I had one of these razors Parker 22R 2010 Head and threw it in the bottom drawer. The blade sits very loose which alters the aggressiveness on each side of the head. I ended up with a terrible razor burn that I ended up treating with triple antibiotic ointment to clear. The razor itself looks nice but the quality is definitely lacking. I know Parker is trying to produce better quality products and they are priced right. I would buy a Merkur or a Gillette Adjustable.
I was a big fan of the parker 3 piece razors, but I had problems with the head breaking. The threaded part would just snap off. I loved the performance, but hated the build quality. Hopefully the 2010 addresses some of that.
I have heard from several people lately that their heads have come a long way recently, and I have been curious to try one, but I haven't tried a new one myself. Does anyone have side by side pictures of the old and the new head?
The Twist To Opens have had bad reviews for some time now. The 3 piece razors have better reviews, for the shave, at least. Self-decapitation (of the razor, not the shaver) not withstanding. :happy097
This is probably why they changed the heads... I'm also curious to know how the new heads look and perform.
Looks like it's on the top of the handle on the 22R, but there's a new model for sale, the 82R, which looks to have the knob on the bottom of the handle, like the razors we know and love.
Yes they did. It's referred to as the "2010" head. The TTO mechanism is located at the bottom of the razor. I don't own a Parker (using an EJ DE87), but I believe the butterfly mechanism on the older TTOs is located toward the top of the handle. I understand the older TTO head design wasn't favorably reviewed. I did, however find a couple of reviews on other forums -- after I started this thread -- and most were very favorable, especially for the 82r.
I'm about to answer my own question. I ordered an 82r and it came today. It's a terrible razor. The first thing I noticed was it looked and felt cheap. The quality of the materials and the finish were not good. It was no where near my EJ DE87 in workmanship and materials and it's only about $3 less expensive. The next thing I noticed was with the blade properly seated ( a Derby) and the head closed, the blade was crooked. On each side, one end had more blade exposed than the other. There was no way to correct this by reseating. Needless to say, my shave resembled the work of Sweeny Todd. We could, I suppose, scratch it up (pun intended) to learning a new razor. But with the uneven blade exposure, I think I have a bad razor. I read other reviews claiming the 82r as the heir-apparent to the SS. If that's indeed true, then the one I got was flawed, which doesn't say much about their quality control. I've owned a Merkur 34c and 38c, an EJ (Muhle head) and a SS -- when I started shaving way back when hair was invented -- and I never saw anything close to this complete lack of quality. Sadly, I cannot sell this razor. Hopefully, it's just a rare factory defect. But I could not in good conscience pass this on to someone else. I'll contact the vendor and see if he'll take it back for a refund. Sorry to be so long winded. But I know several people on this thread were considering this razor.
Wow, sorry to here that, I was kinda hoping to read some good things about it. Toyed with the idea of maybe getting one for myself. I hope the vendor gives you a refund.
Thanks for the update. I'm really sorry to hear this, too... You'd think somebody today could make a decent TTO. I hope this is a fluke and not the norm, but then you'd be right about spotty QC.
That was my hope, too. Perhaps with the recent resurgence of DE razors, one of the quality companies, Merkur and Muhle come to mind, will come up with a TTO.
I know DU212 also had an unpleasant experience with his 91R head. He also couldn´t get a decent shave with it, although several of us (including me....) are very pleased with the 91R. He contacted his reseller and received a new head. The problem is now solved!! Although I believe he is still more fond of his Mühle & Edwin Jagger razors, as I am
The 91R is a three piece, I think? I use the EJ DE87 and it would take something truly amazing to shake me off that. I was looking at the 82r as a secondary razor, mostly for traveling. For a couple of bucks more, I could have gotten another of the DE8x series. But I was enamored with the idea of a modern TTO. Sticking with Muhle/EJ. Amazing razors.
That's the way it looks to me to, but the description Super Safety Razors is a bit ambiguous. The one at Best Grooming Tools clearly SAYS the TTO is on the bottom, but that seems to be a generic, non-model specific, portion common to all the Parker listings. I think (hope) you're right.
