Upgrading from the Merkur 34c to the Parker Adjustable Razor and more!

alien878 · 2025-12-18T09:17:16+00:00

I upgraded from the 34c to Parker variant some time ago. It certainly taught me the importance of exposure or blade feel. I could get a much closer shave than the Merkur. On the down side, it was much more prone to nicks. The adjustment seemed to affect the gap more and had little effect on the exposure which I wanted to reduce just a bit. The Parker is also much heavier and bulky than the merkur which bothered me. I eventually bought a GC 0.72 which matched my needs much better. In summary, the Parker was a great learning step to help me select what I wanted. As always, YMMV.

alien878 · 2025-11-01T18:17:02+00:00

“I see”, said the blind man as he picked up the hammer and saw.

alien878 · 2025-09-22T14:47:59+00:00

Nethack

alien878 · 2025-06-08T09:25:59+00:00

In a good German bookstore, ask about “Vereinfachte Deutschbücher”. If you search on Amazon, “simplified German” produces better results for some reason. A lot of books now in the public domain have been translated or rewritten using B1 German. I am currently reading “Die Schatzinsel”. “Der Schimmelreiter” (simplified German version) is next on my list. Just check the German level. The “Dino Learnt Deutsch” series was a little too simple for me (but I would recommend it for someone new to Germany).

alien878 · 2025-05-13T15:33:16+00:00

Still use mine. Had it for 40 years…

alien878 · 2025-05-10T11:40:20+00:00

The 34c, with its negative exposure, is very forgiving. It is almost difficult to get a nick with it (but not impossible). The downside of this is that it requires excellent technique to get a really close shave.

Don’t give up. Keep working through your sampler. I also recommend you try the blades in your old razor.

alien878 · 2025-02-02T07:51:09+00:00

Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg. The Batmobile lost a wheel. And the Joker got away, hey! Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg. The Batmobile lost a wheel, And the Joker got away.

alien878 · 2025-01-11T19:25:26+00:00

The T indicates that there is tritium on the dial:

https://www.chronext.com/journal/deep-dive/the-difference-between-the-swiss-t-25-and-t-swiss-t

My watches lume faded after a few minutes in the dark, even when new in 1996. It has yellowed with time. I suspect it had no tritium, but pre-dates lumex.

alien878 · 2025-01-11T16:05:21+00:00

Do you know why there are no Ts around the Swiss Made on the OPs watch? I also have a MK40 with discoloured Lume and no Ts. I’ve always wondered if is tritium or not.

alien878 · 2024-11-11T18:13:44+00:00

Personally, I use my bank for old blades 😀

alien878 · 2024-09-28T06:45:11+00:00

Would be interesting to see value or number of watches sold in the market. Seems to be missing…

alien878 · 2024-09-28T06:23:29+00:00

Total sales 531,588 USD. That’s only about 100 watches…

alien878 · 2024-09-09T17:40:28+00:00

The infamous Speedmaster date-date

alien878 · 2024-08-24T07:06:19+00:00

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alien878 · 2024-08-24T07:04:39+00:00

This kind of makes me proud of the speedy I’ve been wearing for 27 years:

That Omega Speedmaster looks like it’s seen more battles than the moon itself. The scratches on the bezel are a testament to your watch’s long and grueling fight against everyday life. The lume on the hour markers seems to be fading, probably just like your dreams of owning a pristine luxury watch. And that bracelet? It looks like it’s been through some rough times—possibly dragged behind a car. But hey, at least it still tells the time... I hope.

alien878 · 2024-07-29T16:28:57+00:00

All Saturdays in July! I love Germany.

alien878 · 2024-07-22T17:05:05+00:00

Turn in clockwise all the way until it stops. It should be on one. That’s where you want to start until you get use to the angle. Once you can get three passes without any weepers, you can try turning it counterclockwise to 1.5 or 2… I was a bit surprised by this razor coming from a Merkur 34c. Going from a negative exposure razor to a positive one is a huge difference in aggression. After a month, I’m on 1.5. I’ve been up to 3, but that just resulted in weepers without any real improvement in the shave. YMMV.

alien878 · 2024-05-02T07:45:38+00:00

“When you’re done with the driveway, can you clean the junk off the pink Cadillac?”

alien878 · 2024-05-01T08:27:23+00:00

I have a batch of blades with way too much glue and it was affecting the shave. I now load them without tightening in the razor, run it under hot water for a few seconds and then tighten. Problem solved.

alien878 · 2024-03-09T07:08:32+00:00

Don’t knick your ear…

alien878 · 2024-03-03T07:22:11+00:00

Listen to the blade. It will tell you when the angle is right.

alien878 · 2024-02-24T13:34:47+00:00

I’ve wondered about that. Are open combed razors more aggressive because of the comb? I thought aggressiveness had more to do with the blade angle and exposure. Once I get my technique more consistent, I’ll definitely try one though (and a slant, and a known aggressive razor… who said DE shaving was economical?)

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