My Newly-Revised Stable of Primary Razors

Merkur 33C Classic

In the past few weeks, the light bulb has gone on over my head. I finally saw clearly the full picture of double-edge razor design and how that applies to various faces.

I have smirked and shaken my head over the irony that the first and last new razors that I have purchased this year (the Merkur 33C and 15C, respectively) suit my needs the best of the many I have acquired. The first was merely a lucky buy based on reading someone's blog article; the last was based on understanding and ratiocination*.

Merkur 15C open comb

As a result, some days ago, I wrote of the banishment of my slant razor from my bathroom cabinet. I have never really needed the awesome capacity of the razor, and though it did provide a close shave, even on my best days the shave was a bit too close, often leaving weepers and some irritation in its wake.

Maggard MR3B: banished to the
closet shoe box.

My Maggard razor, the MR3B, with its standard Maggard razor head and appealing black-accented, heavy-weight handle, is reputed to have the same blade-bar gap as an Edwin Jagger design. In any case, I find its lack of consistent blade self centering (when using proper blade-insertion technique) to be an annoyance, which discourages me from using the razor. It also appears to have a slightly larger blade reveal and blade exposure than the Merkur 33C, which, by comparison makes it a bit larger capacity and potentially more harsh on my sensitive skin. (This has been born out by actually shaving.) These factors render it less than a first choice when compared to either of my Merkurs on essentially any day. So the Maggard is now banished to the closet shoe box as well.

[UPDATE: But I have retained the MR3B handle for use with the Merkurs according to my whim.]

That leaves only two in my regular rotation of daily-shaving razors, both Merkurs: the 33C Classic and the 15C open comb. For my daily shaves, either one is fine.

That's it: two razors [plus the MR3B handle] in the medicine cabinet. And, frankly, the 33C and the 15C are largely redundant; the 33C may shave just the slightest bit closer, but, of course, the open comb has the unlimited capacity for those unusual days when I have a multi-day beard. The rest of my menagerie will be stored, sold, or given away as appropriate.

Happy shaving!

*ratiocination (from wiktionary.org)

1. Reasoning, conscious deliberate inference; the activity or process of reasoning.
2. Thought or reasoning that is exact, valid and rational.
3. A proposition arrived at by such thought.