Pre-shave: Dr Bronners Magic Soap, Liquid Peppermint
Lather: RazoRock XXX
Brush: TSN 2012 LE badger-boar
Razors: Parker 22R with “Wilkinson Sword” and Merkur 25C with “Shark Super Chrome”
Post-shave: Cold water rinse, alum block and Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum
Another DFS – the TSN 2012 LE seems to be less of a lather hog with soft soaps than with hard ones… so plenty of lather so spare.
Pre-shave: Pure glycerine soap
Lather: Arko stick
Brush: Semogue TSN 2012 LE Brush 17/100 mixed badger/boar
Razors: Merkur 39C slant and Parker 22R, both with a “Wilkinson Sword” blade
Post-shave: Cold water rinse, alum block and Krampert’s Finest Experimental Menthol
A pretty good shave – WTG and XTG on my cheeks, 2 times WTG on my neck, since I gotten a couple of angry bumps.
Pre-shave: Dr Bronners Magic Soap, Liquid Lavendel
Lather: Mike’s Pine & Cedarwood Soap
Brush: Semogue TSN 2012 LE Brush 17/100 mixed badger/boar
Razors: Merkur 39C slant with a “Wilkinson Sword” blade, and Merkur 25C with a “Treet Platinum Super Stainless” blade
Post-shave: Cold water rinse, alum block and Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum
Another DFS – the TSN LE brush is breaking in nicely.
Pre-shave: Dr Bronners Magic Soap, Liquid Peppermint
Lather: Proraso Eucalyptus & Menthol Soap
Brush: Semogue TSN 2012 LE Brush 17/100 mixed badger/boar
Razors: Merkur 39C slant with a “Wilkinson Sword” blade, and Merkur 25C with a “Treet Platinum Super Stainless” blade
Post-shave: Cold water rinse, alum block and Krampert’s Finest Experimental Menthol
A bit of a mentholated kick to start the week, and also using the TSN LE brush on my face for the first time. It has gotten three test lathers so far; one with pure glycerine soap, one with Mike’s Unscented and one with Col Conks Bay Rum.
The TSN LE brush is… <drumroll> …very nice. A bit of a lather-hog, and needs more breaking in – but I can see it’ll blossom into a great brush after a few more shaves, as long as I load it heavily.
Pre-shave: Dr Bronners Magic Soap, Peppermint
Lather: Crabtree & Evelyn Sandalwood Soap
Brush: Turkish No7
Razors: Merkur 39C slant and Parker 22R, both with “Wilkinson Sword” blades
Post-shave: Cold water rinse, Alum block and Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum
A nice shave on a wet morning.
Pre-shave: Dr Bronners Magic Soap, Liquid Orange
Lather: Mike’s Orange, Cedarwood and Black Pepper Soap
Brush:Vie-Long mixed horse/badger #14033
Razors: Merkur 39C slant and Parker 22R, both with “Wilkinson Sword” blades
Post-shave: Cold water rinse, Alum block and Krampert’s Finest Experimental Menthol
Yet another DFS – most of the cartridge generation don’t know what they are missing out on.
Pre-shave: Pure glycerine soap
Lather: Mike’s Rose & Cedarwood soap
Brush: Turkish No6
Razors: Merkur 39C slant and Parker 22R, both with fresh “Wilkinson Sword” blades
Post-shave: Cold water rinse, Alum block and Proraso Liquid Cream Aftershave Balm
An all-round DFS – not much more to say, really.
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:
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.