Open, closed or slant safety razor head?

I have all the three and I admit the slant head is my favorite (I have a Merkur 37c).
I have a very hard beard and normal skin and this head is just running so smoothly.

Anyone with hard beard, what's your preference?

 

No preference. Razor confiigurations are too different to make these generalizations. The Gillette Tech and the Ikon 104 are both closed comb razors but nobody in their right mind would claim they have anything in common.

 

Well, let's put it in this way: in your experience, what are the best configurations?

 

Way too personal , but FWIW I judge all razors on how they handle the coarse stubble on the crown of my head. Micromatic SE and early Schick injectors all work really well, among DEs my Shake Sharp and Timeless Bronze are current favorites but I find Old Type variants like Fatip work almost as well

 

Not sure it's possible to pin that down. Not just variation between individuals, but even different grades of coarseness on each person.

I don't head shave (yet) but from the times I've grown a beard, like many guys my chin hair is thicker shafted than what grows on my cheeks. So it's all a compromise. Some have worked out their preferences & may use one razor for their face, another for head shaves.

Far from having tried every makers offerings, I've found a couple I like in each category.

Open combs are fun and efficient. My Gillette NEW Long Comb is a great vintage blade holder. It shaves much like the Fatip Piccolo in that it's on the aggressive side. Recently got a Yaqi Double Open Comb (Mellon type) that handles like a mild razor but gives decent close shaves.

Only Slant I've tried is a vintage German made Lutz. It has a scalloped guard bar and different blade exposures on each side. Gives the option of aggressive/mild without swapping razors or spinning dials.

I also like two adjustable DEs. The iconic Gillette Fat Boy that I run wide open with the sharpest blades I have at the time. Lees time using the Merkur Future clone called Ming Shi 2000s or Q-Shave. Those have huge blade gaps and I've only worked my way up to getting a comfortable reduction at setting 4-1/2 out of a possible 6.