My New Kind of S.A.D. - Slant Acquisition Disorder

Let's talk about single and double edged razors and the blades that they use.
Post Reply
User avatar
Pauldog
Never Shave a Husky
Posts: 6313
Joined: Fri Jul 29, 2005 6:39 pm

My New Kind of S.A.D. - Slant Acquisition Disorder

Post by Pauldog »

I recently got one from Phoenix, and another one is on the way from them. I just ordered the Razorock "37 German" head, and I'm eyeing the Maggard slant head.

Does anyone know anything about this one - the GBS slant razor? I don't even know where it's made. It's pretty low risk at $15, but I hate spending even that little on something that's not worth it.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DDPP1MK/

About the only mention at Shavemyface of GBS is of the "other" GBS - George Bernard Shaw.
brothers
Posts: 21513
Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2008 7:18 am
Location: Oklahoma City USA

Re: My New Kind of S.A.D. - Slant Acquisition Disorder

Post by brothers »

Paul, there's something about this slant razor that makes me want to try it. Looks great, and the description (including money back guarantee) tells me this one has character.
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
User avatar
Pauldog
Never Shave a Husky
Posts: 6313
Joined: Fri Jul 29, 2005 6:39 pm

Re: My New Kind of S.A.D. - Slant Acquisition Disorder

Post by Pauldog »

The money-back guarantee is a big plus, and the price is right at only $15. But where is it made? How can they make a good razor that cheap? I couldn't find anything about it except for the one review on Amazon, which didn't give much detail.

And I just got my second bakelite Phoenix slant. (If you saw the backlog of razors and blades I have here to try out...)
User avatar
Pauldog
Never Shave a Husky
Posts: 6313
Joined: Fri Jul 29, 2005 6:39 pm

Re: My New Kind of S.A.D. - Slant Acquisition Disorder

Post by Pauldog »

brothers wrote: Sat Jul 07, 2018 5:12 pm Paul, there's something about this slant razor that makes me want to try it. Looks great, and the description (including money back guarantee) tells me this one has character.

I couldn't resist the $15 price, and I got it in the mail today. It comes with a leather (or fake leather) protective sheath that contains the entire razor. This is nice, but it has a chemical/industrial smell to it. As you can see from the photo, the base plate is massive, way too heavy for slant razors, which are supposed to work with low pressure.


Head - side view.jpg
Head - side view.jpg (31.92 KiB) Viewed 6998 times


The finish on the side of the head is actually smooth; what looks like pits and other flaws is all glare from the flash. If you look closely, though, there is a moderate sized flaw in the lower right corner.



Here is how the razor is represented elsewhere:


Image


Image



The handle is also massive, heavier than the Jagger Chatsworth's. The handle seems pretty well made, with smooth, uniform plating, though the threads are arousing a bit of suspicion that may make me get out a magnifying glass to take a close look. The head is somewhat crudely made (yes, it's made in China), and the pins are small enough to give you a lot of play in the blade, a lot more than with the Merkur slant. Enough play that if you simply plunk in the blade and tighten down the head without making any adjustments, you can easily end up with no blade exposure at one end and a vast amount of blade overhang at the other. When I saw that's what had happened to me, I loosened the head and moved the blade so that the edge was even with the cap.

Then I shaved with it, using a Personna hospital/med prep blade that had been used once before. The cheeks and neck were no problem, but it was very hard to use around my mouth, with too much weight to control around delicate areas. It goes beyond "heavy razor" into the "lightweight hammer" category.

Before shaving, I had switched to a lighter handle. I think I would have drawn even more blood near my mouth if I had used the handle it came with. I'm planning to try that handle with a head known for light blade exposure, such as the Razorock Mission or the Gillette Tech.
User avatar
Pauldog
Never Shave a Husky
Posts: 6313
Joined: Fri Jul 29, 2005 6:39 pm

Re: My New Kind of S.A.D. - Slant Acquisition Disorder

Post by Pauldog »

I just realized what it is that causes consternation about slant razors. It finally dawned on me that they are 4-dimensional objects, similar to what the artist Tony Robbin represents in his work:



Image





Or maybe they're from M.C. Escher's world:



Image





Or they're simply impossible:



Image


[By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27673736]
User avatar
Pauldog
Never Shave a Husky
Posts: 6313
Joined: Fri Jul 29, 2005 6:39 pm

Re: My New Kind of S.A.D. - Slant Acquisition Disorder

Post by Pauldog »

Tesseract.jpg
Tesseract.jpg (37.96 KiB) Viewed 7006 times
User avatar
Pauldog
Never Shave a Husky
Posts: 6313
Joined: Fri Jul 29, 2005 6:39 pm

Re: My New Kind of S.A.D. - Slant Acquisition Disorder

Post by Pauldog »

User avatar
Pauldog
Never Shave a Husky
Posts: 6313
Joined: Fri Jul 29, 2005 6:39 pm

Re: My New Kind of S.A.D. - Slant Acquisition Disorder

Post by Pauldog »

The handle on the GBS slant no longer holds my Razorock Mission head together, so it's back to the seller it goes. The thread pitch matches, but the diameter of the handle threads seems to be at the high end of a range, and the post on the head is at the low end. Since other handles work OK on that head, I'm going to ditch the slant.

