Best Razor/Blade Combo for beginners

[motleybrews]

Right now I'm looking at going with a Merkur HD Classic and Astra SP combo.

First time doing traditional wet shaving, and so I wanted to see your opinions on this combo. From my understanding, the Merkur HD classic is a great beginner razor, and the astra sp is good to learn on. i'm also going to order a sampler pack of blades, but i don't want to mangle myself if at all possible!

thanks

 

[ChaoticBliss]

That is the exact combination I used when I first started. However, I think picking up an Edwin Jagger 89 would have been better for me as a beginner. I find the EJ89 to be much more forgiving than the Merkur HD which I think would make it a little easier to learn on. I'm pretty sure you can get a basic EJ89 for about the same price.

The Astra SP is a good all around blade so that is a good choice.

 

[BlkKnight]

To be honest, you'd be fine with a cheap user-grade Super-speed & any pack of middle of the road blades.

Initially your main focus should be your lather - as this is where the shave is made.

 

[motleybrews]

That is the exact combination I used when I first started. However, I think picking up an Edwin Jagger 89 would have been better for me as a beginner. I find the EJ89 to be much more forgiving than the Merkur HD which I think would make it a little easier to learn on. I'm pretty sure you can get a basic EJ89 for about the same price.

The Astra SP is a good all around blade so that is a good choice.

Thanks! Looking at the EJ89, i'll probably go with that. I'm sure once I get the hang of everything, I'll be adding razors to the collection, but I want the first one to be as forgiving as possible.

 

[motleybrews]

To be honest, you'd be fine with a cheap user-grade Super-speed & any pack of middle of the road blades.

Initially your main focus should be your lather - as this is where the shave is made.

Recommendations on soap?

 

[Triad]

Recommendations on soap?

AOS lathers easy sandlewoods a great scent
Cella is great
Razorock very nice and inexpensive

 

[btg]

If I had to start over, I would buy a Gilette Slim or Fatboy set to 3 (slim if you have small hands, Fatboy if they're big), an Omega boar brush, some Arko, and some decent blades (Shark or Feather).

 

[christhach]

+ 1 on the Edwin Jagger 89...in fact, I still use mine today! I wish I had bought this first, because then I would not have had to buy any other razor (I started with a crappy Parker).

In terms of blades, I have never used the Astras although they get a lot of praise on these boards. Given that, I definitely think I would have been best off starting out with red pack Israeli's. You won't get the closest shave (unles you go the 4 pass route), but they are fairly smooth and are almost impossible to cut yourself with. So you will definitely get a comfortable shave and you can slowly work on your technique.

In terms of soap, I would reccomend razorock. You won't find a better price to quality combon imho. Cella is great too. And get a good quality boar from Omega or Semogue too. As a noobe, you don't necessarily want to blow through a lot of $$$ while you are learning.

Alternate perspective: as a noobe, I think you may be best off sticking with good creams until you learn how to build a good lather with a soap. In that case, you may want to spend $60 on a silvertip omega brush and get some good creams like: Speik, proraso, palmolive, musgo, T&H ultimate comfort, castle forbes.

 

[BlkKnight]

I'd go with Cella - I love the almond scent, but it's down to personal preference. I also use MWF, but may not be forgiving for beginners

 

[GencoOliveOilCompany]

I think you have a great razor and blade combo. It would serve you well the rest of your life, in fact. I also really like the RazoRock soap/creams. $6/tub!!!

 

[davebee]

Hi,

I'm like you, just starting (to get back to DE shaving). I got the EJ89 which is a quality piece and actually enjoy shaving with it. Just wish it had a longer handle. Still using Gilette Foamy till my new brush arrives.

Dave

 

[motleybrews]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I ended up ordering the EJ89 and astra sp blades (100 for 10.79). i went with proraso eucalyptus & menthol soap. i've got an old spice (circa the 60s) mug with some soap in it and a badger brush, but just to cover all my basis i ordered a van der hagen set that has a brush, dish, and soap ($10). i figure i'll use that as a back up should i run out of anything before my next order comes. finally, i got a sampler pack of blades to experiment with what i like.

there is a high end clothing boutique type store in town that carries The Art of Shaving stuff (soaps, creams, brushes, etc), so I will probably get some of that good stuff once i get everything down.

also ordered a Gillette SS Flair Tip safety razor from 1954.

 

[jmorris]

The Progress would be a good razor because it is adjustable. Once you get better at shaving with it, you can open up the blade exposure a little more until you eventually get to the point where the blade is exposed as much as possible for what I consider, a closer shave.