I have never tried a slant either, but Im not a fan of Merkur or a 2-piece design. Im holding out for the release of the shavecraft 102, or maybe even the slant that ATT has in works. I hope you find one that works for you.
Agree with Kevin on this. I started with 37c then upgraded to 39c as I like longer handles. Next I lucked into a Bakelite slant which provided a very smooth and comfortable shave and then this past Christmas I was given a iKon slant which has been supplemented with the release of the DLC version. All of the above provided great shaves and the difference in shave quality is quite small as far as my face and neck can tell. I have since sold off the Merkur's and soon will sell off the iKon SS Slant but you cannot go wrong with either a 37c or 39c as you jump into the slant arena. I actually had no intention of buying an ikon Slant and was quite surprised when I got it for Christmas and would have been happy with the 39c. After using the ikon, it did provide a touch smoother shave, a little heavier which I like so the 39c became expendable. I upgraded to the DLC version as I had no black razors at the time and wanted at least one black razor but would have quite happy with SS iKon Slant.
