The best safety razors
Seven razors, ranked on what their makers actually publish. If you want one answer and no reading: the Merkur 34C.
By Sawyer V. · Published
We have not tested any of this. Everything below is compiled from published manufacturer specifications, and the arithmetic is printed so you can check it. This page carries affiliate links: if you buy through one we earn a commission at no extra cost to you, and it does not change the order of the picks. Full disclosure.
The short answer
Buy the Merkur 34C. It is 68 grams of chrome-plated brass with a plain closed-comb head, nothing to adjust, and it takes any double-edge blade made anywhere. If your hands are large, buy the Edwin Jagger DE89 instead: same weight, same head, 83 mm of handle rather than a short one. If you want to dial in your own aggression, the Rockwell 6S is the only razor here that publishes its blade gaps.
| # | Pick | Lasts | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edwin Jagger DE89 The same shave with a longer grip | 5,200 shaves* | 8.9/10 | Check price on Amazon |
| 2 | Merkur 34C HD One razor, no research | 5,200 shaves* | 8.9/10 | Check price on Amazon |
| 3 | Parker 99R Changing blades without touching one | 5,200 shaves* | 8.8/10 | Check price on Amazon |
| 4 | Feather AS-D2 The one you buy once | 5,200 shaves* | 8.7/10 | Check price on Amazon |
| 5 | Mühle R89 The mildest of the classic three | 5,200 shaves* | 8.7/10 | Check price on Amazon |
| 6 | Rockwell 6S Dialing in your own aggression | 5,200 shaves* | 8.6/10 | Check price on Amazon |
| 7 | Henson AL13 Medium The lightest touch, machined to spec | 5,200 shaves* | 8.5/10 | Check price on Amazon |
No live price is currently verified, so every button here reads Check price instead of a number we cannot stand behind. Why we do it that way.
How we picked
We have not shaved with any of these. There is no test bathroom and no drawer of razors here, and a site that claims otherwise about a catalog this size is usually inventing it. What we did instead is compile every specification the makers publish, score four axes we can show the working for, and print that working underneath every score. The method is set out in full here.
The four axes are how long it lasts, how easy the switch from a cartridge is, whether the refill is a commodity or a maker's monopoly, and how much the manufacturer actually publishes. On a page about safety razors the first and third axes barely separate anything: every razor here is a durable object taking a universal blade, which is most of the argument for buying one at all. So the ranking is effectively decided by the other two, and the second of those is more interesting than it sounds.
Why we score what the maker publishes
Razor makers describe their products as mild, medium or aggressive and almost none of them say what that means. Mildness is a function of blade gap and blade exposure, both measurable in thousandths of an inch, and if a maker will not print them then its “mild” cannot be compared to anybody else's and you are being asked to take it on faith.
Two makers here break that pattern. Rockwell publishes six blade gaps from 0.008 to 0.031 inches, which is why you can choose a setting rather than a mood. Henson publishes a machining tolerance of 12.7 micrometers and a fixed 30-degree blade angle, which is a genuinely different argument: that razor burn is an engineering problem rather than a technique problem. Everybody else in this ledger publishes weight, length and material, and nothing at all about the geometry that decides how the thing shaves.
Why the Merkur 34C is the pick
Because it removes decisions. It is 68 grams, squarely in the range where the razor's own mass supplies the pressure so your hand does not have to. It has one head setting. It comes apart into two pieces rather than three, so there is nothing to drop down a plughole. It has been made in Solingen for decades, which means blades, replacement handles and advice all exist in quantity. And it takes any double-edge blade, so the ongoing cost is set by a competitive commodity market rather than by Merkur.
What it is not is exciting. The Feather AS-D2 is a better-made object by any measure you care to apply. The Rockwell tells you more about itself. The Henson is a more interesting piece of engineering. None of that matters in month one, when the only thing deciding whether you keep wet shaving is whether the first fortnight hurts.
