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.

Shave of the day 30th April

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Pre-shave: Dr Bronner’s Magic Soap, orange
Lather: Mike’s Natural  Orange, Cedarwood & Black Pepper Soap (sample)
Brush: Omega Shaving Brush #10048 Boar Bristle
Razors: Merkur 39C slant and Parker 22, both loaded with a fresh “Racer Super Stainless” blade
Post-shave: Alum block and aloe vera

A orange kind of shave today – very refreshing start on the week. The blade is the first blade out from the sampler pack I got from BestShave.net, the Racer blade is made in Egypt. Not the smoothest of shaves, the Racer seem to perform better in my 22R than in my 39C – the rest of the week will tell me more about how this blade performs for me.

Shave of the day 27th April

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Pre-shave: Dr Bronner’s Magic Soap, peppermint
Lather: Mike’s Natural Pine & Cedarwood Soap (sample)
Brush: Omega Shaving Brush #10048 Boar Bristle
Razors: Merkur 985C with a Trent Platinum, and Feather Popular with a Feather Hi-Stainless
Post-shave: Alum block and aloe vera

My second shave with one of Mike’s soaps. Got a better lather this time – not that the last one was bad. The Feather Popular keeps amazing me, a very mild shave from a blade that is very aggressive in my other razors. A Good Shave™.

Blades

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Blades come in all forms and sizes… uhm, no. The beauty of traditional DE wetshaving is that blades do NOT differer in form or size – they are all the same as far as physical dimensions go. They are conceptually different from cartridge blades in that regard; while each different cartridge requires it’s own proprietary razor (with a couple of honourable exceptions), all DE blades fits in all DE razors.

That does not mean that all DE blades are created equal – far from it. The differences in the actual blade might be minute, but the difference in opinion can make you wonder if people are even talking about the same blade. And just to make life even more interesting a blade can behave radically different in tow different razors.

Some things almost everyone can agree upon: Feather blades are really, really sharp, carbon steel blades rust more easily, and mind your fingertips.

There is no such thing as “the best blade”, but there is such a thing as “the blade that works best for you in your razor”. After you have honed your technique somewhat  and can get a consistently good shave using a DE razor, you might/could/should get hold of a sampler pack or ten. Most online shaving suppliers offers them, either as a selection of popular blades or as a selection of blades from a given country, region or manufacturer. The basic idea is the same; try the various blades and see which one works best for you. It could be that the blade you used previously works best – it could be that you can never go back to that first blade again.

It’s all part of the journey of discovery. Who knows where you might end up?

Shave of the day 25th April

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Pre-shave: Dr Bronner’s Magic Soap, peppermint
Lather: Mike’s Natural Soaps Peppermint & Rosemary soap (sample)
Brush: Turkish No6 horse hair brush
Razors: Merkur 985C with a Trent Platinum, and Feather Popular with a Feather Hi-Stainless
Post-shave: Alum block and aloe vera

My first shave with one of Mike’s soaps – scent was strong without being overwhelming, and  while building lather was a bit trickier than the soaps I’ve used so far the result was more than decent. Pretty good shave too.

Shaving brushes

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Just like a good lather is alpha and omega for an enjoyable shave, a good brush is alpha and omega for building a good lather. Luckily good brushes are easy to come by, both cheap and less cheap. If you’re just starting out, a synthetic brush from Body Shop or a similar place is more than good enough. Modern synthetic is – apparently – a decent match for boar bristles, but with the added benefit of drying quickly. This also make them excellent brushes for travelling.

Choosing between boar and badger is a subject that is often discussed at great length in various online forums. Personally I have developed a liking for the third option; horse hair brushes. Not only are they cruelty free, being made from mane trimmings, but they also combines a solid backbone, springiness and the ability to hold plenty of water – all qualities that makes them excellent in my opinion when it comes to building a good lather. I also like my boar brush, especially when it comes to building lather from a soft cream, but I’ve yet to try a badger brush… good badger brushes are not cheap.

Much like finding the perfect blade, the perfect brush is a matter of personal preference. At the same time you don’t need to have to perfect brush to get a really good shave, so don’t worry too much about finding it right away.

Shave of the day 23rd April

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Pre-shave: Dr Bronner’s Magic Soap, lavender
Lather: Crabtree and Evelyn Sandalwood soap
Brush: Turkish No7 horse hair brush
Razors: Merkur 39C slant-bar and Parker 22R – both loaded with Personna Super Medical Prep blades
Post-shave: Alum block and Proraso Liquid Cream Aftershave

Last shave with these blades – starting to tug a bit in both razors. Nice blades though, definitely worth trying. The shave it self was a damn fine one, as pretty much every shave has been after I switched to DE razors.

Shave of the day 20th April

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Pre-shave: Dr Bronner’s Magic Soap, peppermint
Lather: Arko shaving stick
Brush: Turkish No6 horse hair brush
Razors: Merkur 39C slant-bar and Parker 22R – both loaded with Personna Super Medical Prep blades
Post-shave: Alum block and Proraso Liquid Cream Aftershave

Building lather on the face is a slightly different technique, but I’m getting there… had to be careful with my lower neck today; the ATG pass on Wednesday was indeed too ambitious – first time in months I’ve gotten shave bumps, which threatened to erupt into a bloody mess this morning. Still; no nicks!