Merkur 45 Bakelite DE

Just received my Merkur 45 in the mail today and immediately took it for my normal 4 pass spin around the block. I did not bother using one of the tuck of Merkur blades that came with it, heard too many bad things about them to even bother trying one. Instead I slipped in a brand new GSB blade and lathered up with Palmolive shave soap, I'd grated into a dish, using an Omega boar brush. It seemed a fitting combination of inexpensive shave products.

Got a very smooth, comfortable and close feeling shave from those 4 passes. That left me quite surprised. It shaved far above what I would have expected from such a DE. Easily as good as what my Merkur 37C slant can deliver and that is very good. The final shoe that has to drop will be how long the shave lasts. Smooth, comfortable and close feeling do not necessarily add up to a long lasting shave in my experience so I am prepared to be disappointed on that count.

Finished the shave off with my turn up alum deodorant and 3 rubbed down applications of Aqua Velva Ice Blue, I really like to get a cooling effect. A fitting end to an inexpensive shave. All in all a howling good result as I have spent very much more on shaving gear and not really gotten a huge difference in the end result. YMMV of course.

Got it from

https://www.fendrihan.ca/products/me...azor-with-case

That is about $18.75 in US dollars.

Bob

Bob, is this considered a vintage razor, since it is bakelite?

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Originally Posted by Hirlau

Bob, is this considered a vintage razor, since it is bakelite?

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No, this is a current production model as far as I know. I believe it is a very good bakelite copy of a respected vintage one. Being too cheap to fork out the coin for what they want for a vintage one, I thought this might satisfy my curiosity.

Bob

Thanks for the review Bob, if it was a slant I'd get one. :) I have quite a few bakelite slants from the war years I guess. They are also decent, but so light in weight I have to really focus on what I'm doing. Good shaves though.

I have shaved with Merkur blades in the past, and found them to be decent. Not on a level with Feather or Gillette 7 O'Clock yellow, but as good, or maybe a bit better than a Derby was say 8 years ago. I haven't shaved with the Merkur, or the Derby in that long, but they were not terrible by any stretch of the imagination.

Nice looking razor at a fair price. Always liked the look of bakelite

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Thanks for the review Bob, if it was a slant I'd get one. :) I have quite a few bakelite slants from the war years I guess. They are also decent, but so light in weight I have to really focus on what I'm doing. Good shaves though.

I have shaved with Merkur blades in the past, and found them to be decent. Not on a level with Feather or Gillette 7 O'Clock yellow, but as good, or maybe a bit better than a Derby was say 8 years ago. I haven't shaved with the Merkur, or the Derby in that long, but they were not terrible by any stretch of the imagination.

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You know I like slants and OCs too so if this shave lasts long enough I think I would rate it right up the with the Merkur 37C slant or my Wolfman OC as far as end result goes. That would be a surprise for me as I generally don't get longevity out of a conventional SB DE design aside from a Gillette Fat Boy set @ 9.

I do know what you mean by being so light that you have to watch your technique a bit. For a light weight travel razor that likely nobody would want to pinch it might be good. Even if it went missing you aren't out much.

Bob

For me the verdict is in on shave longevity. The shaves last as long as I can get with far more expensive DEs and just as smooth. Yea, it did survive a drop into the sink too for me.

What you get is a DE that will shave right up there with the best of them for 1/10th the cost. What you don't get is an impeccable handcrafted chunk of metal and the pride of ownership that goes with that. Where the rubber meets the road, where it counts the shave, it is no slouch.

Bob

I'm glad you,ve had good results. It looks like it would be very light, especially compared to my Merkur 38C.

Thanks for the post. I'm considering picking up the PAA Bakelite just so I can try one.

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Originally Posted by Firefighter2

I'm glad you,ve had good results. It looks like it would be very light, especially compared to my Merkur 38C.

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Yes, light like a feather by comparison. Still needs no pressure on the blade though.

Bob

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Originally Posted by MajesticShaver

Thanks for the post. I'm considering picking up the PAA Bakelite just so I can try one.

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Haven't used the PAA Bakelite slant but I have used the Fine Superlite plastic slant with very good results. The Merkur 45 Bakelite has a standard DE solid safety bar head design. From what I have read the PAA Bakelite slant is a good copy of the vintage Fasan slant and is supposed to shave just as well as the vintage Fasan. Sounds interesting.

Bob

wow! didn't know current manufacturers used bakelite anymore!!! nice!