Uncle Fester Endorses Merkur OC

Uncle Fester was a big hit at Mall-o-ween. I bought one of those LED space lights in the form of a light bulb as a prop and hope to construct some fake dynamite for the real holiday. (Sparkler for a fuse?) The Futur clone gave me a pretty efficient shave with a Wilkinson Sword blade, much more efficient than the DE89 clone with a fresh Voskhod. I smartened up and turned the razor down to 1.5 for my head.

But that wasn't nearly as comfortable as yesterday's shave. I had hardly any sting under the Skin Bracer, and that's one of the most irritating I've got, with the menthol. The Merkur open comb took a bit more time, but was not exasperating, like with the Schmidt R10. I think the pitch bias is similar, but the gapless razor doesn't let anything flex out of the effective range. My Wilkinson Sword was still beaten dull by merely fine head hair. But, of all the razors I've tested, this time around, the Gillette Brownie clone displayed the least change in attitude when it came time to shave the beard. Loosening the blade was a more effective adjustment than the Futur clone's dial.

It was BBS top and bottom, though not very deep. The stubble was cut very square and comfortable, not at all annoying come bedtime. It raises my skepticism about the New Improvements Gillette came up with after the Old Type. Isn't it worth working a little harder, and shaving a little less close, if it means that not a single new hair root will be damaged? The skin surface, essentially untouched? The Futur clone may feel more like a straight razor to me, but that could just be because I don't shave very well with a straight razor. In its results, manner of use, and historical proximity, I think the the Merkur OC better deserves the comparison.

Which is not to say, open combs are aggressive. That still sounds ridiculous. But having found something that this razor shaves very efficiently, I can see how someone with weak, straight-protruding hair would say that.

I've often written of my paternal grandfather, may he rest in peace, because my earliest learning about shaving was from that side of my family, at around age 4 (when I was not a shaver myself, but a vocal critic of shaves). I'm feeling that connection to the past again, now that I'm bald, because I look a lot like Gramps. I'm more on top of the unruly eyebrows, etc., coming to this at an unnaturally early age, but this lesson seemed to come from the other side of the mirror, dimly lit with an LED lamp because we had a storm and lost power. Like a friendly spirit, come to visit... Happy Halloween!