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DE shaving seems comparatively inexpensive. where to buy my first?

tl;dr could you recommend a good beginner's double-edged safety razor from this website, or any Canadian online retailer?

So I woke up this morning and spent a dollar shaving. Over time, I'm finding that such expenses can rack up quite a bill. I currently use a knockoff 5 blade cartridge thing, that cost a little more than $2 per cart. They really don't last very long; I find that the quality of the shave deteriorates after three days, which I find to be kind of unsatisfactory. A fresh blade does a good job on the shave, though I have a thicker, stranger pattern around my jawline that never does what I want. I use a lathering soap to shave with, after a shower.

Anyways I'm interested in DE saftey razor shaving. I hear the cost of shaving for a year can be negligible, as far as the razors and blades themselves go. Apparently, it's also possible to get quite a close shave, with practice. I use a topical acne treatment that works best with the closest daily shave possible. So if a double-edged safety razor can get closer without slitting my throat, I'd like to try it out. To be clear: I am not interested in this as a hobby at this point. While the ideal me can ride horses, play the cello, understand string theory and shave cutthroat, the real me has to settle for riding a bicycle and puzzling through High School Chemistry. I am only interested in this for the financial benefits, as well as the closeness of the shave.

Right now I am looking into ordering a basic double-edged safety razor. I live in Canada, so ordering from ebay and from other classifieds is somewhat more difficult than ordering from Canadian online retailers. I found fendrihan.com through badgerandblade, and they seem to have a decent selection, as well as free shipping options. But I'm not married to that retailer at all, so feel free to suggest alternatives if you have experience. I'm hoping to purchase a sampler pack of blades in addition to the razor itself. Which brands should I look at first? Do any of you have a recommendation for a DE razor (I'm thinking mid or even mid-low aggressiveness to start) given my context? As I said before, I'm not really looking to buy vintage, and I am only interested in the quality of the shave, not in the art.

What brands should I look at? Can I get away with a cheaper razor? I'm really just testing the waters.
Thanks guys!
 
I sorted the list priced low to high. The first one that came up that has a very good rep was this one. For blades, I'd suggest buying a few packs of a good, middle of the road blade before before buying a sampler. Get your prep and technique down, then start playing with blades. Astra SP is very popular around here. Pick up a decent, not super expensive brush. Badger is generally softer than boar. Add a tub of Proraso shaving cream and you're set for many months.

OTOH, you could pick up a starter kit on the cheap at bestshave.net. They're in Turkey but ship worldwide. Razor , soap & brush for under 10 USD.
 
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As long as you're willing to put in the time to master the skill of DE shaving (and avoid getting sucked into this as a hobby :), you can save money and get close shaves. I don't know necessarily know that you'll get closer...that's going to be a personal thing really. I can say with some confidence that you should be able to get just as close.

My guy reaction to folks that want to "buy one razor and that's it" does tend toward Vintage, as I know those are going to well built, and quality pieces that you can live with for the rest of your life without much probability of failure. It's not that you can't buy quality in modern of course, you can, but it will cost you a tad more to get something comparable to vintage quality.

Given you've said you want to stay away from vintage, I think dcobranchi's recommendation of the 1904 is a perfectly good one. If you're willing to spend a little more money, you might try the Merkur 34C, or the Muhle DE89 (or equivalent Edwin Jagger variant). Those two razors are probably the most popular modern DEs. They'll both give you excellent shaves, and cared for can likely last a lifetime.

I know your point is to save money, but do consider that most razors can be sold pretty easily to recover some of your cost...so if you can afford to experiment with different razors, I would suggest you do so until you find something you really like, then sell off whatever didn't work out for you. From that point on..it's all gravy - blades and other supplies are dirt cheap (with the right choices).

For lather, I'd recommend a shave stick and face lathering. You just rub the soap right on your face, and lather on your face. No bowl needed, it's easy to tell when the lather is good and you get a little extra scrub time on your beard. Arko, Palmolive, Speick and many other sticks are inexpensive.
 
You might try Italian Barber. Italianbarber.com they may be based in Canada. I know they ship there and their prices are reasonable
 
If you live in the Toronto area, let me know. I can direct you to a few places selling razors in retail store. I have also found a store selling blades for 1.99 for 10 (Dorcos).
 
As long as you're willing to put in the time to master the skill of DE shaving (and avoid getting sucked into this as a hobby :), you can save money and get close shaves. I don't know necessarily know that you'll get closer...that's going to be a personal thing really. I can say with some confidence that you should be able to get just as close.

