After an extended delay, my wife and I finally got to have “Christmas” with my in-laws this past weekend. They know of my…”interest” in traditional shaving (ahem) so they enable one of my AD’s on occassion. I received this:
Its an Edwin Jagger razor and bears a resemblance to the EJ razor that’s been getting a lot of buzz on some of the shaving forums lately. Turns out my razor is a model “DE87” while the one with the buzz is model “DE89L.” But from what I’m told its the same razor head (newly manufactured) with a different handle. The head looks to me like a Merkur razor, but thinner. Its very well made with a nice “heft.”
I shaved with it this morning (using an “Israeli Personna”–AKA Crystal–blade, truefitt & Hill Luxury Shave Soap and A Crabtree & Evelyn brush). I thought the shave was just fair: it felt a bit top heavy and a little harsh & aggressive with the blade. But razor and blade matching can be a dark art so I know I need to try a few different blades in it before I pronounce my opinion.
Do you guys like this safety razor over say a Edwin Jagger with a Gillette Mach 3? I'm contemplating buying a higher priced razor and came across this blog.
I recently bought a DE87. For me it's a vast improvement over my Merkur Futur. The shave is far less aggressive and I now no longer have to live with some of the terrible design flaws that the Futur has.
It gets a thumbsup from me!
The head is from Muehle. All EJ razors I came across lately feature the new Muehle head. The "old" Merkur heads are no longer used. Got me the same razor a month ago and love it. I like the new head better than my Heavy Duty/34C from Merkur. And the handle is not slippery at all.
I have one of these DE87 razors and have found it superb whatever blade I've tried in it.
The handle is made from plastic and strangely the metal handled version, the DE89L, appears to be more or less the same weight.
If the handle isn't slippery, I think this is a very nice piece for your collection Mantic. Very delicate 🙂
Michael- "Faux Ivory" (obviously some kind of resin).
MadCat/Anon- Its a Mühle head.
HIT- Although I've only used it twice so far I haven't found the handle slippery at all.
dont you think that the handle may be slippery?
Hi Marc, the head is made by Merkur / Germany! They produce the razor heads for almost every european shaving-tool production company. I live in Germany and I know for sure (100%) that the head is made in Solingen.
Very classic razor, looks pretty cool. Have nice and soft shaves with it and keep going upload new videos.
Kind regards –
Christian
The heads of the EJ razors are from Mühle in germany. They are very similiar to the Merkur heads. AFAIK Mühle used Merkur heads for their razor until a year. That explains the similarity.
To compare the head to Mühle razor:
http://www.muehle-shaving.com/shop/classic/razors/3/safety_razor/77/8/R_106
Interesting looking razor, Mantic. I'm wondering what the handle is made of – plastic, metal, enamel?