Well last night I had my second shave with the merkur blades i got in my sampler pack. Not sure what i did wrong but i can still feel my face kinda tingling, been about 12 hours now. I have little red spots, not really bumps. I figured i was to aggressive on setting my black handle adjustable gillette razor, I was a little more careless than I usually am. So i figured i used to much pressure and along with the aggressive setting "7" that i never used before. Well any way if my face is up to it I will try again tonight. I will scale back the aggressiveness and watch my pressure. shave details if you are interested: -Burts bees bay rum soap. (yes I know no one likes this, it was a gift from wife and I dont want to hurt her feelings. ) -1969 black long handle adjustable superspeed w/ merkur blade (2nd use) -burts bees bay rum after shave thanks chris
I don't now how the Gillettes are scaled but I'm using a Merkur Futur that has a scaling from 1-6. I haven't actually set it higher than 3,5 ever and are on a daily basis using it at level 2. Someone told me it's about finding the lowest setting possible that gives you a good shave.
Yep. Sounds like wrong setting and too much pressure. I used to have a Gillette Adjustable and I rarely went above a setting of 3. Your problem also might be the blades. Merkurs are known for being a bit dull and harsh. You might try something from the Personna line instead- Israeli Personna (crystals), red pack personna, or the American Personna you can pick up at any Walmart. The American variety are also known for dullness so they're not your best option- but they might be better than Merkur blades. I'd recommend giving your face a rest and retrying in a day or so.
you have an absolutely terrific razor, so the problem is not with it, but yeah, you were probably too aggressive with the setting and pressure...try it at 2-3 for awhile until technique improves the REAL issue is the Merkur blade...some people have good luck with them, but even most of them will say nearly every blade is better. So definitely try some of the personnas already mentioned, and some Astras too. there are many others to try, but I've found these to be the best in my super adjustable (your razor) so far
Use the Burts Bees as a bath soap and get somthing else to shave with, trust me. Turn back the dial on the razor. Watch your pressure! Maybe the Merkur is not the right blade for you, don't be afraid to try new ones.
So should i completely abandon the merkur blades, and try somethng else? I was thinking I should give each blade from the sampler pack 3 "blades" to truly sample them. I have also some derby, gillette plat. feather, crystal and some personal expressions (1.88 at HEB my sample packs had not come in yet. not a bad blade though )
Ha! That's exactly what I did! It actually makes a nice bath soap. I find Burt's Bees AS label was very funny in an ironic sot of way.
I started off with the Merkur scrapers and couldn't figure out why I wasn't getting good shaves. Changed blades and the rain dried up and the sun came out. Birds starting singing and life was good.
Bingo............good answer Chris. I had a similar experience when first starting off using a DE. Michael (Leisureguy) recommended staying with a first blade for quite a while, maybe using em for a few weeks or longer. Then, the idea was to switch it out with another type. I was easily able to locate some Merkur blades locally, and had em stuck away for a long time before deciding to try a DE razor. Of course I'd been reading about the trouble many members had with em, but I figured blades were blades and these were handy. Anyway, after almost two weeks I was, like Chris, trying to figure out why my shaves weren't as comfortable as I'd hoped for......not even close. No razor burn, but plenty of pulling, which is bad. Soon as I stuck a different blade, the shaves improved dramatically! Yeah, I'd been perfecting my technique without knowing it, which was a sorta revelation to me. Seriously, the enjoyment level went up 10 times.........all because of a silly blade. I'm not unhappy I started with the Merkur blade, since it gave me a good reference point for future blades. It was a tough lesson, but well learned. Since you've only had a few shaves with em, I'd put those blade away and try those again after you've sampled others. They really aren't all that popular, although a few members love those things. There's a reason so many people dislike the Merkur blades, and you'll see what that reason is after a while. Here, let me say it as Jayson would "Those are crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Hehe, was that about right Jay? Bonescrub? I started with a super adjustable (that's the real name for your model), and it was a great razor for me. That long handle made the switch easier for me, and the nice weight was a welcome change from a cartridge system. Heh, you tried it on #7 eh? Well, you'll have a good story for later, when you're a veteran. Hope that helped in some way. Martin
I've never used Burt's Bees, but I've got a stash of soaps I got as gifts that are all really suboptimal. Like you, I wanted to give them a shot so as not to hurt the respective giver's feelings. Here's my fix: I sometimes use the soaps as a shaving stick, and then superlather over them with a cream (even an inexpensive cream like KMF). You might give that a shot. And that was my experience with Merkurs and moving on to something else.
