MerkurClassic Straight Safety Razor, MK-33C

I, like many other people, have recently switched over to a simpler method of shaving for mainly the economical reasons - cartridge razor refills are ridiculously priced (probably to help pay people like Clay Mathews to be in their commercials to try to sell you a Fusion). I have used my father's DE safety razor a few times growing up and well I never really thought it to be something special. I went online and realized I was doing it wrong and after getting my own razor and doing it the right way a few times now; I have to say, this is the best way to shave period.I never really had a lot of irritation and I don't have to shave very often. I am half Korean (my mother's oldest brother didn't grow facial hair until he was like 30) so I shave about once a week if not a tiny bit more frequently - I am half American after all.Sure it takes a little longer and if I had to shave everyday, it may get to be a hassle... But I am actually truly enjoying my shaves now. I take my time and go once with the grain, relather, once across the grain, relather, and finally against the grain. Finish off with a little aftershave and post shave balm and I now have the smoothest shaves of my life, and all with a single bladed razor (take that Fusion ProGlide - no one needs 5 blades scraping across their face...)In fact if you suffer from razor burn or irritation from shaving this may be the reason - along with the chemicals they put in aerosol shaving creams. Only the first blade that contacts the skin is making lubricated contact with the skin and is also scraping off the shaving cream that is supposed to be lubricating your skin for your shave leaving the other 2-4 blades to scrape against your dry unlubricated skin. Which can cause that nasty razor burn and other irritations.This is where the technique of wet shaving comes into play. You have a single blade and after each run over your face you reapply your shave cream/soap. Sure it takes longer. But to me it is worth it.If you are interested in getting into a healthier way to shave your face I suggest checking out Badger and Blade - it is an online forum dedicated to the art of wet shaving either with a double edged safety razor or a straight razor. I went with the safety razor because it seemed simpler than trying to maintain a straight razor to me, but before I read some of the articles on their site (along with their wiki) I was completely ignorant to how right my father had it with his simple single bladed razor and mug of William's. There is a lot of information on there to get you started.I got a little off topic there, but yes I highly recommend this razor. It isn't too aggressive for the novice shaver like myself. It seems built to last a lifetime in Germany. It is a 3 piece razor, meaning that you unscrew the handle from the top which is two pieces that come apart when you do so and you put the blade in between those two pieces and screw the handle back on and you are good to go. A lot of people seem to prefer Merkur's Heavy Duty version of this razor which is a heavier 2 piece version of this razor. I have no experience with that product so I will leave it at that.In summary, for the price of one pack of Gillette's five bladed monstrosity's refills, you can purchase a beautiful german made razor that will last a lifetime that you can pass on to your children if you so choose. What are you waiting for?

I have a very thick, dense beard that feels like shark skin or sand paper in a day after shaving. My wife teases me by saying I should get laser hair removal for my beard to thin out some of them, and no problem with this razor/blade.This is the first time I'm using a double edge razor and I was nervous with all sorts of warnings about nicks and cuts, but let me tell you, no problem what so ever, butter smooth shave.Before i bought this razor I did a good amount of reading on various models and as a teenager I have played around with couple of the "butterfly" top opening style models, but never shaved with them.Growing up I always heard folks praising the quality of cutlery made in Solingen, Germany, and this Merkur razor lives up to that fame.I think one of the reason why it's so good (and Germans might be onto something here) this is a screw type 3 piece design. It's not as convenient to load the blade as a butterfly top loading models, but I think the blade aligns more precisely on this model.When I was playing with couple of the top loading butterfly models, i've seen the flaps does not close uniformly, leaving one side of the blade more gap, or blade sticking out farther from the left or right, forming a slight wedge. This inconsistency of the closing mechanism on the butterfly top loading razors offsets their convenience when replacing the blades.As far as I know all Mercur brand razors are made in Solingen, Germany and all are three piece bottom loading designs where you have to remove the handle completely to replace the blade. As I said, this is less convenient but it loads the blade more consistently and aligns the blade more precisely which results in a better shave.Also, the knurled handle prevents slippage and feels comfortable in the hand. At first look, after using many Gillette (fusion and mach 3) products over many years the shorter handle on this razor looked a little strange, but it works great so no complaints about the handle.After using the razor for the first time I love it. I'm planning to update my review in a month or two and after that I will throw away 15-20 of brand new Gillette Fusion and Mach3 cartridges i still have laying around in the drawer or maybe give them to a nephew.Many people talk about saving money using these razors but aside from saving money, the multiple blade craziness has gone out of hand over the years. When it was switched from 2 to 3 blades (Mach 3) i started to question the benefits of the third blade, but the open back design of Mach 3 cartridge made it very easy to rinse, now I'm using 6 blades (5 in front +1 on the backside for fine touch ups) and the damn fusion still does not shave as good as this razor. I intend to replace the blade as frequent as my time permits (takes about 45 seconds) and it glides over my skin like butter.One final word: Don't cheap out and try to use the same blade too many times, specially in the beginning when you're still getting used to a real razor as opposed to the toy models (Gillette, etc)