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Newbie from Melbourne

saku39

saku39

Member
Hi all, Melbournite born and breed. I'm brand new to the wet shaving thing, I've been using the Mach 3 for years. Not ready for the straight but was thinking of dipping my toe in the water with a D/E safety razor.

I've been reading the forums for the last few days and think I'm suffering from information overload! I'd appreciate some advice as to where a good place to start with everything from razors, blades to pre and post shave soaps and everything inbetween.

Obviously as I'm brand new to this I don't want anything that I'm likely to take half my face off haha.

Anyway thanks for having me.
 
Welcome!
A Murker 34c is a good starter and continues to serve me well. I got mine in a sample pack from Mensbiz which included a brush but I found their superbadger lacking backbone. A sample pack of blades is a must, as was recommended to me, try starting with an Astra. Grab a soap from Anthony at Shaver Heaven. Aussie made, family business and lathers itself.
 
Gillette FatBoy SET on 3 initially - Semogue 1305 - Vodskhod Blades - L'Occitaine Shave Cream - Floid Blue - Acqua Di Gio Aftershave Balm - Acqua Di Parma Mediterranean Blue.
 
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Brush: Semogue 1250
Razor: Merkur 34C
Blade: Gillette Rubies
Soap: Saponificio Varesino Artic Tundra
Aftershave: Proraso splash
Balm: Nivea sensitive

I base my recommendations on price, performance and ease of use.

Note the brush is boar hair. It does take 15 shaves or so to prepare the brush. Afterwards it is extremely enjoyable.
 
Welcome @saku39
Regarding where to start. For brushes and soaps I'd start with something that will give you a great lather without much fussing. It's all in the lather.
Shaver Heaven Soaps work very easily, as does Cella. Get a good synthetic brush like a Plissoft (from RazoRock) and you'll be creating great lather in no time.

Razors: I agree a Slim or Fatboy would be perfect, but unless you have some help, picking up a good user grade as a newbie may be a challenge. An EJ89 or similar is my vote as its a nice middle of the road razor. You may outgrow it if you like a more efficient shave. You may not, like many people here.

Blades, I like Astra SPs as nice average blades that can be got easily for a good price.
 
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Hi and welcome to P&C @saku39 - I am sure you will have a great time here!

Although there are a variety of opinions out there...eventually all streets lead to Rome ;)

Razor: Merkur 34, Edwin Jagger 89, Muhle r89

Brush: make your life easy at the beginning at get a nice synthetic - cheap, no break in period (ie 15-30 shaves before the knot becomes enjoyable) and easiest brush to produce wonderful lather
Plisson, Whipped Dog, RazoRock, Fine, Stirling (also has fantastic soaps), Maggard

Blades: get a blade sampler with at least 5 blades each - try a bit and then settle on one and use the whole packet...
Some suggestions - many more options out there:
Mild: Derby, Merkur
Medium: Voskhod, Astras, US Personas
Sharp: PolSilver SI, Gillette Silver Blues
Ninja: Feather

Soap/Cream: again many choices out there, but why not start right on top with our own @Anthony Shaver Heaven...easy to load, easy to lather and great performer

I would also recommend an alum block and some sort of after shave - I prefer alcohol free witch hazel, but this is very skin type dependent...

Shops I have used or heard only good things about:
Australia: Mensbiz, The Stray Whisker
Europe: Gifts & Care, Connaught
US: RazoRock, Maggard
 
Welcome mate!

saku39 said:
...! I'd appreciate some advice as to where a good place to start with everything from razors, blades to pre and post shave soaps and everything inbetween.
Click to expand...

How long is a piece of string? We all have our favourites so take all we say with a grain of salt...

Razor: Merkur 34C has been mentioned twice, easy to buy, good, solid middle of the road razor, can't go wrong. While I appreciate @FatBoy58's love the [vintage] Gillette Fatboy Adjustable you are buying used (or shelling out a LOT of money) and they can be damaged. Play it safe - get a 34C.

Blades: You will be sold a sample pack. That is OK but do you know the difference between a good blade and a bad blade? If not use the included Astra or Personna until they are finished (5 pack probably 15 - 20 shaves) because by that stage you should have a basic technique going OK.

Soap/Cream: Hard to buy a bad one from the major online stores. Middle of the road reams like Taylors of Old Bond Street (TOBS) are easy to lather and come in a range of scents. Cella is a soft soap if you like marzipan, Proraso another Italian favourite. If you are happy to spread your dollars around different vendors any of the Shaver Heaven soaps by @Anthony are great.

