So, I was talking to my brother and he was telling me that he'd bought a Merkur slant bar but it was tearing his face apart and he couldn't use it... So after a couple of discussions, it arrived in my mailbox last Friday (along with a couple of tubes of C.O. Bigelow that he can't use either)... Used it for the first time last night, and I have to say that it worked quite well. Now my question: The slant bar should be a more aggressive razor than my EJ DE89L, right? I had a couple of nicks last night that I wouldn't normally get with my EJ, but I didn't notice the shave being noticably closer or anything (although I was on about 3 days' growth).
I think your EJ89 is efficient though it's mild. I don't consider the slant very aggressive, but I think of it as more efficient than the EJ. You'll notice the blade is more exposed on one end than the other. You can't be as carefree when shaving with it as the EJ, but using good technique you can get as close a shave with the EJ as you do with the slant.
It was your first use so don't expect it to give you equal or better results than a razor you know very well yet. The slant is smoothly efficient. I wouldn't really call it aggressive. The different angle on the blade will take some slight getting used to and once you do the nicks should go away. Just don't try any sideways motion with a slant or you'll slice yourself up.
What do you guys mean when you say 'efficient'? I do know, that for as much growth as I had I was really surprised at home much it had taken off and how smooth it felt on the first (WTG) pass... My EJ always tugs just a little bit when I have long growth like that, but this thing was like butter...
That is an excellent point that I had thought about. So far, after the first shave with it, I was quite pleased considering the horror stories my brother was telling about it shredding his face...
Efficient means it reduces your beard better in less passes. Most people say what you just said about the slant, that they notice more reduction on the first WTG pass than they do with other razors. About the only exceptions to that may be a straight, SE, or the '11 R41.
What I find with the more open razors: slant; R41; straight razors is that if I don't "hit my face moving" it cut myself. For what ever reason if I just put the blade to my skin and leave it there for a second I usually end up with a "kiss". But, if I place it while moving in a downward motion I don't start with a mark.
Ok, thanks. Yeah, I was really surprised at how smooth it was and much hair it removed on that first pass, but then it seemed to kind of level off and didn't get me any closer after 3 passes than my trusty EJ does. It was definitely a nice shave though, no dbout about that..
Well, if that's the case then my technique must be better than I thought, because I only had 2 weepers after I was done shaving with it for the first time and both of them had stopped after a cold water rinse, before applying alum or WH or anything to them. Yay me! haha...
Like any new razor that's somewhat more aggressive/efficient than you're used to - it takes time to learn the angles and nuances of it. You'll notice many people who move to a 37C/39C/R41 will need to adjust their shaving style to suit the razor and work on their technique a bit more. It will pay off though in the end, I've had many great shaves with the Merkur 37C, and it's not very picky about blades either which is fantastic.
Agree 100% and well stated Neolithium! I too find the 37C pretty much likes most blades as does the 39C. I start my shave with the R41, and finish with my 39C.
