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The Parker Variant (again)

The Variant should be right up your alley then. Sign up for this pass around and try it first. Once you try it, you can make a sound decision if it's for you or not. I think you wil like it....
I will did that, thank you very much [emoji16]

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That's a tall complement. I've never had or shaved with a Weber, but many here and on many other forums swear by it. High praise indeed.

Probably the only reason I'd think the Variant was slightly better than the Weber is that it is Adjustable, other wise they have to be equal and both give me the same great shave with the Variant on 3
 
Probably the only reason I'd think the Variant was slightly better than the Weber is that it is Adjustable, other wise they have to be equal and both give me the same great shave with the Variant on 3
Good to know. I was always intrigued by a Weber. Just hard to come by and they are big $$$ now. I guess one I can scratch off the list....:001_302:
 
anyone else find that they get the best results with their variant when riding the guard? Also curious if people do the same with the progress?
 
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Variant absolutely mops the floor with any other razor I've used. Probably the best shave for the price. What surprises me is that it came from a company that isn't too well known for their QC
 
Variant absolutely mops the floor with any other razor I've used. Probably the best shave for the price. What surprises me is that it came from a company that isn't too well known for their QC
I've noted from other areas of B&B and other sites that Parker has up graded it's QC significantly. I think, though I don't need another razor, I may try their R91 (really like a 3 piece, though I've used a Slim and BB most of my life) If it is well made and shaves like my Weber PH, then Parker has evened out their playing field.
 
Anyone done a comparison between the Variant and the Ming Shi 2000s (it's a Merkur Futur clone, so a Futur comparison would be the same)? Almost everything people in this thread have said about the Variant I would say about the Ming Shi, which has replaced my Slim and most other razors with its excellent adjustability. So I'm wondering if it's worth trying to get a Variant, or if the Futur is already as good or better.
 
The Story So Far:

I have to say the Variant keeps going from strength to strength for me: From starting out with an Astra Superior Stainless (great), to my old-standby Dorco ST-300 (sublime), and finally this week with a Kai for the very first time, which is...well, I'm still trying to find words to describe it: subjectively, it seems about as sharp as I remember a Feather to be but almost as smooth as the Dorco, which the Feather absolutely was not, IMO, which is why I haven't touched one since. I'm starting to wonder if Parker somehow hit a formula where the Variant can indeed bring out the best from many different blades, although at least two of the three blades mentioned here have a generally high rep by consensus.

And, since I, among others here, have gone on at length about how just right the Variant seems in terms of size, heft and balance, and since I still possess a fairly wide variety of adjustables (largely unused, save for the Gillette, at least before the Parker showed up), I thought a visual comparison would be useful here:

(Left to right: Merkur Vision, Merkur [Hoffritz-branded] Futur, Parker Variant, 1973-ish Gillette Super Adjustabe)

And:

Anyone done a comparison between the Variant and the Ming Shi 2000s (it's a Merkur Futur clone, so a Futur comparison would be the same)? Almost everything people in this thread have said about the Variant I would say about the Ming Shi, which has replaced my Slim and most other razors with its excellent adjustability. So I'm wondering if it's worth trying to get a Variant, or if the Futur is already as good or better.

Tough to answer: Never used a Ming Shi, but I have used the Futur it's based on: certainly a nice razor, but I truly couldn't deal with that near-frictionless grip, which largely spoiled the experience. I'd say that giving the Variant a try is, at this point, an almost risk-free proposition: if by some odd chance you come away less than thrilled with it, I doubt you'll have any trouble at all selling it, and at minimal loss.
 
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I have a Parker Variant on the way. I already have a Merkur Futur and Ming Shi 2000S, so I'm excited to see how the Parker compares. As for the Futur and 2000S, I love them both. The Futur is polished chrome, and the Ming Shi is matte. I have no grip problems with either. My early impression of the Ming Shi is that it shaves very much like the Futur and matches the Merkur in quality (i.e. high). We'll see about the Parker.
 
I've been on an SE kick lately. I'm going DE this week for a change. Stared at the various razors and grabbed my Variant. Set to 3, fresh Feather blade. Great smooth shave and this will be my set up all week.

Cheers.
 
Does anyone know how to store an adjustable razor like the Variant? It's got a spring in it, so is it better to tighten it, have the cap off, or somewhere in between. Also, can you replace the spring if it wears down over time?
 
Does anyone know how to store an adjustable razor like the Variant? It's got a spring in it, so is it better to tighten it, have the cap off, or somewhere in between. Also, can you replace the spring if it wears down over time?

I don't think there is a spring in the Variant. It's just a long threaded post. Adjustment works as a result of tightening the threads further down until you hit the minimum aggression.
 
I don't think there is a spring in the Variant. It's just a long threaded post. Adjustment works as a result of tightening the threads further down until you hit the minimum aggression.
No, there is a spring amigo. Squeeze the plate where the blade rests on, there is a spring underneath it. That's what provides the tension and moves up or down as you turn the adjustment knob setting from 1-5 and beyond.
Does anyone know how to store an adjustable razor like the Variant? It's got a spring in it, so is it better to tighten it, have the cap off, or somewhere in between. Also, can you replace the spring if it wears down over time?
I wouldn't worry to much about that. But, when I do store it or out of the shave rotation, I do back out all the way until the top cap comes off, then place the top cap on and make a full turn or two just so that it catches the thread on the top cap post thread. Practically no tension on the spring. Is it necessary? Perhaps not, but that's what I do.
 
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