Thread: Merkur's Bakelight Safety Razor

Ladies and gentlemen:

Have you seen Truefitt & Hill's latest offering of a double edge safety razor by Merkur made of Bakelight? I have only seen pictures. It looks to be the size of the Merkur 34C double edge, but made of Bakelight. I imagine it uses the same double edge blades, I don't know. Interesting.

Regards,
Obie

Obie, I have a few Bakelite DEs of the slant head variety made during the second world war or thereafter. Makers such as Fazan, among many others, used the Bakelite because of metal being reserved for armaments AFAIK. They work and if a person liked a super lightweight razor these would fill the bill.

I haven't seen it but find it strange. bakelitewas one of the first true plastics and is heavy, brittle has litle heat tolerance and is just old low tech stuff.

Gentlemen:

Thanks for your thoughts.

I had several smoking pipes with Bakelight stems, which I always found an attractive color. Using such a feather-light double edge razor, however, is another story. I would find the weight a major problem and that it would require improvising on technique by, I assume, adding a bit of pressure on the razor.

What I like about the Edwin Jagger "Chatsworth" barley, in addition to its overall quality of shave and of workmanship, is its hefty weight. It just floats on the skin. I'm not sure about this Bakelight number. Although, I might add, some shavers might prefer the light weight.

Regards,
Obie

If anyone would like to view it, here is the link on the Trufitt and Hill website: Murker Bakelight
It looks good and retro (I definitely like retro), but it ALMOST looks cheap. Something about a nice hefty razor really feels real to me when I use a DE. That being said, it's a fraction of the cost of most of the other DEs sold by Trufitt and Hill. Regardless, if I were in the market for a new DE, I would most likely go for the bakelight.

Leesrazors has the same razor for $11. cheaper then T&H although currently out of stock, for only $19 and as light as it is would be an ok travel razor plus at that price if it gets lost or stolen no big deal.

I have a Merkur 45 bakelite. It is very light, very well made and shaves exceptionally well. Neither too mild or too aggressive. A bit like a Feather portable only better. Well worth trying.

Fasan makes a fantastic vintage bakelite DE. I've also used a plastic Gillette which is similar. Great for travel.

Originally Posted by goodknightbri

Fasan makes a fantastic vintage bakelite DE. I've also used a plastic Gillette which is similar. Great for travel.

During WW2 there were quite a few bakelite razors because they had more urgent uses for metals. I have a Souplex, but it is not a good shave, unlike the Merkur.

If you are British and of a certain age you grew up with many bakelite products. From memory, it was brittle and easily broken. I think it degraded quite quickly as it aged. It was a cheap substitute for bottom of the range products. E.g. a cheap wireless (radio in today's language) would have a bakelite cabinet, the quality version would be made of wood and metal. Maybe bakelite was available in differing qualities.
I hope the new 'bakelite' is a better formula.