Been searching for a Ziglar Slant Razor since I lost the bid for one about a year ago. At that time I didn't know how rare they were or any history behind them. If I did, I would not have bid only $30. ;-)
They hardly showed on eBay since that time and just recently a bunch showed up. I was lucky enough to get one (for way more than $30). For those that care and don't know, there were only four major slant razors made in the USA, which was different from Europe where almost everyone big and small had a slant offering. I guess the USA market was content to do the Gillette Slide. Two of the four manufacturers were Krect and Ziglar (which I own).
The Krect was amazing because it had a top cap about as thin as a Tech, but had multipe curves that torqued the blade very aggressively. Where the Krect was a design lesson in simplicity, the Ziglar was totally on the other end of the scale.
Upon close inspection of the Ziglar, it seemed to combine all the characteristics of the different slants. It torqued the blade significantly (making it a torqued slant), it had a head that was pent higher on one side than the other (making it a diagonal ), AND it had a parallelogram shape like the Irwing (making it just an unusual razor). Oh yeah, and it was also open comb.
I have included pics of the Krect and Ziglar next to each other. One can immediately see that the head of the Ziglar is massive compared to the Krect. Not only does the head cover the blade completely, but the base plate is open comb, making it wider. The head also is domed like a diagonal, however one side is not thicker than the other. Instead, there is a hump that runs diagonally across the top cap so it would not matter how you hold the razor, one side will always be thicker than the other side. Also the parallelogram head meant that one side of the razor had more blade exposure than the other. The base plate is built up in the middle where the screw post goes through, making the Ziglar a very bulky and heavy razor.
Okay, so enough of the talk, how does it shave?
First pass was WTG. As with all my razors, I started with a very steep angle. This was a good thing as I was able to get the diagonal setting correct. At first my angle was too steep and so I lessened it a little and found that the open comb was not the normal type. These were flat and if the angle got too shallow, you will feel the edges of the comb scratching your face. On a positive note, the razor was so heavy that it was easy to go with no pressure and let the razor do the work. Still, at the end of the WTG pass, there was more stubble than I expected.
Second pass was ATG. Maybe I learned a lot from the first pass, because the ATG pass went very well and without any problems. One thing I noticed after the ATG pass was that this was one of the few razors I owned where it did better going ATG than WTG. Whatever stubble was left over from the first past was gone after the ATG pass.
I just did a touch up after the ATG pass and, I was rewarded with a BBS shave.
Overall, I must say that I was very impressed by this strange razor. Having just shave with my Krect two days ago, I can say that the Krect was more of a nimble sports car and the Ziglar was a luxury sports sedan. Both got me effortless two pass BBS shaves, but I didn't have to do barbell curls at the gym first in order to shave with the Krect. The Krect also had a small head that was more manueverable in the tight areas.
If I managed to perk any interest in the Ziglar (or the Krect), I would encourage you to get one and try it out, or as they say at B&B - Get Both!
They hardly showed on eBay since that time and just recently a bunch showed up. I was lucky enough to get one (for way more than $30). For those that care and don't know, there were only four major slant razors made in the USA, which was different from Europe where almost everyone big and small had a slant offering. I guess the USA market was content to do the Gillette Slide. Two of the four manufacturers were Krect and Ziglar (which I own).
The Krect was amazing because it had a top cap about as thin as a Tech, but had multipe curves that torqued the blade very aggressively. Where the Krect was a design lesson in simplicity, the Ziglar was totally on the other end of the scale.
Upon close inspection of the Ziglar, it seemed to combine all the characteristics of the different slants. It torqued the blade significantly (making it a torqued slant), it had a head that was pent higher on one side than the other (making it a diagonal ), AND it had a parallelogram shape like the Irwing (making it just an unusual razor). Oh yeah, and it was also open comb.
I have included pics of the Krect and Ziglar next to each other. One can immediately see that the head of the Ziglar is massive compared to the Krect. Not only does the head cover the blade completely, but the base plate is open comb, making it wider. The head also is domed like a diagonal, however one side is not thicker than the other. Instead, there is a hump that runs diagonally across the top cap so it would not matter how you hold the razor, one side will always be thicker than the other side. Also the parallelogram head meant that one side of the razor had more blade exposure than the other. The base plate is built up in the middle where the screw post goes through, making the Ziglar a very bulky and heavy razor.
Okay, so enough of the talk, how does it shave?
First pass was WTG. As with all my razors, I started with a very steep angle. This was a good thing as I was able to get the diagonal setting correct. At first my angle was too steep and so I lessened it a little and found that the open comb was not the normal type. These were flat and if the angle got too shallow, you will feel the edges of the comb scratching your face. On a positive note, the razor was so heavy that it was easy to go with no pressure and let the razor do the work. Still, at the end of the WTG pass, there was more stubble than I expected.
Second pass was ATG. Maybe I learned a lot from the first pass, because the ATG pass went very well and without any problems. One thing I noticed after the ATG pass was that this was one of the few razors I owned where it did better going ATG than WTG. Whatever stubble was left over from the first past was gone after the ATG pass.
I just did a touch up after the ATG pass and, I was rewarded with a BBS shave.
Overall, I must say that I was very impressed by this strange razor. Having just shave with my Krect two days ago, I can say that the Krect was more of a nimble sports car and the Ziglar was a luxury sports sedan. Both got me effortless two pass BBS shaves, but I didn't have to do barbell curls at the gym first in order to shave with the Krect. The Krect also had a small head that was more manueverable in the tight areas.
If I managed to perk any interest in the Ziglar (or the Krect), I would encourage you to get one and try it out, or as they say at B&B - Get Both!
It's just a effortless shave every time.. And never ever try to replate one..you'll end up with a mess....
