If you've used a slant, what are your observations?

[Leisureguy]

The Iron Law of Shaving: Nothing in shaving works for everyone. It seems evident that's because we ourselves vary so much. ("The fault ... is not in our stars, but in ourselves.") Take razor blades, for example. Any given brand will work very well for some and very poorly for others. (That, of course, varies by razor as well as person: it's a three-element system—person, razor, blade—and if you change one (or more) of the elements, the system can go from working well to working poorly.)

That's well-known, and I even did some polls a few years back to verify that oddity. But here's another oddity: some men cannot detect any differences between different brands of blades, while to others the differences are obvious, so much so that a man may avoid a certain brand of blade and love another brand. (Naturally enough, each type (can detect, cannot detect) has to overcome incredulity to accept the other's experience as real and as valid as his own experience. Fortunately we have learned that the same holds for food: even a perfectly delicious food like fried liver will be found distasteful by some—inexplicable, but true.

Slants are like that: some men notice a big improvement when they find a slant that works for them. (Naturally enough, a given razor will not work for everyone: see opening statement. I have infact encountered some slants I just couldn't use, while my best slants are at least the equal of any conventional razor I have.)

As an example of a slant working for someone, I just got this email from Eddie of Australia:

Today I finally received my slant X3 head from iKon Razors!

What is my first impression you ask? WOW, WOW WOW!!! Why didn't I try a slant razor years ago!!??? I used a new Polisilver Super Iridium blade with a short Weber handle which I had lying around and it cut so very comfortably and so smooth!! I'm very happy with my purchase and I'd be recommending it to my close friend who also shaves with a standard DE!

I want to thank you for your recommendations as I have been very happy with your opinion and advice!

I've been DE shaving now for at least 8 years (thanks to you) and this was my very first slant experience! No nicks, no cuts, just a great shave!! That says a lot because my skin is very sensitive and I had no problems at all shaving with it and no razor burn or anything!!!

I used light to no pressure and it came very naturally to me! I guess shaving with a DE all this years has helped master technique?! You're right, the slant “slices” the hairs away and I could hear the slicing.

I shouldn't have listened to those nay-sayers “Don't use a DE because it's too harsh for sensitive skin”!

It shaved as smooth as butter!!​

(It's worth noting that Eddie has 8 years experience as a DE shaver, and thus knows about light pressure. When using a slant, the key three requirements are: a) Use very light pressure—lighter than that; b) try 3-4 brands of blade—the brand best in your conventional razor may not work in a slant, and a brand that doesn't work in your regular razor may be terrific in a slant; and c) Experiment judiciously to find the optimal shaving angle—some slants just won't shave if the angle's off.)

But, just as with brands of blades, some experience no difference between shaving with a slant and shaving with a conventional razor.

Okay: we have now arrived at The Point. (Only) if you have tried a slant razor—and followed the three injunctions above (light pressure, blade sampler, explore angle)—did you find the slant better than a conventional razor? worse than a conventional razor? or were you unable to tell any difference?

In other words, I want to hear from men who have given a slant a fair trial. Seems fair.

Obviously comments are welcome, but I think it will work best if each describes his own experience (which he well knows), while keeping in mind that men vary a lot, and what works for one may not work for another, and vice versa.

 

[riverrun]

I assume that by 'slant' you mean a razor with a twisted blade and not a razor with a slanted head.
My first experience with one of those razors was the Merkur 37C and I was underwhelmed. I couldn't see what the hype was all about. Different, but not better than other razors. Later on I was able to try a vintage bakelite ↪Trumpf slant. It has much more twist in the blade and it just worked. One of the best razors I have used. I don't think it was the fact that it was a slant that worked for me. I have had equally great results with 'conventional' razors. The Trumpf worked for me, the Merkur didn't. Some razors just click, some don't. As always, it's what works for you...
Razors with a slanted head (like the ↪Neo Gam) are a different story and quite wonderful in their own right.

P.S. Welcome to TSR.

 

[Drew71]

Had a merkur 37c and although it was a fine razor I found I got consistently better results with my humble 34c. Really gave it every chance to wow me but it never did. Tried with different blade combinations but still just didn't do it for me I'm afraid. Sold on. Bought a progress instead.

 

[Blademonkey]

It is my personal opinion that slant razor I have is more efficient than a simalar DE. I use an ATT R2 which gives me fantastic shaves but when I use my ATT S2 (slant) I find I still get a fantastic shave but the razor is more efficient when doing it, so less clean up passes on my neck. They are both great razors but the slant just has the edge over the other ATT. The blade gap on the R2 is .58mm and the blade gap on the S2 is .61mm so there is not much in it but when you compaire the blade gap on my ATT H2 which is .91mm, now when I use that that blows everything else I've got out of the water, (DEs) boy, that is one close shave! Everything I have just said is just my opinion you may find things differently. happy shaving.

 

[Leisureguy]

Ah, good point No, I mean a slanted blade, whether twisted or not. (So others know: there are several slants that avoid twisting the blade, which simplifies the design and perhaps the manufacturing as well. Examples are the Eros slant, the iKon Shavecraft 102, and the Walbusch B5, an adjustable slant (blade gap only, not degree of slant—looks a lot like a slanted Progress).

My best slants are (for me) the iKon 102 (blade slanted but not twisted) and the iKon X3 (blade both slanted and twisted).

I see no reason to exclude non-twisted slants since they shave just as well as twisted slants (at least for me).