The thing nobody mentions: handle length
The Merkur 34C is 80 mm end to end. The Edwin Jagger DE89 is 93 mm with an 83 mm handle. The Parker 99R is 114 mm. Those are large differences in the hand, and they are the most common reason somebody dislikes an otherwise fine razor. If you have large hands, or you shave in the shower with wet fingers, buy the longer one: the head geometry of the Merkur and the Edwin Jagger is functionally the same proposition, so you give up nothing at all.
Butterfly heads, and when they are worth it
The Parker 99R has a twist-to-open head. The doors open, the old blade drops out, the new one drops in, the doors close, and you never touch a bare blade. For a lot of people arriving from cartridges that single step is the thing they are most uneasy about, and if that is you, this is the answer. It scores highest of any razor here on the switching axis for precisely that reason.
The trade is mechanical. A butterfly head is more moving parts than a two-piece, and it traps soap in the doors, so it wants a more thorough rinse. Across a twenty-year assumed service life that is a real difference, even if it is not one you notice in year one.
Stainless or plated brass
Four of these razors are chrome or nickel over brass; two are solid stainless. Plating wears at the edges over years of handling and once it does there is nothing to be done about it. Stainless has no plating to lose, which is why the Feather AS-D2 and the Rockwell 6S are the two most likely to still be in service in twenty years.
Whether that is worth paying for depends on how you think about the purchase. On the arithmetic it makes almost no difference, because the razor is a rounding error next to two decades of blades: put your own numbers in and see. On the question of whether you enjoy picking the thing up every morning, it might make all of it.
What to buy alongside it
- A blade sampler, not a hundred of one blade. Which edge suits your face is the only question in wet shaving that cannot be answered by reading. See the blade roundup.
- A soap and a brush. Both cheap, and between them they change the result more than the razor does. Soap and brush.
- An alcohol-free balm. Not a traditional splash, at least not first. Here is why.
If you would rather have the whole thing decided in one page, the starter kit is that page, and the routine extends it past shaving into skin.
Every pick, with the working
Each entry shows the published specifications, the axis scores they produce and what you give up. The order is the computed order, not a commercial one, and the arithmetic is open underneath every score.
Our pickThe same shave with a longer grip
Edwin Jagger DE89
Mechanically the DE89 is the same proposition as the Merkur: 68 grams, closed comb, chrome over solid brass, nothing to adjust. The difference is the handle, which at 83 mm gives a longer purchase, and the fact that Edwin Jagger publishes its dimensions properly. If the Merkur's short handle is the thing putting you off, this is the answer and you lose nothing.
- Weight
- 68 g
- Length
- 93 mm
- Material
- Chrome-plated solid brass
- Head
- Closed comb, straight guard
- Blade gap
- Not published
- Blades in the box
- 0
- Made in
- England (Sheffield)
- Refill
- Universal standard
- Warranty
- Not published
- Assumed service life
- 5,200 uses
The arithmetic: 260 shaves a year x 20 years of assumed service life = 5200 shaves.
What it gets right
- 83 mm handle against Merkur's shorter grip, which is the whole reason to pick it
- Machined from solid brass, triple-plated and hand-polished, made in Sheffield
- Published overall length, handle length and weight — more than most of this category discloses
- Standard double-edge blade fitment
Flaws
- Three-piece design means the head comes apart into two pieces over a sink
- No blade included
- Chrome plating over brass, so the same long-run edge wear as the Merkur
The working behind the 8.9
- How long it lasts: not scored
- Not scored. This is a durable item, not a consumable, so how long it lasts is an assumption about service life rather than something the pack size tells us.
- Ease of switching: 8.5
- Closed comb (+), no adjustment (+), 68 g (+), 83 mm published handle length, the longest grip of the mild three (+), three-piece head (-).
- Refill economics: 10.0
- The refill is a commodity standard that dozens of factories make, so the price is set by competition and no single maker can raise it.
