Ratings:

Overall:

Handle:

Aggressiveness:

Weight:

Blade Change:

Affordability:

One summer, when I was 11 or 12, my mom tried desperately for me to become friends with the son of one of her friends. We lived in different school districts, had different friends, and just cared about different things, it just wasn’t going to work. My mother tried everything, sleepovers, nights at the movies, and even a trip to the amusement park. None of it worked. It wasn’t that I didn’t like her friends son, it was just couldn’t get comfortable hanging out with him. Twenty some odd years later and I kind of know how my mother was feeling.

I have been using the Parker 92R for a couple weeks now and I just can’t seem to get comfortable with it. I purchased the Parker for a few reasons, I didn’t own a Parker razor, I was looking for a ‘heavy’ razor, and the positive reviews. Perhaps we got off on the wrong foot, as I mentioned in my First Impression write up, I was excited by the prospect of a ‘heavy razor’, but when I picked up the razor for the first time it didn’t meet my expectations.

For my first couple of shaves I decided to use the Shark blades that came with the razor. Now I know that people have different results with blades, but at least for me, Parker would be better off not including the Shark blades in the box. I had a terrible time with the blades, and if I didn’t achieve better results with different blades, I would have blamed the razor itself. Beyond the blade, the Parker felt comfortable, although I did require more of an adjustment operating the Parker 92R compared to other razors.

I tossed in an Astra blade for my next few shaves and the results got a bit better. One of the issues I had with the Shark blades was that the shave just wasn’t comfortable, the razor felt more aggressive than I believe it is meant to be. Although diminished somewhat with the Astra blade, I still felt that extra bit of aggressiveness that I don’t feel with my Edwin Jagger 89lbl or my Merkur 180 for example. I was able to get a nice shave but paid for it with comfort.

Over the next few shaves I experimented with different creams and soaps, but in the end the results were more or less the same. My best experience came when I used 7 O’clock Super Platinum blades , the shave was more comfortable and I had less irritation overall.

Balance:

Although I was looking for a heavier razor I can’t complain about the balance of the 92R.

Grip :

No complaints with the grip of the Parker 92R, the longer black handle provides a nice surface, unlikely that you would ever drop it due to wet or soapy hands.

Blade Exposure:

Although I experienced what felt like an aggressive shave I would still label this razors blade exposure as being moderate.

Weight:

As I mentioned above I was disappointed with the weight of the Parker 92R, if your razor is referred to as Ultra Heavy Weight, I should be a bit more noticeable.

Price: The razor is reasonably priced, although if this is your first razor you may want to also consider something like the Merkur 23C or the Edwin Jagger 86bl.

Overall I can see why some people enjoy the Parker 92R, it is built well, good grip and balance, and a good price. But for me it was just a bit too much work to get that shave and comfort I was looking for. I still plan on keeping the Parker 92R in my razor rotation, I’m determined to make it work for me, it just won’t be replacing any of my razors any time soon. For a closer look at the Parker 92R check out this post.