 

[PickledNorthern]

I have shaved with the following slants:

ATT S2
RazoRock Stealth
Ikon B1
37C
Shavecraft 102
Maggard

The only one of these I cared for was the S2, which was a phenominal razor, but also probably the least "slanted" out of all that I tried. The 102 was "okay", but hard on my lower neck, which is kind of my litmus test for all razors.

I have never found a slant that did anything for my that my other razors didn't in terms of closeness, and the S2 was the only one I ever used that was truly comfortable.

I have definitely given them a fair shot, and have just come to the conclusion that slant razors are just not for me.


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[Leisureguy]

Just as an example of YMMV, the S2 was so harsh for me I couldn't use it (but I do know others who like it).

Your troubles with the 102 are another example: for me the 102 (and the X3) are the top of the slants, though the S1 is also good; the Merkur family then follows, and not bad at all. And for me all of those are better than my conventional razors for ease of cutting, lack of problems, and frequency of BBS results.

 

[Johnus]

Because of the angle, I wasn't able to figure out what side of the razor was meant to shave what side of the face[emoji15].


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[Steve Bowles]

I started shaving 50 years ago with Gillette DEs and SEs, then BIC disposables in the late 60s, and then carts in the 70s. I then completely stopped shaving until I rediscovered wet shaving and DEs last year. I went through the Muhle R89, R41, Merkur 38c, and Progress before trying the 39c. It was instantly my favourite razor and remains so. Nothing has ever given me the shave of the slant, but I must say it seems to be limited to the 39c because I didn't care for the ATT S1 at all.

 

[Leisureguy]

The S1 works well for me, but the difference between it and the R1 is not so great as with other slants. (The S2 did not work at all.) While I like the 37C, I dislike the 39C even though it has the same head; the difference is that very heavy handle with the deep spiral engraving seems to want to twist in my hand, and I find a slant does not require much weight to be effective (thus the plastic slants: vintage Merkur white bakelite slant, vintage Eros slant, modern Fine Superlite slant.

I fine the heads of THB's SR-71 slant and RazoRock's German 37 slant are modeled on the 37C/39C head (as is evident from the name of the second one, a three-piece razor whose head is sold separately for US$12).

 

[moodymick]

Had a merkur 37c and although it was a fine razor I found I got consistently better results with my humble 34c. Really gave it every chance to wow me but it never did. Tried with different blade combinations but still just didn't do it for me I'm afraid. Sold on. Bought a progress instead.

Same here. I thought that the 37c was just a novelty version of the 34c - shave-wise. If I remember rightly, Dan aka @Uncle Bertie had a fine collection of the German Bakelites which I believe are a slightly different beast.

 

[JohnnyO]

The Ikon head on bulldog handle doesn't work that well, or comfortably for me and seems very angle sensitive. Hoffritz & Merkur are more effective than conventional DEs for me.

JohnnyO. o/

 

[Hourwerk]

I tried the iKon X3 slant & I got inconsistent results which were inferior to my ATT R1 & iKon 101. That's just me though. Could there not be an element of marketing here, to sell us more razors?

 

[Missoni]

...I used a 39c exclusively for about 18 months. I found it one of the easiest razors to use as it shaved thru a wide range of angles; that it performed better with sharper blades; that it was heavy on blades, I would change blades every 2 shaves. Now I use it occassionally mainly because I prefer a smaller more manouverable razor.

 

[PickledNorthern]

...I used a 39c exclusively for about 18 months. I found it one of the easiest razors to use as it shaved thru a wide range of angles; that it performed better with sharper blades; that it was heavy on blades, I would change blades every 2 shaves. Now I use it occassionally mainly because I prefer a smaller more manouverable razor.

That's an awesome example of YMMV. Tons of people love that razor, and I thought it was one of the orneriest razors I had ever tried. I even made two runs at it. I had one early on in my experimenting with DE's, and traded it off. Later, thinking maybe I had given up on it too soon, I traded for another one. Nope. Still one of the meanest razors I ever had.


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[Leisureguy]

@JohnnyO - When you refer to the iKon slant, do you mean the stainless head that was available plain or with a DLC coating and now with the B1 coating? or the iKon X3 (aluminum)? or the iKon 102 (also aluminum)?

@Hourwerk - I think anyone who makes anything will pay attention to marketing issues (I once did product marketing), and that can include trivia ("Exciting new colors!") as well as substantial improvements that improve the quality of the product and the customer experience. Indeed, the desire to make a product more appealing, more useful, more likely to be purchased and recommended drives a lot (most?) innovation. But as I tried to emphasize in my original post, many (including me) find that a slant that works well for them does indeed offer a noticeable improvement over even very good regular razors. I quoted one shaver who had 8 years experience with regular razors. However, as I also emphasized, nothing in shaving works for everyone, and if something doesn't work for you it's often difficult to believe reports from those for whom it does work. I still see remarks from men for whom a particular brand of blade did not work strongly recommending that others not even try that brand, and suggesting that it be removed from the sampler pack and discarded. (The "bad" brand varies from person to person.) They are unable to believe that something that doesn't work for them could possibly work for anyone else. Most, however, recognize the rule of YMMV in shaving (and in much else—comedy, for example: a comic who's hilarious for one may fall flat for another).

@Missoni - Yeah, the 39C didn't work for me either—because of the handle, not the head: the 37C works fine. Right now there are several razors using that head design, and the RazoRock German 37 uses the head in a three-piece design and sells the head separately so that you can provide a handle that you like.

@PickledNorthern - I also didn't like the 39C, but there are other slants and, just as with regular razors, some work for me and others don't. I wouldn't give up on slants because a particular model didn't work for me, any more than I would give up on DE shaving because a particular DE razor didn't work for me.