This is a piece of very good advice for Parker variant owner and future buyers. On RUclips are many videos of people using this razor, but no one of them is saying any think about maintenance for it. Here it is: You have to pull out turning knob with little force and clean moving parts because inside the tube water can do a lot of damage. To put it back together press the o-ring and push the pin in to tube. Do these ones in two weeks and your razor will be good for years. You also can use some kind of grease to protect the pin from water damage. There is one more thing you can do to preserve your razor. When you take a top plate off, you have a bottom plate with the movable middle plate. Put some good quality oil like one or two drops in between them and press it up and down to force the oil in. This will help to preserve the inside spring. Other than that it is great razor I'm using it for 1.5 years and with these simple steps, my Variant is in very good condition. Update The top plate is stuck in no. 1 position (rusty) and to change to higher no. I have to use a screwdriver to push it up. This happens after 1,5 years and 80 can dol. Would I buy this razor again - absolutely not. For this price, I can buy 2 good razors like Rockwell or Edwin Jagger and guaranty they will last much longer than Parker Variant. This is my review from amazon.ca
Very interesting! This is putting me off buying it now. Are there any other high quality adjustable razors that you have used in the last couple years which you can recommend?
@@Rabixter I just have three different shavers. One very cheap mild from Amazon and a second one Mercury 33C for everyday use, and Parker 24C for longer growth. Many times I start with 24C first pass and finish my shave Mercure 33C that's how I adjust my razor.
For the same price you can get an all stainless steel RazoRock Game Changer, blade alignment is perfect every time, no messing with the head or anything, it’s not adjustable, but you will love this razor.
I've owned this same razor for 2 years and have none of the problems that you clearly show in your video. Just send it back to the distributor and they will replace it. All manufacturers have issues, esp. products made in India.
Yes I noticed that I did not get a nice shave with this razor from the get go and the adjustment knob on mine goes way past the number 1 stop which means I have to back the knob off to get to the number 1 setting I am going to check out those other faults you describe but even so I don't thin you should have to go to these lengths to get the blade to be set correctly - well not at the price that I paid for it.
In case of the blade gap problem, I would recommend to try a blade from other company. There are also minimal differences by symmetry, during sharping process of these blades. 2. Recomentation is, buy a merkur progress 500. It,s da original. Not a clone. But alignment problems of the dial also known by the progress. For me no big prob. Just try wich setting works good for you. Then you can choose these settings again and again.
Thank you sir for this informative video, I too own the Parker Variant, and while I really like the razor, I can also detect a slight blade gap difference from side to side, what did it for me though was, when shaving with one side then the other, there was an audible difference, one side was somewhat louder when cutting the whiskers, in other words, I could actually HEAR a slight sound difference (!) I'm going to try what you demonstrated here to take care of it, thanks again!
Mines for two years never an issue till recently I noticed this exact same thing tried fixing it but nothing it sucks i loved this razor alot but I'm gonna replace it with a merkur progress instead
Great video, I have discovered another problem with this razor that you did not mention. I noticed that mine clicks a little bit when you adjust the aggressiveness, and I looked closely and noticed that the top cap rotates a little bit when adjusting the aggressiveness, and the clicking sound seems to come from the middle plate inside the head (the one that you mentioned at 3:40 in your video) rotating and one bumping against the inner wall of the compartment where it sits. When I tighten it, it clicks when it bumps up against the left side wall of the compartment, which you can see when looking at the side profile. If you turn it to the opposite side, you can see that it is touching the left side of the compartment on the other side as well, meaning it is sitting slightly diagonal inside the compartment, which gives you slightly different amount of blade reveal on each end of the blade on both sides. I can sort of fix this by backing off a little bit whenever I tighten it up to a higher aggressiveness, but then the plate is touching the right side wall of the compartment on both sides. Basically, the top cap and middle plate both rotate while the bottom plate stays in the same position. The only way to really get it to sit perfectly is to use your fingers to hold the top plate on both sides and manually center it, which gives you the most even alignment. But I just feel like a razor in this price range and with this good of a reputation shouldn't require so much finnicking. I don't know whether I have the new version or the old version, because mine has the short lines between the numbers, but it also has INDIA stamped on the bottom of the handle. I also have the blade alignment issue that you mention at 6:00 of you video, but I can solve it by holding and pulling the blade to one side just before and while I am tightening it (holding it on the sides where it isn't sharp). I just got this razor today and noticed the blade alignment issue right away, and I haven't even shaved with it yet. It looks like I can get good alignment by doing both of these tricks, but I am not sure if all of this is going to be a hassle in every day use, and how much this razor will hold up over time if it's this finnicky out of the box. I might return it to be honest, which is too bad because lots of people love this razor and I was looking forward to it, but I am just not sure how it will hold up over time, so I may just return it while I am in the 30 day return window with amazon. I will try shaving with it though, who knows, maybe it will be amazing and I can overlook all these weird issues. Great video!