My guy reaction to folks that want to "buy one razor and that's it" does tend toward Vintage, as I know those are going to well built, and quality pieces that you can live with for the rest of your life without much probability of failure. It's not that you can't buy quality in modern of course, you can, but it will cost you a tad more to get something comparable to vintage quality.

Given you've said you want to stay away from vintage, I think dcobranchi's recommendation of the 1904 is a perfectly good one. If you're willing to spend a little more money, you might try the Merkur 34C, or the Muhle DE89 (or equivalent Edwin Jagger variant). Those two razors are probably the most popular modern DEs. They'll both give you excellent shaves, and cared for can likely last a lifetime.

I know your point is to save money, but do consider that most razors can be sold pretty easily to recover some of your cost...so if you can afford to experiment with different razors, I would suggest you do so until you find something you really like, then sell off whatever didn't work out for you. From that point on..it's all gravy - blades and other supplies are dirt cheap (with the right choices).

For lather, I'd recommend a shave stick and face lathering. You just rub the soap right on your face, and lather on your face. No bowl needed, it's easy to tell when the lather is good and you get a little extra scrub time on your beard. Arko, Palmolive, Speick and many other sticks are inexpensive.

+1 Good advice here and Don't get sucked in to this as a hobby ( That will drain your wallet till the last cent and you will be doomed forever :devil: )
 
DE shaving seems comparatively inexpensive.
It can be. It can also be more expensive.

could you recommend a good beginner's double-edged safety razor
Good is always highly subjective and it's no different with DE's or even wetshaving in general which is all highly subjective/YMMV -- always keep that in mind. Without knowing you or more information from you it's impossible to make a meaningful recommendation. Your best bet is to pick one of the typically recommended DE's for beginners such as the EJ DE89, Merkur HD, etc and see how it works for you. Once you have some experience you can provide feedback that will help others guide you to a more suitable option.

We don't all have the same beard. We don't all have the same growth pattern. We don't all have the same skin. We don't all have the same water. We don't all have the same budget. We don't all have the same aesthetic preferences. We don't all have the same priorities. The list goes on and on but that's why nothing here is one-size-fits-all.

What brands should I look at? Can I get away with a cheaper razor?
Again, subjective/YMMV. What works for one may not for the next whether you're asking about brand, type, specific item, price, etc. Price is just price. It doesn't tell you if the option will work for you or not. You can certainly try a cheap DE (trying an option is always the best way to find out if it works for you or not) but it may give you the wrong impression if you have a bad experience. A lot of people are familiar with the DE's typically recommended for beginners and can provide feedback and guidance on them. They may not be best suited for you but, as I said, others can help guide you to something better suited based on your experience. Without any experience you'll have a hard time giving us the info you need to give us to find you a perfect fit. Keep in mind that you can always BST the things that don't work for you.

Hopefully that doesn't scare you off. Many are perfectly happy with any of the "beginner" DE's. I use a DE89 and prefer it after trying about 5 different DE's. Enjoy the journey -- don't fixate on the destination.
 
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It can be. It can also be more expensive.


Good is always highly subjective and it's no different with DE's or even wetshaving in general which is all highly subjective/YMMV -- always keep that in mind. Without knowing you or more information from you it's impossible to make a meaningful recommendation. Your best bet is to pick one of the typically recommended DE's for beginners such as the EJ DE89, Merkur HD, etc and see how it works for you. Once you have some experience you can provide feedback that will help others guide you to a more suitable option.

We don't all have the same beard. We don't all have the same growth pattern. We don't all have the same skin. We don't all have the same water. We don't all have the same budget. We don't all have the same aesthetic preferences. We don't all have the same priorities. The list goes on and on but that's why nothing here is one-size-fits-all.


Again, subjective/YMMV. What works for one may not for the next whether you're asking about brand, type, specific item, price, etc. Price is just price. It doesn't tell you if the option will work for you or not. You can certainly try a cheap DE (trying an option is always the best way to find out if it works for you or not) but it may give you the wrong impression if you have a bad experience. A lot of people are familiar with the DE's typically recommended for beginners and can provide feedback and guidance on them. They may not be best suited for you but, as I said, others can help guide you to something better suited based on your experience. Without any experience you'll have a hard time giving us the info you need to give us to find you a perfect fit. Keep in mind that you can always BST the things that don't work for you.

Hopefully that doesn't scare you off. Many are perfectly happy with any of the "beginner" DE's. I use a DE89 and prefer it after trying about 5 different DE's. Enjoy the journey -- don't fixate on the destination.


