New DE Shaver from the Midwest

I don't know why Merkur throws that one loose blade in the box with their razors. It can't be good for the blade. Think about it, rattling around in the box, edge banging against the razor, during it's world travels, until it finally reaches the end user.
No thanks.

From my own experiences, and the many others' experiences I've read over the last 6 years, I'd suggest the Feather next.
Just respect the razor and blade.

Unless you want to go from least liked blade to most liked blade (general consensus). Merkur -> Derby -> Shark -> Feather