Merkur 37 Slant with Case, c.1956

According to Shavopedia (black and white images below) the 38 is a ‘soft’ slant with the S denoting silver plating on the handle. It comes in original clear and ivory plastic case (the “315”) as seen in the 1956 Merkur catalogue but matched there with the Merkur model 15. 
Note: efsk has pointed out it is more likely a model 37.

This is on its way to me, and was originally purchased by a military man stationed in Germany in the day. 

Enjoy the pictures and the research details. 

(01-30-2023, 07:16 PM)Shaun Wrote: The 38 is a ‘soft’ slant with the S denoting silver plating on the handle. It comes in original clear and ivory plastic case, seen in the 1956 Merkur catalogue, but matched with model 315. 


This is on its way to me, and was originally purchased by a military man stationed in Germany in the day. 

Enjoy the pictures and the research details. 

Very nice, Shaun. A great addition to your collection.

Very nice, Shaun. A great addition to your collection.

——
Thanks, yes, it is rather good. 

Of interest, you might often see the 36S in the 38 shipper, usually with the full “ivory” (“640”) case. 

(Note: efsk has kindly provided additional clarification, and so my statements above and below are not correct! I have left them as first stated, as there are lessons to be learned, although in my defence, I was utilising what I thought were authoritative sources but these ultimately led me astray!)

“Often, the 38 is mistakenly called a 37. The 37 is in fact what people sometimes call a “superslant”, which is a quite rare razor indeed. As per the catalogue above, the 37 should more correctly be called a “Hard Slant”. What we more commonly see, though, is the 38. The 38 (like mine) should more correctly be called a “Soft Slant”. ”

“The confusion (I think) stems from today’s Merkur HD slant being called a 37C and this 37 number is retrospectively misattributed to vintage 38 Merkurs.” 

The C (as in, say, 39C) refers to chrome; the S to silver.

Edit: efsk has kindly provided clarifying information in a later post in this thread regarding what I say directly below. I have left my original statements in  within inverted commas to show where I went wrong on the basis of information published on the web (I say in my own defence!)

"Here we see the Merkur 36S. Note the slim handle and the distinctive rings at the end of the handle. The case is a “640”. 

"It is not a 38S, even if it says so on the shipper. I think what has happened is that they are new old stock mix and match. Often these examples are in pristine condition, including the shipper: 

Sorry, no. The slant you show in the first post is a 37. No letter. 50s 60s 70s, no letter meant silver handle, chrome head. 37 is recognizable by the fat handle, long screw.. There existed a 36 and a 38, 36 had thin handle, short screw, 38 thin handle long screw. The heads on all of these were the same.
The razor you show in your last post IS a Merkur 38. I've had several of those, still own two, including case and shipper.
If you look at German catalogues of the time, you can see that the translation and catalogue pics you show are wrogn. Check this listing from a 1956 catalogue where the 36, 38 and 37 are listed next to each other and only the 37 is marked as schwer, heavy, in this context meaning heavy grip as opposed to thin handle 36 and 38.

(01-31-2023, 10:10 AM)efsk Wrote: Sorry, no. The slant you show in the first post is a 37. No letter. 50s 60s 70s, no letter meant silver handle, chrome head. 37 is recognizable by the fat handle, long screw.. There existed a 36 and a 38, 36 had thin handle, short screw, 38 thin handle long screw. The heads on all of these were the same.
The razor you show in your last post IS a Merkur 38. I've had several of those, still own two, including case and shipper.
If you look at German catalogues of the time, you can see that the translation and catalogue pics you show are wrogn. Check this listing from a 1956 catalogue where the 36, 38 and 37 are listed next to each other and only the 37 is marked as schwer, heavy, in this context meaning heavy grip as opposed to thin handle 36 and 38.