Excellent advice here and the other posts above. I myself would steer you towards an EJ DE 89 either from Fendrihan or Italian Barber, both in Canada. I find boars to be quite soft actually. After a few lathers when they break in they can be much softer than badgers brushes. A great deal on an excellent brush right now that is boar and performs very well for me on hard soaps and creams equally is the B&B LE boar brush being sold at West Coast Shaving for $20. A steal for a brush really. Proraso soaps are cheap and yet very effective and easy to lather (I recommend the white tub). Get a blade sampler pack to decide which blade works well for you. Try to make sure you have Astras in there, they work well for most people. Including myself. Good luck and keep us posted as to how things go.
 
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How about the Razorock razors at Italian Barber?

Personally id ger a Superspeed off of ebay but thats just me.
 
My biggest issue was quickly clogging up a multi blade razor/cartridge and rendering it useless. I have been using a double edge razor for about a year now and couldn't be happier. You don't have to spend a lot on it....but you certainly can.
Once you get your hands on a razor that you like it can be as cheap (and local) as VDH soap and Wilkinson blades at Walmart.
I actually have 2 inexpensive razors on the way from bestshave.net so chances are at some point I'll have some comments about them.
 
Boy oh boy, talk about an active forum. That's impressive.

The reason I'd prefer to buy from Fendrihan or ItalianBarber is because they ship from Canada. That lets me avoid having to figure out complicated shipping fees, and possibly getting hit with duty charges. Last time I bought something from an American classified, I got surprised with a $60 duty fee when it arrived. Classifieds are also often ConUS only, which really narrows down my pool of options. I also find that it takes more expertise to purchase used. You have to know how to verify the quality, who to trust, not to mention familiarize yourself with the old stock. On top of that, I am hoping to buy some new blades anyway, which would mean I have to resort to one of these aforementioned Canadian online retailers. Might as well save on shipping costs and buy everything from the same place.

That said, if any of you are aware of someone selling used vintages from Canada, who might not mind selling me some sort of sampler blades pack as well, I'd probably snatch that up.

For blades, I hope to include Astra, Feather, Derby, and maybe Wilkinson in some sort of sample pack. Any other notables I should strive to try out? I also might be interested in finding an inexpensive cream to try out instead of the soap I normally use. My current shave soap costs about $10 for two or three months. If I moved away from that, it would probably be to a cream of similar expense. That's on the backburner for now.

jamesspo said:
My gut reaction to folks that want to "buy one razor and that's it" does tend toward Vintage
It's not that I don't want to ever buy another razor ever again. In fact, if I keep up with this style of shaving, a nice razor would be a great thing to put on my Christmas list eventually. What I want is something that I can learn on, without breaking the bank on the initial investment. At this point I don't know how much more time it takes than regular shaving, how the shave compares, or how much I enjoy it. So I need to try it proper before I commit to it.
jamesspo said:
I know your point is to save money, but do consider that most razors can be sold pretty easily to recover some of your cost...

The extra cost of shipping to and from Canada isn't something I'd call prohibitive... but it certainly makes it more difficult to recoup those costs.

@Takeshi: Variant mileage seems to be a rampant problem in these parts. :p You'd think they'd get the odometers checked. I know I may not (probably won't) find the "perfect razor" on the first try. But I'm intent that my first try will be a reasonably neutral, well-known, and practical item. From the reply here, I think that the new models to look at are the EJ DE 89, the Merkur HD, and the Merkur Classic. Thanks for your reply.

@Zigster: I'm oil country, unfortunately.
@Suggy: Thanks for the tip! I like their store.
@Graybeard57: I'm not old enough to enjoy shaving yet. :p But I hope you're right.
@Atilla: Will return and post my findings after a couple months. Is that about the time frame it takes to become passable?
@Haggises: Haven't heard of Razorock before. I'll check it out.
@dcobranchi, timN, and turtle: Thanks for the recommendations. Those do seem to be popular models.


Ultimately, I'm a little surprised that there seems to be so much practical importance to the shaver itself. I would have thought the blade would have been the larger factor in determining shave quality. Initially I thought something like this would be a reasonably cheap/accurate indicator of double-edged safety razors. I suppose not?
 
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My biggest issue was quickly clogging up a multi blade razor/cartridge and rendering it useless. I have been using a double edge razor for about a year now and couldn't be happier. You don't have to spend a lot on it....but you certainly can.
Once you get your hands on a razor that you like it can be as cheap (and local) as VDH soap and Wilkinson blades at Walmart.
I actually have 2 inexpensive razors on the way from bestshave.net so chances are at some point I'll have some comments about them.

