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Somebody school me on slants

So I know nothing about slants and many questions. Why get one? Can you shave with both sides? Are they more aggressive? What's the point of the slant action? How long have they been in production? If they work (so well), why aren't more made?
 

Tirvine

ancient grey sweatophile
I find it interesting that there is a (relative) dearth of information and impressions regarding the Above the Tie S1. It seems like a good slant option.
 
Same questions covered earlier this month:

Too funny, I looked to see if there were a lot of comments (if so, why bother) and there weren't so went and found my thread to post, and you beat me to it.
 
I was looking at a double edged slant, which I hadn't heard of before, when I posted the thread that silverlifter posted above.

I knew they had been around for a long time (turn of 19th century, but had no idea how common or not from then til now. The searches I did weren't really bringing up the information I wanted, so tried again, and came across this, which is pretty interesting with a fair bit of info.

As to quick answers, a slant can be mild, mid, or aggressive, but even ones that give a mild shave need to be used with care. As far as I can tell its an ease/smoothness factor, more that 'closet shave ever', meaning there are regular razors that will do as well on closeness (this is probably one of those ymmv points).

You can use both sides, and, I'm a bit unsure on this, but I think besides the bar being slanted, you can have a comb on slant as well, and double double unsure, but I think..maybe... you can have a slant one side bar and one side comb. If nothing else, saying this here, anyone else coming along can probably say whether its correct or not.

There seems to be some talk about it being actually good for sensitive skin, but that is likely a ymmv as well. As to why not more, I'm not sure.. lots of examples in other things Beta VHS, WordPerfect vs Word.. how stuff is marketed or who has patents...its probably something like that, plus... I think they have probably always been misunderstood. (Look at the title of my thread... I ws pretty sure they were aggressive machines of death, but there was a razor I was interested in, so asked. I'm guessing a lot of people just don't bother finding out about them.
 
Not my listing but a great deal on merkur 37c slant in the BST. I’d start there if you are looking to try one out. To me it’s a more aggressive/efficient shaver for sure than a lot of the other razors I’ve tried. Ymmv
 

Old Hippie

Somewhere between 61 and dead
Search for "Tilted Picnic" -- I've been doing slant reviews here for the last three years. First year is in the Brotherhood of Slant Shavers subforum; Year Two and this year are in the Double Edge subforum.

O.H.
 

Old Hippie

Somewhere between 61 and dead
So I know nothing about slants and many questions.

Lots of information here on B&B!

Why get one?

Many reasons. Want to try it, good shave, etc.

Can you shave with both sides?

As long as it's a double edge razor. Shaving with the other side of an ATT X1 single-edge razor won't get you very far. :) You won't get any nicks from the back of the razor, however...

Are they more aggressive?

Not all of them. Like any other razor they range from "too mild to shave with" to "Oh my God I just cut off my nose!"

What's the point of the slant action?

To introduce a slight slice into the process of cutting hair. If you've tough hair, it makes it less irritating. Or at least that's the idea.

How long have they been in production?

Close to 100 years.

If they work (so well), why aren't more made?

There are lots made and they're easy to find. Prices for new razors run from about $25 for a Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Monster to $350 for the Rex Konsul, and up from there. Tons of vintage slants on the market, too.

They do suffer a bit from the common misconception that they must be more aggressive than a plain DE. There are some aggressive slants. There are also very mild slants. If somebody wants to explore them, it's a fun journey. Some do, some don't.

O.H.
 
Slant razors are the only razors that I can use every day. I have sensitive skin and parts of my beard resist being shaved.

You will only know if they work for you by trying one. We could get into the theory of why they work (blade tension, guillotine effect, unique angle of the blade) but there seems to be no consensus. They just work much better for me. If I shaved every day using a different razor, I'd either have to put up with bad shaves or my skin would look like minced beef.
 
I think slants are a YMMV. For me, they really didn't work.

That said, some gents get excellent results from them.
 
slant for me = 😨

Scared Horror GIF by The Yetee
 
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