- What the maker publishes: 8.6
- 6 of 7 specifications a buyer would expect are published: weightG, lengthMm, material, madeIn, headType, bladesIncluded. Not published: bladeGapNote. 6 / 7 x 10 = 8.6.
Axes with no published input are dropped and the remaining weights re-normalized, so a product is not punished for a category where an axis does not apply. Specifications compiled 3 September 2026 from Edwin Jagger DE89 published specifications.
2One razor, no research
Merkur 34C HD
Buy this one if you want to stop reading and start shaving. It is 68 grams of chrome-plated brass on a short knurled handle, which is heavy enough that you naturally stop pressing, and the head is a plain closed comb with nothing to set, adjust or get wrong. It has been in production in Solingen for decades, so parts, advice and blades are everywhere.
- Weight
- 68 g
- Length
- 80 mm
- Material
- Chrome-plated brass
- Head
- Closed comb, two-piece
- Blade gap
- Not published
- Blades in the box
- 0
- Made in
- Germany
- Refill
- Universal standard
- Warranty
- Not published
- Assumed service life
- 5,200 uses
The arithmetic: 260 shaves a year x 20 years of assumed service life = 5200 shaves.
What it gets right
- 68 g in a 80 mm body: the weight does the work, which is exactly the habit a cartridge user has to unlearn
- Closed comb with no adjustment, so there is one variable fewer on your first month
- Two-piece construction; the head unscrews as a unit and there is nothing to lose in the sink
- Takes any standard double-edge blade, so the refill is a commodity
Flaws
- The 80 mm handle is short for large hands, and Merkur's own longer handles are a separate purchase
- No blade in the box, so the first order needs a blade pack alongside it
- Chrome over brass will show wear at the edges over years in a way stainless will not
The working behind the 8.9
- How long it lasts: not scored
- Not scored. This is a durable item, not a consumable, so how long it lasts is an assumption about service life rather than something the pack size tells us.
- Ease of switching: 8.5
- Closed comb (+), no adjustment to set (+), 68 g published weight in the range where the razor's own mass supplies the pressure (+), no blade included so the first order is two items (-).
- Refill economics: 10.0
- The refill is a commodity standard that dozens of factories make, so the price is set by competition and no single maker can raise it.
- What the maker publishes: 8.6
- 6 of 7 specifications a buyer would expect are published: weightG, lengthMm, material, madeIn, headType, bladesIncluded. Not published: bladeGapNote. 6 / 7 x 10 = 8.6.
Axes with no published input are dropped and the remaining weights re-normalized, so a product is not punished for a category where an axis does not apply. Specifications compiled 3 September 2026 from Merkur 34C HD listed specifications (Fendrihan).
3Changing blades without touching one
Parker 99R
The 99R is a twist-to-open butterfly: the doors open, the old blade drops out, the new one drops in, the doors close. If the part of this that worries you is handling a bare double-edge blade, that mechanism is the answer, and at 100 grams over a 114 mm brass handle it has the heft to go with it.
- Weight
- 100 g
- Length
- 114 mm
- Material
- Brass handle, nickel head
- Head
- Butterfly twist-to-open, straight bar
- Blade gap
- Not published
- Blades in the box
- Not published
- Made in
- India
- Refill
- Universal standard
- Warranty
- Not published
- Assumed service life
- 5,200 uses
The arithmetic: 260 shaves a year x 20 years of assumed service life = 5200 shaves.
What it gets right
- Butterfly twist-to-open head — you never pick up a loose blade
- 100 g over a 114 mm handle, the longest grip in this ledger
- Brass handle with a nickel head; standard blade fitment
- Parker has built this model in India since the 1970s, so it is not a novelty
Flaws
- A butterfly mechanism is more moving parts than a two-piece, and more to eventually loosen
- Parker does not publish a blade gap
- The doors trap soap; it needs rinsing more thoroughly than a three-piece
The working behind the 8.8
- How long it lasts: not scored
- Not scored. This is a durable item, not a consumable, so how long it lasts is an assumption about service life rather than something the pack size tells us.
