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OPINION: Everyone's first razor should be a Gillette Slim.

@Ferret619 absolutely right about the size of the adjustable heads. Hence why I pif'd the futur copy. However minor as it then teaches advanced nose gymnastics o_O
I for one am always ATG under my nose for that last 5mm.
 
My vote would be a Merkur 34C or if the budget can stretch, a Wilkinson Sword Sticky.
Both very well made, very easy to use, yield great shaves, and forgiving. Great to learn with, and also a razor that you'll probably still keep in your arsenal.
 
TomG said:
My vote would be a Merkur 34C or if the budget can stretch, a Wilkinson Sword Sticky.
Both very well made, very easy to use, yield great shaves, and forgiving. Great to learn with, and also a razor that you'll probably still keep in your arsenal.
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My first was a Parker something.. it was not good, I PIFed it (if u can call it that) and just didn't have a razor for awhile.
Looked homeless as
 
bald as said:
With an adjustable DE and a new shaver, every time a blade adjustment is made angle and pressure need to be compensated otherwise whiskers tend to scrapped off rather than cut. For someone with wet shaving experience this is second nature but not for a beginner.
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THIS!!!

I started with the Progress as my first DE - and whilst it is a wonderful razor and I still miss it - it took me some months to figure out, that the angle on #1 is quiet different to the angle on #3

My #1 recommendation for someone new would be a Jagger DE89 - mild, yet efficient and good enough for at least your first six months + a BBS is easily achievable.

I've had some horror experiences with vintage razors (bent safety bars etc.) - you don't want that, when you start out.

As for adjustables: show me one person who has the strength MOT to change the dial, until they have figured it out. Not going to happen and because of what @bald as said the learning will take (unnecessary) longer.

On the original topic: I found both the Slim and the Fatboy quiet...ordinary to put it mildly...as with most vintage razors, they don't hold (at least modern) blades well, resulting in blade chatter. I must admit, that the curved head design of the Old Type in the current travel box, is one of the best I have encountered in vintage razors.
 
RustyBlade said:
@Ferret619 absolutely right about the size of the adjustable heads. Hence why I pif'd the futur copy. However minor as it then teaches advanced nose gymnastics o_O
I for one am always ATG under my nose for that last 5mm.
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I actually have no issue getting under there but many report issues. Everyone should just start with an 8/8 wedge.
 
bald as said:
Based on a few years wet shaving I would never recommend a DE for a new shaver. Gillette won the advertising battle but being told something is better doesn't mean it is. DE razors by design are often very subjective in head angle and because of this many [regardless of experience] suffer random and at times not so random irritation. Because of the flaky head design to accommodate a cheap mass produced high profit blade, the guess work with the cutting angle and the narrow tolerance for pressure against the skin, the DE is a razor I would not suggest. With an adjustable DE and a new shaver, every time a blade adjustment is made angle and pressure need to be compensated otherwise whiskers tend to scrapped off rather than cut. For someone with wet shaving experience this is second nature but not for a beginner.

My personal suggestion for anyone beginning the money saving wet shaving adventure is a Schick injector - any model from the "G" onwards. Good blade life, easy head angle and excellent results straight up.

Regardless - blood, irritation and pain will teach you all you need to know with any DE.
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+1 on the DE side of things (I am yet to try a Schick injector).

For my money, as a learner of around nine months, DEs either shaved mildly (and not close enough, requiring too many passes and failing to offer a closer shave than a cart) or aggressively (close enough but with weepers / other damage until your angle / pressure / technique is spot on). This is plain to experience just in the different plates of a Rockwell 6S - a matter of pick your poison - choose a mild plate but no close shave or efficient plate but you had better be paying attention! What is required for a learner is something that still shaves efficiently but with little risk of major damage.

For me, my Feather Artist Club DX with Guarded blades was easier to get a good shave from initially than a DE. When you're learning it all takes a long time regardless but the issues of angle etc are faster to learn with a straight like this. No issues with knowing whether your blade is sharp enough and the guards really do protect from major damage unless you get silly (they have never cut me despite my initial ham fistedness). While the AC system is an expensive initial ask, there are cheaper options like the CJB razor that are meant to be just as good using the same blades.
 
