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Best Startup Kit

R

russjones

Hi,

Im 17, and very interested in starting wetshaving, I have about £40 to spend and want the best gear I can get for that money. Just a matter of personal preference, but I generally like the razor to have a bit of character, such as an faux ivory handle and such.

thanks
 
Heljen

Heljen

Welcome to the forum :thumbup:

Wetshaving is great. 40£ is about 65$ give or take a dollar. I hear good things from whippeddog.com
They sell a starting kit for 58$ so that is in your range. However you don't get to see the razor you buy. It is a sight unseen so no pictures, you get one at random.
I have some faux ivory razors myself and I also like to looks of it.
 
R

russjones

Heljen said:
Welcome to the forum :thumbup:

Wetshaving is great. 40£ is about 65$ give or take a dollar. I hear good things from whippeddog.com
They sell a starting kit for 58$ so that is in your range. However you don't get to see the razor you buy. It is a sight unseen so no pictures, you get one at random.
I have some faux ivory razors myself and I also like to looks of it.
Click to expand...

hi, thanks for the reply. That site has some good deals but it will cost a small fortune in packing, i was looking more more of a list of gear than anything else.
 
J

jojoc

for that price range, I agree with the whippeddog recommendation. However, you do get a picture of the razor. for $42 you get the razor, 5 blades, soap and a very nice silver tip brush. I have no personal experience with the razor. If you go name-brand, you likely will not get either a brush or razor for that price. A great way to get started. For a good soap/cream on a budget look to Proraso.
 
Heljen

Heljen

russjones said:
hi, thanks for the reply. That site has some good deals but it will cost a small fortune in packing, i was looking more more of a list of gear than anything else.
Click to expand...

What do you mean with the list of gear? And the packing cost won't be that bad. U are from the UK I guess with the £. Shipping is 7$ outside the US.

jojoc said:
for that price range, I agree with the whippeddog recommendation. However, you do get a picture of the razor. for $42 you get the razor, 5 blades, soap and a very nice silver tip brush. I have no personal experience with the razor. If you go name-brand, you likely will not get either a brush or razor for that price. A great way to get started. For a good soap/cream on a budget look to Proraso.
Click to expand...

I was thinking he ment a straight razor with is sight unseen. Actually never looked at his DE deals. :p.
 
R

russjones

jojoc said:
for that price range, I agree with the whippeddog recommendation. However, you do get a picture of the razor. for $42 you get the razor, 5 blades, soap and a very nice silver tip brush. I have no personal experience with the razor. If you go name-brand, you likely will not get either a brush or razor for that price. A great way to get started. For a good soap/cream on a budget look to Proraso.
Click to expand...

hi, when looking around most razors and brushes are £20 a piece. As heljen said, £40 is around $65
 
R

russjones

Heljen said:
What do you mean with the list of gear? And the packing cost won't be that bad. U are from the UK I guess with the £. Shipping is 7$ outside the US.
Click to expand...
recommended razors and brushes, i dont really know whats good and bad

double edge, sorry i didnt mention this before
 
J

jojoc

as far as a list of gear, if you don't do a kit like that, my starter recommendations would be:
Razor:Merkur 34C HD or 38C HD razor or a Edwin Jagger 89
Brush: Whippeddog -- you will be unlikely to find a better brush fro the price
Blade: sampler pack to try out several blades and see what works for you
Soap/cream: Proraso
 
R

russjones

jojoc said:
as far as a list of gear, if you don't do a kit like that, my starter recommendations would be:
Razor:Merkur 34C HD or 38C HD razor or a Edwin Jagger 89
Brush: Whippeddog -- you will be unlikely to find a better brush fro the price
Blade: sampler pack to try out several blades and see what works for you
Soap/cream: Proraso
Click to expand...

thanks for the advice.
just out of interest, want the difference between the relatively cheap and expensive shave soap/cream.
 
Heljen

Heljen

I have a cheap Weishi for a double egde razor. Don't have anything other to compare with but it gives me a smooth shave.
 
