I remember a year or two ago there was a thread here about some merker safety razors. I considered buying one then but didn't. Do any of you still use them? Really like it or just meh? Which one specifically do you have?

I want to know about this too. I've been having success with some fancy "Art of Shaving" cream that somebody gave me along with some pre shave oils and badger brush. However I'm still using the same old Gillette 4-bladed thing with single blade on the back. I want to know if it's really worth it to get the style of razor in question. I only shave once or twice a week, if i try to shave more often when it's shorter it hurts and gets red bumps.

I don't know about the merker razors, but using the "sharpen blades on the back of your arm" technique, I'm making a single razor blade cartridge last a good 4 or 5 months thanks to the thread we had last time. So if anyone's not doing this, start (someone link the youtube video, I'm on my cellphone)

I still use mine. I use Feather blades, which are substantially sharper than the Merkur blades. I do really like it. I save a lot of money on blades and I find the shave to be less irritating. Probably because I'm dragging one razor across my face instead of three or more.

There's a lot of voodoo magic "art of shaving" stuff out there in terms of creams, oils, etc. It can get pretty expensive. I use this uber lather technique, but I don't use any stupid expensive ingredients. Ordinary bar soap, glycerin and any shave gel will do. I use the CVS knockoff of the Aveeno shave gel, which I found less irritating than most others. I think the glycerin is what makes the real difference in reducing friction. The little bit of soap just helps hold it all together.

I'm not sure what my ex GF spent on my "art of shaving" cream and oil, but just the one container has lasted me 8 months and counting (it's almost gone) so it would have to be pretty damn expensive for me NOT to buy it again. And it feels great.

Read as "Merkle Razor People" imagined CM with a brand of razors.

have and still currently use this one
click here

ordered a bunch of the Merkur razors with it and have 2 left. they work well but think i am going to change blades next time i get them. ive found you can use just about anything that lathers for the shaving cream, for me it has been worth it to buy a good aftershave balm though.

sorry but if anything that back of the arm thing rolls the blade's edge away from the face... chances are your facial hair just isn't thick enough for you to notice how dull your blades have become

see when one strops a blade (where shirtless hairy man got the idea) it's done on both sides using material very different from the skin on one's forearm

i personally own no merkur razors but i own a few vintage gillettes that i use regularly... which model i use depends on the beard... for everyday shaving i usually use my pre-ww2 tech but if i skip some shaves and have significant beard growth i'll switch to an open comb (gillette new... still have yet to try my old type)

still have yet to find my blade of choice... i've tried feather but was unimpressed

you want to be careful with using "anything that lathers" you can easily get terrible results using something not meant for shaving

I'm using Mama Bear's shaving soap right now and it is pretty good but as said, it is basically glycerin soap. I've even used Dr. Bronners liquid soap in a pinch.

I shave with a rolls razor right now, but I'm considering switching simply because the blade is getting old, but I've had it for years.

I almost never shave with anything except water. I use a Mach3.

I've tried it and it definitely helps, but it never improves it to being better than a rough shave.


Chances are you're being a kludge. They're extremely sharp and require some more practice.

unimpressive does not mean "i sliced my face off with super sharp blade" it means i wasn't impressed...

In what way?

Also it's pretty disappointing that I can't seem to find any objective comparison of blade sharpness. There has to be someone out there with a good electron microscope and nothing better to do

in the way that i got 2 good shaves out of the feather before it started going rapidly downhill

and those good shaves weren't any better or worse than shaves i get from blades that last longer

My facial hair is plenty thick and grows fast. I have to shave every morning, and usually by 1 or 2 in the afternoon, people on the ship are asking me if I shaved that morning. [you may even recall a few years back people here used to make fun of me for my "pube stache" just because I'd posted a picture I'd taken in the afternoon.] I'm not saying it makes the cartridge 100% like new, but I am saying that it significantly improves the life of the cartridge. Yeah in a perfect world, I'd shave with a fresh cartridge every day or with a blade that has been properly sharpened. But this is a great alternative, and allows me to spend a minimum amount of money.

I'm still on the fence. I am sick of buying cartridges. I've tried the arm thing and didn't notice any improvement in life of the cartridge. I use each one about 7 times and I'm lazy so I generally shave every other day. I'm sick of spending money on cartridges and the sensor xls I use are getting harder and harder to find (and seemingly more expensive, but I don't have a good memory of how much something cost months ago).

So buy one. A razor is about $35, which is what, like two packs of cartridges?

you can also easily get a vintage razor for under $10 and clean it

hell check places like badger and blade usually a decent starter kit up for sale also check the PIF forum there to see if anyone is giving away a kit

I ended up getting a Combo Merkur #178 Safety Razor & 10 Pack Merkur Blades. The seller on amazon shipped the wrong one (a much cheaper one, probably thought I wouldn't notice). I got that sorted out and have been using it for a couple weeks now. I agree, the Merkur blades are not that great. I ordered a sampler pack of blades from amazon and the next one I tried was Astra and it is much better. I cut myself a tiny bit the first time I used the razor (with the merkur blade); never since. I noticed it's hard to get right up under my nose around my nostrils but I'm getting better at it.

I've just been using my "edge" gel and it seems to work fine.

If you want to try something else, try mixing in some glycerin and a little bit of soap and water with your shaving gel, like in that uber lather video I linked. No need to buy fancy stuff.

I used one for a couple months after that thread. I never got past being able to do it without cutting myself at least once a week, though.

I tried about a bazillion lathers/gels/creams but ironically the thing that seemed to work best was the St Ives green tea face wash I use.

Then I invested in lasers and don't have to worry about it anymore.

That sucks. I haven't cut myself since the very first time. I'm now almost as fast with the new one as my old sensor xl cartridge razor.

Just got a bunch of feather blades, MUCH better than the merkur blades.