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When shopping for a new safety razor, can the vast array of choices overwhelm you at times?

I have the 39c's little brother the 37c and its a great shaver that feels high quality.
Took me a while to learn how to set the sideburns with the slant but now that i have that down its fantastic.
For me it's a great razor for doing a 1 pass shave.
That is what drew me towards the 39c Sledgehammer. I have always prefered the razors with the longer handles as my hands are quite large, plus I like how the longer handles make the razor heavier and more substantial.

Is it true that the slant razors wear out the blades quicker? And does the slant really make a difference compared to a 'normal' DE razor? (Not including the open-combs; that is for another thread).

Jason.
 
Thanks for that. However I am not sure if my wife would like loads of razors in the house, especially as I have asked for a 39c Sledgehammer for my birthday. If she gets me that razor then it may look a bit off to her if I was to buy the Progress. I do appreciate your reply all the same though. Even my wife has been swayed a lot more towards the Sledgehammer than the Progress.

Kind regards. Jason.
Are you satisfied with your current razor? What if the Merkur 39c is milder than your BeatyTrack and doesn't shave as close? I just looked carefully at the models on the BeautyTrack site and they look like a wide gap razors. It is all usually about comparison.
And last but not least: Looks are quite often deceiving.
P.S. There is a long handle Progress. :devil:
 
How fortunate you are able to handle them before purchase! Have fun out there!
Thanks! What I meant is that the salesperson let me manouevre both the Progress and the Sledgehammer around my face without a blade installed and the Sledgehammer just felt so much nicer. Even my wife liked the 'feel' of the Sledgehammer on her arm compared to the Progress. I think she is tempted to borrow it for her legs. Not that I would mind of course as I can always rinse it a put a new blade in it afterwards.

Jason.
 
Are you satisfied with your current razor? What if the Merkur 39c is milder than your BeatyTrack and doesn't shave as close? I just looked carefully at the models on the BeautyTrack site and they look like a wide gap razors. It is all usually about comparison.
And last but not least: Looks are quite often deceiving.
P.S. There is a long handle Progress. :devil:
To answer your question as objectively as I can, my Beautytrack feels a bit 'thin' compared to the Sledgehammer/Progress and I just think the Sledgehammer's head feels so much nicer on my face and I have wanted to try a slant bar for a long time anyway. Also I have been looking on various YouTube videos about the Sledgehammer and the uploaders are saying how wonderful it is.

Not only that my Beautytrack is a bargain basement razor (as you have probably seen the prices on the website) and I would definitely like to upgrade to something more luxurious.

I know the Progress is probably a great razor, but I don't really want the adjustability as I want to spend more time concentrating on the shave instead of the different settings.

Jason.
 

Messygoon

Abandoned By Gypsies.
Happy birthday in advance. You are not alone in finding the number of razor options overwhelming. I spent a year reading reviews before purchasing my first non-vintage razor.

It's inspiring that you two are checking out razors together. If you receive a razor as a present, whichever one it is, I'm sure you'll love it. Please let us know how it goes!
 
Happy birthday in advance. You are not alone in finding the number of razor options overwhelming. I spent a year reading reviews before purchasing my first non-vintage razor.

It's inspiring that you two are checking out razors together. If you receive a razor as a present, whichever one it is, I'm sure you'll love it. Please let us know how it goes!
Most definitely!

Jason.
 
Thanks for that. However I am not sure if my wife would like loads of razors in the house, especially as I have asked for a 39c Sledgehammer for my birthday. If she gets me that razor then it may look a bit off to her if I was to buy the Progress. I do appreciate your reply all the same though. Even my wife has been swayed a lot more towards the Sledgehammer than the Progress.

Kind regards. Jason.
I'm in the same boat, having purchased several razors in short succession. Then I ordered some odds and ends i needed like an alum block and blades. It makes it look like I'm getting new things all the time and she doesn't understand why. I think she's ok with it as an inexpensive hobby but there's definitely a limit. I don't blame her for being wary. I tend to overdo it with new pursuits and she's proven to be a good counterbalance.
 
Is it true that the slant razors wear out the blades quicker? And does the slant really make a difference compared to a 'normal' DE razor? (Not including the open-combs; that is for another thread).
Jason.

I can't say I've noticed much of a difference in deterioration of blades.

Not sure what the magic is with the slant razors. The merkur doesn't feel too harsh on my skin but it mows down the hair & leaves me satisfied with 1 pass.
 
A very warm good afternoon to all.

Just a question that popped into my mind, when you are shopping for a new safety razor, can the vast selection be a bit overwhelming at times? I have read lots of reviews about various razors in my quest for looking for 'the one'. Has anyone else had this experience?

(This post relates to when I was looking round the shaving shops and trying out different razors before setting my heart on the Merkur 39c Slant Sledgehammer).

Jason.

There's a huge amount of redundancy in the razor market. If the market (and people) were rational, we'd have one factory, churning out one model of razor for each reasonable combination of:

. . . material;

. . . manufacturing technique;

. . . Structural design (three-piece, two-piece, butterfly, perhaps adjustable)

. . . blade gap and exposure.

And they'd all use the same interchangeable handles, varying in weight, length, diameter, and "grippiness".

But -- like the car market -- the market is fragmented among manufacturers, definitions are vague, and information is difficult to gather. Look at the RazorRock chart here:


And that's just one brand !!! Just to make things more frustrating, RazorRock doesn't release gap and exposure information for all of its razors.

In other words:

. . . You're _supposed_ to be confused! -- the makers have arranged it that way.

. Charles
 

thombrogan

Lounging On The Isle Of Tugsley.
Less than two weeks away! The countdown is on. The suspense is keeeling me!

Will the Sledgehammer 39C find its “forever home” by the sink? Will a favorite blade be chosen?
 
I think the good news is that you can get a good shave with pretty much any of the razors and the more important things to focus on are technique, preparation, lathering, and learning how to get the best results from the razor you have, for your individual face and hair.

After trying a few different razors you will get more sense of what characteristics you prefer and will give you a better shave more easily and comfortably. I think this is refining the experience, rather than being necessary for getting a pretty good shave.

I have no idea what anyone means by “aggressiveness”, since razors are inanimate and they do not have personalities or bear grudges. But I do think about razors in terms of how “efficient” they are (how close they will shave without additional passes or much buffing), whether I like the amount of “blade feel” on my face, and whether they are “smooth” in terms of doing multiple passes without causing much skin irritation. You might also develop preferences for the weight, balance between head and handle, size of the razor head, materials, etc.

Armed with a clear idea of how much efficiency, blade feel and smoothness I want, it is then easier to research different razors and what people say about them. But you do need to read a range of views because, for example, what might be highly “efficient” or “smooth” on one person’s face may not be efficient or smooth enough for you. You have to see what other razors they use and are comparing with, and you will get a feeling for how to understand each person’s feedback.

Is it all confusing? Not really, if you take your time and just gradually absorb information about different popular razors, and learn what you like and dislike about the razors you have. You just kind of get to a place where you know what you are looking for and what razors might be good candidates. But you can’t just rush into it and expect to find your perfect razor from the start.
 
I just bought a cheap Parker when I was first looking, then bought another cheap Parker when I broke the first 10 years later 🤷🏻‍♂️. Now I’m into vintage razors, straight and DE. Since I got into vintage shavers, I learned to appreciate everything for what they are honestly.
 
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