Member
Got both these razors and have now shaved wth both as well.
To get one minor annoyance out of the way: I know the Merkur slants are really good, they belong to my favorites and I recommend them to anyone who wants to try a slant. Can't go wrong with them. But why make copies of a razor another razormaker still has in production? These are razors 3 and 4 that are slight mods of Merkur 37 or 39 that have come out recently, yet nobody brings back to life an Apollo.
Good. Back to the razors. As has been noted in posts earlier in this thread, there were some problems with the finishing with these razors. There's some obvious imperfections on the heads, and when turning the short handle in the light, the knurling on the grip suggests not being quite even. Now this was written quite prominently on the ordering page, and was also the reason the price was really low, so cannot be a point of criticism. Since razors are being sold at full price with worse finishing, I really applaud Stirling for their handling of what they felt was a inferior product.
The razors come in two variants: the short handle 37-clone and the long handle 39-clone. I think they're made of matted stainless steel, which actually makes these two very pretty razors. Dimensions of the LH are within half a millimeter of the 39c, the handle of the SH is about 7 mil longer and 1.5 mil smaller in diameter than the 37c. On both razors the assembly/disassembly work great, no alignment problems, nice branding on the topcap. Not sure how long that will hold, however I have a bakelite razor with branding in that spot that has survived since the thirties. The razors come in a plain cardboard box, with handwritten LHSH or SHSH on it. Despite the very low pricepoint, I got a large soapsample with mine as well.
Shaving properties I can be short: good. As I started out with: Merkur slants belong to my favourites, and these don't disappoint. When your lather is rather wet the head seems to cling to the skin a bit, that is about the only critcism I can think of. Cuts smoothly through the troublespots, no problems on the upperliparea, just a clean smooth shave, the way I like them. As such a true testament to their ancestors.
Some pics:
[Image: DSC05778.JPG]
[Image: DSC05782.JPG]
[Image: DSC05770.JPG]
[Image: DSC05786.JPG]
[Image: DSC05774.JPG]
[Image: DSC05775.JPG]
[Image: DSC05777.JPG]
[Image: DSC05788.JPG]
[Image: DSC05790_1.JPG]
[Image: DSC05791_1.JPG]
To get one minor annoyance out of the way: I know the Merkur slants are really good, they belong to my favorites and I recommend them to anyone who wants to try a slant. Can't go wrong with them. But why make copies of a razor another razormaker still has in production? These are razors 3 and 4 that are slight mods of Merkur 37 or 39 that have come out recently, yet nobody brings back to life an Apollo.
Good. Back to the razors. As has been noted in posts earlier in this thread, there were some problems with the finishing with these razors. There's some obvious imperfections on the heads, and when turning the short handle in the light, the knurling on the grip suggests not being quite even. Now this was written quite prominently on the ordering page, and was also the reason the price was really low, so cannot be a point of criticism. Since razors are being sold at full price with worse finishing, I really applaud Stirling for their handling of what they felt was a inferior product.
The razors come in two variants: the short handle 37-clone and the long handle 39-clone. I think they're made of matted stainless steel, which actually makes these two very pretty razors. Dimensions of the LH are within half a millimeter of the 39c, the handle of the SH is about 7 mil longer and 1.5 mil smaller in diameter than the 37c. On both razors the assembly/disassembly work great, no alignment problems, nice branding on the topcap. Not sure how long that will hold, however I have a bakelite razor with branding in that spot that has survived since the thirties. The razors come in a plain cardboard box, with handwritten LHSH or SHSH on it. Despite the very low pricepoint, I got a large soapsample with mine as well.
Shaving properties I can be short: good. As I started out with: Merkur slants belong to my favourites, and these don't disappoint. When your lather is rather wet the head seems to cling to the skin a bit, that is about the only critcism I can think of. Cuts smoothly through the troublespots, no problems on the upperliparea, just a clean smooth shave, the way I like them. As such a true testament to their ancestors.
Some pics:
[Image: DSC05778.JPG]
[Image: DSC05782.JPG]
[Image: DSC05770.JPG]
[Image: DSC05786.JPG]
[Image: DSC05774.JPG]
[Image: DSC05775.JPG]
[Image: DSC05777.JPG]
[Image: DSC05788.JPG]
[Image: DSC05790_1.JPG]
[Image: DSC05791_1.JPG]
Have a nice day!
Richard
Richard