I have a friend who is sending me a bakelite razor. Never used one myself, do you guys like them? Thanks Brian
I have several different bakelite razors, and really like most of them. The Merkur 45 is a modern bakelite razor, which I think is a great shaver. I also really like the bakelite Fasan slant. The weight is different than metal razors, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Post up some pictures when you get it. I would be interested to see what it is.
Don't recall exact spelling but there was one called the Neillite that is one of the most wicked aggressive shavers you could want.
True, I have the Neillite head (the handle was not with the razor so I use a Clix handle) and it is very aggressive. It has an extra exposed side and a less exposed side so you really have to be careful. In this picture note that the side of the baseplate directly under the headplate has a few ridges. That is the aggressive side and the side with more ridges is less aggressive. Do I like this. Yes, but not as much as what is in my regular rotation. Hope this helps!
I have the Merkur Bakelite razor. I picked it up as I forgot to pack my razor while traveling a few months ago. It's not a bad razor and shaves rather well. It is really light and reminds me of using a disposable. I don't use it a whole lot, but it does give a nice shave. I think I will have to pop a blade in it after I finish up my current blade.
The older ones are like that. My first experience with it was better than yours, but this and my 1930s PAL heavy are the two razors in my arsenal that I respect the most. I respect them all, but those two are very different than the others.
Thanks guys, no im excited to see what shows up. He said its an older one. I will keep you guys posted.
I have a neilitte 400 and mine is a great shave , one of the best i've ever had. On my razor the more agressive side has the most ridges (scallops)
Paid $5.50 for the Neillette "400", $9 for the Wardonia. The Wardonia uses special Wardonia blades so I've never been able to use it. The Neillite is a extra lightweight razor, it's a bit hard to get a good shave w/ it. I found the side w/ less scallops to be the only useable side . Some people on eBay sometimes list Schick Injectors and GEM Feather Weights as bakelite but a lot of the time they are not. The Schick was made with bakelite sometimes (if it has seams then it's not bakelite) and I personally am not aware of the Feather Weight being made in a bakelite version. Some other bakelite razors I've seen are Gillette, STAR, Clix, Simplex7. Black razors like the Simplex7 and Neillite are a lot of times listed as WWII razors since they were part of the war effort and were colored as such. Here is a Neillite overseas bakelite copy:
I've got a 7O'Clock bakelite razor. It's by far my favorite DE. It's only because I'm a bit of an SE tragic that I wouldn't want to also state that it's my favorite razor full stop. For me it produces an effortless close shave every time. I got it by accident as I was after the bakelite travel tube it came in. Tried it once before I was going to give it to one my sons to try DE shaving and immediately shelved the idea. Although they look like toys I'm surprised that there aren't more people collecting them.
I like the attractive red-colored modern Merkur bakelite razor. It has a "flexibility" that a steel razor does not have, and this flexibility makes the razor forgiving and less likely to cause nicks and weepers. It is an aggressive shaver but I have yet to cut myself with it. I use Astra blades, that are moderately sharp, and the light weight and the flexibility of the Merkur 45 allows one to shave fairly fast with impunity.
I wouldn't mind trying a Merkur bakelite one day. Looks very similar to the 7O'Clock with a big thick bottom plate and a really wide guard. The 7O'Clock's got a metal top plate so it's strictly speaking not a complete bakelite razor.
Bakelite is a specific plastic. I don't know that any of these plastic razors, two Neillites, a Clix, and a whatchamacallit, are actually Bakelite. The Neillites, in particular, are very brittle. I almost had another one, but it was shattered in transit when the eBay seller didn't pack it properly. I think that actual Bakelite would be more durable. Certainly the plastic of these razors is very different from the shiny handles on my Schick E type injectors, which really are made of Bakelite. I also wonder if the Merkur Bakelite, despite the name, really uses that material. Maybe it does. Quibbles over terminology aside, though, an all plastic (except for a metal bolt) DE razor can work very well. My Neillites are quite good, and not scarily aggressive.
I ordered a Merkur Bakelite for when I travel. www.shavenation.com has them 50% off right now so I figured I would go ahead and order one now. At that price couldn't go wrong.
http://shavenation.com/index.php?ma...id=166&zenid=c67777b5cc9ebe2db7bd5b9e81029e00 here is link to the razor. It is not 50% off anymore. It is 15% off and now comes with a 11 pack of Merkur blades in hard plastic travel case.
