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Merkur Vs lkon

I currently shave with a few Merkur razors, Futur, 39C, 933. I find them all great in their own way.

I've seen a lot of interest in the Ikon range, & I am curious. What are people's thoughts as a comparison?
 
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I've not tried the iKon slants, but I'm a big fan of the Deluxe OC. The build quality is much better than a Merkur.
 
Leaving discussions of the Ikon brand aside (Ikon has, with reason, a very poor reputation here at B&B from a customer service perspective), the actual product that Ikon puts out is actually of a very high quality. Yes, the designs are straight copies of older vintage razors from other manufactures, and yes, if you buy from Ikon directly you can find yourself in trouble if any customer service issues come up.

BUT, if you buy used or buy from a third party vendor, you can be pretty confident that the Ikon razor will perform exceptionally well for you. I really enjoy the slant, myself.
 
Thanks Badger Bill, touch wood it'll be fine when it arrives. But your right you here an awfull lot about them on here. You could say they're overpriced perhaps
 
I've got a Shavecraft 101 head. I like the design. I like the aluminum. It gives me good shaves. But the open comb is deep enough (thick enough teeth) that it gunks up with soap. That may be my fault, since I consider Ivory bar soap acceptable for shaving. If you compare it to a Merkur 15c, it becomes an obvious trait:

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I found myself using a Water Pik to clean my razor. The quality of build is much higher with the Ikon, but the Merkur is the one I reach for more often. The Ikon also makes it harder to clean things up near my nose. There is a reason the tabs stick out from the sides with a lot of razors - it allows the cutting edge to extend to the side of the razor, so anything the edge of the razor reaches, it cuts. I now consider it a design fault if the head completely covers the tabs.
 
If you're thinking of getting a slant, I'd go with Merkur over iKon. The iKon is pretty useless, in my opinion. It's too mild, and the slant head doesn't seem to have any of the advantages of regular slants. The Merkur is not as pretty, but it works.

Other iKon razors are pretty good - including the OC ones.
 
I have owned and used a Merk slant. Sold it when I got my Ikon 102. And love it. The main reason is the crap metal the Merks are made of. I wanted a piece that would last a lifetime. And the ikons will.....I don't buy products based on a owner/vendor pissing contest with a few disgruntled customers. If that were the case, I would never of bought all my Fords! Lol. Good luck deciding.
 

nemo

Lunatic Fringe
Staff member
Merkur. A company doesn't sell the entire world razors for over half a century because they're not absolutely great!

I love my Merkurs ... mostly vintage, but the new ones are based on their iconic designs.
 
Cool, congrats on the new razor! Which one did you choose?

I went for the standard DLC head with a shiny 85mm bulldog handle. I chose the standard head just because I shave everyday. Just waiting for it to arrive.

I mostly own Merkurs, Futur, 39c Slant, 933, these are all great razors. I found myself primarily using the 933 daily, but the only drawback is the handle length. The Futur is good but the head itself is quite cumbersome under the nose on a side pass. The 39c is amazing, but no good for a 3 pass daily shave.
 
I have owned and used a Merk slant. Sold it when I got my Ikon 102. And love it. The main reason is the crap metal the Merks are made of. I wanted a piece that would last a lifetime. And the ikons will.....I don't buy products based on a owner/vendor pissing contest with a few disgruntled customers. If that were the case, I would never of bought all my Fords! Lol. Good luck deciding.

I think it's fair to say Merkur are good razors, and although they are made with lower grade metals, I think it's fair to say that they're priced accordingly. I'm just one of these men, that want the best of everything so touch wood this Ikon razor suits me when it arrives ha ha
 
If you're thinking of getting a slant, I'd go with Merkur over iKon. The iKon is pretty useless, in my opinion. It's too mild, and the slant head doesn't seem to have any of the advantages of regular slants. The Merkur is not as pretty, but it works.

Other iKon razors are pretty good - including the OC ones.

Love my Merkur slant, does exactly what it should do
 
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I have both the Merkur 37C and Ikon 102
The Ikon edges out the 37C in:
a. the quality department
b. blade alignment
c. smoother shaves (a bit milder than the 37C)

Having said that:
a. I enjoy both
b. the 37C is probably the better option for those with coarser or thicker beard.
 
I have both the Merkur 37C and Ikon 102
The Ikon edges out the 37C in:
a. the quality department
b. blade alignment
c. smoother shaves (a bit milder than the 37C)

Having said that:
a. I enjoy both
b. the 37C is probably the better option for those with coarser or thicker beard.

So are you glad you got the ikon, with the price diffrence?
 
These are tools, not jewelry, so in that regard, the Merkur wins for the simple fact it is more efficient, under the nose, and everywhere else. More blade exposure with the Merkur requires a lighter touch, it's the same with 'agressive' razors as guns, 'guns don't kill, people do.' 'Agressive razors don't cause weepers, people do.' And btw, I think efficient is what you want, blades last 10 times longer witht the Merkur.
 
These are tools, not jewelry, so in that regard, the Merkur wins for the simple fact it is more efficient, under the nose, and everywhere else. More blade exposure with the Merkur requires a lighter touch, it's the same with 'agressive' razors as guns, 'guns don't kill, people do.' 'Agressive razors don't cause weepers, people do.' And btw, I think efficient is what you want, blades last 10 times longer witht the Merkur.

It's all subjective, at the end of the day wether it's merkur or ikon, they're all good & really down to the individual
 
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