I've never had an experience with a slick handle on any of my 50-60 some-odd razors. I shave over a sink half filled with water and rinse the razor before any lather drips down onto the hand or handle. Water can actually improve your grip. How often have you licked your fingers to better grip a football or sort papers? And, no, the water in the sink has never reached a point where it is that soapy.
Honestly I’ve never had any problems with holding the handle. I bought one only because I found it for an incredible price, but was skeptical about the rave reviews. This is now my favorite razor.
If you are interested in a modern adjustable DE razor, I have two that I like really well. They're both manufactured in India: Parker Variant - very similar design to the Merkur Progress, except it has handle knurling and metal adjustment knob Pearl Flexi - all brass and includes a stand The advantage of the Flexi is the razor top cap is also made of brass (unlike the Merkur and Parker top caps, which are made of cast metal). It also includes a stand which is quite nice. Last I looked the Flexi was available for around $80 USD on Maggard's site. The Parker is a little less expensive but works really well (for me).
The flexi now comes in an open version along with a standard safety guard if that is an important thing to someone. With that said the Pearl razors tend to be hit or miss when it comes to build quality. Caveat Emptor applies here.
I just saw one of those Gem Micromatics on Etsy. Now I know what a comb is! It seems like it would just rake your skin. Scary looking.
My opinion, the comb has zero effect on the aggressiveness of a razor. I have a couple of open comb DEs that are among my milder razors. That said, the Gem Micromatic is considered aggressive. I have a couple. Once learned, they give a great shave.
It just allows the blade to get at more beard per pass than a safety bar can, making them (generally) more efficient but, as Swarden43 says, not necessarily more aggressive. The MM, however, definitely has a learning curve.
I can get em locally at my drugstore for about $6 for a pack of 7. Yup, about a buck a blade. Sent from my SM-A526U using Tapatalk
You also have to take into consideration how many passes per shave. The real cost is price per shave not blade. A blade that lasts significantly longer even if priced more than one that isn't can actually cost you less per shave. With that said I get the same amount of shaves with a DE or an Injector blade so in my case price per blade is the real cost. Unless you buy in bulk a representative cost based on amazon is the following. Bic Chrome Platinum DE blades which is what I use go for $11.95 a 100 pack or ~.12 cents per blade Parker 60 pack injector blades which are Personna rebrands go for $26.95 or ~.45 cents per blade That is a .33 cent difference per blade or $33 difference per 100 blades. I can afford the difference but that will be even more for cheaper DE blades like voshkods for example. With that said if you want to buy bulk you can get close to .12 cents per blade for SE blades. This also assumes shipping included in the prices. I am going to link directly here to razorbladeco. You can get 240 Personna injector blades with the injector keys for $62 or .26 cents per blade. That brings you down to a .14 cent difference per blade and $14 difference per 100 blades. If I plan to long term SE shave with injectors these are the blades I am buying. https://razorbladeco.com/89-0043-coated-injector-blade-in-dispensers Gem PTFE coated stainless steel blades will be about the same they run around $19 - $21 per 100 pack or ~21 cents per blade. If you want to shave with carbon steel SE GEM blades then you can get the cost down alot. Carbon steel SE blades are some the smoothest shaving blades out there, frankly I prefer them over ptfe stainless steel but they come with 1 major issue, they rust easily so you need to be on top of them for storage and between shaves keeping them dry or they rust. 100 pack of these which are suitable for shaving cost only $11 per 100 pack or .11 cents per blade making them the most economical way to SE shave. https://razorbladeco.com/62-0161-gem-carbon-steel-extra-sharp
I have heard that Pearl had some QC issues in the past but they seem to have corrected them. The Flexi razor I have seems flawless to me.
Looking at the prices online, you shouldn't have to pay more than $30-35 shipped for a decent looking Gillette Slim adjustable.
Stick with what u got and perfect ur technique, my friend. You made 2 rookie mistakes: 1. U think u need more than one razor. U don't. (Been there, done that.) 2. U asked for recommendations for additional razors on a shaving forum! (Been there, done that.) Take it from a guy who's made rookie mistakes, sophomore mistakes, junior mistakes, senior mistakes, and post-graduate mistakes.
It was never about "needing" multiple razors now, was it? Here's my thought process. I will soon have a Gillette Slim, E3, Gem Damaskeene, and the 34C which I already have. After I use all of them a few times, I will know what suits me. I will then acquire more of the type/style that I like, and discontinue buying the others.
Naysayer! If I end up really liking way the E3 shaves, for example, I can't see myself loading up on more DE razors. More injector razors, yes. I'm writing this down.
Actually, having one of each major type adds variety without being redundant. The Slim, although DE, obviously gives you a range of aggression/mildness. The Schick E-series is great - I have one but I don't remember which variant. With injectors, as you probably know, you have a choice of roughly 2 or 3 different brands/models of blades in current production. For Gem, pretty much one, unless you want to try a paint-scraper, lol. With DEs, obviously, there are perhaps hundreds of choices.
