Thread: rare slant adjustable $$$$

Any of you guys going to be bidding on this? Because if you are I will hold off. Just kidding, but on a serious note; this thing is pretty cool!


Merkur Adjustable Slant Diagonal 2 Piece Safety Razor Like Walbusch B5 | eBay

I've never used a slant, let alone a slant adjustable. Didn't even know they existed. I was reading an article about the Gillette toggle recently; where the author spoke about the inherent flaws of adjustable razors.

Is there any difference between both types of heads? I believe there is. Regular Fatboys and Slims, and because they vary the blade cutting angle as well as the gap as it is adjusted, tend to have a sweet spot were they offer good qualities; up or below that spot, the quality of the shave diminishes. Adjusting these razors towards the minimun provides a small gap paired with a small cutting angle. Both factors contribute to a mild shave. Conversely, adjusting it towards the maximum increases the gap as well as the cutting angle. Both factors contribute to a harsher shave. Theoretically it should be the opposite. To maintain smooth shave characteristics, as you increase the gap, the cutting angle should be proportionately decreased, and viceversa. There is no adjustable that is able to do this, in fact there is only one non-adjustable razor head I know of that behaves this way ... the slant. Take a carefull look at it and you will find that as gap increases the blade cutting angle decreases. This is one of the various reasons the slant can be so smooth.

Here is a link if you would like to read the rest of the article: Razor Archive | Gillette Toggle Adjustable


I wonder if this slant adjustable, along with the Walbusch B-5 that it appears to be a variant of overcome this limitation? I would think that it would. I also wonder why it was only ever distributed in Germany? Too expensive? Did not perform well? And I further wonder if Merkur had this razor in in their stable so to speak, why would they not create a modern version of it?

Have any of you owned or used one of these or the Walbusch B-5? If so what was your opinion? Do any of you know if there were/are any other slant adjustables?

I've got 2 Walbusch and I've passed on the Merkur variation in the past. They are 'slants' in the sense that, like the Mulcato 'slant', the head is tilted on the handle at an angle. They are not 'true' slants in that they have a 'twisted head.'

Years ago DE collectors referred to the Merkur 137C and similar razors as twisted head, which is IMHO, a more accurate representation of what they are. A razor like the one in this thread is just a standard head tilted on it's axis.

I don't know what the current market is, and that one is in fine condition, but I think the seller is shooting for the moon at that price point.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I've got 2 Walbusch and I've passed on the Merkur variation in the past. They are 'slants' in the sense that, like the Mulcato 'slant', the head is tilted on the handle at an angle.

How do you like them?

Originally Posted by tedh75

Any of you guys going to be bidding on this? Because if you are I will hold off. Just kidding, but on a serious note; this thing is pretty cool!


Merkur Adjustable Slant Diagonal 2 Piece Safety Razor Like Walbusch B5 | eBay

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999

Originally Posted by tedh75

How do you like them?

They are good shavers as shavers go. When I was hot and heavy collecting slant variants I picked them up. That is no longer the case, so I wouldn't bother with them now. They weren't that sought after then, and I didn't have to break the bank to get them. I would only expect a dedicated slant variant collector to want one as a representative piece. AFAIK the price they are going for last I looked was higher than someone would want to pay just for another shaver. YMMV.

It seems like anytime anything is less than common now, if someone can find NOS condition and throw it up on ebay, they'll just guess at silly prices.

Before ebay, that kind of stuff would've sold for $25 in an antique shop. It's good for the sellers that stuff brings more, but it sure doesn't leave much in antique shops!!

(and if any of these razors were that great as shavers, they would've sold like the gillette slims, fatboys and super speeds)

Well, looks like the original auction ended with no bids. You can ask any price you want but the market still tells you what it is worth to them.

Bob

Another guy has one up now for $600 or $900 BIN. Crazy !

Have you guys seen the toggle for $3000? No bites first time around. Relisted.