Shaving 101

Parker double-edge razors are one of the newer brands on the wet shaving market today.  The razors are manufactured in India and have developed a following of loyal customers, particularly due to their attractively styled models and lower retail price point than the German-made Merkur razors.  Parker offers a good variety of razors with chrome and black handles and has recently started to advertise new models with horn handles similar to those offered by luxury brands Trumpers and Edwin Jagger.

The 91R model razor that I had the opportunity to test was unfortunately the most marginally acceptable razor in the batch of razors that I had to choose from.  Some of the Parker razors I looked at had terrible brassing spots on the sides of the cutting heads, and others had the heads completely mounted crooked on the handle. 

Unfortunately, the razor itself is not weighted with any kind of natural balance at all.  The steel handle makes up all the heft of the razor while the cutting head material is very light, much more so than a Merkur razor.  When a blade is installed in the razor, the safety bar provided an easily noticeable uneven gap between the blade and bar on each side.  While many razors are off by a few millimeters here and there, this one was very uneven, enough so that it could provide a potential risk of accidental injury to the user.

For this review I shaved with the razor twice and found it to be very uncomfortable both times.  One test used a mild Derby blade and one used an Israeli Personna, but it did not make any difference in shaving performance.  While these razors are attractive in style and inexpensive at $25.00, I would recommend spending the extra money to purchase a better quality razor instead.