Great review, the India stamp on the bottom indicates the new version. I have the same clicking noise when I put in a blade and screw it tighten. Seems like it's coming from the spring within. But if I screw it without a blade in it doesn't produce the clicking noise. I use the Parker for over a week now and it shaves heavenly! Do you still own it and what is your impression now after 7 months?
@@gitzah Hey, I do still own it and shave with it several times a week (not a daily shaver). it's an incredible razor. The minor imperfections with blade alignment are actually just part of the hobby - every single razor will need you to manually check and make sure that the blade is straight, possibly re-seat it if it needs to be straighter. It's actually really easy to do on the Variant. I love it.
@@andyboxish4436 Agree with you, it's a great razor. I use it now with the black Feather blades. Let's say I still have to get used to it, but the shave is very close.
@@gitzah Nice, lots of blades are good in this razor. I use everything from sharp blades like Feather and Nacet to smoother blades like Voskhod and Personna. You just have to play with the aggressiveness for each one, but I like an aggressive shave so I usually keep at around 3.5-4 and just shave carefully and make sure the blade angle is good.
I just bought one where the plating is missing a little bit on the handle for $10 can’t beat that!!! I will just use the same thing I use for my Gillette adjustable number dial on the handle
I’ve had every issue that you mention in the video with my original variant and the replacement that they sent: misaligned bar, coating wearing off on the cap, misaligned dial. SMH, last Parker I’ll ever buy
***Not clear which version you have***. Do you have the newest or oldest version? Because you said that the new version has « India » written at the bottom but then you said that you don’t know if they have made improvements on the the newer version. Could you clarify please?
The lateral exposure of blade difference is common with almost all modern 2 and 3 piece razors. I've always had to check and possibly adjust. 34c, 37c, EJ, muhle, etc. You'll need to do at least a check then loosen and adjust the blade laterally then retighten. You get faster at it as you get used to the razor. Not sure about the tilt on the blade, that's just wrong. But just know that a progress, 34c, muhle, etc you will always have to do this. Until you upgrade to machined stainless razors this is just a fact of life
Agree with your statement. Have seen alignment differences in videos with other brands. Are the machined stainless razors significantly better quality than this Parker?
Thank you very much for your video. I have got my Parker Variant for 3 weeks and somehow I have not managed to get a smooth shave with it, until now. I reckoned that was my fault due to my poor technique but I always get good shaves with my other razors (Rockwell 6C, Merkur 34C and Edwin Jagger DE89). I noticed that when it has a blade in it, the number 1 in the dial knob never gets aligned with the dot, managing only to get between 1 and 1 and a half…I will check the other issues you mentioned, specially the safety bar alignment. ❤️🪒
I'm hoping other issues have been fixed in the last 2 years since this video was made. There's always some slop in the center to be able to move the blade
@@harryhoudini66 Hey, wanted to give you another update. I bought another with a Black handle, which supposedly started getting remade more recently cause there were some defects with the black fading off in previous batches. This one ended up being really good. So seems like it's hit or miss. My silver handle definitely had the issues you see in the video though and was returned. I'd suggest ordering one with a black handle from somewhere where you can do free returns (Amazon for me), and see for yourself.
This is a piece of very good advice for Parker variant owner and future buyers. On RUclips are many videos of people using this razor, but no one of them is saying any think about
maintenance for it. Here it is:
You have to pull out turning knob with little force and clean moving parts because inside the tube water can do a lot of damage. To put it back together press the o-ring and push the pin in to tube.
Do these ones in two weeks and your razor will be good for years. You also can use some kind of grease to protect the pin from water damage. There is one more thing you can do to preserve your razor. When you take a top plate off, you have a bottom plate with the movable middle plate. Put some good quality oil like one or two drops in between them and press it up and down to force the oil in. This will help to preserve the inside spring. Other than that it is great razor
I'm using it for 1.5 years and with these simple steps, my Variant is in very good condition.
Update
The top plate is stuck in no. 1 position (rusty) and to change to higher no. I have to use a screwdriver to push it up.
This happens after 1,5 years and 80 can dol.
Would I buy this razor again - absolutely not. For this price, I can buy 2 good razors like Rockwell or Edwin Jagger
and guaranty they will last much longer than Parker Variant.
