Merkur....some interesting findings

Let's talk about single and double edged razors and the blades that they use.
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blackgrass
Mandolin Twanger (sans drool)
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Joined: Fri Jan 21, 2005 9:16 am

Merkur....some interesting findings

Post by blackgrass »

I have read on a couple of forums about there being an aggressive and non-aggressive side to the Merkur razors. I examined the one I have last night and sure enough you can see where one side of the razor blade is more exposed than the other side. I have read where guys will use either the aggressive side or non-aggressive side depending on what part of the face they are shaving and how aggressive a cut they wish to make.

This seems like it could really complicate things by trying to remember which side is which and also seems to defeat the purpose of having two blades to shave with as they are not the same setting from one side to the other. If you pay attention to this kind of thing then you will use one of one side of the blade more than the other effectively wearing out one side quicker. I can't really say I can tell a big difference in the shave but I really just noticed it last night. I compared the Merkur to a Gillette adjustable and the Gillette appears to have the same amount of blade exposed on each side. Have any of you noticed this with the Merkur and does it cause you to shave any differently?
JackieMartling

Post by JackieMartling »

I too have noticed this on my Edwin Jagger, which uses a Merkur classic fixed head. I had already heard about this, so I was looking for it. Sure enough, there is more blade exposed on one side than the other. I just started using it, so I will need more time to tell how the difference effects me. So far, though, I have been switching sides with each pass to keep the blade wear consistent, rather than using each side for a different purpose. This difference in sides has been mentioned in enough places to lead me to believe it is common to Merkur razors. My question is, is it intentional on the part of Merkur, or a design flaw? Are they really intending all of their razors, adjustable and fixed alike, to have a variability, i.e., an "aggressive" and "not-so-aggressive" side, for different uses? Or is this just an unintentional quirk? Personally, I think I would prefer it if the blade exposure was equal on both sides.
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