OP lives in Canada... (as do I), and I have never seen VDH soap or Wilkinson blades at any Walmart here in Canada. In fact, never seen VDH soap anywhere retail, although I did pick some up last time I was in USA. Maybe some other Canadians can chime in advise if they see DE blades in Canadian Walmarts.
The biggest chain of drugstores in Canada does usually have Wilkinson Blades at a whopping 16.95 per pack. (Shoppers). No wonder most Canadians buy their blades on line. I have found a local supplier of Dorcos Blades at 1.99 per pack (300's and 301's), but it is a single store selling Beauty Supplies and primarily women's hair products.

About the only product I see an abundance of around my area is Proraso. I live in an predominately Italian part of town and they sell in everwhere here--drug stores, discount stores, I even see it at the local Italian Bakery!
 
Make sure you check http://www.amazon.ca/ , depending on warehousing it's often free shipping.

OP lives in Canada... (as do I), and I have never seen VDH soap or Wilkinson blades at any Walmart here in Canada. In fact, never seen VDH soap anywhere retail, although I did pick some up last time I was in USA. Maybe some other Canadians can chime in advise if they see DE blades in Canadian Walmarts.
The biggest chain of drugstores in Canada does usually have Wilkinson Blades at a whopping 16.95 per pack. (Shoppers). No wonder most Canadians buy their blades on line. I have found a local supplier of Dorcos Blades at 1.99 per pack (300's and 301's), but it is a single store selling Beauty Supplies and primarily women's hair products.

About the only product I see an abundance of around my area is Proraso. I live in an predominately Italian part of town and they sell in everwhere here--drug stores, discount stores, I even see it at the local Italian Bakery!
 
Fair enough. So I'd say the 34C or the DE89 are you best bets as they are both really middle of the road in terms of blade exposure and efficiency. The 1904 is on the mild side to be sure, and you may get frustrated with the shave. You can get good shaves with it, but you may get better overall satisfaction with the 34C or one of the '89's.

It's not that I don't want to ever buy another razor ever again. In fact, if I keep up with this style of shaving, a nice razor would be a great thing to put on my Christmas list eventually. What I want is something that I can learn on, without breaking the bank on the initial investment. At this point I don't know how much more time it takes than regular shaving, how the shave compares, or how much I enjoy it. So I need to try it proper before I commit to it.

The extra cost of shipping to and from Canada isn't something I'd call prohibitive... but it certainly makes it more difficult to recoup those costs.

@Takeshi: Variant mileage seems to be a rampant problem in these parts. :p You'd think they'd get the odometers checked. I know I may not (probably won't) find the "perfect razor" on the first try. But I'm intent that my first try will be a reasonably neutral, well-known, and practical item. From the reply here, I think that the new models to look at are the EJ DE 89, the Merkur HD, and the Merkur Classic. Thanks for your reply.

@Zigster: I'm oil country, unfortunately.
@Suggy: Thanks for the tip! I like their store.
@Graybeard57: I'm not old enough to enjoy shaving yet. :p But I hope you're right.
@Atilla: Will return and post my findings after a couple months. Is that about the time frame it takes to become passable?
@Haggises: Haven't heard of Razorock before. I'll check it out.
@dcobranchi, timN, and turtle: Thanks for the recommendations. Those do seem to be popular models.


Ultimately, I'm a little surprised that there seems to be so much practical importance to the shaver itself. I would have thought the blade would have been the larger factor in determining shave quality. Initially I thought something like this would be a reasonably cheap/accurate indicator of double-edged safety razors. I suppose not?
 
I can comment on Canadian prices in local stores, and they aren't great for blades. You can pick up Wilkinson Swords at Shoppers drug mart for the above mentioned $16 or Merkur blades for $10 for 10 at a Personal Edge if you live near a mall with one in it.

I also got into this as a cheaper way of shaving. I picked up a $15 Omega brush, and $10 for proraso at shoppers. Once I got that I was $13 on Amazon for 100 Astra SP's. Once I had that all paid for (much cheaper than a pack of mach 3's from Costco) I only had to get a razor. I did choose to go vintage, but I did that because the Gillette Tech's and Superspeed got so much love on this forum I had to try. Vintage razors can be picked up in antique stores really cheap (couple of bucks). I was also told to try Etsy.com (Vintagerazorshop on Etsy).

If you want to try whippeddog.com, I know a lot of people here swear by it. Although I have no first hand experience with that site, he sells a DE razor for $16 and $1 to ship outside the US. People have said it is good, so it might be worth a look.

Good luck with your shaving!!!
 
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