Thats been the aruement against slants for a long time. Slant fans think theyre the best thing since sliced bread, some think its just a gimmick and its almost impossible to really do a scientific test and prove or disprove it one way or the other. The good news is that anyone can pick up a slant for pretty cheap and decide for themselves. You can get a Razorock German 37 or a PAA Slant for about $20.
After much deliberation I finally ordered an Ikon X-3 safety razor. I can't wait to try it and compare it with the shave I get with my Merkur Futur. I've been using Astra SP blades in it for about a year now and like it. Just wanted to try something different.
I am especially interested in hearing how you like it as it is my favorite razor. Especially as you are coming from an aggressive razor, like Futur, this razor will be a bit of a challenge in the beginning as with zero pressure, you do not really feel any blade at all and the range of working angles is super narrow. During my first shaves with it, I had to really carefully listen to the feedback, because I could simply not sense the blade against the skin as with other razors. Also one has to learn to fight against the urge to add pressure because no blade is felt. It just feels odd in the beginning. Once this razor is mastered, one gets close and super comfortable shaves.
Oh, one thing more: This razor is not aligning the blade automatically. As the blade tabs are covered, I found it most convenient to lightly squeeze together the head with the fingers, and while it is held together I use the handle against the corners of the blade edges to push the blade into its aligned position. I always align it with the cap with this method.
i don't consider that a slant. I also don't think the gillette slide does anything, especially when changing the shaving direction (ex. XTG). Just more forum voodoo.
great razor but FYI it has a very narrow angle of attack. Was my second slant and hated it at first. Took a long time to adjust and get good results.
I just received the Ikon X-3 in the mail and put in an Astra blade to shave tomorrow on one side of my face and with the Merkur Futur on the other. I think that I have the blade in correctly as it is exposed about the same all along the head. Are there any tricks to make sure that it is loaded correctly? I've heard that it is easy to load it improperly. I'm really impressed with the OSS handle. It feels like it wouldn't get slippery no matter what you got on it. DSC_3681 by DaveOl1, on Flickr DSC_3679 by DaveOl1, on Flickr
The blade does not appear to be even in the picture, but in real life it does look even all the way across. It might be the light source.
I've been playing around with the blade in the head and I think that I have made it worse. What's a good way to load a blade in the razor. Do you cup your hand and place the blade on the upper part and then place the bottom half on top and screw in the handle. If the blade stuck out the ends it would make it a lot easier to toy around the alignment. How critical is the blade alignment? Will it cause nicks if it is slightly crooked? The blade alignment of the blade in my Mercur Futur seems to be almost automatic. I'll probably try the Ikon tomorrow after my beard grows out a bit.
It looks pretty straight to me. Slants can be difficult to get the blade in straight because the head creates a kind of optical illusion. As long as it is even with the guard, you should be fine. The PAA Eliptical also doesnt torque the blade. Its a slant in that the head is angled but the blade is otherwise straight like a normal DE.
The ideal is to have exactly the same exposure all along the edge when comparing to the cap. This is difficult to achieve, at least in the beginning. Because of how the blade is twisted, each edge will have one end slightly steeper than the other end. If you do not manage to get the ideal even exposure, make sure the blade alignment at least "fails" so the steeper end is having slightly less exposure than the more shallow end, as explained in the picture. The razor will shave quite OK, even if you have it misaligned in this way.
I have now shaved with the Ikon X-3 two times in the last three days. It seems to be smoother than my Merkur Future and it did shave slightly closer also. I did not have the blade perfectly set, but it may not have had that much effect on the resultant shave. I really like the OSS handle knurling as it is very easy to hold. I may just alternate between the two razors. I still have to use a feather butterfly DE razor ( $ 20 on Amazon ) to get under my nose. I'll keep trying to get the alignment right.
it's still work decent if it is off. To play with the alignment do the following: 1) put the top cap in the palm of your hand and load the blade (no base plate yet). 2) Grab the top cap by the threads and with your other had manipulate the blade tabs to play with the exposure. You will be pulling up on the blade tabs so it follows the curve of the top cap while adjusting exposure at the same time. 3) repeat step 1, add base plate, sandwich everything together, screw on handle.
Ive always found slants to be smoother. About the blade alignment, it can be tricky to get it just right because the head kind of creates an optical illusion with the blade. I know that with my RR G37, I often had to play with the blade, tightening, loosing and tightening several times to get it just right.
Or just try 3 directions with the Futur but dial it back for the up stroke? I do this because I am new to this DE lark but after a month do #3 for down and side pass then a 1 -.25 for the up if I want to do a third. For me that's the cool thing about the Futur, you can set it different ways for different things.