This is my review from amazon.ca
Very interesting! This is putting me off buying it now. Are there any other high quality adjustable razors that you have used in the last couple years which you can recommend?
@@Rabixter I just have three different shavers. One very cheap mild from Amazon and a second one Mercury 33C for everyday use, and Parker 24C for longer growth. Many times I start with 24C first pass and finish my shave Mercure 33C that's how I adjust my razor.
Thx for the video. Parker should've solved all of those problems before they began manufacturing. Think I will pass on the Variant.
For the same price you can get an all stainless steel RazoRock Game Changer, blade alignment is perfect every time, no messing with the head or anything, it’s not adjustable, but you will love this razor.
Typical Indian made razor problems.. 5 out of 7 of my Indian DE razors have alignment and symmetry problems. Thanks for the video; very informative!
I've owned this same razor for 2 years and have none of the problems that you clearly show in your video. Just send it back to the distributor and they will replace it. All manufacturers have issues, esp. products made in India.
Yes I noticed that I did not get a nice shave with this razor from the get go and the adjustment knob on mine goes way past the number 1 stop which means I have to back the knob off to get to the number 1 setting I am going to check out those other faults you describe but even so I don't thin you should have to go to these lengths to get the blade to be set correctly - well not at the price that I paid for it.
Did you aligne the top part of the razor correctly with the lower part? If not, you are one half turn of the adjustment screw off the correct setting.
I was just gifted a Parker Variant and thankfully I have none of those issues. I was able to determine this one is the earlier version.
Yes. Black colour coating issue was in the initial batch. And lucky you Mam😊.
The one you got is the older version or the newer version?
In case of the blade gap problem, I would recommend to try a blade from other company. There are also minimal differences by symmetry, during sharping process of these blades.
2. Recomentation is, buy a merkur progress 500. It,s da original. Not a clone. But alignment problems of the dial also known by the progress. For me no big prob. Just try wich setting works good for you. Then you can choose these settings again and again.
Reporting here in January 2022, just got mine in the mail, I'm returning it. Exact same problems as displayed in this video.
Thank you sir for this informative video, I too own the Parker Variant, and while I really like the razor, I can also detect a slight blade gap difference from side to side, what did it for me though was, when shaving with one side then the other, there was an audible difference, one side was somewhat louder when cutting the whiskers, in other words, I could actually HEAR a slight sound difference (!) I'm going to try what you demonstrated here to take care of it, thanks again!
Mines for two years never an issue till recently I noticed this exact same thing tried fixing it but nothing it sucks i loved this razor alot but I'm gonna replace it with a merkur progress instead
I was gifted this razor recently and don't have any of the issues you pointed out. I was able to determine it is a Version 1.
Thanks for the real review not infomercial like the rest just subscribed
Great video, I have discovered another problem with this razor that you did not mention. I noticed that mine clicks a little bit when you adjust the aggressiveness, and I looked closely and noticed that the top cap rotates a little bit when adjusting the aggressiveness, and the clicking sound seems to come from the middle plate inside the head (the one that you mentioned at 3:40 in your video) rotating and one bumping against the inner wall of the compartment where it sits. When I tighten it, it clicks when it bumps up against the left side wall of the compartment, which you can see when looking at the side profile. If you turn it to the opposite side, you can see that it is touching the left side of the compartment on the other side as well, meaning it is sitting slightly diagonal inside the compartment, which gives you slightly different amount of blade reveal on each end of the blade on both sides. I can sort of fix this by backing off a little bit whenever I tighten it up to a higher aggressiveness, but then the plate is touching the right side wall of the compartment on both sides. Basically, the top cap and middle plate both rotate while the bottom plate stays in the same position. The only way to really get it to sit perfectly is to use your fingers to hold the top plate on both sides and manually center it, which gives you the most even alignment. But I just feel like a razor in this price range and with this good of a reputation shouldn't require so much finnicking. I don't know whether I have the new version or the old version, because mine has the short lines between the numbers, but it also has INDIA stamped on the bottom of the handle. I also have the blade alignment issue that you mention at 6:00 of you video, but I can solve it by holding and pulling the blade to one side just before and while I am tightening it (holding it on the sides where it isn't sharp). I just got this razor today and noticed the blade alignment issue right away, and I haven't even shaved with it yet. It looks like I can get good alignment by doing both of these tricks, but I am not sure if all of this is going to be a hassle in every day use, and how much this razor will hold up over time if it's this finnicky out of the box. I might return it to be honest, which is too bad because lots of people love this razor and I was looking forward to it, but I am just not sure how it will hold up over time, so I may just return it while I am in the 30 day return window with amazon. I will try shaving with it though, who knows, maybe it will be amazing and I can overlook all these weird issues. Great video!
