34C is a great all around razor. I still own two of them and throw them in the rotation every now and then. Can't beat a 34c over all for the cost and performance. Happy Shaves, Bill G
Unfortunately on the 34c your stuck with the handle design it comes with. You can buy the longer barber pole handle Merkur model same head longer heavier handle. For the life of me I can not remember the model number right now, same handle as the 39C slant with the same head as the 34C. Happy Shaves, Bill G
Maggard and Italian Barber sell a range of heads (eg $6.95 Mission) that offer what you'd get with the 34C for less money and choice of handles. I see no reason to buy a 34C or EJ DE89. For the $40 they cost you can pick up unwanted Variant or Rockwell 6C on BST and get a lot more for your $. Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
I found the 34c to be a bit to mild, which is wierd as my daily driver is a prewar tech, but the 34 just couldnt get my trouble spots. But with that said i believe you can make most razors work great if you put enough time into using them. Merkurs are decent razors, and dropping any razor whether zamak can damage it, i think the only dis advantage zamak has is rust when it comes to plating loss, i have had a merkur with a zamak head for almost 10 years with it being my only razor for 4 years and it has survived just fine. Hope you enjoy the new razor, learning how a new razor shaves and what blades it likes is my favorite part of this hobby.
You might want to try a blade sample pack. The Derby and the Merkur blades aren't know as the most efficient blades out there. Enjoy the 34c. I have three Merkur razors (39c, 41c and Progress) and they are quality products. Herm
