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Parker 26C

I don't have a 24/26C yet, but contrary to the belief of many, I highly doubt the head is also brass. Its mentioned in many online reviews that Parker razors come with a brass "frame" - I believe this means a brass handle. You would think Parker would be more transparent with their resellers if their razor was totally brass, which would be a major selling point. I could be wrong.

@ srhardy - Thanks Mate. I appreciate the comparison. It gives me a better idea of what to expect. I have come across other threads and online reviews stating that the Parker 24/26C has exceptional chrome finishing. Have you given the Parker an 8 for quality based on the fact that it has a brass handle, or is this based on quality finishing? How does the chrome finishing compare on your Muhle to your Parker 26C? Its always useful to know what existing owners think of its quality and how it compares to their other razors.
 
Its light and positvely not brass. I think many threads in this forums in the past have clearly established that very few modern razors are brass heads and parkers are postively not one of them except for their TTOs.
 
it's become my go to razor, especially with Rapira Swedish Supersteel blades - very close shave and I can't recall ever cutting myself with this combonation
 
My 24C should be arriving by the end of this week. I would love this to work for me. So far, I have had no luck with open comb razors.

The Maggard was too mild (didn't even remove the lather, let alone the whiskers).

The Old-type was extremely rough. I most likely got a beat up one.

The NEW long-comb is also rough, so far. I haven't totally given up on it, but I am getting close.

The FaTip Piccolo does okay. I swapped the top cap with the Maggard OC so I could use a different handle. It worked quite well, but I went back to the Piccolo's original configuration. I like it better than the NEW, and have gotten good shaves from it.

My biggest issue is that I need a 3-pass shave, sometimes with a touch-up, to get a DFS+ shave. An aggressive razor just irritates me more than I like.

Right now, my EJ DE89 is my favorite daily driver. I can do 3+ passes with little to no irritation with it. My RR Mission is good as well, but not quite as nice as the DE89 on a daily basis.

I hope the 24C hits that mild-enough for my face, but efficient enough, sweet-spot.
 
My 24C should be arriving by the end of this week. I would love this to work for me. So far, I have had no luck with open comb razors.

The Maggard was too mild (didn't even remove the lather, let alone the whiskers).

The Old-type was extremely rough. I most likely got a beat up one.

The NEW long-comb is also rough, so far. I haven't totally given up on it, but I am getting close.

The FaTip Piccolo does okay. I swapped the top cap with the Maggard OC so I could use a different handle. It worked quite well, but I went back to the Piccolo's original configuration. I like it better than the NEW, and have gotten good shaves from it.

My biggest issue is that I need a 3-pass shave, sometimes with a touch-up, to get a DFS+ shave. An aggressive razor just irritates me more than I like.

Right now, my EJ DE89 is my favorite daily driver. I can do 3+ passes with little to no irritation with it. My RR Mission is good as well, but not quite as nice as the DE89 on a daily basis.

I hope the 24C hits that mild-enough for my face, but efficient enough, sweet-spot.

Somehow I suspect you have the same problem as I was having: I tried to shave with the NEW in the same way as I would shave with my other razors. It resulted in nicks. Both Old Type and NEW requires you to keep the razor at a far more shallow angle than the typical modern razor. Relearning what you have in the muscle memory might take some time.

That said, somehow I suspect you will get more happy with 24C than you got with the other razors as 24C is truly mild but still able to shave if you keep the right angle. 24C has a quite narrow window of angles, so you might have to work through a few shaves before you get really close ones. The blade exposure is pretty much neutral and tilting the razor a little bit in either direction might lift the blade away from the skin.
 
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I used my FaTip today, and got a good shave, with some irritation. I have tried the shallower-than-usual angles with the NEW and Old. It helped with the NEW, but my Old was still terrible. As I said, I'll try the NEW again. I have fully given up on the Old.
 
Its light and positvely not brass. I think many threads in this forums in the past have clearly established that very few modern razors are brass heads and parkers are postively not one of them except for their TTOs.
I've done a Web search using the terms: parker "brass head" and there were plenty of matches, many from large online vendors, so one of you is mistaken. I will buy one and verify it, destructively if necessary. Unless someone can advise a non destructive method?
 
I used my FaTip today, and got a good shave, with some irritation. I have tried the shallower-than-usual angles with the NEW and Old. It helped with the NEW, but my Old was still terrible. As I said, I'll try the NEW again. I have fully given up on the Old.

have you tried a New Standard? It's definitely more effective than the Old, and a bit less bitey than a Fa Tip
 
I've done a Web search using the terms: parker "brass head" and there were plenty of matches, many from large online vendors, so one of you is mistaken. I will buy one and verify it, destructively if necessary. Unless someone can advise a non destructive method?

From the U.S. partner of the owner/founder: brass handle with chrome plated head. I posted the word for word email response several months ago. You can search my history to find it. I will look up the response myself later when I am on my MacBook.
 
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OK, I looked up the email. This is the response from Howie Woda, US partner to the Parker founder:

"Relative to the questions below, all the Parkers are now chrome plated.. (None are just nickel plated). The handles on all the Parkers (except the horn and resin razors) are all brass.

Relative to aggressiveness, all of our butterfly razors have the same butterfly head. All of our 3 piece razors have the same three pieces head and all of the open combs have the same open comb head.

I believe our Butterfly razors are the least aggressive and our Open Comb and 3 Piece models are slightly more aggressive than the butterflies. Alot of the aggressiveness depends on
1) The angle the razor is held at when shaving
2) The particular blade used.

