Now let me first preface this by saying that I have been using the Merkur Futur for about 3 years now. It is my razor of preference loaded with a Feather Platinum blade and set as wide open as the razor will allow me. The combination of the Feather and the Futur has given me the best shaves of my life with one minor drawback---some irritation. Still, no other razor/blade combination comes even close....until today.
This was my first voyage with the Slantbar and I have to say that the razor preforms like a dream. I loaded it up with a brand new Feather and proceeded to have one of the best shaves of my life.....with no irritation. I always get some irritation, but nothing most aftershaves can't put out, but not today baby. Nothing but a glass smooth shave and when I put on the aftershave...nothing. No burning, just the sensation of my hands sliding over a clean shaven face.
Now I'm not saying everyone should go out and by this razor ASAP...afterall the razor has earned the nickname "Satan's razor" by many people. The only thing I can say is that if you have a super thick beard like I do, nothing will cut through your whiskers like a Feather in the slantbar. Now, I must admit that the shave was not necessarily any closer than the Futur/Feather combo, but its just that the Feather and Slantbar seem to be made for each other in that this combination for me provides me with the closeness I like with no irritation.
Personally, I did not find the slantbar difficult to use in terms of finding the proper blade angle, but then again I have been shaving with a DE for over 3 years. The one gripe that I do have is the handle on the slanbar. I tend to have short, fat fingers and the short handle combined with a narrower handle than the Futur makes it a little bit more difficult to control for me. I imagine after a few more shaves with this razor, I will eventually learn how to control the razor better. As for now, I'll just have to take my time, and enjoy the extreme pleasure of knowing that I'm getting the closest shaves ever without the fear of irritation.
This was my first voyage with the Slantbar and I have to say that the razor preforms like a dream. I loaded it up with a brand new Feather and proceeded to have one of the best shaves of my life.....with no irritation. I always get some irritation, but nothing most aftershaves can't put out, but not today baby. Nothing but a glass smooth shave and when I put on the aftershave...nothing. No burning, just the sensation of my hands sliding over a clean shaven face.
Now I'm not saying everyone should go out and by this razor ASAP...afterall the razor has earned the nickname "Satan's razor" by many people. The only thing I can say is that if you have a super thick beard like I do, nothing will cut through your whiskers like a Feather in the slantbar. Now, I must admit that the shave was not necessarily any closer than the Futur/Feather combo, but its just that the Feather and Slantbar seem to be made for each other in that this combination for me provides me with the closeness I like with no irritation.
Personally, I did not find the slantbar difficult to use in terms of finding the proper blade angle, but then again I have been shaving with a DE for over 3 years. The one gripe that I do have is the handle on the slanbar. I tend to have short, fat fingers and the short handle combined with a narrower handle than the Futur makes it a little bit more difficult to control for me. I imagine after a few more shaves with this razor, I will eventually learn how to control the razor better. As for now, I'll just have to take my time, and enjoy the extreme pleasure of knowing that I'm getting the closest shaves ever without the fear of irritation.