Trawling 'round various forums/threads it seems there's a general feeling, and consensus that Merkur blades offer a dog rough shave experience and (quite literally) add insult to injury, being a ppoor value for money.
Here in the UK, Merkur super platinums are presently the most expensive current production DE blade available for sale (circa £UK38/100) - and not by a small margin - Highly regarded Feathers are bargain basement by comparison.
Might it be because Merkurs are a German manufactured product and their retail price simply reflects high European production costs? Well no... I believe Wilkinson Sword blades are also manufactured in Germany and whilst they are not inexpensive, they're not Merkur money.
I've generally found that old adage rings true: you get what you pay for (and there's no such thing as a bargain). Merkurs are priced as a premium product and have to perform as such to justify their place in the DE blade market - have I missed something? Experience always buys quality regardless of price (and my age is perhaps revealed by my memory of an arrogant pitch by a corporate salesman... "no one ever got fired for buying IBM'' at the time Wang and Dictaphone offered arguably better products, er, I went for the blue badge). I digress... and so back to the Merkurs: accidentally locked and loaded one in my '11 R41 - every bit as painful and a wretched experience as the forums warned, so much so I made a mental note to toss them away lest I or some other poor sod hurt them self.
...But, the razor that provides me with the most satisfying and comfortable shave and the second least expensive I own, is the 39C. For me, it's got it all: innovation, pedigree and design longevity and currently unique in the market place, high quality (for a non-solid steel product) and it's an affordable package which simply out shaves every other razor I own regardless of cost.
The brilliance of the Merkur super platinum blade is realised when screwed down in a 39C - the synergy, smooth shave quality and extended blade life is utterly superb - they are simply and beautifully designed for each other, anything else is a compromise. And suddenly it all makes sense, Merkur are abiding to the Gillette business model, mark-down the razor and mark-up the blade... but the world's moved on hasn't it?
If you've made it to here, my apologies for the inane waffle, enjoy your shave, fw
Here in the UK, Merkur super platinums are presently the most expensive current production DE blade available for sale (circa £UK38/100) - and not by a small margin - Highly regarded Feathers are bargain basement by comparison.
Might it be because Merkurs are a German manufactured product and their retail price simply reflects high European production costs? Well no... I believe Wilkinson Sword blades are also manufactured in Germany and whilst they are not inexpensive, they're not Merkur money.
I've generally found that old adage rings true: you get what you pay for (and there's no such thing as a bargain). Merkurs are priced as a premium product and have to perform as such to justify their place in the DE blade market - have I missed something? Experience always buys quality regardless of price (and my age is perhaps revealed by my memory of an arrogant pitch by a corporate salesman... "no one ever got fired for buying IBM'' at the time Wang and Dictaphone offered arguably better products, er, I went for the blue badge). I digress... and so back to the Merkurs: accidentally locked and loaded one in my '11 R41 - every bit as painful and a wretched experience as the forums warned, so much so I made a mental note to toss them away lest I or some other poor sod hurt them self.
...But, the razor that provides me with the most satisfying and comfortable shave and the second least expensive I own, is the 39C. For me, it's got it all: innovation, pedigree and design longevity and currently unique in the market place, high quality (for a non-solid steel product) and it's an affordable package which simply out shaves every other razor I own regardless of cost.
The brilliance of the Merkur super platinum blade is realised when screwed down in a 39C - the synergy, smooth shave quality and extended blade life is utterly superb - they are simply and beautifully designed for each other, anything else is a compromise. And suddenly it all makes sense, Merkur are abiding to the Gillette business model, mark-down the razor and mark-up the blade... but the world's moved on hasn't it?
If you've made it to here, my apologies for the inane waffle, enjoy your shave, fw