buying a DE safety razor...

There is a new Art of Shaving store by where I work, and I stopped in before Christmas to purchase some of their pre-shave oil, and check out the safety razors.

As Mr. Gollnick is quite demanding and particular(though also untimely in his fulfillment re: offer of Clear Creek products;))I wanted to handle the Merkur Futura....I found it short and heavy and expensive, although a thing of beauty.

I ordered a Parker 90R(made in India) from Amazon.com(rated 5 stars by 11 people, of 17 total reviews) which also came with 5 Shark blades.....free shipping and cost a total of $26.67. It arrived on Thursday, so I put it to work for my New Year's Eve shave, and only nicked myself a little bit.

Didn't shave yesterday....didn't do much of anything yesterday. Today, I actually looked forward to shaving, and although I nicked myself up a little bit again around the neck region, I must say I have been converted to a DE safety razor man.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Kohai999 said:
As Mr. Gollnick is quite demanding and particular(though also untimely in his fulfillment re: offer of Clear Creek products;)
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I was just looking at that bottle today thinking, "I need to get that sent out."
 
I'm pleased to say, Steve, that I put that package into the mail for you minutes ago. I threw in a few blades for you to try in your new razor too.
 
I have (had) used the same Gillette DE razor for 40 years until i lost it a week or so ago. It just disapeared out of the bathroom.:grumpy::grumpy: All i can think of is the cat was playing with it and knockled into the waste basket and it got thrown out. I am major PO'd. :mad: This razor had the checkered black plastic handle, rest of it chromed brass I suppose. Now I will have to start looking around for a replacement. I like the looks of the Merkur razors, but am afraid they will be too heavy and clunky. They look like it, but it is hard to telll with holding one. I always used the cheap blades from the grocery store and change after 5 or siz shave. My favorite soap is el cheapo Barbasol for Sensitive Skin (or what ever is cheapest.) I only shave everyother day, so always finish against the grain, feeling any missed spots with my hand and keeping under the blade.
 
Gollnick said:
I'm pleased to say, Steve, that I put that package into the mail for you minutes ago. I threw in a few blades for you to try in your new razor too.
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Thank you kindly, Mr. G. Very much missed seeing you at the AKI last year.

Fox Creek said:
I have (had) used the same Gillette DE razor for 40 years until i lost it a week or so ago. It just disapeared out of the bathroom.:grumpy::grumpy: All i can think of is the cat was playing with it and knockled into the waste basket and it got thrown out. I am major PO'd. :mad: This razor had the checkered black plastic handle, rest of it chromed brass I suppose. Now I will have to start looking around for a replacement.
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I have been doing a bunch of looking around, and the Gillette DE razors are actually very common on ebay, many in excellent shape, for quite reasonable prices. Good luck!


Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Late to the party too...

Take a look at badgerandblade and shavemyface.com . They are to wetshaving (ie DE razor/str8's, mens grooming) what we are to knives. They both have a For Sale thread there. You can find many inexpensive razor + blade + soap combo's there.

Check out mantic59 on utube. He has a channel of vids on proper usage of the DE razor and how to make lather.

I'm a member of both sites and have been DE shaving for about 2 years now.

A few other random thoughts to consider...

Yes, pressure on the blade and angle are very important and take awhile to get "right". Expect a few cuts.

Believe it or not, not all DE blades are created equal. Many folks recommend you buy a sample pack or several different manufacturers to find the one that fits your beard best. Like knives, just because its expensive, doesnt mean its the "best". I went thru about 12 different blades and I like one of the lesser expensive ones.

Lather. It's very important to prep your beard/stubble b4 shaving. The canned goo is not liked by many traditional wetshavers. Most go with soaps or creams and a traditional badger brush. Getting the proper ratio of water to soap/cream is important. Differences in water (hard vs soft) make a difference too. Softening the beard and hydrating the skin so the blade slides is huge (unless you want to hack up your face :D).

Razors. A basic Gillette is arguably the standard. Mine is a red tipped '58 (IIRC). Red tips are more aggressive then the blue tips (unless I have it backwards). I'd stay away from the adjustable ones for beginners, too many variables to start with.
 
For a small lightweight razor, have found the Merkur Traveller to be superb.It shaves really closely and dismantles into 3 pieces that go in a slim leather pouch, an IDEAL razor for when you have to travel.

