What are 3-4 classic, or widely popular razors, compared with a Merkur 34c, that is? It's my first and only razor, but I think I would favor a more aggressive one. Longer handle, too. Thanks.
slim adjustable ,super adjustable have longer handles than the standard 3 inch of most others.then there are the modern de razors..
The Razorine FlatBoy is very efficient and easy to use. The price is very good and you can always swap out the handle. Also the Karve OverLander is an excellent razor, mine is brass, and you can get a handle up to 4" long.
The vintage Gillette adjustables all shave pretty much the same. The only real difference is in handle length/girth, and coloration. Slimmer grip and shorter: Slim (nickel finish) Average grip, shorter: Black Beauty Average grip, longer: Super Adjustable (also black) Beefier grip, heftier feel: Fatboy (nickel finish)
They can be, but they do last longer shavewise. I can pull a month's worth of comfortable shaves out of a Shick Injector blade. The reason is they are thicker than a DE blade and hold an edge better, and longer. Sent from my SM-A526U using Tapatalk
Aggressive doesn't necessarily result in a closer shave. I can get pretty darn near BBS with razors that are considered quite mild - the Gillette Blue Tip, Gillette Ball End Tech to name a couple. Often said, because it is truth - Technique trumps tools. It's in my signature line - You just gotta learn how to use the tools ya got!
I started with a Merkur 34C. The most economical starting point: shim your Merkur. That will really wake it up. (with regular scissors, cut off the sharp edge of a used blade and insert it between baseplate and cutting blade; will increase gap, provide a more efficient shave, and cost you nothing). If you are looking for a new razor, some of my favorites: Gillette "Old" style Edwin Jagger 3one6 Blackland Blackbird; brass re-released and currently with a Memorial Day discount. One of my very favorite razors. Karve Christopher Bradley, C or D plate to start. My favorite is G plate Yates 921-M or H plate.
Long or short handle Merkur Progress. The newest iterations made 2o16 and later are tuned to be less aggressive than the prior ones but they are still aggressive on the higher settings. If you want to spend a little more look for Progress razors made prior to 1990. Gillette Super 109 aka longer handle Black Beauty adjustable is another option along with the shorter handle Super 84 Black Beauty. If you want to spend $200+ on a new razor a Rex Ambassador adjustable is also an option. There are others but these I know from personal experience will tick the aggressive shave box. If you want super efficient but not overly aggressive then as long as you are okay with modifying blades a Gibbs adjustable is another option.
Depends the format and how many blades you buy. AC aka Artist Club blades tend to be the most expensive per blade while Gem style blades are the least if you buy them by the 100 pack. Injectors fall somewhere in the middle, Personna and their rebrands being the cheapest but least sharp of injector blades, Chinese Schick blades being in the middle price wise and Japanese Schick blades being the most expensive. There are a lot of good cheap vintage razors in the SE world that will tick your boxes but they come with a learnimg curve. A tried and true aggressive razor that is built like a tank and easy to acquire cheaply is the Gem Micromatic open comb razor if you want to go that route. A cheap Schick injector that is aggressive is a Type E3. There are links to dummies guides on injectors in the master sticky thread to help identify the different types of injectors to ffigure out what is what.
