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What DE should I start with?

Nonick

Nonick

Sputniks orbit planet face
Group Buy Associate
Shaving with a straight for 6 months, and a shavette for a few months before that.

Most here use DE's which I know nothing about, please point me in the right direction for what would be a good first DE to have. I can't afford a whole collection so which would you get if you had only one? and why? Perhaps the blades matter more than the handle? I wouldn't know.



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Handle matters a lot.

Coming from straights your touch will be good. Can probably risk something more aggressive than the usual starter recommendations. An adjustable of some sort could be good.

Don't get a super speed or a tech you will be wondering where the blade is! Red tip super excepted
 
Nonick said:
Shaving with a straight for 6 months, and a shavette for a few months before that.

Most here use DE's which I know nothing about, please point me in the right direction for what would be a good first DE to have. I can't afford a whole collection so which would you get if you had only one? and why? Perhaps the blades matter more than the handle? I wouldn't know.
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Speed, (relative) safety and travel have DEs over straights. (I guess less fuss as well.)

Blades are important but you'll need to try a few. @Monsta_AU is the man to see about that... The right blade is sharp and smooth.
However you may find they pair with certain razors.

Any razor is great. Plenty of choices and just comes down to preference (vintage or modern; heavy or light; pot-metal or stainless steel or other; adjustable/slant/open comb) and/or cost.

How much to spend?
$2 = Chinese Gillette clone face-peeler
$5 = Gillette Tech 3 piece (vintage, mild)
$15-20 = Gillette Superspeed TTO (vintage, mild)
$20-40 = Parker/Merkur/Edwin Jagger (modern, mildish)
$50-60 = Merkur Slant
$70-80 = Weber stainless steel or Merkur Adjustable or Standard aluminium

And plenty second hand to be had for less...
 
$50 will get you a good modern or vintage razor - $80 a sensational one.

Maybe you should start with a 2011 R41 ....
 
Merkur 34C is a widely recommended starter. I have a long history with it, and I turned out to be a doofus staying with it so long, but so many other I tried were just too aggressive or didn't cut it (Hah, that's a pun, that's what it is).

30 and 20C are milder, but that doesn't mean you sacrifice results. THe handles are nice and grippy too. Really mild shaver like Techs and super speeds are just that.
 
Mild = what? The blade is exposed less? A different angle? Has an amiable disposition? It has a short handle so you can't use as much leverage?

Wow it's like a brave new world
 
I see a 33C and a 34C is the only difference the weight of the handle? The 34C is marketed as a heavy duty shaver..
 
Mild shavers are those designed with stronger safety features IMO. The head design is most important as this controls blade exposure and gap but total weight and balance influence things also.

This makes the razor less likely to cause irritation despite the users technique than something that puts more blade to skin.
 
SmallYetDeadly said:
Mild shavers are those designed with stronger safety features IMO. The head design is most important as this controls blade exposure and gap but total weight and balance influence things also.

This makes the razor less likely to cause irritation despite the users technique than something that puts more blade to skin.
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What he said ^^^^

Head is key as it influences
- the blade angle (angle blade is bent to in head)
- blade gap (gap between blade and bar as seen on side) and
- blade exposure (how much blade sticks out when you look from on top).

Handle = weight and length for balance (as well as grip)
 
What they said.

But there are surprises too. I expected the 30C to be just a lighter version of the 34, as they use a standard head. It's milder, and I don't think the weight difference accounts for it.
 
Mark1966 said:
$50 will get you a good modern or vintage razor - $80 a sensational one.

Maybe you should start with a 2011 R41 ....
Click to expand...
An R41! Now that's a steep learning curve Mark
Maybe a bit milder what about a 1950s super speed? Cheap still,forgiving and unbreakerble.
 
Dude is coming from a straight. I reckon DE shaving has been shocking for my technique compared to straight shaving. You can be positively slap happy by comparison, even with the bloodletter!

In short an R41 is probably a doable switch IMO.
 
What about a Futur? Choose your own depth of cut...
Let's see the tauntingly named one escape that DE eh?
 
Why not do the logical, historically accurate step and go to the first safety razor, an SE. No blades to play around with so you sort of become a bit of a loner on this site. I just started using DEs so I could give all these blade freaks on here some shit.
 
*Notes what's between your user name and the banner below and nods head approvingly*
 
What's my banner say? I'm using tapatalk and can't see :-( PJ I'm a bit of a loner using a straight anyway)

One blade to rule them all! Bwahaha

Actually the tauntingly named one nearly sliced off the - what do you call the little bit at the middle front of the ear? With the front tip of the cadman yesterday [emoji51]
 
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