Attila

Attila

Good recommendations by jojoc. I would say stick with the EJ DE89. I had all those that he mentions and I found the DE89 best for a new shaver. Efficient yet very very forgiving. I found the 38C very assertive and better suited to me later on. A nice vintage Gillette like a Superspeed is also very inexpensive yet a very good shaver while not being expensive. Look on the Buy/Sell/Trade section of this forum for some good deals. Larry at Whipped Dog is also a great suggestion. He won't steer you wrong and he has great prices on good quality gear.

Soaps and Creams can be very personal to a lot of people. What works well for one may not work so well for another. My favorite soap is Mike's Natural Soaps and they sell for around $10 apiece on his website with reasonable shipping costs. Some find them hard to lather, I definitely don't have any trouble and they give me the best lather imaginable. All natural ingredients.

But the recommendation he gave you for Proraso is a good one. Proraso is among the cheapest yet also is widely recognized as very easy to lather and very decent quality of lather as well. Easily found at many retailers. Probably the most common good quality shave soap.
 
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R

russjones

Attila said:
Good recommendations by jojoc. I would say stick with the EJ DE89. I had all those that he mentions and I found the DE89 best for a new shaver. Efficient yet very very forgiving. I found the 38C very assertive and better suited to me later on. A nice vintage Gillette like a Superspeed is also very inexpensive yet a very good shaver while not being expensive. Look on the Buy/Sell/Trade section of this forum for some good deals. Larry at Whipped Dog is also a great suggestion. He won't steer you wrong and he has great prices on good quality gear.

Soaps and Creams can be very personal to a lot of people. What works well for one may not work so well for another. My favorite soap is Mike's Natural Soaps and they sell for around $10 apiece on his website with reasonable shipping costs. Some find them hard to lather, I definitely don't have any trouble and they give me the best lather imaginable. All natural ingredients.

But the recommendation he gave you for Proraso is a good one. Proraso is among the cheapest yet also is widely recognized as very easy to lather and very decent quality of lather as well. Easily found at many retailers. Probably the most common good quality shave soap.
Click to expand...

hi, thanks for the advice, think I will go for the edwin jagger then, these appealed to me from the beginning because im from sheffield and thought the idea of one was quite novel
 
Attila

Attila

russjones said:
hi, thanks for the advice, think I will go for the edwin jagger then, these appealed to me from the beginning because im from sheffield and thought the idea of one was quite novel
Click to expand...

Good choice. The only thing I didn't like about the EJ DE89 is the smooth handle can be a bit slippery. I replaced it with an iKon Bulldog Handle but you can get a Weber Bulldog handle for much cheaper and it changes the quality of the shave drastically. Pairing those two together makes that razor head work even better. I highly recommend changing the handle. But if you don't want to I expect it will still work well for you.
 
R

russjones

Attila said:
Good choice. The only thing I didn't like about the EJ DE89 is the smooth handle can be a bit slippery. I replaced it with an iKon Bulldog Handle but you can get a Weber Bulldog handle for much cheaper and it changes the quality of the shave drastically. Pairing those two together makes that razor head work even better. I highly recommend changing the handle. But if you don't want to I expect it will still work well for you.
Click to expand...
i think im going to get the de87 http://www.shaving-shack.com/edwin-jagger-double-edge-razor-de87_plus-5-derby-de-blades.html
hopefully, this may hold a little better when wet compared to chrome
 
Attila

Attila

I found this also, The DE87811. http://www.fendrihan.com/edwin-jagger-classic-safety-razor-ivory-octagonal-handle-p-1306.html Has an octagonal handle which I think would facilitate your grip even more. Not sure if the smooth polyester on the plain DE87 would be very grippy...or not.

Or this one at Connaught Shaving (A UK based retailer, might save you a bit on shipping costs)

http://connaughtshaving.com/mur106.html This is a Muhle with a head very very similar to the DE89. The handle is a Resin which I think would afford a better grip. Though this would be a German made razor and not British... it is a tad cheaper. Another option for you and I think it looks really nice.
 
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UKMerk

UKMerk

@russjones, if you haven't ordered yet take a look at 'traditionalshaving' for the same item. User discount code 'tsr' for 10% discount :thumbup:.

I ordered my Merkur 34c from them and they were great, pricing and quick shipping.
 
LarryDarrell

LarryDarrell

The Edwin Jagger DE89 is a great razor. I have the barley handle Version and it is beautiful to look at and doesn't slip in my hand.
 
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