Great review, the India stamp on the bottom indicates the new version. I have the same clicking noise when I put in a blade and screw it tighten. Seems like it's coming from the spring within. But if I screw it without a blade in it doesn't produce the clicking noise. I use the Parker for over a week now and it shaves heavenly!
Do you still own it and what is your impression now after 7 months?
@@gitzah Hey, I do still own it and shave with it several times a week (not a daily shaver). it's an incredible razor. The minor imperfections with blade alignment are actually just part of the hobby - every single razor will need you to manually check and make sure that the blade is straight, possibly re-seat it if it needs to be straighter. It's actually really easy to do on the Variant. I love it.
@@andyboxish4436 Agree with you, it's a great razor. I use it now with the black Feather blades. Let's say I still have to get used to it, but the shave is very close.
@@gitzah Nice, lots of blades are good in this razor. I use everything from sharp blades like Feather and Nacet to smoother blades like Voskhod and Personna. You just have to play with the aggressiveness for each one, but I like an aggressive shave so I usually keep at around 3.5-4 and just shave carefully and make sure the blade angle is good.
I just bought one where the plating is missing a little bit on the handle for $10 can’t beat that!!! I will just use the same thing I use for my Gillette adjustable number dial on the handle
I’ve had every issue that you mention in the video with my original variant and the replacement that they sent: misaligned bar, coating wearing off on the cap, misaligned dial. SMH, last Parker I’ll ever buy
How does it shave, does it shave bad too?
***Not clear which version you have***. Do you have the newest or oldest version? Because you said that the new version has « India » written at the bottom but then you said that you don’t know if they have made improvements on the the newer version. Could you clarify please?
Ilan Chouraqui he has the new version
Thanks for the heads up! I will check out some forums as well.
Thank you.
I can’t believe that I found out about this video right after I got my package delivered.
I'm using it since last three years and thankfully mine has no problem.
Everything is true, I have one...but a good fixed Parker Variant is the best adjustable safety razor..
The lateral exposure of blade difference is common with almost all modern 2 and 3 piece razors. I've always had to check and possibly adjust. 34c, 37c, EJ, muhle, etc. You'll need to do at least a check then loosen and adjust the blade laterally then retighten. You get faster at it as you get used to the razor. Not sure about the tilt on the blade, that's just wrong.
But just know that a progress, 34c, muhle, etc you will always have to do this. Until you upgrade to machined stainless razors this is just a fact of life
Agree with your statement. Have seen alignment differences in videos with other brands. Are the machined stainless razors significantly better quality than this Parker?
@@gitzah usually yes. But even some of those take a bit of alignment. My rex is near perfect
@@2010stoof Would love to get Rex in the future. But even with Rex things can happen ; ) ruclips.net/video/7dyfmLzA5rs/видео.html
Mine has uneven blade exposure gap. So dissapointig. Looking to pick up a Progress right now.
Thank you very much for your video. I have got my Parker Variant for 3 weeks and somehow I have not managed to get a smooth shave with it, until now. I reckoned that was my fault due to my poor technique but I always get good shaves with my other razors (Rockwell 6C, Merkur 34C and Edwin Jagger DE89). I noticed that when it has a blade in it, the number 1 in the dial knob never gets aligned with the dot, managing only to get between 1 and 1 and a half…I will check the other issues you mentioned, specially the safety bar alignment.
❤️🪒
I'm hoping other issues have been fixed in the last 2 years since this video was made.
There's always some slop in the center to be able to move the blade
Reporting here in January 2022, just got mine in the mail, I'm returning it. Exact same problems as displayed in this video.
@@Urfir3d Thank you for posting this. I ordered it today and canceled the order after reading your comment. Its a shame.
@@harryhoudini66 Hey, wanted to give you another update. I bought another with a Black handle, which supposedly started getting remade more recently cause there were some defects with the black fading off in previous batches. This one ended up being really good. So seems like it's hit or miss. My silver handle definitely had the issues you see in the video though and was returned. I'd suggest ordering one with a black handle from somewhere where you can do free returns (Amazon for me), and see for yourself.
@@Urfir3d Thanks for following up. I will give it a go then. Thanks again.
Great razor 👌
In “The Shave Den” it gets Highly Praised bruh
If you get a good one it shaves well, after all it’s a copy of the progress
Tnx bro
you have very nice hands!
piano hands/fingers