iKon Slant razor

The iKon Slant razor ... unique in that it's the first stainless steel slant razor to be offered for sale.

I recently purchased one, and this is my preliminary review.

Packaging/presentation: The razor is shipped in a cardboard box, and is well-protected for this purpose. Nothing fancy here, but my bias has always been that functional packaging is sufficient if it keeps costs down.

Appearance/Design: The iKon Slant is a beautiful razor to look at and hold. Finishing is well done, with no rough edges or blemishes to speak of. The razor head has a nice, solid heft to it. The top cap is curved, in contrast to the flattened top cap of the Merkur Slants. The head is wide i.e. conceals blade ends when the blade is loaded. This allows for a clean and uncluttered look, however I have also noted that this feature makes it more difficult to fine tune or adjust the blade alignment using the ends, in contrast to the Merkur Slants. 3-piece design of this head/handle is a tremendous advantage for folks like me who like to use after-market handles such as UFO. Until now, options for a 3-piece slant were limited to vintage razors only.

Shaving Performance: The iKon Slant is efficient and smooth. The razor head allows for intuitive angle approach to the face. Blade exposure is by my estimation less than with the Merkur Slants, and this allows for a more forgiving experience. It seems less prone to causing nicks or cuts as a result. Despite the apparent shallow exposure, this razor is very efficient and performs as well as the Merkur Slants, perhaps a little better. For me, 2 passes (WTG and XTG) allowed for an easy DFS result. A 3rd pass (XTG/ATG) resulted in BBS. Skin irritation was negligable.
Blade used was Polsilver SI.

Verdict: The iKon Slant is a winner in my book. The solid stainless steel composition, 3-piece construction, and superb performance are the most notable strengths of this razor, and set it apart from other DE razors, slants in particular, as a result. The one area of potential difficulty with this razor is blade alignment/adjustment when loading, because of the wide cap. Value is a relative term, but for me this razor is $149 well spent, considering what it offers. Slant lovers will undoubtedly rejoice, as they have been waiting for this arrival for some time now. Slant wary folks should definitely give this razor consideration, as it is more forgiving and less potentially irritating compared to the Merkur Slants.