A series of recent purchases have made a couple of comparison shaves inevitable and today was the first of them; the Merkur 37C versus the Razorock German 37. I loaded both razors with new Astra Superior Platinum blades and shaved the right half of my face with the Razorock and used the Merkur on the left.
This was also the first outing of my newest and instantly most favourite Simpson’s brush, the Milk Churn. The handle and loft are fantastic, and it paints like a dream.
This was a citrus shave, using Suezbana’s Lemon & Tea Tree cream. I managed to squeeze out a final few drops of Trumper’s Limes Aftershave. They have
STUPIDLY discontinued this, my favourite splash. The cologne is good but simply not as fresh.
If I may begin with the conclusion. There’s not a lot to differentiate the performance of these razors. That’s an expected result, given they have the same heritage, a previous iteration of the Merkur. Overall I would say that the Razorock is ever so slightly more aggressive and efficient but not by much. There was a smidgeon more blade feel on the first pass and it took off slightly more stubble.
On subsequent passes the Merkur caught up. It gave more audible feedback, perhaps due to having a hollow handle, compared to the solid handle on the Razorock. Towards the end of the second pass, I noticed that the Merkur glided more smoothly across my skin, possibly due to the flat portion of the head cap having a smaller area. Both coped well in the final pass ATG and around my mouth.
I instinctively used the Merkur for pick ups, it feels more nimble than the Razorock and is certainly lighter, weighing 78.1g, the Razorock on HD handle is 101.5g.
These are closely matched and both very good razors. They’re not too aggressive, yet can provide very close shaves. Given that the shaves are so close, the distinguishing factors come down to price, whether you prefer a lighter or heavier razor and if you like the ease of a two piece or the flexibility of a three piece. If you had to press me to chose, I would go for the Merkur because I’m more familiar with it, it’s lighter and I like the brand. Rationally however, the Razorock is exceptional value as you get a great head and a stainless steel handle for less money. You can’t really go wrong with either.
Stay safe and enjoy your shaves!
Razors: Razorock German 37 and Merkur 37C
Blade: Astra Superior Platinum (1)
Soap: Suezbana’s Lemon & Tea Tree cream
Brush: Simpson’s Milk Churn BB
Pre-shave: Proraso green
Post-shave: Trumper’s Limes Aftershave
Bowl: Captain’s Choice Copper
