New Sheriff in Town and the Merkur Platinum Blade

What's in the Cabinet...

There's been a changing of the guard; there's a new sheriff in town. For over a year I've been proclaiming the Merkur Classic razor, the model 33C, as my favorite. Yet this week I've moved it to the shaving box in my closet: banished. It hasn't done anything wrong; it still gives a mild shave, very face friendly. Yet it doesn't shave as closely as my Lord L.6 razor head or my Rimei RM2003. So I traded its space in the cabinet and substituted the Gillette Slim Adjustable razor once again.

In my first shave of the week with the Slim, I started with a setting of five (out of nine). That was too aggressive for my skin and its topography, so by the third pass I had dialed back to three, which is about right for me. The Slim gave me the slightly-closer shave that I can't quite get with the Merkur unless I press a bit too much, thus making bad shaving habits. However, the shave was a bit harsh, leaving my skin slightly irritated -- not enough to show, but I could feel it.

So this morning using the same blade but in the Lord L.6 razor head with a heavy Maggard MR3B handle (yes, I pulled that back out of the closet as well), I got a shave with the same closeness, but with less irritation.

So the Lord L.6 is my new BFF, with the Rimei RM2003 and the Gillette Slim as in-bathroom-cabinet back up.

The Week's Shaves with the Merkur Platinum Blade

I found the Merkur Platinum blade to be as good as my Personna (lab blue and red label) or my Astra Superior Platinum. I got a week's worth of fine shaves, with no significant degradation of shave quality. (Do remember, however, that I'm obsessive about blade care. After each shave I remove the blade, and, with a square of TP, press dry both sides of the blade while it's sitting on a dry wash cloth -- no wiping, just a gentle press dry. I'm convinced that this reduces micro oxidation at the blade edge, contributing to better blade life. I also dry the razor with the same TP square to contribute to razor life as well.)

But would I buy the Merkur blades instead of just trying samples that came with my Merkur razors? No. The reason is that they are too expensive. I can get the same results with the above-mentioned competitor blades for less investment. I'm always the frugal shaver, an economic man.

Next week I'm back to the US-made Personna lab-blue blade from my regular stock.

Well, that's it for today. Happy shaving!