Can anyone here offer any opinions from their experience with these three different Merkur, double edge, safety razors? - Merkur 23C Long Handle - Merkur 33C Classic - Merkur HD 34C This will be my first safety razor, and I am trying to figure out which will suit me best. There is no way I can handle them first due to the fact that no one even remotely close to me sells them. My main decision is handle length. The Classic and HD are only 3" in total length, whereas the Long Handle is 4". I am used to shaving with a Mach3, so to me even the longer 4" handle seems awfully short. Does anyone find the 3" handles too short? Also, the weight between all three of these razors doesn't vary more than 0.2-0.4 ounces which doesn't seem like a big difference. I believe the Long Handle is 0.2oz more than the Classic, and the HD is 0.4oz more than the Classic. Is the extra weight of the HD and Long Handle really worth the extra $15 over the Classic? I also have a question about which comb would be better for shaving your head. I get lazy sometimes, and let my head shaving go for 4 or 5 days (with maybe ~5mm of growth), which makes shaving with a Mach3 super annoying as the cartridge gets clogged like crazy. I have read about the differences between open and closed comb, and was thinking the open comb might be better for this application. With this amount of growth.... would an open comb offer a significant advantage as far as resisting clogging over the closed comb? Or is the difference just slight? Thanks! Can't wait to try one of these safety razors for the first time! I am really getting sick of cartridge razors!
First off, Welcome to The Shave Den! A great community of guys and gals that enjoy wet shaving, I hope you enjoy your stay! Be sure to sign up for the January Newbie Give-Away for a chance to win some great shave gear! While its not required, how about you hop over to the Newbies Section and give yourself a proper introduction thread, I'm sure you'll receive many warm welcomes from the friendly folks of this community. You really can't go wrong with any of the razors you listed, as they are all good shavers, but the HD seems to be the most popular, followed by the long handle classic. I have big hands and chose the 23c for my re-entry into D/E shaving. Sorry I cannot offer much help in the head shaving department, but I'm sure Erik will come along shortly with some great advice.
Welcome to TSD! While I head shave, the only non-vintage razor I own is a Weishi. So, I can't really give any advice on choosing between the razors you're considering. Going from a Mach3, any DE razor will clog far less, so I wouldn't worry to much about a safety bar vs. closed comb. I will say might want to keep to the Mach 3 until you've picked up some basic technique on your face. It's hard to learn the technique when you can't see what you're doing (like on the back of your head). Though, once you have the technique, it isn't hard to transfer to your head. Overall I think you'll be able to make any decent razor work when pair with an appropriate blade. I'd suggest reading the guide I wrote recently: Erik's Guide to the New Head Shaver If you have any more question, just ask over in the head shaving forum (under alternative methods) and I or one of the other members will help you out.
Welcome to the Shave Den. I don't head shave, just get short haircuts, so I can't help you there. When I returned to DE shaving last year, the 23C was the first DE razor that gave me good results. One of the attractions was the long handle, which I thought would make things easier. Later I realized that I had no trouble controlling a razor with a much shorter handle. The extreme was an old Gillette travel tech with a total length of 2 inches, including the head. 3 inch handles are no problem for me at all. My hands are only medium size though, so if you have large hands, then you may want to go with the longer handle. If it's longer than you need, you can always hold it a little higher.
I dont head shave but I would go with the 12c, you could see by the lather being removed if you had the correct angle Issy
Thanks for the welcomes guys! This place looks like a lot of fun. I think I will take your advice and try the safety razor on my face for a while.... shaving my head with one my first go could prove disastrous lol Especially the back of my head and neck. I read the thread up top about the guy who dropped his Merkur and chipped/marred it. I didn't know these were made from crappy pot metal. Hmmm.... I also see that somebody made a remark pertaining to Merkur's quality control being poor, which seemed to be reinforced by another poster. Is this the general consensus? I figured these were made from stainless, not plated. I guess I shouldn't assume. Aside from Merkur, what other affordable safety razors would you guys recommend? I only picked Merkur as they seemed the most popular... but if there is soemthing better/tougher for the same price all the better. I am looking to spend $50 or less. Non-adjustable, closed comb preferred. Any advice or suggestions? Thanks!
Have a look through here if you haven't already. Also the Edwin Jagger 89L has been getting very good reviews around the net. I have no experience with one personally, and I can't say that the head is made from different material either, but I am thinking about trying one out soon if I can score a good deal on one.
yeah... Yeah, I had a futur paid like 65 bucks and it came all dinged up and the blade didnt align correctly, I got my money back. I then purchased a weishi gold plated and that was ok to start but the plating comes off in like 2 weeks of use, then my wife got me an edwin jagger 89l (l is for lined handle) its heavy the plating is pretty much spotless and seems to be thick, I really like it. and is not too expensive. I would recommend it. there is a guy here Ikon razors that is coming out with a new razor all metal(no plating) looks cool he said it would cost about 58 bucks and it comes with a box. PS I like a Longer handle too.
The only one I have used thus far is the Merkur 34C HD. Must say it is quite nice. Can't comment on trying to shave my head though as I have only shaved my face. A friend of mine that does shave is head swears by the HeadBlade though...
While you can't touch them, you can order all three in Canada online here http://www.fendrihan.com/ if you live in Toronto you can touch all three at Tobacco Heaven in the Atrium on Bay, or Toronto Barber and Beauty Supply. Call first. I head shave with a straight but recently I have been using a Merkur Futur, I like it's size and weight. Heavier, adds no pressure to my stroke and lets the blade do the work, like my straights. Now to get a more aggressive shave out of it. I have it cranked to 6, which is a decent gap but not enough for me. Kind regards,
I recently began shaving my head with DE's, prior to that I was a loyal Mach 3 user... I can only say that I can shave my head with a weeks worth of hair with a Mach 3 with no issues, however with a DE I can only go 3 days between shaves, otherwise it's blood city for me! For me the vintage 1930's Gillette NEW short or long comb seem to work best for head shaving! so any modern version should work nicely! oh... might I suggest you take it really really really slow when head shaving... and prepare to make a few passes!
