Razors

[roll_with_it]

You won't go wrong with the Edwin Jagger, get it purchased ;)

[ncdrawl]

nice...anyone got a link to some cheap decent razor and blades?

might give it a go...

Cheap? Thats your FACE , man. You obviously dont balk at spending crazy amounts on hifi , so whats 70 quid on a razor?

DEs are good but nowhere near as close, shave wise as a straight..

that being said, you can get a very reasonable cost straight razor.. but itll need more stropping and sharpening...

[julian2002]

The EJ is the beginners razor of choice and what i went for in the end as the recommendations are overwhelming. Merkur razors apparently suffer from some QC issues on their finish so i skipped them. There is a chinese brand on e-bay weishi which are also highly recommended.
I currently have 2 brushes a vulfix 404 boar / badger mix and my dads old sterling silver handled silvertip badger. The latter is a lovely looking brush but has very little backbone to it so lathering is an art. The 404 is a lot stiffer and easier for the beginner so be careful when selecting a brush. I will eventually go for a badger only brush but probably something with a very short loft and preferably a mix of hair quality to give it some backbone.

Overall it cost me about 60-70 quid to get started but i wanted to 'do it right' so spent money on a blade sampler pack and some expensive soap. you could shave about 20-30 quid off that if you went with palmolive shave soap (very good apparently) and some astra sp blades ( these are the best i've tried so far by a country mile - don't go for treet or merkur blades as they are almost universally panned - although you may get on with them)

[griffo104]

Similar to my experience.

I did research and the EJ razor seemed hugely popular for beginners so went with that - glad I did.
I'm trying the Derby blades it came with at the moment and I have to say last night was possibly the first time I actually enjoyed a shave - ever.

I'm using a Wilkinson sword brush and soap - change from a tenner for both but these were a little extra pressie my other half bought me a while back. It lathers up ok as well but I've just ordered some Mitchells Wool Fat soap which also seems to be fairly popular (£16 for the ceramic dish and then about £6 for future refills). again ordered from the Shaving Shack so another free gift due to spending over a tenner so I ordered 10 Feather blades so i've now got Derby, Astra and Feathers (when they arrive).

Tesco currently have Nivea and L'Oreal mens products on offer so I tried the L'Oreal after shave balm and it's very nice way to finish off a shave and only £4 at the moment.

I'm already looking at a better razor though

Can't believe I'm actually enjoying shaving. I don't have time in the morning so always shave late at night and I'm actually looking forward to it at the moment.

[ultrawomble]

I'm already looking at a better razor though

You'd be hard pressed to get a modern chrome razor with a better fit and finish - more/less aggressive yes, but fit and finish no.

[julian2002]

i'd love a weber DLC, an iKon s3s, a birth year gillette and an every day adjustable (a merkur vision or progress or perhaps a mergress if i get the timing right). unfortunately funding won;t stretch to that right now so i'm feeding my acquisition disorder with low ticket items like blades and balms...

[roll_with_it]

You can go daft with the various products to be tried, like anything I suppose, but one of the best things about changing to DE shaving for me is the massive savings. Even with the more expensive blades i'll be saving a fortune over the likes of muti-blade Wilkinson Sword or Mach3 bollocks. That said, I can see how its tempting to try all the swanky stuff.

[ultrawomble]

i'd love a weber DLC, an iKon s3s, a birth year gillette and an every day adjustable (a merkur vision or progress or perhaps a mergress if i get the timing right).

I've had a Weber DLC Bulldog for a couple of weeks now (managed not to get clobbered with VAT and duty) and I can highly recommend it. To me, it falls between Jagger and Merkur closed-combs with respect to aggressiveness. Beautifully balanced and stainless steel of course. I'd avoid a Progress due to their uneven blade exposure problems (I've the long handled 510), but I've not tried a Vision 2000. However, I've had a matt Merkur Futur for the last 15 years or so and that would be my call on a modern adjustable.

[griffo104]

You'd be hard pressed to get a modern chrome razor with a better fit and finish - more/less aggressive yes, but fit and finish no.

Got to agree with you. The EJ really is superbly put together. held both that and my Gillette Fusion - no comparison to the quality and feel of the EJ.

I may look for a longer handle though.

As I move between Wales and Essex for work then it's sensible to have a razor in each place (honest).

[ultrawomble]

For a longer handled Jagger, take a look at the Mühle R89 Grande - same head as the DE89 but with a 100mm long handle (slightly thicker I believe also). Alternatively, a Merkur 23C or 20C handle will also fit the DE89 head.

[griffo104]

For a longer handled Jagger, take a look at the Mühle R89 Grande - same head as the DE89 but with a 100mm long handle (slightly thicker I believe also). Alternatively, a Merkur 23C or 20C handle will also fit the DE89 head.

Cheers will have a look

[ncdrawl]

check out my new toy. Arrived this AM. Got it for myself as a congratulations for my new job(though very late!) Same wood as one of my prized guitars. Solingen Blade, DOVO.

http://www.theartofshaving.com/Cocob...traight-razors

Also got some more strop paste, as I am running seriously low.
http://www.theartofshaving.com/Strop...e&navid=search

[ncdrawl]

Just got my new Thiers Issard straight (cut throat) razor yesterday. Had the closest shave I've ever had, last night, with only one very small nick. Superb!

awesome man! welcome to the fraternity. ;)

[pmac]

awesome man! welcome to the fraternity. ;)

A bit nervous to begin with, but got a bit more confident as it went on. As i said, the closest shave ever. Recommended to one and all!

[julian2002]

ahhh the acquisition disorder continues...
irridium, feather, gillette 7 oclock sharp and a couple of packs of random cheap blates ordered from spain.
Taylors sandalwood aftershave gel and har and body shampoo ordered...

must resist e-bay....

[KevinF]

Just to lower the tone by a very large degree - I used a K0S Azor with 4-blade carts for a couple of years and found it worked very well indeed - so much so that I could get away with every other day if not meeting clients. However, the handle met an untimely end in the questing jaws of our household griffon, so I asked my wife to buy me a replacement when she was in town. Turned out she couldn't find a KOS 4-blader so came back with the *new* KOS 5-blade 'sensitive'. It is a delight to hold but a miserably poor performer on my face. Blades clog beyond redemption despite being held under a gushing tap between strokes, and it seems not to hold an edge beyond the first shave.

I simply don't have the spuds to go waving a cut-throat in my general direction. There it is. A wimp, I know.

[ultrawomble]

Reliably informed that a Fatip Piccolo arrived in the post.

[julian2002]

Kevin, my cartridge razor of choice used to be the kos azor, I can assure you that after a week I was getting a better shave with a single blade de and good soap than I ever did with the kos. Well worth dropping a few quid and giving it a go. Just be careful and remember to lather often and it's a pleasure.

[turning japanese]

is this the pink fish away team?

talk about hifi you poseurs

[dudywoxer]

Kevin, my cartridge razor of choice used to be the kos azor, I can assure you that after a week I was getting a better shave with a single blade de and good soap than I ever did with the kos. Well worth dropping a few quid and giving it a go. Just be careful and remember to lather often and it's a pleasure.

'tis true, I wenr back to a cheap DE razor a while back, and after the odd cut early on (OK, OK, Bloodbath) I get a closer shave, and a lot less irritation. I must say that even the bog standard wilkinson sword blades, brush and soap seem fine. I have chucked the cheapo razor in favour of a EJ, and that was a change for the better. ( Not CD to vinyl, or night and day, but you don't get blacker backgrounds quite as quick)