Hello again, fellow wet shavers. Sorry to bombard you with threads, but i am newbie and i am getting a sort of addiction about razors... When i was looking at choices for my 1st safety razor, Parker razors immediately caught my eye. They are...so beautiful! I mean, they are consistently beautiful! But, i googled and found some random opinions, saying that: 1) They are aggressive (or at least, more than a DE89). I don't want something more aggressive. 2) They are inconsistent in quality. I also noticed that many are...very heavy, which i guess adds to the aggressiveness... Even so, i just love the looks of some of them, so i HAVE to ask, for future reference... Is there some model, that is verified to be mild (not more aggressive than DE89), closed comb and good in quality? I mean, the 60R immediately caught my eye, but looking at Parker's website, i like almost all of them! It's like the "anti-Merkur", which i find very ugly. The ugliest razor i 've seen so far, is the Merkur Futur. When i saw the image at Amazon, i thought "people seriously pay money to get this???". Parker on the other hand, oh... the handles!!!
The Parker 24c - an open comb model is quite a mild razor. Their closed comb three piece razors all use the head so the only difference is weight. I used to have a 91R though and it is not scarily aggressive at all nor is it really all that heavy so I would think that is also one for you to look at. Quality is patchy (the reason I don't have a 91R before is that it broke but I do think it has improved in recent years and the two parkers I currently have are among my favourite razors. (And I am not a fan of very aggressive razors myself). Hope that helps.
I have a Parker 80R that I like and gives very good shaves. Opinions (too heavy, too aggressive) are like... The only way you're going to know is to try it yourself. I get my best shaves from my Merkur 34, the HD. I really like my Futur, too, both how it shaves AND how it looks, thank you.
Thank you for the reply. I am a bit afraid of open combs, from what i read. I also have soft, sensitive skin, so i don't want "aggressiveness" past DE89 levels. Right now i use a Weishi and it shaved me fine. So i don't want to go bast DE89 aggressiveness. Or at least, this is what i think now, who knows later. I have a DE89 coming in next week, so to judge better how exactly "aggressive" is "aggressiveness". Hmm... The 91R looks nice, but the handle theme is too much similar to the Weishi and the DE89 knurled handle i ordered. I would like something more "unique". That's why Parker caught my eye. The quality inconsistency is what i found again in older discussions that i found googling and it's a bit concerning. But thanks for the experience. Hmm, i guess that's true. I just don't want a razor that isn't forgiving. I can shave myself fine with a Weishi, so i don't want something that as soon as i pose it on my cheeks it peels my sking or something. That's all. I have read many good things about the Merkur HD 34, but i don't like it much. In the photos it seems tiny. The futur i saw it on Amazon and pardon me, but it's the ugliest razor i layed eyes in the past 4 days, exception made for a...plastic green Weishi, that i couldn't believe it was real. So to be fair, the Futur is the 2nd ugliest i 've seen.
I have a Parker 99r that I auditioned blades in last month. For me anyway, I was not impressed. It's now sitting off to the side. I'm sticking with a three razor rotation for now
That's the problem with Parkers i saw in Amazon reviews or some old forum posts that i googled. People just can't seem to universaly like them, like DE89, where it has a universal approval. What was it that you didn't like about it, if i may ask? And i 've read about "razor and blade rotation", but i haven't understood how that works. Are you supposed to change razor every week, every month or what? And you change blades with them?
Myth - open combs are more aggressive. Just. Not. True. I have a Merkur 11C that just may be my mildest razor.
Interesting. I thought the comb was clear indication of aggressiveness. Who knows, maybe when i have more experience, i will feel more adventurous. For now i have only eyes for close combs.
Okay, I have 3 razors that I use. I have to shave for work, so I shave from Sunday to Friday. Saturday is a no shave day. Sunday is the start of the shave week. Razor and blade for the week are set and the shave is on a two day growth. Sunday's shave is a me-time shave. Pre-shave, traditional 3 pass shave. The rest of the week is usually a 2.5 pass shave. On Friday, the blade goes in the blade bank and the razor is cleaned. Sunday the cycle starts again.
Ah, i see! Thanks. So you practically change every week. I guess it's good to have variability to kill boredom. I suppose the same goes for blade rotation. When i will be confident enough, i think i will start rotating too!
Many open combs are aggressive. That's not a function of the OC, it's a function of how the razor was made. I get great shaves from my Senator. The open combs simply let more soap and hair drop through. I'd recommend sticking with the Weishi for a month of shaves before you let RAD take you over.
I see. I thought they were called "open", because you were pretty much letting the blade open to cut freely. Don't worry, i intend to stick with the Weishi until i can see that i can handle it with ease. I will maybe try the DE89 once, just to see in comparison how it feels, but i will go on with the Weishi for at least 10 days, i think, before even touching the EJ. Let alone go to open combs...
Boredom doesn't enter into it. I have three razors I really like so by changing up every week I get to use 'em. I could go two weeks a turn, or a month. Stick with the razor you have, find the blade that works the best in it on your face. Come on over to the 30 Day Rule/Focus thread. You'll be surprised how much your technique will improve. Plus you'll get to see some great pictures of shave gear(aka shave porn).
No, that's referred to as a 'Devette'. Which is made by basically removing the base plate from the razor, then locking the blade in place with the handle. Evil looking things. 'Open Comb' was the first kind that had a guard at all - I suspect it was easier to machine than a 'closed comb', at least at first. Eventually, almost all of the razors went to closed comb.
Food for thought: don't buy any more razors until you gain some experience with your current razor. Consider joining the 30 Day Rule/Focus thread (link below in my signature) and work on your technique. In 30 days, you'll develop your technique and have some fun along with the rest of us. You may soon find, as many of us have, that "Technique Trumps Tools." Your Weishi will work famously for you, as you develop technique. I imagine it would shave very close to a vintage Gillette Super Speed. It's fun trying different things, but you can get great shaves with ANY razor / blade combo once your technique is solid and consistent. All those cool razors will still be around in 30 days. If you're still interested, you can buy them then. To answer to your original question, I had a Parker 99R. It was a great all-around razor, considering it only costs $30. The build quality was perfectly fine, and it had some nice weight to it. I liked it so much that I recommended it to a friend who was starting out with DE shaving. I would rate it middle of the road on aggressiveness. You'll notice that I like it, and @RetLEO-07 wasn't crazy about it. (@RetLEO-07 IS, in fact, crazy, but that's another story. ) You'll find that opinions vary widely on most things relating to traditional wet shaving, and half the fun is finding out for yourself. Have fun!
He is absolutely correct. The comb itself has nothing to do with the geometry of a razor that decides its aggressiveness. And for what it's worth: In my opinion, Amazon reviews are mostly worse than worthless. Most are written by people who have little or no more experience than you do, and are written so soon after purchase that they really have no clue what they are even writing about.
I absolutely love the Parker Variant adjustable razor. You can adjust the "aggressiveness" to what suits you. I, personally get the best shaves ever with it. I also like my Parker 94r which also works very well for me. I had a 89r that I liked till I dropped it. My experience with Parker razors have been positive and I like them.