Some people like a large heavy razor or one with a long handle but I prefer Merkur's shorter and more traditional renderings, that matched with a Feather blade gives me the peerless shave.
 
gazz98 said:
Razors. A basic Gillette is arguably the standard. Mine is a red tipped '58 (IIRC). Red tips are more aggressive then the blue tips (unless I have it backwards). I'd stay away from the adjustable ones for beginners, too many variables to start with.
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I picked up a gently used Red Tip B2, a Gillette Adjustable Slim Safety Razor, and a NIB Gillette Knack handled in what looks like blue celluloid for at total of $80.88 delivered from offerings on the 'bay which should all be in hand this week. Am really looking forward to test driving them all with the plethora of blades that Chuck just sent me....adventures in shaving at 40+ years of age, who would have thunk it?:thumbup::D

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
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Remember, no pressure at all. Let the razor do the work. Prep is the most important aspect of your morning shave. It's always been my opinion that the razor is the least of the shaving equation. A decent brush, soap/cream (I'm a soap man myself) and good prep are all more important than the razor. It's too bad that Merkur is so hit and miss quality-wise anymore. I've had good luck with my razors, but I've heard stories from some of my amigos over on SMF.com about shoddy craftsmanship. The new iKon DE razors sure look promising though.

-Tye
 
nate1714 said:
Where do you all get your blades from? Any particular favorites?
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www.westcoastshaving.com

Feathers are the best, but they're the most expensive and I and most reviewers report only three or four shaves per blade from them.

Bic Chrome Platinum are the value-point for me. They're 95% as good as Feather for half the price and I get about six good shaves from each. I also like the fact that they come in a paper box (many blades come in plastic boxes with plastic overwrap); I'm not a raging environmentalize whacko, but I do think there are some simple things we can all do to benefit the environment and prefering less packaged products and products packaged in recyclable packaging is one of them.

Derby is another great brand. Derby blades are especially consistent and just give a very good, consistent shave. Many on-line reporters report Derby to be their favorite, every-day blade.

Feather blades are from Japan. Bic are from Greece. And Derby are Turkish. So, it's all quite the international thing. For me, it takes a German razor and brush, blades from Japan, Greece, or Turkey, and soap hand-made in West Virginia to get me shaved in the morning.
 
My absolute favorites are the 'Swedish Gillettes', but I hear that they are no longer made. IMO the best blades made nowadays are the Super Iridiums. There are a few places that sell blade sample packs. I get my blades from www.westcoastshaving.com .

-Tye
 
Zach4542 said:
I'm 15, never used one of these :) I started with a straight razor.
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As far as I can tell, straight razor shaving is something that a man was not intended to do by himself.

It harkens back to a day when men neither shaved themselves nor maintained their own razors. An upper-class gentleman was shaved by his valet and it was the valet who did all of the honing and stopping and maintaining of the razor. A lower-class bloke was shaved by his wife (or by one of his daughters as part of her domestic training to eventually become a wife herself) and the wife or a daughter took care of the razor. And a middle-class man spared his womenfolk this manual task by spending a penny at the local barber shop once or twice a week to have the barber shave him; the barber, of course, took care of the razor in this case.

The man who, today, decides to take on straight-razor shaving is making quite a committment which a man was just never intended to take on himself.
 
Gollnick said:
As far as I can tell, straight razor shaving is something that a man was not intended to do by himself.

The man who, today, decides to take on straight-razor shaving is making quite a committment which a man was just never intended to take on himself.
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When else do you get some quiet time to yourself to hold a razor edge to your throat? :p

I found 4 older straights at a flea market, sent them off for repairs and honing. 2 of those are quite old. Just won another old on on ebay on friday.
Ordered a Parker SRW and 120 blades (seperated Shark blades, from Egypt) the same weekend. This is week 3 of shaving with a straight (albeit with disposable blades), and shave 3 was the only one with a decent cut.
Last 2 shaves were with Feather, and I'll be switching over to a Derby next to try it out. Think I might have to get a sample pack of a few choices to try out. So far the Feather isn't leaving as much burn on my neck as the Shark does (but I'll try them with another soap before writing them off).

I'm finding that if I start with a low angle and increase till it shaves, then use 1-2" sections, I don't get pink soap. We're not going to say how I looked after the first couple shaves.
 
Gollnick said:
The man who, today, decides to take on straight-razor shaving is making quite a committment which a man was just never intended to take on himself.
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It's certainly a bigger time investment than the convenience of a DE. As per its overall keeping, I'd say that for many of us Forumites that fuss and fret over the edge on our EDC knives and kitchen knives, the work involved in maintaining a straight razor is just one little step from our usual blade OCD. :D
 
Back on topic, well, MORE so... I've got two Merkur Futur razors on their way to me... one for myself and a gold plated one as a gift for a relative with a birthday coming up. His employer is real picky about employees being shaven every day (they'd probably make him shave on his lunch break too if they could get away with it!). I figure if I can get him onto DE's he can reap the economic benefit of using less expensive blades as opposed to cartridges.

Sure, I ogled the gold plated ones for my own use too, but I ain't swarthy enough to pull it off. :D Besides, the chrome one will look more at home with all the stainless steel stuff in my bathroom.
 
There is one particular razor that I would recommend to anyone, young or old. That is the old "pre-war" fat handled Gillette Tech. The are a mild, but very smooth shaving razor. Coupled with a Feather or an ASP blade, they can offer truly remarkable shaves.
 
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