Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsFinally, The Shave I Wanted
Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2017
It was my goal a few years ago: break away from the very expensive disposable razors, improve the shaving experience, and continue my reduced carbon footprint ways.
I read up on DE razors, and settled on one that was touted as the perfect first experience razor. I also read that blades were very individual so I might have to try a few before I found the right one.
Since I mostly shave with a small electric and with the razor twice a week, my learning curve was slow, but I found out the blade part was very right: this one pulled a lot, that one didn’t seem to cut, and I was having a very frustrating time with my attempt to save resources and money.
I worked my way through a lot of blades, trying this brand and that brand and never getting the shave I was sure I should be getting. In fact, I could take my wife’s disposable razor and get a better shave every time than this highly touted DE razor and all these well reviewed blades.
Not really wanting to get into the full-on shaving experience, I wasn’t using the boar bristle brush and shaving cream. Jeez, with the disposable razors I could use my shampoo as lather and get a better experience than I was getting from the $45 DE, but I tried this gel and that soap lather, and found a really nice oil in a tiny bottle that did a very good job lubing my whiskers.
Better than before, but still not as smooth as the disposable razor with just shampoo for lather.
My attempt to save resources and money seemed to have failed…but I was not ready to give up just yet, so I started looking around some more and read more reviews, and came up with this razor, the Merkur 37C Slant Bar.
The reviews had said it was too aggressive for a beginner, but, unless you’re ham fisted with an indelicate touch, I would say I would have done far better to have begun with this razor, not ended up here after a few years of trying this blade and that.
I find the handle a little stubby, but the grip is very good and the balance works well in my hand. It’s a bit top heavy—short handle, heavy head—but when using it the balance seems to work better than I expect each time I pick it up. The slant head is kind of strange, the way it clamps down on the blade, torturing it into a new shape, but the effects are very successful.
I can use the oil I spoke of, and this blade just glides; the gel, it glides. And even with shampoo, loaded with the Personna blade I’ve settled on as works well for my beard, this razor just glides. And the shave is closer than any 3-bladed disposable, and certainly better than my beginner DE razor.
If you can trust the blade to do it’s job, and let the razor work with just its own weight against your face, this razor may not be as stupid-proof as a disposable with floating blades, but the shave is far better. And, even if I wasn’t saving money (less than $7/year versus about $120/year for disposables), the far lesser resource use works best for my conscious, too. I wish I’d begun with this razor, but very glad I ended up here.
