The Variant, next to my 6S, is a top shelf adjustable. IMO much better than Mergress/Progress, Slims & Fatboys. I just wish it was a tad lighter in weight...
Parker Variant: Long(ish)-term Review
- Thread starter amateriat
- Start date
Great review.
The Variant in in my top three. Excellent razor!
The Variant in in my top three. Excellent razor!
BTW how many years has the Parker Variant been on the market? It seems to have come out of nowhere. Isn't it a newbie?
I have been using the Variant for about a year and am very impressed. It caused me to retire my beloved 1964 Slim.
nice review, i'll have to bust mine out and take it for a spin.
Just used mine today after having it sit for a while...super nice, BBS shave!! I still think it's a little heavy, but not unmanageable.
This may be arguably a little off-topic, but after using mostly the Variant for a bit, I brought my 24C back out of the BST retirement drawer today and loaded a Personna Red. I guess I’d forgotten just how good it is: very smooth, comfortable, and efficient, with heft and balance similar to the Variant. I like the handle better on the Variant, so I probably should have bought the 26C or 63C version, but other than that it is a great companion to the Variant. I don’t know about their other models, but they hit it out of the park with these two.
More Variant love here, and another thank you to @amateriat for a great review. I got the Variant in February and my first two vintage adjustables at about the same time, a Fatboy and a Slim. Both the Fatboy and Slim are very nice copies as nearly as I can tell, but they were soon benched in favor of the Variant. In fact, the Variant benched my well loved Timeless SS 068. My experiences are very much like amateriat's except in two regards. First, my blade of choice for the Variant is a Personna Med Prep, although I may try a Kai in the near future. Second, while the head design surely contributes a lot to why I like the Variant, it is a thick head - manageable but not the best under the nose.
Nevertheless, all things considered, the Variant is a fine razor. Plus at $57 bucks, some trade offs in materials are understandable. I happen to have a group-buy Rex Ambassador somewhere upstream, and I will be interested to compare the two after the Rex arrives - different designs and different price points.
Nevertheless, all things considered, the Variant is a fine razor. Plus at $57 bucks, some trade offs in materials are understandable. I happen to have a group-buy Rex Ambassador somewhere upstream, and I will be interested to compare the two after the Rex arrives - different designs and different price points.
A very timely review. I own an early Parker Variant where the paint is coming off of the handle. However, this does not affect the shave quality.
I have been using it for the last week+ and this review made me go check to see which blade I had in it since I was getting such lovely shaves. Lo and behold, twas loaded with an 'original' Derby blade. These blades were purchased sometime in 06-08. This is from the 5 pack plastic case w/ the green and white insert. For a while, there seemed to be a rash of counterfeit or very low-quality Derbys on the market. Now there is an upgraded version which I don't own either. Not sure how many I have in my supply, but it will be awhile before they are used up.
It's truly amazing how a blade I loved ( and reviewed) was eventually replaced by others but has come back as it were in a new razor to show off its chops. I was just thinking this evening how much I am enjoying the Variant and then I see this review.
Just goes to show how some blades are made for certain razors-I hadn't used a Derby blade in 5 or so years! Now I think another favorite blade will be next to use in the Variant (7 O' Clock Yellow).
marty
I have been using it for the last week+ and this review made me go check to see which blade I had in it since I was getting such lovely shaves. Lo and behold, twas loaded with an 'original' Derby blade. These blades were purchased sometime in 06-08. This is from the 5 pack plastic case w/ the green and white insert. For a while, there seemed to be a rash of counterfeit or very low-quality Derbys on the market. Now there is an upgraded version which I don't own either. Not sure how many I have in my supply, but it will be awhile before they are used up.
It's truly amazing how a blade I loved ( and reviewed) was eventually replaced by others but has come back as it were in a new razor to show off its chops. I was just thinking this evening how much I am enjoying the Variant and then I see this review.
Just goes to show how some blades are made for certain razors-I hadn't used a Derby blade in 5 or so years! Now I think another favorite blade will be next to use in the Variant (7 O' Clock Yellow).
marty
Thank you for your detailed review on Variant. I am trying to read as much as am in market for a new adjustable. Your review has helped me a lot to quantify what to expect from this razor.
As per your review this one seems to check all the boxes for me except choice of blades. I have around 300 feathers, 500 polsilver and almost a truckload of Indian Gillette blacks and wondering if they don't pair well with variant then I will be wasting lot of time in sample pack wonderland.
As per your review this one seems to check all the boxes for me except choice of blades. I have around 300 feathers, 500 polsilver and almost a truckload of Indian Gillette blacks and wondering if they don't pair well with variant then I will be wasting lot of time in sample pack wonderland.
I use Feathers in mine. Works beautifully.
Thanks for the reviews everyone!
Based on the fine reviews on the Variant, I couldn't resist and pulled the trigger on one, along with a Variant for my brother.
Only a couple shaves in so far, so yet to put it through all it's paces, however, super impressed so far. Efficient, smooth and I think the fit & finish is great. So really ticks all boxes for me.
My brother is also fairly new to DE shaving, but he also absolutely loves it, as he probably got his first Zen like shave with it. Had a mate over the other day & he was proudly showing him his variant & trying to convert him to DE shaving [emoji16]
I think the rose gold version is much better in person!
Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk
Based on the fine reviews on the Variant, I couldn't resist and pulled the trigger on one, along with a Variant for my brother.
Only a couple shaves in so far, so yet to put it through all it's paces, however, super impressed so far. Efficient, smooth and I think the fit & finish is great. So really ticks all boxes for me.
My brother is also fairly new to DE shaving, but he also absolutely loves it, as he probably got his first Zen like shave with it. Had a mate over the other day & he was proudly showing him his variant & trying to convert him to DE shaving [emoji16]
I think the rose gold version is much better in person!
Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk
That's fantastic news. I hope you have many zen shaves with it yourself.Thanks for the reviews everyone!
Based on the fine reviews on the Variant, I couldn't resist and pulled the trigger on one, along with a Variant for my brother.
Only a couple shaves in so far, so yet to put it through all it's paces, however, super impressed so far. Efficient, smooth and I think the fit & finish is great. So really ticks all boxes for me.
My brother is also fairly new to DE shaving, but he also absolutely loves it, as he probably got his first Zen like shave with it. Had a mate over the other day & he was proudly showing him his variant & trying to convert him to DE shaving [emoji16]
I think the rose gold version is much better in person!
Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk
EXCELLENT REVIEW!! I also find that I need to revisit my blade choices with a new razor.
Excellent review. My only wish would be for a short handle version/option like Merkur does with the Progress. I ended up giving my Variant away due to the handle length and keeping my short handle Progress. That's a personal preference though, and my nephew, who I gave the Variant to, thinks it is the Cadillac of safety razors (and it's almost as big lol)!
Nice review @amateriat! Thanks for sharing your experiences.
I second @ShavePastor thoughts exactly. Excellent razor. In my top two behind a SS razor.
If the build materials were different it’d be no contest for me as well but then the price would likely be too high. (It’ll still outlive me anyway). I think it’s currently the best modern razor on the market for the price. (Perhaps the faTip and karve are both in this conversation too but I’ve never used one)
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