I believe These two criteria actually make a bigger difference in terms of the aggressiveness than the design of our razors."
 
"Relative to the questions below, all the Parkers are now chrome plated.. (None are just nickel plated). The handles on all the Parkers (except the horn and resin razors) are all brass. "

Thanks for sharing :thumbup1:

I believe the 94R 97R used to be nickel plated and a few resellers still use this in their description. Its good to know that they are now all chrome plated, although it would not have bothered me if they were nickel.

I do have concerns about their QC though. My 24C was not in acceptable condition - plating was terrible, the posts and thread was not even centred and the thread had exposed pot metal, which is a concern. Even though I've read lots of reviews about how Parker has lifted their game with better quality razors, according to my recent experience, their QC is still poor.
 
Thanks for sharing :thumbup1:

I believe the 94R 97R used to be nickel plated and a few resellers still use this in their description. Its good to know that they are now all chrome plated, although it would not have bothered me if they were nickel.

I do have concerns about their QC though. My 24C was not in acceptable condition - plating was terrible, the posts and thread was not even centred and the thread had exposed pot metal, which is a concern. Even though I've read lots of reviews about how Parker has lifted their game with better quality razors, according to my recent experience, their QC is still poor.

Mine is in perfect condition, centering the blade automatically as good as my R41. I have nothing to complain about the plating either.

I suspect your razor was "checked" by a lazy employee. It only takes one lazy employee to let some bad ones through.
 
From the U.S. partner of the owner/founder: brass handle with chrome over nickel head. I posted the word for word email response several months ago. You can search my history to find it. I will look up the response myself later when I am on my MacBook.
Mugwhamp, the material the head is made from is unlikely to be nickel. As stated by the response from the us representative themselves they are only talking about the plating material not the material of the head itself. As is shown from a web search there are several venders stating catagorically that the head is brass; a couple in the US. I'm happy to order one from a English vendor and verify that destructively. I don't know what US trading standards are like but these guys will be prosecuted in the UK if the head isn't brass as stated. I'll order one today and report back.
Edited : Ok I bought a parker 62r I only want the handle for my Lord L6 head so I'm happy to take a hack saw to the head. It was described as being brass with a plated head. It is possible theyre trying it on and it's a zamac head which has been brass plated and then chrome plated, which is not unknown, but that's really not how it's described.
 
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Mugwhamp, the material the head is made from is unlikely to be nickel. As stated by the response from the us representative themselves they are only talking about the plating material not the material of the head itself. As is shown from a web search there are several venders stating catagorically that the head is brass; a couple in the US. I'm happy to order one from a English vendor and verify that destructively. I don't know what US trading standards are like but these guys will be prosecuted in the UK if the head isn't brass as stated. I'll order one today and report back.
Edited : Ok I bought a parker 62r I only want the handle for my Lord L6 head so I'm happy to take a hack saw to the head. It was described as being brass with a plated head. It is possible theyre trying it on and it's a zamac head which has been brass plated and then chrome plated, which is not unknown, but that's really not how it's described.
I asked Howie specifically if the heads are brass, and he gave the reply I've included, which seems to clearly indicate that they are not, as he would have just responded with "yes." There was some parsing of the responses in this thread, but no one interpreted the response as saying that the heads are brass. Check it out.
 
Just wanted to say thanks for this thread, I have been shaving with a Merkur 34c HD for about a year and some straight razor shaving as well, also have a 1966 Gillette Super Speed (more for display for the year I was born rather than shaving with but have shaved with it a couple times). I have been looking for my first OC razor and this seems to fit the bill pretty well so looking forward to it!
 
Just wanted to say thanks for this thread, I have been shaving with a Merkur 34c HD for about a year and some straight razor shaving as well, also have a 1966 Gillette Super Speed (more for display for the year I was born rather than shaving with but have shaved with it a couple times). I have been looking for my first OC razor and this seems to fit the bill pretty well so looking forward to it!
Its a fantastic shaver. Go for it!
 
My 26C came in the day before yesterday and had my first shave with this morning. I wanted to wait until I had enough time to enjoy the shave and feel the differences between it and my Merkur HD. Honestly I was quite impressed, first with the heft of the razor, I need to put it on my small scale and see the difference in weight, but I am sure it is heavier than the HD. I used my standard Astra SP blades that I shave most often with and it was extremely smooth, another great plus! I wasn't sure what to expect from a more aggressive razor, but the only DE razors I have shaved with are all CC, Merkur 34C HD, Edwin Jagger DE89 and a Gillette SS 1966 that is more for display but have shaved with it a couple times, just to know what my Grandfather shaved with.

On the not a positive side (because these aren't really negatives just a learning curve I think), I will say I think the angle might be slightly different than the HD, and I have been shaving with it so long I just have it dialed in with muscle memory but had to play a bit with the 26C and not quite as BBS as I am with the HD. I don't hear as much feedback as I do with the HD which I think again has to do with a slightly different angel.

Bottom line is is I really like it, will keep shaving with it! Great purchase, especially for the cost!
 
Glad you like it! Keep on practicing, and it will keep getting better. Also, it is a very mild shaver, and you may want to try it with a Feather blade at some point. For more audible feedback, try popping a stainless steel handle onto it. Enjoy!
 
Glad you like it! Keep on practicing, and it will keep getting better. Also, it is a very mild shaver, and you may want to try it with a Feather blade at some point. For more audible feedback, try popping a stainless steel handle onto it. Enjoy!

Thanks, appreciate the advice!
 
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