Post shave: There are any number of products with different properties based around skin types etc. If you are getting Shaver Heaven soaps - get their post shave, if Proraso try their post shave. With other you might want to try Thayers Witch Hazel

Brush: Hmmm, easy option here is a reliable synthetic. You can get the cheaper Omegas locally or the slightly more expensive St James - which seem to be well regarded.

I've tried to recommend stuff available in Australia to save shipping and waiting on overseas vendors - save that till later.

Locally we have some great suppliers with a broad range like:

Mensbiz: http://www.mensbiz.com.au/
Stray Whisker: http://thestraywhisker.com.au/

EDIT: others have posted while I was typing and interrupted :)

@alfredus is spot on with his observations. @Young Buck and @Psmith have good suggestions too - can't go wrong with any of these.

It depends it you want simple, quick, local and from one vendor or are happy to shop around a little too.

Obviously as I'm brand new to this I don't want anything that I'm likely to take half my face off haha.
Click to expand...

No need to worry about that - seriously. If you are worried get a styptic pencil though.

Anyway thanks for having me.
Click to expand...

Pleasure :)
 
There's a Stirling Synthetic, which is a brilliant brush, here for $30 if it's still available. I would jump on that. If I was starting again that is what I would start with.

There's also a Merkur 1904 for sale by, ahem, me.:whistle:
Even though it's an open comb I reckon it's a great first razor. It's very very mild. I'm happy to throw a number of different blades in there as a sample pack (Astra, Voskhod, Personna, Feathers etc)
 
Welcome on board! Great to see another Melbourne member!

The guys here are fantastic! Enjoy your stay and keep us posted on how you get on.
 
Hello @saku39 to the world of choices and opinions! Plenty of options but as you've heard suggested above, there's some great recommended tools to start out with.
 
Now @saku39 if you were not confused before you asked the question you sure as HELL are now and if you were confused beforehand then you are now totally F@#d. So my advise is stick with one suggestion and hope to hell you don't go broke in the next 6 months and discover you have 50 soaps - 20 razors - 25 brushes
 
Welcome @saku39 ! Some great posts here. I second @alfredus and @Mark1966 's posts above. I will articulate one or two things that when I look back on my first purchase (mens biz starter pack, the $120 one), I wish I had done differently (or more accurately, think I could have done better).

  • Razor - Edwin Jagger DE89 - Why - it's a 3 piece design, which means you can use the handle for other heads if you want (merkur 34c is a 2 piece but just as awesome). Also the DE89 design was previously a 34c and they tried to make improvements (subjective). Gifts N Care Link - $22.73 euro (10% discount for P&C members from Juan off that price) around $31 AUD pre-shipping - note I'm deducting 10% for their stuff in AUD but will summarise at the end.


  • Soap - you're in Melbourne so can head along to a P&C shaver meet up (if that's not too much for you to start with), that's on next weekend (10th April). Sure someone will have a soap there you can obtain.
  • OR Haslinger Soap (making the most of shipping from GiftsnCare) - Link $5.17 Euro or $8 AUD

  • Post Shave - completely up to you depending if you like alcohol, menthol etc. If you choose to get something from GiftsNCare though (and I only keep at it as the shipping will be around $12 Euro fixed up to a pretty large box, so might as well keep adding stuff), get some Myrsol. Emulsion if you like balm with menthol is awesome - Link $10.70 Euro or $15 AUD


Ordering from Gifts N Care with shipping would be around $70.20 Euro or $104 AUD (I'd just message Juan @Gifts&Care.com as it doesn't look like the discount has come off that total) if you got all the above. Or drop the Boar from G&C, order a Synth from Italian Barber with would bring the total to $117 AUD roughly (potentially less depending on the 10% discount from Juan).

Just a few ideas and links to wet the appetite, can't really go wrong with any of the suggestions on here from the guys.
 
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Hi @saku39 and welcome to the forums! Some great advice from @Mark1966 and @Korbz already.

The things I can add from the perspective of a relative newbie is start simple - there's some good videos on YouTube for DE shaving. The technique is different, and important. Take it slowly the first few shaves and get used to the equipment. If you try to use it like a Mach3 there will be blood - there probably will be anyway ;) but it's a matter of degree.

Don't get caught up in the razor or blade envy :) You can always upgrade later! Blades vary from face to face, but Astras seem to get wide acceptance as a reasonable starter blade.

I'll add Shaverhut https://www.shaverhut.com.au as another local store - I've bought from them, but not affiliated in any way.
 
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