Merkur Slant?...No Problem

[dj88onmc]

Well, the big brown truck delivered my Merkur Slant Bar yesterday afternoon, I fired 'er up this morning with a new Derby, some C&E Sienna with a Vulfix 2236...and guess what? No runs, no drips, no errors! Shaves beautifully! Better than the Vision, HD, LH? No, but equal to these 3 to be sure.
Aggresive? Well, yeah, a little bit, but taking that into consideration, you respect it a bit more than the others. And that folks, is my observation.

 

[russellnyc]

Got mine yesterday, thought it would be a big deal and require special concentration. I'd had an extra close shave yesterday with the wedge in my avatar and thought I should take it easy but couldn't resist. My face was so razor burned from yesterday that it stung in the shower when the hot water hit it. I used proraso pre post and green tube cream for the maiden voyage, and the platinum merkur that came with the razor. WOW, what a beautuful shave, BBS in two well-lathered passes and a bit of spot lathered T&C, I finished up with the proraso milky balm and some more pre post just for the cooling, then a splash of santa Maria novella imperial lavender just for a finish. Don't know whether to credit proraso or the slant, but either way the combo was brilliant. This could be the straight razor shaver's DE for sure.

 

[guenron]

Good to read your experiences. Another two gents debunking the myth of the Rasiermesser des Teufels!

 

[htownmmm]

Sooner or later, with more experiences like these being recorded, my RAD will direct me to a slant.


Marty

 

[jduffy]

I must concur Marty. The Slant is an interesting proposition. The Sirens' song of a BBS is calling me, and calling to all.

Will you heed the call is the question.

 

[vox_rox]

Sooner or later, with more experiences like these being recorded, my RAD will direct me to a slant.

Yeah, I feel the same pull. My fear, turning to curiosity, turning to a want, turning to a need...

Maybe I'll ask for one for Christmas. You know, it's actually getting close.

Sorry for saying that out loud.

Peace,

Pierre

 

[russellnyc]

Well, my next stop for comparison will be to try the same prep/product regimen on the wedge. If I get a superb shave, then I know it's the Proraso and not the slant. But oh man, my face feels great! Even 4.5 hours later, my jawline is still smooth. Usually, I get the first signs of micro-stubble around lunchtime (I'm a fast-grower).

Has any one else had this experience though... shaves with the first single merkur blade that came with the razor are superb for 6 or 7 shaves, then subsequent shaves with other merkur blades of the same type are rougher? I had this exact experience when I bought my 1904 open comb. It never quite got back to the quality of the first shave. Or is my mind playing tricks on me? Well, we'll see -- that's why I bought a 10 pack of feathers too, I'm going to try to debunk infamous devil-gear item #2.

 

[russellnyc]

Oh! I forgot to add, one interesting thing about the Slant which is kind of like using a straight edge: You can choose which side of the razor (I mean L to R on the same edge of the razor blade, not the other side of the head) you lead with, and that affects the blade gap and closeness of the shave hitting that part of your face. In other words, for thick stubble, I know certain of my straight razors tend to cut better at the toe or heel. With my other DE's, I can't really choose, because the blade gap is so uniform. Obviously, I can twist my adjustable up or down to do this, but the slant allows a more natural, non-mechanical adjustment to be made.

With Mr. Slant, this morning, by looking at the razor head and figuring out which side had the blade more exposed, I was able to get a more aggressive trim of my moustache, for example, whereas when I did my against-the-grain pass on my neck, I laid off the angry side in favor of the one that was more flush. As I get more advanced with this blade, of course, I can screw down the head more or less and get the agressive side to be really aggressive and the flush side to be equivalent to about 5 on an adjustable (above that, it gets too loose). But I find I get great shaves on all my razors at low settings, and so I used the slant fully screwed in today.

 

[SLider]

I get a much better shave with the slant than the HD, it just feels much smoother and I can really just let it run over my face and let it do all the work. With the HD, I've found that stubborn patches require a very small amount of pressure (if I just let the razor move over my face it will occasionally jump or skip). The slant bar gives me the closest, least irritating shave of my four razors (slant, HD, injector, gem)

 

[Leisureguy]

In all my shaves with the Slant Bar, I've had nicks exactly twice: same blade. I switched out the blade for a new blade (same make: Feather) and no more nicks. It must have just been a bad blade. The Slant Bar, properly wielded, is quite gentle and produces a wonderfully close shave. A great razor, and you should order it in gold to begin with.... (Em's Place has them in gold.)

 

[Manzikert]

well I to fell into the pull of the slant black hole; being this was my first brand new razor I have ever bought........the rest have been flea market and antique store finds. and without a doubt I must say that my face has never felt better.
top notch all the way.

if this is allegedly "satans razor"- than I dont mind running with the devil.

 

[guenron]

In all my shaves with the Slant Bar, I've had nicks exactly twice: same blade. I switched out the blade for a new blade (same make: Feather) and no more nicks. It must have just been a bad blade. The Slant Bar, properly wielded, is quite gentle and produces a wonderfully close shave. A great razor, and you should order it in gold to begin with.... (Em's Place has them in gold.)

Wow, so does our friend Charles and gold Progress too!

 

[boboakalfb]

Wow, so does our friend Charles and gold Progress too!

and i think Lee mentioned that Merkur is no longer making the gold progress so if Charles still has them you better snatch them up.

 

[russellnyc]

I continue to love shaving with the slant bar. This razor seems to have been made for my face, because I can't get a bad shave with it. It's so good it's making me lose interest in shaving.

I think my new shavemac (shipped today from Germany) may take care of that for me...

 

[pcxpe]

QUOTE=htownmmm]"Sooner or later, with more experiences like these being recorded, my RAD will direct me to a slant."


Resitance is futile is a phrase I keep on hearing on this community.

Now I know what it means
I'm so weak....



____________
Peter

 

[Jim]

I wrote,in a somewhat obtuse way about this razor here.

I find that the Slant is a very seductive razor and the more I use it the less I have been reaching for the other razors in my lineup.
I would recommend the Slant to anyone who has their technique down and get consistent results with another razor. No mystery to it.
Enjoy!

 

[russellnyc]

I am embarrassed to say that, other than one day with one of my straight razors over the weekend, I have shaved only with the slant since I bought it. It has basically eliminated my RAD, which is kind of sad, but also good I guess.

 

[pokkuhlag]

Is it possible for a Gillette only user to just switch to a Slant Bar? Or is the HD a must for the transit?

 

[russellnyc]

I've never used an HD. I think you will know when you get to the edge of the razor's capabilities. You'll find yourself having to make way too many passes to get the shave you expect, and that's when you know it's time for a more aggressive shave. Also, if you're talking about a Gilette DE adjustable, I find that this razor can be made nearly as aggressive as the slant bar. It's more about your technique and expectations, I think, than about one razor being a miracle tool over another.

 

[With The Grain]

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