Slant razors

[Space_Cadet]

Hi, guys

I have never understood slant razors. They must be less convenient than regular razors!
Anyone agrees or I will only get angry replies?

Yours,
Space_Cadet

 

[Iridian]

Understanding them isn't needed, just use them, maybe you will be positively surprised.

The idea has something to do with slicing technique, higher cutting ability with less pressure needed, the same reason the guillotine has the falling blade shaped like it is.

I suggest using a razor that is not only slanted but also torsioned, so having a head that twists and tortures the blade, leading to a very stiff edge that is also slanted.

There are very nice slants, but a head like the Wunderbar/Superslant is IMO perfect to showcase the concept in action.

You should particularly easy and without irritation remove hair and stubble.

Some reported trouble loading the blades into the razor or the head breaking the blades apart if people disassemble, dry and reassemble the blade into the head after each shave and so on. I onced managed to glue my Wunderbar together with a Nacet that had quite some glue. I used zippo fuel to get the head apart again.

But other than that, you just use them like a non slanted razor. It just looks weird!

 

[KQY61]

Hi,

The idea is to cut with a partly longitudinal motion along with the transverse motion.

You can use a DE with an unslanted blade (I was going to say straight blade, but that might become very confusing very quickly) and pull it in a half sideways motion. The Gillette Slide. Or....

Use a razor which slants the head to the handle. The first style of Slant. Or...

Use a razor which twists the blade in to a helix. The other style of Slant.

Either of the Slant designs will produce the same partial longintudinal and partial transverse motion while pulling the handle in a straight line.

My personal preference is for a slant that twists the blade.

Fasan Double Slant

• KQY61
• Jan 13, 2014

Plastic top cap version with original handle and box.

This is a vintage Fasan Double Slant.

Fasan w/ Gold Fat Tech Handle

• KQY61
• Jan 13, 2014

Showing the degree of helix in a DoubleSlant. also, it looks better with the gold Fat Tech handle.

I changed the handle. And then I bought a second one, this time with a metal top cap.

Fasan Metal Top Cap

• KQY61
• Aug 27, 2015

With original handle. It is too top heavy.

And, I changed the handle again.

Fasan Metal Top Cap

• KQY61
• Aug 27, 2015

With shot loaded Bar handle to balance the metal top cap

I have other razors, not slanted, but I use a Fasan as my daily shaver. It just works the best of them all.

Stan

 

[freebird0064]

I have a slant from Maggards Razors. Loading a blade is no different than any other 3 piece and it gives a very close and comfortable shave, with less effort. Good blades do help. My blade of choice ,Gillette Silver Blues but I've used others with similar results

 

[DesertIguana]

Never used a Slant personally, my beard is not tough as nails.

But maybe when my beard was tougher a Slant could have been the better solution to shaving a tough beard.

 

[Stikeyoda]

Understanding them isn't needed, just use them, maybe you will be positively surprised.

The idea has something to do with slicing technique, higher cutting ability with less pressure needed, the same reason the guillotine has the falling blade shaped like it is.

I suggest using a razor that is not only slanted but also torsioned, so having a head that twists and tortures the blade, leading to a very stiff edge that is also slanted.

There are very nice slants, but a head like the Wunderbar/Superslant is IMO perfect to showcase the concept in action.

You should particularly easy and without irritation remove hair and stubble.

Some reported trouble loading the blades into the razor or the head breaking the blades apart if people disassemble, dry and reassemble the blade into the head after each shave and so on. I onced managed to glue my Wunderbar together with a Nacet that had quite some glue. I used zippo fuel to get the head apart again.

But other than that, you just use them like a non slanted razor. It just looks weird!

I think the Wunderbar is an almost perfect slant, but not sure it's for a youngling. The Parker Semislant is a good intro to the promised land as is the 37C or German Slant.

 

[wetshaver233]

I'm also interested in trying a very efficient slant, but my view has always been that slants in general work with shallow and neutral angles and while steep slants probably exist, they are definitely a minority.

If anyone knows a very efficient, yet somewhat smooth slant that works great with a steep angle, I would like to know more. I've been getting more and more into the highly efficient razors and I just can't stand razors that are designed of everyday shaving.

 

[NorthernSoul]

Using a slant feels pretty similar to using a standard razor. Convenience I would say is about the same. Maybe in a few places where you want to shave an absolutely straight line, like edging sideburns is different, but there are workarounds for that.

Advantages to the slant? Well, it can work very well for the person with a heavy beard and sensitive skin. The cutting motion tends to be smoother, and the blade edge in helical slants is more rigid, so there's very little flexing, pulling or skipping. Even the mid-sharp blades seem more effective due to the slicing motion.

 

[NorthernSoul]

I'm also interested in trying a very efficient slant, but my view has always been that slants in general work with shallow and neutral angles and while steep slants probably exist, they are definitely a minority.

If anyone knows a very efficient, yet somewhat smooth slant that works great with a steep angle, I would like to know more. I've been getting more and more into the highly efficient razors and I just can't stand razors that are designed of everyday shaving.

There's a lot of good posts that have been written summarizing the available slant razors. You can search for ones from @Old Hippie, among several others.

 

[Old Hippie]

I'm also interested in trying a very efficient slant, but my view has always been that slants in general work with shallow and neutral angles and while steep slants probably exist, they are definitely a minority.

This got me thinking; thank you. Just for the sake of argument, let's postulate three categories of slant razor: tilted slants, including tilted SE slants like the ATT X1; mildly helical slants like the Parker SemiSlant, Rex Konsul and a lot of other recent offerings; and highly helical slants such as the Fasan Double Slant, Merkur "Super Slant" and RazoRock Superslant (and some others).

