Monthly Archives: May 2012

Review: Merkur 985CL

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The Merkur 985CL is a light weight travel razor that breaks down into four pieces: the top and bottom part of the head, the upper and lower handle. All the pieces fit together in a small leather pouch about 6cm square – or about 2 2/5th inches if you’re still using those.

The first thing I noticed about the 985CL – apart from the fact that it is an open comb razor – was the weight. The 985CL is made from aluminium, so it weights next to nothing in your hand. At first this was a little disconcerting – it was so light it was tempting to increase the pressure, and we all know that too much pressure leads to nicks, cuts and lacerations. The aluminium can also appear slightly slippery, but in reality it is no worse in that regard than a regular brass razor such as the Merkur 39C.
The 985CL is as mentioned an open comb razor, and as such is more aggressive than a bar razor. It is not an aggressive as a slant however, even when used with a wicked sharp blade like the Feather Hi Stainless. Some care must be taken with the grip on it, mostly due to the shortish handle and light weight. The balance of the 985CL is pretty good, since both the handle and the head is made from the same material.
In my experience the 985CL is a bit picky about what blades it likes; too sharp and the razor bites, too dull and it tugs badly. Best results for me so far have been with Wilkinson Swords and Lord Platinum blades, but I keep trying others.
Cleaning and maintaining the 985CL is easy as pie – it all comes apart. A bit of warm water and a toothbrush easily cleans all residue away, and if it gets really funky it should do well in the ultrasonic cleaner – however since it’s aluminium care must be taken when picking a detergent to go in with it.
There are two downsides to the 985CL, both relating to the way it breaks down and the travel pouch:

  • The upper part of the handle is meant to be stored in the hollow lower part. If care is not taken when putting them together, the two parts can accidentally screw themselves together. Getting them apart again can take some time…
  • There is no good way to store a spare blade or two in the pouch itself – they will end up mangled and bent. This means you’ll have to carry a pack of blades separably, which can cause a bit of trouble when you travel by air.

Overall I can recommend the Merkur 985CL if you need a lightweight razor for travelling and don’t mind paying a bit of attention while putting it away. Merkur also produces a similar model – the 933CL – with a closed comb, if that’s your preference.

Shave of the day 2nd May

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Pre-shave: Dr Bronner’s Magic Soap, Tea-tree (bar)
Lather: Col. Conk Bay Rum shaving soap
Brush: Turkish No7 horse hair brush
Razors: Merkur 39C slant and Parker 22, both with a “Racer Super Stainless” blade
Post-shave: Alum block and aloe vera

The second shave with the Egyptian Racer Super Stainless – they still seem to work better in my 22R than in my 39C. Quite a bit smoother than Mondays shave, but still not all the way up there. Overall happy with my shave, as always.

Review: Parker 22R

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I will admit to a slight bias in this review: the Parker 22R was my first DE razor, and my only razor for the first year. With that out of the way, here we go:



The Parker 22R is a Twist To Open (TTO) safety razor with a heavily machined grip. The razor is of mixed cast and machined construction, and is made of brass with a gun metal finish.
For some reason the various Parker razors seems to have gained a reputation online for poor quality control; to me this just don’t jive. Not only is my 22R still as tight and smooth in it’s operation as the day it was when I unpacked it, but it survived all the mistakes I did when I started shaving, a year in Africa and being disassembled for cleaning more than once. No low quality razors would survive that – especially not one with a TTO head.
The 22R is a lang handled razor, but not particular heavy. It is also a fairly aggressive razor, which will punish a newbie fairly fast if too much pressure is applied when shaving. While this can be a good thing – adapt or die from facial lacerations – it can also turn a newcomer away from the joy that traditional wetshaving can be.
As mentioned the 22R is aggressive. It can do well with a very sharp blade – I was exclusively using Feather Hi Stainless blades in it while I was in Africa – but a light touch is needed. It also shaves very well with a milder blade, and maintains a very good blade alignment with little effort – just drop the blade in any old how and close the doors.
The balance of the 22R is a little different than my other DE razors, a little lighter in the head, a little heavier in the handle. Makes it easier to maintain a very light pressure though, so I think it’s a good thing. It can also be a little fiddly to clean, something it has in common with other TTO razors, but a little bit of preventative maintenance and a little bit of common sense goes a long way to alleviate that.
Overall I will definitely recommend this razor – I found it a very good razor when I started wetshaving, and I feel it’ll be welcome in any experienced wetshavers rotation.