I started with a Merkur 34C and I think that was a great intro to wet shaving, but I don't believe it would have been any different if my first razor was an adjustable.
I bought a Slim after several months and I found the adjustability very helpful as a new wet shaver, started out carefully on 3 and worked up as I got used to the razor and different blades. I think if you're sensible you can certainly start out on an adjustable IMHO.
 
Maxime D. said:
My introduction recommendation to DE has always been the Wilkinson Sword Classic, everyone should own at least 1 of them.
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Can't say I've had a dealing with one :(
 
Ferret619 said:
Know what I recommend?
Feather popular.
Cheap, reliable, comes with a good blade and easy to buy.
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Never tried that. Wanted to get it just for fun really, just to see how far cheap can get you. My #1 recommendation is either a Parker or 34c. Generic but workhorses. Wilkinson sword classic is good too
 
Spencer Frankel said:
Never tried that. Wanted to get it just for fun really, just to see how far cheap can get you. My #1 recommendation is either a Parker or 34c. Generic but workhorses. Wilkinson sword classic is good too
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My first new razor was a Parker and god damn! It was baaaaaad!! Worst ever, I didn't buy another new razor for a long time
 
Spencer Frankel said:
Wow. Opposite to me mate. Went through three. Still fantastic shavers for me to this day. Even next to my boutiques (y) love how subjective this hobby is
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I was really bummed, I love Parker pens so I assumed a razor from them would be top tier, no idea if I just had a dud but seariously, I hated it.
 
the first decision is TTO or 3 piece. The problem with a vintage can be has it been dropped, I have a mint fat boy it's great ..... I also have a not so mint fat boy which will need some bending to get it back to spec.
So if as a first razor you get a dud vintage it can put you off, if you gate a good one its great.
New removes the risk of razor has hasn't been treated nice in the past.
If gillette still made skins and you could buy a new one that would be great ..... but for a noob it posses a risk.
I also have a MicroTouch ..... you can get them new, they are cheap, and safe and you are shaving ...... then you can start collecting vintage, which is what I'm doing.
My FaTip Gentile would be ideal as a first razor (very safe) until you could find a great slim.
 
The old Gillette Slim was my first razor when I started shaving, never had any problems with it. For the life of me I don't remember what happened to it, must have got thrown out when the Trac II sucked most people in. It's quite ironic that my first purchase on returning to DE shaving would be a Slim from Ebay, nostalgia striking I think. Must bring it out now and add it to the rotation along with The Fat Boy. I had a Progress too, didn't like it much and sold it on, not a patch on the Gillette adjustables imho.
 
Erimus said:
The old Gillette Slim was my first razor when I started shaving, never had any problems with it. For the life of me I don't remember what happened to it, must have got thrown out when the Trac II sucked most people in. It's quite ironic that my first purchase on returning to DE shaving would be a Slim from Ebay, nostalgia striking I think. Must bring it out now and add it to the rotation along with The Fat Boy. I had a Progress too, didn't like it much and sold it on, not a patch on the Gillette adjustables imho.
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I'm defiantly glad to have one again
 
Yes... I've got a couple... a user and a bottler of a Looker. Still very usable with them if you are happy with a fair shave... and I almost always am. I must admit to these days enjoying some of my more modern shiny beauties! I have realised, however, to appreciate just how tolerant the Slim is of most razor blades in comparison to some (or most) of the moderns! I can even use a Dorco for a fairly good shave with a Slim! Not sure I would use a Dorco with, for example, a Maggard V3A or a couple of my others.
 
Two things a beginner needs: a very tame, stable razor, and the ability to heed advice from someone experienced.
My first was a D86 (on Monsta's advice on another forum pre-P&C days) and I listened to a lot of the things people were saying about bouncing from blade to blade and I just worked on technique.
Fast forward to today and I have an R41 which I still use every now and then, a bunch of older Gillettes and my favourite, the Progress.
Had I used the R41 with little idea of what I was doing, I would have ended up with a face like Freddy Kruger.
 
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