Your question is reasonable but where we need a bit of nuance is in our consideration of the shaving context where the blade meets the skin. With slants this is not always obvious.

First, mainly to put a pin in the map, we have the tilted slants. These do not twist the blade, or in the case of the X1 they cannot twist the blade. Presentation of the edge is the same all across the width of the blade, because the razor holds the blade essentially just like a plain DE. The slantiness is from tilting the entire head. Put it on the handle straight and it's a plain DE.

A mildly helical slant twists the blade just a little, but considering the stiffness of stainless over carbon steel this is generally enough to give a noticeable effect.

A highly helical slant can put some serious torque on, which maximizes the shave.

Considering mild versus highly helical slants, the highly helical design presents a wider spectrum of angles to the edge as it sits in the razor. This has some implications.

As the blade is more torqued there is often more tendency to develop ripples in the edge. Also because there is a wider range of angles all across the width of the blade we'll see some parts of the blade being rather steep while at the other end of the blade angles are pretty shallow.

Machining a highly helical razor can be more expensive, as a greater thickness of stock is needed to allow room to carve out the design. Add in some additional engineering time to experiment finding a solution to edge rippling and the cost can get high but the payoff is also large: A razor that shaves really really well, but tends to prefer a neutral angle overall to give some room for the razor's built in angles to play.

The other solution to the ripple problem is mostly economic: just don't make highly helical razors. Mildly helical razors are also cheaper to make (at least in that part of the process). The maker gets to bring a slant to market that tends to give relatively safe shaves, the product can sell for a bit less which will appeal to a broader segment of buyers, and the razor can shave at a steeper angle because the blade has fewer angles "baked in" so the blade won't be too steep in some spots. Back to our question.

If you're looking for a slant that can shave steep, then here's some stuff to consider. A tilted slant, with no variation in edge presentation, would be a good choice if you can also find one that's mild enough to suit you. Although it's no longer made, the ATT X1 was intentionally designed as a mild razor. That may be your best choice: it's not very slanty, it has a small gap and not a lot of exposure, and it shaves very well.

A highly helical slant is not what you're looking for at first glance, but at the same time the RazoRock Superslant is a good solution and can be mild. Plus you can choose more than one baseplate and have some options.

A mildly helical slant may be close to what you want. The "normal" Merkur 37/39 slant, Parker SemiSlant, ATT S1/S2, Rex Konsul and their non-adjustable one; as well as a number of recent offerings that all seem to be very mild, may do what you want.

That's the way it seems to me. I've got a strong preference for highly helical slants, but then I also really like the X1 and the Konsul.

O.H.

 

[thombrogan]

If anyone knows a very efficient, yet somewhat smooth slant that works great with a steep angle, I would like to know more.

Throw $130USD out the window and wait. Wait long enough and a RazoRock SuperSlant will show up. If you use the Level 3SB off its comb, it will be smooth and efficient.

I’ve tried neutral and shallow and generally prefer the shallow side of neutral or shallower for more razors, but the Super Slant Level 3 shines used steep.

Don’t throw extra money away for express shipping. It won’t ship faster. Now stretch out your rotator cuff and throw

 

[wetshaver233]

I think the L3 ++ SB SuperSlant might be what I'm looking for. The price also seems reasonable enough.

 

[Iridian]

I think the Wunderbar is an almost perfect slant, but not sure it's for a youngling. The Parker Semislant is a good intro to the promised land as is the 37C or German Slant.

Yeah, I wonder which plate of the SuperSlant would be okay for almost everyone. I read quite some reports where the L2 plate of the Superslant was already too much.

The other thing is that both Wunderbar and Superslant already cost quite some money, yet I still say neither Parker Semislant nor the Merkur 37C or the Razorock equivalent could quite convince me as much that slant razors are a thing as Wunderbar or Superslant did.

I also have an iKon B1 Slant and a Fatip Lo Storto here, they don't come close either, IMO.

 

[Windigo]

I've never used a slant bar. I'll buy it just to experiment. Maybe I'll like it...

 

[emwolf]

I've used both the twisted slant and the simple slant. I've enjoyed the twisted better. The Merkur 37c is amazing and still the best on I've used.

 

[Stikeyoda]

Yeah, I wonder which plate of the SuperSlant would be okay for almost everyone. I read quite some reports where the L2 plate of the Superslant was already too much.

The other thing is that both Wunderbar and Superslant already cost quite some money, yet I still say neither Parker Semislant nor the Merkur 37C or the Razorock equivalent could quite convince me as much that slant razors are a thing as Wunderbar or Superslant did.

I also have an iKon B1 Slant and a Fatip Lo Storto here, they don't come close either, IMO.

I rank my slants in order:
Wunderbar
Superslant
X3
B1
37C
Semislant

 

[Mr Konrad Dundee]

I rank my slants in order:
Wunderbar
Superslant
X3
B1
37C
Semislant

Excellent list, I only put SuperSlant in first place and Wunderbar in second

 

[GrizzlyCA]

I appreciate this post. I am also looking for a slant. I posted a similar thread and after a lot of research, I landed that my next razor will be an OC level 3 ++
Now if they will just come back in stock…

 

[geneaut]

I'm not smart enough to know exactly why I like my slants, but I do know the two I have ( Maggard and Parker Semi ) both deliver excellent, efficient shaves without any additional sense of danger or big modifications to my regular routine.

Eventually I'm looking at getting the German 37 from RR.

 

[Cafebarian]

Slants are very cool but after trying to use them.... not for me. I have a beard and shave the neck and cheek lines and slants make this harder to do.