The unmitigated terror of . . . the Merkur Slant Sledgehammer

[Teppanyaki]

It is here.

I shaved as usual this morning with my Muhle R89 (I keep wanting to type EJ89 for some reason) and had a devil of a time with 3 day stubble (went the weekend without shaving until yesterday evening where I tried to trim it down in preparation for this morning; neither of which went particularly well). I discovered i had the morning off at work, and that a package had come in late Friday from BullGoose Shaving. So, I went home and opened the box to see . . .

The awe inspiriing terror of . . . the Slant!

I have always had trouble with whiskers on certain parts of my face - under my chin and along the jawline, near my nose, parts of my neck, and some parts of my face where the whiskers are tough enough that even with a hot shower (and then hot or cold prep) are extremely tough and that I need to force the razor to cut sideways for at least a pass or two, or sometimes all 3 passes when I do 3 passes (I have gone to 2 passes and touchups). The only thing that has helped even a little in that area is the "Gillette Slide." So, I decided to try a non-mild razor and after researching different ones and not wanting to go as aggressive as a Muhle R41, I picked a Slant.

It's a beautiful razor handle-wise and plating-wise, which I didn't expect. Nice and shiny, an elegant barberpole handle, and . . . I swear the slant bar has a wide enough blade gap to look like the mouth of the Hound of the Baskervilles! It's . . . WIDE.

I have read that this is a very "efficient" razor and relatively mild for such a wide blade gap, and that if you always pay attention/apply no pressure/use shallow angle it will give you a gerat shave with no nicks/cuts/razorburn. I have no clue if I can always pay attention/apply no pressure/use shallow angle over curvy trouble spots such as my chin/neck/nose! I hope the Razor works as I hope and doesn't instead sneak into my room and murder me in my sleep while cackling like Snidely Whiplash. Alternately, I can hold the razor up to the light and shout, "At last, my arm is complete again!" before every shave in the morning and disturb the neighbors.

I will be giving it a go with some Astras (BullGoose/Phil tossed in a 5 pack of Astras, which I thought was a really nice touch!). Wish me luck. If I don't post again, you'll know what happened!

To be continued . . .

 

[Archer808]

I love my 39C, it is a fantastic razor. Make sure you do a little reading on blade alignment if you haven't already done so. Remember to align the blade to the cap not the safety bar. There are several posts concerning this, but correspondence from Merkur confirms that the blade should align to the cap. Method I have used and works for me:

1. Lay the cap upside down on a towel
2. Place blade on the cap post
3. Install handle while cap is still standing upside down
4. When the blade has contacted the handle but isn't yet tight, pick up the razor and pull up (towards cap) with thumb and forefinger on the protruding left and right edges of the blade then continue tightening the handle.

This usually aligns the blade with no problems, but it's a good idea to check before you start shaving.

Good luck!

 

[dparish1952]

The Sledgehammer will be your teacher in the shaving dojo. With restraint it will "point out" your every weakness. Commit yourself to following its teaching. You will emerge a samurai of shaving.

 

[anes1]

I own a 37c and have had mixed results the limited times I have used it. I decided to improve my technique with the 34c and my new EJ89 before going back to the 37c. I think my problem, when I had problems, came from poor alignment. I will follow Archer808's advice and give it a go this weekend, don't want a bunch of weepers before I head to work. The times I used my 37c I used Astra blades. I find these to be pretty good, but as of late all I have been using is Feather and persona med preps. I think a lot of people wouldn't use such sharp blades with these aggressive razors. I am not sure, they worked better for me and gave me less weepers and less razor burn in my 34c and EJ89. I'll see what happens this weekend.

 

[CyberJCM]

Don't Fear the Reaper, Teppanyaki

 

[doctordial]

I've been using a Pol Silver super iridium blade in my 39C with no problem. I used a Voskhod in it once before and it felt like I didn't have a blade in the razor.

 

[anes1]

what's a Pol Silver super iridium? Sounds dangerously sharp.