- Ease of switching: 9.0
- Butterfly head removes the single step new wet shavers most dislike, handling a bare blade (++), 100 g (+), 114 mm handle (+), more moving parts to eventually wear (-).
- Refill economics: 10.0
- The refill is a commodity standard that dozens of factories make, so the price is set by competition and no single maker can raise it.
- What the maker publishes: 7.1
- 5 of 7 specifications a buyer would expect are published: weightG, lengthMm, material, madeIn, headType. Not published: bladeGapNote, bladesIncluded. 5 / 7 x 10 = 7.1.
Axes with no published input are dropped and the remaining weights re-normalized, so a product is not punished for a category where an axis does not apply. Specifications compiled 3 September 2026 from Parker 99R listed specifications (Maggard Razors).
4The one you buy once
Feather AS-D2
Skip this one. It is the best-made object here and the wrong first razor. Nothing about it will teach you anything the Merkur will not, and the difference in outlay buys a blade sampler, a good soap and a brush - all three of which change your shave more than the razor does.
91 grams of solid stainless, three pieces, closed comb, made in Japan to the tolerances Feather applies to surgical blades. There is no plating to wear off and no adjustment to fiddle with, and it is the razor in this ledger most likely to outlive its owner. It is also several times the price of the Merkur and shaves, for a beginner, about the same.
- Weight
- 91 g
- Length
- 98 mm
- Material
- Stainless steel
- Head
- Closed comb, three-piece
- Blade gap
- Not published
- Blades in the box
- 0
- Made in
- Japan
- Refill
- Universal standard
- Warranty
- Not published
- Assumed service life
- 5,200 uses
The arithmetic: 260 shaves a year x 20 years of assumed service life = 5200 shaves.
What it gets right
- 100% stainless steel throughout — no plating, nothing to wear through
- 91 g in a 98 mm body, the best weight-to-length balance here
- Mild, forgiving closed-comb geometry despite the Feather name
- Standard double-edge fitment
Flaws
- Costs a multiple of the Merkur and does not shave a beginner meaningfully better
- Three-piece design, so the head separates over the sink
- Feather does not publish a blade gap either
The working behind the 8.7
- How long it lasts: not scored
- Not scored. This is a durable item, not a consumable, so how long it lasts is an assumption about service life rather than something the pack size tells us.
- Ease of switching: 8.0
- Closed comb (+), no adjustment (+), 91 g (+), no blade included (-), and the outlay makes a first-month mistake expensive in a way the Merkur's does not (-).
- Refill economics: 10.0
- The refill is a commodity standard that dozens of factories make, so the price is set by competition and no single maker can raise it.
- What the maker publishes: 8.6
- 6 of 7 specifications a buyer would expect are published: weightG, lengthMm, material, madeIn, headType, bladesIncluded. Not published: bladeGapNote. 6 / 7 x 10 = 8.6.
Axes with no published input are dropped and the remaining weights re-normalized, so a product is not punished for a category where an axis does not apply. Specifications compiled 3 September 2026 from Feather AS-D2 listed specifications.
5The mildest of the classic three
Mühle R89
The R89 is the lightest of the three classic closed combs at 64 grams and the only one that puts a blade in the box, which matters more than it sounds when the alternative is ordering two things and waiting for both. Mühle publishes a 41 x 94 mm envelope and nothing else, which is the one place it is less forthcoming than Edwin Jagger.
- Weight
- 64 g
- Length
- 94 mm
- Material
- Chrome-plated metal, engraved handle
- Head
- Closed comb
- Blade gap
- Not published
- Blades in the box
- 1
- Made in
- Germany
- Refill
- Universal standard
- Warranty
- Not published
- Assumed service life
- 5,200 uses
The arithmetic: 260 shaves a year x 20 years of assumed service life = 5200 shaves.