And I don't recommend that anyone else try it, no matter how much you love slants. It will break your heart - and maybe your face. Get the Razorock "German 37" head or the Maggard slant head, or one of the Phoenix slants. Or a Merkur, if you don't have it yet.

If you need to bang in small nails, go to a hardware store and get a real hammer.
User avatar
Pauldog
Never Shave a Husky
Posts: 6313
Joined: Fri Jul 29, 2005 6:39 pm

Re: My New Kind of S.A.D. - Slant Acquisition Disorder

Post by Pauldog »

I just tried the Maggard slant head with a Feather blade, and it was smooooth... Pleasant surprise. I had tried it with a Derby blade, and that went well, too, so I feel safe trying that head with anything. I followed their instructions and aligned the blade edge with the top cap.

When you install a blade and look at the edge in the light, it looks like it's forming a slight spiral. It's my best entry point into the 4th dimension, I think.
Bill_K
Posts: 191
Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2018 12:40 pm
Location: Red Deer, Alberta, Canada

Re: My New Kind of S.A.D. - Slant Acquisition Disorder

Post by Bill_K »

Thanks for a really helpful review! I was tempted to get one as well until I read your comment about "a real hammer."
Bill
User avatar
Pauldog
Never Shave a Husky
Posts: 6313
Joined: Fri Jul 29, 2005 6:39 pm

Re: My New Kind of S.A.D. - Slant Acquisition Disorder

Post by Pauldog »

Forget the "hammer"; I'd recommend the Maggard slant head, even though its dark gray color doesn't match many handles. I'm using it with the dark red bakelite handle from my Alpha Ecliptic slant razor. For that matter, I like my Alpha, too, which is color coordinated red bakelite. (You can get an aluminum version, but that's $75 instead of $20.)
brothers
Posts: 21513
Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2008 7:18 am
Location: Oklahoma City USA

Re: My New Kind of S.A.D. - Slant Acquisition Disorder

Post by brothers »

Paul, I haven't used my Merkur Slant in a while, but I haven't forgotten the great shaves it provides. It's one of my all time favorite slant razors.
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
User avatar
Pauldog
Never Shave a Husky
Posts: 6313
Joined: Fri Jul 29, 2005 6:39 pm

Re: My New Kind of S.A.D. - Slant Acquisition Disorder

Post by Pauldog »

Gary, how many favorite slants do you have? [...he asked, as though he didn't have enough slant razors already... :) ]


(How many slants do I have now...? Phoenix Alpha Ecliptic and Open Comb, Razorock "German," Maggard, Merkur (both handles). Almost all of them were acquired since May. That's how S.A.D. works... *sigh* But I don't think the total cost was even $100.)
brothers
Posts: 21513
Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2008 7:18 am
Location: Oklahoma City USA

Re: My New Kind of S.A.D. - Slant Acquisition Disorder

Post by brothers »

Just one, and this is it!
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
User avatar
Pauldog
Never Shave a Husky
Posts: 6313
Joined: Fri Jul 29, 2005 6:39 pm

Re: My New Kind of S.A.D. - Slant Acquisition Disorder

Post by Pauldog »

I asked that wrong... How many slants have you tried?
brothers
Posts: 21513
Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2008 7:18 am
Location: Oklahoma City USA

Re: My New Kind of S.A.D. - Slant Acquisition Disorder

Post by brothers »

Here's my other favorite slant. It's long gone now. You can read about it here: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=49730&p=590846&hilit=slant#p590846

Here's a photo:
DSC07438.JPG
DSC07438.JPG (144.76 KiB) Viewed 6588 times
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
brothers
Posts: 21513
Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2008 7:18 am
Location: Oklahoma City USA

Re: My New Kind of S.A.D. - Slant Acquisition Disorder

Post by brothers »

I have another interesting Slant razor. It's one of the old Bakelite German razors from the past. My son gave me one of these before they all sold out. This is a great performing razor. How do you like the handle. It was made by the late Bob Smith, BRW- Bob's Razor Works.

SOTD 6-11-16.jpg
SOTD 6-11-16.jpg (143.93 KiB) Viewed 6584 times
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
User avatar
Pauldog
Never Shave a Husky
Posts: 6313
Joined: Fri Jul 29, 2005 6:39 pm

Re: My New Kind of S.A.D. - Slant Acquisition Disorder

Post by Pauldog »

I'm glad someone else is here to explore the 4-dimensional space carved out (created? delimited?) by slant razors. :) (See earlier posts in this thread...)

According to a review at The Sharpologist, the Maggard slant head design is based on a Mulcuto, so we're probably using very similar razors there.

I found the Bob's Razor Works website, but I suppose using the AOL email address mentioned there won't get you in touch with anyone making razors and handles any more, and that's sad. One link within the website I tried no longer worked.
User avatar
Pauldog
Never Shave a Husky
Posts: 6313
Joined: Fri Jul 29, 2005 6:39 pm

Re: My New Kind of S.A.D. - Slant Acquisition Disorder

Post by Pauldog »

My attempt to resist R.A.D. Is being tested by eBay listings for these razors.


Probak.jpg
Probak.jpg (38.71 KiB) Viewed 6542 times



Gillette Goodwill.jpg
Gillette Goodwill.jpg (14.68 KiB) Viewed 6542 times
Post Reply