Best DE razor for a beginner?

[skot23]

It's not terribly popular, but the Merkur 20c is a great starter. You could stick with it forever. It's very forgiving with a good weight. I'd picked one up when my parker was a bit too aggressive. It works great with every blade and it's inexpensive.

 

[FatboyFan]

Merkur 33/34c I think is what I would be telling people these days. A lot of love out there for DE89s as well but I don't recommend them from personal experience. Toss a Gillette silver Blue in it and stick to that while you get your technique down

I would also put a vote in for a Wilkinson Sword Classic. Mild , forgiving and to be honest I can get a pretty good shave from it even now, BBS is totally achievable for only a little extra effort. They're also cheap as chips. You can pick one up for under $10 USD.

 

[The Easy Life]

I got the EJ DE89 Barley as my first razor four years ago. I liked it so much, it is still my only one. I am going to get another one for my son this year when he starts shaving. I also started with a sampler pack of blades but after tearing up my face for a few weeks on some of these blades, I bought a large pack of Feathers and haven't looked back. This combination works for me. BTW -The Barley handle on the Edwin Jagger DE89 is for looks only. It does not improve grip at all.

 

[ZigZiglar]

I would also recommend the Jagger razor to you as one you can start with and one that you will stay with after you get proficient at DE shaving.

I always recommend a new DE shaver get a 100 count carton of Astra blades (they are around $9 delivered through amazon).

After they get half of the carton used (2-3 months) they should know how to shave by then and can start looking at different blades.

I have seen way too many new shavers grab a large "sampler package" and get awful shave after awful shave from each and every brand, blaming their problems on the razor blades and never leaning how to shave.

Pick one blade.
Prep your beard properly
Map your beard (so you know which way WTG, XTG, ATG is)
Stretch your skin while shaving
Use short rapid strokes and keep a consistent blade angle.

If you do all of the above you should be able to shave with any blade stuffed into any razor and get a perfect shave time after time.

Best response in the whole thread. Couldn't have said it any better.