What it gets right
- Ships with a blade, so it is a complete first purchase on its own
- 64 g — the lightest of the three classics, which suits a lighter touch
- Closed comb, nothing adjustable, chrome-plated with an engraved handle for grip
- Standard blade fitment
Flaws
- Mühle does not publish a blade gap, so its mildness cannot be compared numerically to anything
- Lightest of the three, which means slightly more of the pressure is yours to supply
- One blade in the box is a sample, not a supply
The working behind the 8.7
- How long it lasts: not scored
- Not scored. This is a durable item, not a consumable, so how long it lasts is an assumption about service life rather than something the pack size tells us.
- Ease of switching: 8.0
- Closed comb (+), no adjustment (+), one blade included so it works on arrival (+), 64 g is the lightest of the classic three, so slightly more pressure is yours to control (-).
- Refill economics: 10.0
- The refill is a commodity standard that dozens of factories make, so the price is set by competition and no single maker can raise it.
- What the maker publishes: 8.6
- 6 of 7 specifications a buyer would expect are published: weightG, lengthMm, material, madeIn, headType, bladesIncluded. Not published: bladeGapNote. 6 / 7 x 10 = 8.6.
Axes with no published input are dropped and the remaining weights re-normalized, so a product is not punished for a category where an axis does not apply. Specifications compiled 3 September 2026 from Mühle R89 listed specifications (Maggard Razors).
6Dialing in your own aggression
Rockwell 6S
The 6S is the one razor here that publishes the number everybody else hides. Three reversible plates give six blade gaps from 0.008 to 0.031 inches, so you can start on R1, find the setting your face tolerates, and never wonder whether the razor or your technique is the problem. It is 118 grams of 316L stainless and it ships with five blades.
- Weight
- 118 g
- Length
- 95 mm
- Material
- 316L stainless steel
- Head
- Adjustable, three reversible plates
- Blade gap
- 0.008 in to 0.031 in across R1-R6
- Blades in the box
- 5
- Length settings
- 6
- Made in
- USA
- Refill
- Universal standard
- Warranty
- Not published
- Assumed service life
- 5,200 uses
The arithmetic: 260 shaves a year x 20 years of assumed service life = 5200 shaves.
What it gets right
- Published blade gaps from 0.008 in to 0.031 in across six settings — the only razor in this ledger that discloses them
- 316L stainless, so there is no plating to wear through
- Five blades in the box; usable the day it arrives
- 118 g, the heaviest here, which suits a heavy beard and a light hand
Flaws
- Six settings is six chances to blame the razor instead of your angle in the first month
- Three loose plates are three things to keep track of
- Heaviest and largest of the group at 95 mm overall
The working behind the 8.6
- How long it lasts: not scored
- Not scored. This is a durable item, not a consumable, so how long it lasts is an assumption about service life rather than something the pack size tells us.
- Ease of switching: 7.0
- R1 plate is the mildest published gap in this ledger at 0.008 in (+), blades included (+), but six settings and three loose plates add decisions in exactly the month a new wet shaver has too many (-).
- Refill economics: 10.0
- The refill is a commodity standard that dozens of factories make, so the price is set by competition and no single maker can raise it.
- What the maker publishes: 10.0
- 7 of 7 specifications a buyer would expect are published: weightG, lengthMm, material, madeIn, headType, bladeGapNote, bladesIncluded. 7 / 7 x 10 = 10.0.
Axes with no published input are dropped and the remaining weights re-normalized, so a product is not punished for a category where an axis does not apply. Specifications compiled 3 September 2026 from Rockwell 6S published specifications (Fendrihan).
7The lightest touch, machined to spec
Henson AL13 Medium
Henson's argument is that razor burn is an engineering problem, and it publishes the tolerances to back it: blade angle fixed at 30 degrees, machined to as tight as 12.7 micrometers at an aerospace facility in Ontario. At 37 grams it is by far the lightest razor here, which inverts the usual advice — you cannot let this one do the work, you have to let it float.
