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Do I need a more aggressive razor

Hi all:
I am pretty new to DE shaving (about 4 months). My current setup is a EJ89 with Gillette silver blue blades. I use DR Harris Arlington as my main soap but switch around to others as well. My technique is getting better and am at the point where i have minimal blood using this setup. I have a coarse beard and find that with the EJ89 (regardless of blade used to this date) I need to do three passes, one atg and a forth touch up to get a smooth shave that i feel is acceptable (slightly better than what i was getting with a cart razor). I can't stop at 2 passes since there is still a significant amount of stubble left. Most of my irritation comes from the third pass. I'm wondering if a more aggressive razor might help me get it done in 2 with a touchup? If so what razor would you recommend i try-something that is more aggressive that the DE89 but still forgiving for a newbie.
Thanks
 
I had been using a EJ 87 for a few years and last year got a RazoRock Jaws OC razor just to check out how that would work. It is more aggressive and I find I need fewer passes and touch ups which results in no irritation. The Jaws works well with both Personna reds and Astra SP blades (my experience anyway) and I typically get 7-8 fine shaves per blade. It's a good entry into open comb/more aggressive razors IMHO. I too have a tough beard and it's become my daily driver.
 
I'd say technique is more important, and that includes: good prep, a nice slick lather, using proper blade angle, no pressure on the razor, beard properly hydrated, etc ...

But if you want to try something more efficient, I agree that the NEW is an excellent choice. It's not aggressive, actually it feels quite mild, but it is very efficient.
 
I tried the Feather blades a couple months ago and found they really irritated my face after one pass. I find the Silver Blues to be almost as sharp but very forgiving. My technique has improved a bit since then so maybe I should give the feathers another chance. I'll have a look at the razoRock and New. Thanks guys!
 
@Shupey

If I'm going to have any bother with a shave, I find it's the third pass that will kick off any irritation myself ......... Unless, of course, I get the first two passes absolutely right. The first .... WTG ..... is the heavy reducer pass; that's where I'll take off the bulk of it. I shave the second pass diagonally XTG/ATG ....... and if I don't get that one right, the third ATG pass is going to be a bugger.

I have dense, tough stubble ......... only offset by the fact that I'm fair and it doesn't seem to grow as quickly as it does for some, so luckily I don't end up with a five o'clock shadow by eleven am. For me, it's a three pass shave plus touch up every time. I happen to like aggressive razors, but I can get a get a decent shave with a Tech if I should dig one out. I just don't want to muck about with a Tech, though it's fine for others. To me ........ My R41s, ATT H2, Slants, etc ........ are not so much more aggressive as they are a lot more efficient ..... and that's key for me.

The difference between the Tech and that little list of hardware, is that the Tech is almost apologetic in it's restraint ......... Whereas, if you let your mind wander with the other lot? ...... It's not going to be pretty at aftershave time :001_smile
 
Well, you've been at it for about 4 months now, so I'll assume you probably know what you're doing by now. So a few razors you might want to try that are a little more aggressive than an EJ are a Gillette New, a Gillette Red Tip Super Speed, Gillette Slim at a higher adjustment, a Fatip, or a Merkur Futur. I've also heard that Razorock razors are fairly aggressive, though I've never tried one.
 
Well, you've been at it for about 4 months now, so I'll assume you probably know what you're doing by now. So a few razors you might want to try that are a little more aggressive than an EJ are a Gillette New, a Gillette Red Tip Super Speed, Gillette Slim at a higher adjustment, a Fatip, or a Merkur Futur. I've also heard that Razorock razors are fairly aggressive, though I've never tried one.

+1 on the Red Tip! :thumbup1: I'm lucky I found one in the wild, they're getting ridiculously overpriced on the flea-bay.

Regarding irritation, make sure you're not pressing the razor into your face (what is referred to as "pressure"), I had this bad habit from my cart days and every once-in-a-while it would creep back in to my DE shaves. That's when I would notice the razor burn.

Keep at it, you'll find your perfect setup!
 
I find technique keeps gradually improving and I've been using a DE for 6months now, Lord L6 to be precise a pretty mild razor. I found that offsetting the razor so I shave at a slight angle to somewhat mimic a slant to get more of a slicing motion made for a more efficient and better shave. A gillette slide should result int he same effect.

Another thing I started doing which gave me better results was try to maximize the time that I had the lather on my face while shaving to help soften the beard. So while shaving when I am done with one area of my face I quickly reapply the lather before moving onto the next area to shave so my face is covered with lather majority of the time.

Than there is prep which is a big deal on how easy your razor cuts through your beard from my experience. I used to shower than completely dry off for several minutes than shave. It worked but I found it worked better if I sped the time up and quickly dried off and left the beard alone and try to make sure I get lather on my face within a minute or two. But latter on I tried some Nivea Energy Face Scrub as prep in a hurry and left it on for a few minutes while I did other stuff and I found that softened my beard more than anything else I tried which is saying a lot as I tried a lot of different ways of going about prep over these last 6 months.

Point is look at technique, that may help a lot. Some of what I di may or may not work for you but if you haven't tried it give it a shot. But you may end up getting a different razor and that may be what helps the most for you, just remember to keep experimenting till you find what works.
 
I say go for it. You won't know until you try. I would say Cadet, Fatip, and R41 would be good options. The Cadet and Fatip are both reasonably priced, and you can just pick up the R41 head and use it with your DE89 handle.
 
I just acquired a Merkur 34c and shaved with it this morning. I traded me Edwin Jagger for it. My experience this morning was great. The Merkur removed much more stubble on the first pass and after 2 passes was almost close enough to go ahead and do a clean up pass. I'm looking forward to trying more blades in it. I have a thread I started today where I'm going to post my progress.
 
All excellent suggestions. Thanks much! I'm in Canada-anyone know where i can get a RazoRock/Cadet Jaws? Can't seem to find them online. Where do you buy your vintage Gillettes? I see a few on eBay but are there any reputable dealers outside eBay? I do have access to the other razors suggested.
 
Before you buy another razor, shim your DE89. Take a used blade and cut the sharp sides off with a pair of scissors. Put this under your blade which will add a little more aggressiveness to your razor. This was my first razor and I've since added a few only to find its still one of my best razors.
 
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