 

[edgerunner]

Great narrative, OP! You definitely need your sense of humour when dealing with the slant. Just kidding! It's not that bad as it looks! You don't need to do any changes the way you use the slant compared to 34C. Just keep the same angle and constant consistent contact between the blade and your skin. The slant doesn't like and doesn't work well, if you lift it off your skin either. I don't think it provides closer shaves but it definitely cuts the stubble easier and doesn't cause irritation.

 

[Teppanyaki]

Well, with a lather from the new RazoRock King of the Castle lime soap, I had my first Slant shave today! It went quite well (no nicks, cuts, weepers, death, or dismemberment) although it wasn't particularly close. For Day 1, I was pretty content. I did notice that it seems to shave as closely as my Muhle R89 and certainly closer than my Merkur 1904 open comb. The big difference, for me, is lack of resistance - it definitely cuts tough stubble more easily than my other razors. I have high hopes for it, so we'll see how it changes over the next few weeks/months/years.

One interesting thing I noticed - the safety bar has "teeth", so in a sense I wonder how much this acts like an open comb. Kind of a cool feature in my opinion.

The worst part of the whole experience is that now I'm wondering about a Muhle R41 (2013 version) . . . I suspect that I have a significant case of RAD. I expect it to die down after one of those, a Feather AS-D2, an Ikon slant, and maybe a Futur. I say this jokingly!

OK, only partially joking . . . now I'm worried!

Seriously, I plan on sticking to the Slant for a while. I like the heft, the open combishness of the bar, the slant blade aspect, and the ease of blade replacement given that it's a 2 piece. Not too thrilled with the "pull blade capwards to get it to seat properly" thing but I guess that that is the price of business. I do wish that it had a handle like my Muhle, though - much more elegant and artistic.

I may try a Feather blade after a while, but it's Astras for now while I get used to the razor. And RazoRock lather . . . I also have a coconut and orange creamsicle to try for variety (Moroccan Secret).

In short, I find the slant to require much less effort to cut my tough whiskers with no downside so far beyond the "it's a big dang razor that I can't fit under my nose!".

 

[NCJack]

Yeah, I almost B/S/T'd mine after two timid, frightened shaves, then just grabbed it and "plain old shaved" with it like any other razor. Wonderful! I can even go back and buff that little micropatch I missed after my face is totally dry, no problem.

 

[chilliman64]

there is much drama in the world of SE + DE wetshaving - frequent use of words like beast, bloodletting, artery-severing, widow-maker, throat-cutting, hacking, butchering etc - none of these highly vivid terms really deserves any place in our vocabulary.

IF you make a sound lather, AND you take your time when shaving, AND you don't use any pressure, AND you don't try to get all the whiskers off in one go instead doing so in 2-3 passes, AND you concentrate on technique/angle, you WILL have a good/great shave experience. none of these things are extraordinary measures when you consider you are sliding a sharp blade over your face.

I guess the bottom line is, if it scares you too much and you don't think you can concentrate throughout the shave then don't use it, no-one says you must shave with a razor that scares you.

 

[Teppanyaki]

Well, today I shaved as usual and nicked myself twice once over a spot on my chin that is highly prone to that, and one on my neck). I was feeling rushed to get to work as well, which is probably 80% of the problem. Anyway, a much better shave, and feels better at the end than my Muhle R89.

I am really liking my 39c slant so far, and will be sticking with it for the time being. I really like that it "sticks" less when trying to cut tough stubble compared to my Muhle R89, Feather Popular (close shave, sharp blade! Too bad I hated the plastic feel and lack of weight), or my Merkur 1904 open comb (which I really didn't care for - I couldn't get it to shave closely but it did give me a lot of irritation).

Slant + Astra (will try Feathers at some point in this) + RazoRock/Mike's for me. I still struggle with my chin, so I may try to cheat before showering with a trimmer.

 

[alpster]

I have both a 39c and a Muhle R41 and they are both top notch shavers with a 'Feather' blade. Sharp blade & a gentle touch=sweet shave.

 

[Mick]

I did a head to head with the 39c and 37c a while ago where I did 8 full passes (4 with each razor).

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/301979-8-Pass-Shave-Using-2-Merkur-Slants

The 37c is my travel razor. Never get tired of using it which makes it perfect for a one and only razor on long trips

 

[CyberJCM]

I recognize that case Mick. Glad it worked out!