In the above catalogue, I can see the list of 36, 37, and 38, but can see no picture of the 38. I can see only pictures of the 36 and the 37. In the picture above, the 36 does look like the one in the picture with shipper I posted earlier (assume it is yours?) but I take your point about the 38 not being listed as "schwer". Perhaps Shaveopedia is wrong? 

I based my assumptions on the information I obtained from the Shaveopedia, in which the images of the 36, 37 and 38 appear to have been taken from a Merkur catalogue (?) Link: 

http://shaveopedia.com/shaveopedia/Merku...models.htm

The 38 imagery and the numbering are the same type as from the 1956 and the 1962 catalogues. The heads of the 37 and the 38 in those images are different (look very closely). The heads on the 36 and the 38 are the same. When I compared my slant, the head on mine looks more like the 38 depicted.

So, I don't know. I can only base my thinking on the documented information, and I based it on the Shaveopedia. A bit confusing, but the long screw 38 (you have) is certainly a beautiful razor. 

I wonder what the 38 depicted in Shavopedia is, then? Any thoughts?

Very nice! Thanks for sharing and for the info!

Shaveopedia duplicated the 37 and 38, so there's the error. 36, 37 and 38 all had the same geometry. Later, the 39 was added to the line, same geometry as well. The "Superslant" comes in three versions: CC short screw, CC long screw and OC short screw. Possibly, OC long screw exists as well, but I don't own one.
I do own 1950's 37 which is the same as modern 37. Well, almost. Merkur had to renew the molds somewhere 2015, so there's slight differences pre- and post 2015.
The 315S you show from shaveopedia is a regular razor, not a slant.
Merkur also produced a plastic torqued slant, a plastic non-torqued slant (like Mulcuto or iKon 102), and even a slant that was torqued the other way around from all their other slants.

Hi, yes, I know the 315S is a non-slant.

The Shaveopedia 37 and 38 do seem to have different heads if you look very closely. The safety bar is thicker on one. But yes, you can see why I drew the conclusions I did based on the images I saw.

I have added comments throughout this thread acknowledging your information, with gratitude. Thank you efsk!

You're welcome. The nice thing about forums: we try to help each other learn more.

Here is one the same as mine, posted in 2017 by “nemo”, a moderator in B&B. It has the shipper, but frustratingly the end flap is gone! I hope it is ok to post this image here. 

(01-31-2023, 01:56 PM)efsk Wrote: You're welcome. The nice thing about forums: we try to help each other learn more.

Hi. I have now seen your post on other forums showing the 38 and the 36, and can clearly see the similarities and differences. The 36 has a slim silver handle with short screw, meaning you could, should you ever want to, attach the head to any other kind of handle (or the reverse); the 38 has a less slim silver handle, but long screw (or “inner post”) with an affixed baseplate. In terms of aesthetics, I prefer 38. Now I want one!

Still, the 37, such as mine, with the thicker handle is a beautiful-looking object in its own right. 

I hope I have corrected the record. The journey has certainly been fun, collegial, and very interesting!

I love my 37, it is in fact my goto razor. But you're absolutely right: in terms of aesthetics, the 38 wins hands down. The only thing that beats that is a 38g, such as my Brumml.

The Merkur 37 arrived today, and I compared it to the Coles slant I have in my possession. Some differences:

The Merkur weighs 1 gram more at 76 grams.

The handle of the Merkur is 0.5mm wider, and noticeably the 'flute' just under the baseplate which is more 'rounded'.

The Merkur top cap is 0.5mm wider

To my eye, the Merkur head is torqued slightly more.

The 'teeth' of the Merkur are a bit chunkier and are more rounded (see pic, Merkur on the right, also noting the 'casting line' on the Coles).

The winder on the Merkur is worked/bevelled more beautifully, noting the very end nub (see pic, Merkur on the left).

The knurling on the Merkur is finer.

Overall, I like the look and feel of the 1956 Merkur 37 more. It also has nicer colouration, to my eye at least.


Pictures:

Cleaned and lightly polished: