How sharp are Merkur DE platinum blades?
I started out just over a year ago with a shavette and Merkur blades. While I felt some tug, I attributed that to my underdeveloped technique. Later on, I switched to straight razors and used my shavette sporadically, with Feather, Astra and Derby blades. Each of those gave me great shaves and far less tug than any of my straights.
About a month ago, my father took me to a barber, who told us we have rock-hard Viking beards. This morning, I decided to give the Merkurs another go, alongside a straight. I was surprised to find they tug about as much! This led to a couple of questions:
- What are other people's experiences with Merkur blades? They appear to be the dullest blades I ever tried.
- What could explain the difference? I figured perhaps the Merkurs are not covered with teflon, which is reflected in the HHT. New Merkur blades grab a hair easily, whereas a hair just glides off a new Feather/Astra blade's edge.
- What hone could take my straights beyond this tuggish level? I have the Shapton 1/4/8/16K, but cannot afford a 30K. Rather, I am thinking the Shuobudani from JNS, but have no personal experience with it (nor am I knowledgeable on the Jnat subject).
Thank you in advance for your help!