view at the top of the razor with the blade loaded aligned to the cap and aligned to the bar to show the differences?

 

[RaiserLiebe]

Would someone post a picture of the razor looking down from a bird's eye point of view at the top of the razor with the blade loaded aligned to the cap and aligned to the bar to show the differences?

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Slant for alignment with cap;
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/299792-Merkur-Slant-proper-blade-alignment for both alignment methods contrasted.
Cheers