- Weight
- 37 g
- Length
- Not published
- Material
- Aircraft aluminum, Type II anodized
- Head
- Fixed exposure, 30-degree blade angle
- Blade gap
- Machined to as tight as 12.7 micrometers; exposure fixed by model
- Blades in the box
- 5
- Made in
- Canada (Ontario)
- Refill
- Universal standard
- Warranty
- Not published
- Assumed service life
- 5,200 uses
The arithmetic: 260 shaves a year x 20 years of assumed service life = 5200 shaves.
What it gets right
- Published machining tolerance of 12.7 micrometers and a fixed 30-degree blade angle, which nobody else in this ledger discloses
- 37 g aluminum body with a Type II anodized finish; nothing to chip or peel
- Five blades in the box
- Sold in Mild, Medium and Aggressive so the choice is made once, at purchase, rather than every morning
Flaws
- 37 g is very light, which removes the weight cue a cartridge user relies on
- The exposure level is fixed at purchase; changing your mind means another razor
- Aluminum will not feel like the heirloom object a stainless razor does
The working behind the 8.5
- How long it lasts: not scored
- Not scored. This is a durable item, not a consumable, so how long it lasts is an assumption about service life rather than something the pack size tells us.
- Ease of switching: 7.5
- Fixed geometry with a published 30-degree blade angle removes the angle guesswork (+), blades included (+), but 37 g is the lightest here and the razor's own mass supplies almost none of the pressure (-).
- Refill economics: 10.0
- The refill is a commodity standard that dozens of factories make, so the price is set by competition and no single maker can raise it.
- What the maker publishes: 8.6
- 6 of 7 specifications a buyer would expect are published: weightG, material, madeIn, headType, bladeGapNote, bladesIncluded. Not published: lengthMm. 6 / 7 x 10 = 8.6.
Axes with no published input are dropped and the remaining weights re-normalized, so a product is not punished for a category where an axis does not apply. Specifications compiled 3 September 2026 from Henson AL13 published specifications.
No live price is currently verified, so every button here reads Check price instead of a number we cannot stand behind. Why we do it that way.
Questions people actually ask
Which safety razor is best for a beginner?
A mild, non-adjustable closed comb between about 60 and 100 grams. That description fits the Merkur 34C, the Edwin Jagger DE89 and the Muhle R89, and the choice between them is handle length and whether a blade comes in the box. Aggressive or open-comb razors and very light razors both remove the margin for error that a first month needs.
Does a heavier razor give a better shave?
It gives a more forgiving one, for a specific reason. A cartridge razor is designed to be pressed into the face; a double-edge razor is designed to be rested on it. A heavier razor supplies that pressure itself, so the habit you arrive with does less damage. Past about 120 grams the advantage stops and maneuverability starts to suffer.
Do all double-edge blades fit all safety razors?
Yes. The double-edge blade is a commodity standard and every razor on this page takes any of them. That is the single biggest economic difference between this and a cartridge system, and it is why the refill-economics axis in our scoring separates them so sharply.
Should I buy an adjustable razor?
Not first. An adjustable razor adds a variable at exactly the point when you have too many, and it gives you something to blame that is not your technique. Buy one later, if you have found the limits of a mild razor and want to go past them.
How long will a safety razor last?
Our arithmetic assumes twenty years, which at five shaves a week is 5,200 shaves. That is an assumption rather than a measurement, and we say so wherever it is used. It is a large number because these are two or three machined parts with no electronics and no wear surface touching the blade. But plating can wear, which is the argument for the stainless razors here over the chrome-plated ones.
Sources
- Merkur 34C HD published weight, length and material (Fendrihan)
- Edwin Jagger DE89 published dimensions and construction
- Rockwell 6S published blade gaps, material and contents (Fendrihan)
- Henson AL13 published machining tolerance and blade angle
- Muhle R89 published weight and dimensions (Maggard Razors)