[Updated October, 2019] There are lots of articles about the “best” double edge razors (even on Sharpologist). But what is the most popular double edge razor, by sales, in today’s market? There are more choices than ever, from small artisans to bigger, multi-national businesses. I decided to do some research.
Methodology
For the purpose of this article I researched the major wet shaving retailers in the North America and the U.K., since that’s where most Sharpologist readers reside. While not including all world-wide sales may skew my results somewhat I am reasonably confident that I have the bulk of the most interested demographics. The data was collected during between mid-August and mid-September, 2019.
I have not included “house brands” or artisan-made razors for this article. Don’t get me wrong, there are a number of excellent, popular razors from smaller sources, but I’m looking from the wider perspective of over-all sales across the wet shaving niche’. I hope to do a follow-up article with popular house brands and artisan-made razors in the future.
Relative Popularity
I can’t get exact numbers of units sold. It’s just unrealistic to expect vendors to share that information (I asked a couple vendors I’ve had long relationships with about it, just for the heck of it, and got turned down flat so I didn’t even bother asking the others.
What I could do is get an idea of relative sales volume. In fact, many of the shaving vendor’s razor lists can be sorted by “popularity” or “Best Sellers.” Most of the ones that did not have the list feature did share a relative ranking with me.
So I gathered the popular models from these sources and looked for commonalities and general positions on their list to come up with a “top ten.”
The Amazon Factor
There is no doubt established wet shaving businesses like West Coast Shaving, Maggard Razors, Italian Barber, and Connaught Shaving, etc. sell a lot of razors. More mainstream grooming businesses like Grooming Lounge sell their fair share, too. But Amazon–in all its versions around the world–is a retail juggernaut that just cannot be ignored.
In the grand scheme of things, no double edge razor makes the top 20 of their “Best Sellers in Men’s Shaving Razors & Blades” list (US list for example; each Amazon country storefront has their own list. Some Amazon storefronts do have a separate “safety razor” list: here is Amazon US’s list). But based on those lists and reports I can get as an Amazon Associate I can make some additional sales estimates to help validate Amazon’s influence.
It all boils down to this: vendor X’s top-selling razor may have sold 100 units of Razor A, while Vendor Z’s top selling razor may have sold 1000 units of Razor B. I have to consider a range of possibilities to determine the “top.”
So What Is The Most Popular Double Edge Razor?
(Specifications below are approximate. Amazon links listed for convenience: Amazon links are affiliate but unaffiliated links for most of these products can be found with a simple search engine query.)
Remember, I’m listing my estimate of the most popular double edge razors, by sales volume, not necessarily the “best” razors on the market. Since it’s not possible for me to obtain a definitive answer I am going to list what I believe are the top ten based on the methodology I described earlier.
I plan to do a more thorough review of each of these razors. I’ll update this article with review links as they’re completed!
10. Viking’s Blade Chieftain
The inclusion of the Viking’s Blade Chieftain on this list is an example of Amazon’s influence. Although it is otherwise available only at Viking’s website and a few small outlets, Amazon sells a ton of these things. The sheer number of reviews (4000+) is an indicator of the volume (along with it’s position on Amazon’s popular razor list).
- Handle length: 3.75″
- Weight: 2.6 oz
- Head style: Twist-to-open (TTO) with safety bar
- Shave: middle-of-the-road
9. Weishi
Weishi makes an appearance on many vendor lists and though model numbers may vary slightly they all seem to use the same twist-to-open head. The basic design has been around a long time (and Weishi may be the original equipment manufacturer–OEM–for other brands). It’s low price and generally mild shave characteristics have made it attractive to the traditional wet shaving beginner for years.
- Handle length: 3.5″
- Weight: 2 oz
- Head style: TTO with safety bar
- Shave: generally considered at the mild end of the middle-of-the-road range.
8. Parker 96R
The Parker 96R razor features a black resin-coated handle with a knurling that some find works particularly well for a sure grip with wet hands.
- Handle Length: 4″
- Weight: 3 oz
- Head style: TTO with safety bar
- Shave: more toward the aggressive end of middle-of-the-road
Check out my review of the Parker 96R here.
7. Parker 99R
The Parker 99R is called a “super heavyweight” due to the simple fact that it weighs 4 ounces.
- Handle Length: 3.8″
- Weight: 4 oz.
- Head style: TTO with safety bar
- Shave: more toward the aggressive end of middle-of-the-road
6. Feather AS-D2
Easily the most expensive razor on this list, the Feather AS-D2 razor is considered one of the first “premium” razors in what is now an increasingly crowded market sub-niche. A surprise find for me–I didn’t think it would be popular enough to be included in this list. It features stainless steel materials. It is regarded as a very mild razor but one that pairs exceptionally well with the high performance Feather double edge razor blade.
- Handle Length: 3.5″
- Weight: 3.25 oz
- Head style: three piece with safety bar
- Shave: generally considered quite mild.
5. Merkur Futur
The Merkur Futur adjustable razor is available in several finishes, including matte chrome, polished chrome, and gold tone. As someone who likes adjustable razors in general I am always surprised at the Futur’s popularity: the smooth finish can make it difficult to hold and the adjustment range is not as wide as many other adjustable razors. But I admit it “looks cool” and I imagine that can be a major influence on purchasers.
- Handle Length: 4″
- Weight: 3.8 oz
- Head style: two piece adjustable with safety bar
- Shave: adjustable
4. Merkur 39C
Another surprise for me, the Merkur 39C “slant bar” razor is the “big brother” to the Merkur 37C razor. The Merkur 39C has a longer, heavier, more heavily textured handle but the same head as the 37C. I always assumed the 37C would be more popular.
- Handle Length: 4″
- Weight: 4 oz
- Head style: two piece with safety bar, “slant” style
- Shave: somewhat aggressive.
3. Merkur 23C
The Merkur 23C (sometimes referred to the the model 180) is a frequent selection of “newbies” because of its relatively low cost, long handle, and generally middle-of-the-road shave characteristics.
- Handle Length: 4″ (though smaller in diameter compared to many other razor handles)
- Weight: 1.7 oz
- Head style: safety bar
- Shave: middle-of-the-road
2. Edwin Jagger DE89
I found Edwin Jagger’s DE89 series of razors listed a number of different ways at the sources I looked at. There are so many handle variations–22 at last count!–that they tended to “dilute” some of the results I looked at until I took the handle variations into account (by the way, the most popular handle variants appear to be the “knurled” and “lined” versions). All variations share the same head design.
- Handle Length: about 3.5″ but varies slightly depending on version.
- Weight: around 2 oz but varies slightly depending on version
- Head style: three piece with safety bar
- Shave: mild side of middle-of-the-road.
1. Merkur 34C
Appearing on the most lists–and usually at or near the top–the Merkur 34C (also known as the “HD,” “Heavy Duty,” or “Heavy Classic”) is practically a legend in the old school wet shaving community. There may be “better” razors now, but not too long ago (early 2000’s) it was pretty much “the only game in town” for someone looking for a new, well-built, double edge razor (for the record the current design has been around since at least the mid 1960’s and previous designs go back further). And according to my research it is still very popular.
- Handle Length: 3″
- Weight: 2.8 oz
- Head style: two piece with safety bar
- Shave: middle-of-the-road
Conclusion
There are so many really good double edge safety razors on the market now that it is amazing for me to remember a time when the choices were much more limited. But my research has shown me the established products are still very much in demand. If I had to make an educated guess I would say that the Merkur 34C still “rules the roost” as the most popular widely available double edge razor, at least in terms of sales volume.
I am not surprised that Merkur holds most of the top five. They have been around a long time with a stellar reputation. So there is lots of information on the internet about them if some “newbie” was looking into getting into shaving with DE razors. Coupled with the fact that they are at a good price point not too expensive but not too cheap.
I am also not surprised to see less expensive brands and models make the top ten for those who are interested in “maybe” giving this shaving method a whirl but not investing a lot if they decide it is not for them or lose interest.
Additionally Amazon is probably going to be the first “go to place” for most novices to find and research razors.
I have a Feather ASD-2 a well made quality made razor but deadly with its Feather blades. I bought a Rockwell S6 and i must say I have never looked back at all as its an outstanding razor performance wise and with feather blades ( even though i use Astra’s ) The whole package is unbeatable for what you ever need i recon. Its weighty but you don’t notice it on the shave. All Rockwell can do is evolve this product further if possible and release some optional fancy artisan type handles & a stainless polished version.
I have two of the razors on the list: the Edwin Jagger DE89 and the Feather AS-D2. Both are fine razors worth their very different price points. The EJ has a deserved reputation for breaking easily due to the material involved. Just be careful not to drop it. Luckily, it’s cheap enough that it’s relatively painless to pick up another one. The Feather is definitely a mild shaver, so I don’t use it when I have more than a few days of stubble. Finished super well. So mild that even paired with a Feather blade it’s nearly impossible to cut yourself.
Good article on the mainstream razors. I’m looking forward to the one on artisan razors.