Getting comfortable with EJ89. whats next?

[jraice]

Haven't posted in a while, because I have been enjoying just working on my technique, but I have gotten to the point where I am starting to plateau. My technique has gotten a lot better and I very rarely have any incidents (weepers or cuts) and my irritation has, for the most part, subsided when I am careful about the shave.

I dabbled with a few different products and have been fairly consistently shaving with:

EJ89L
Astro SP (100 pack), seems to be the smoothest cutting blade I've found for this razor.
Semogue 1305
Proraso green (soap and creme, sometimes I super lather), I like this more than my TOBS Saddlewood.
Proraso sensitive skin after shave (think I am going to try the regular green stuff next), light finish to the shave, I like.

While this setup seems to be working, I feel like its time for a new razor.

What would be the most logical step after an EJ89L, enough of a change without it being too radically different? This razor seems to work well, the shave isn't quite as close as I like unless I go ATG (which has some irritation) but it works pretty well with the Astro SP's for a daily shave. Not sure if I want to venture into the land of adjustable but could be fun.

Open to any suggestions that are reasonably priced.

Thanks!

 

[Harry Snider]

My vote is a Slim adjustable or a Fatboy. Many of these can be had for less than the cost of your EJ, you'll be able to play with different settings and dial in that perfect, smooth shave!

 

[rxonmymind]

President.

 

[John Von Wuggz]

Futur

 

[Ron Scott]

My vote is a Slim adjustable or a Fatboy. Many of these can be had for less than the cost of your EJ, you'll be able to play with different settings and dial in that perfect, smooth shave!

Couldn't have said it better!

 

[Wingnut]

My vote is a Slim adjustable or a Fatboy. Many of these can be had for less than the cost of your EJ, you'll be able to play with different settings and dial in that perfect, smooth shave!

An adjustable (vintage or new, your choice) is what I was thinking of as well. That way you could see just how aggressive a razor you prefer, and still make use of it wherever your sweet spot happens to be.

If I had to choose, I'd pick up a Slim on the BST. They're a great razor--built like a tank--and can be had for less money than just about any other adjustable around.

 

[mistercitizen]

A vintage Gillette adjustable would be a very nice next move. Fatboy, Slim, or Super Adjustable..... pick the one you like the looks of the most.

Ben

 

[jeffriley]

A Slim would be my first recommendation. I would also recommend trying and open comb razor or a SE. Of course everyone should have a Tech since they are so cheap to buy.

 

[DrAwkward]

Forget the adjustables. Join the Brotherhood. Pick up a few open comb razors. The 1930s Gillette NEW is a good example ...

 

[mastershake]

open comb all the way. i tried everything and my open combs are my absolute favorites!! love my fatips and want to get a joris very soon

 

[GuanYu]

Why not get some sharper blades instead of a new razor? RAD is a bad thing, man...

 

[jraice]

What are the advantages to open comb? Forgot to add, thick hair and get lots oh ingrowns.

 

[jraice]

Also I've tried feathers. Not much difference.

 

[Taproot]

I think everyone should own a gillette adjustable- they are wonderful pieces of engineering and I doubt anything like them are going to be made again.

As far as what would provide a different/more interesting shave, I'd go with the R41, a Slant, a Fatip, or a Cadet.
The Edwin Jagger is a well behaved mild gentleman of a razor, even a gillette adjustable dialed up doesn't go off that path too much- The above listed razors will give you a significantly different feel than what you already have- which I assume is what you want.

Other suggestions would include a SE of the 1912 variety maybe an injector.

 

[jraice]

I think everyone should own a gillette adjustable- they are wonderful pieces of engineering and I doubt anything like them are going to be made again.

As far as what would provide a different/more interesting shave, I'd go with the R41, a Slant, a Fatip, or a Cadet.
The Edwin Jagger is a well behaved mild gentleman of a razor, even a gillette adjustable dialed up doesn't go off that path too much- The above listed razors will give you a significantly different feel than what you already have- which I assume is what you want.

Other suggestions would include a SE of the 1912 variety maybe an injector.

Coarse beard... open comb or slant? The idea of a slant sounds nice and I like what I have been hearing about both Merkur variations. Which handle style would be more similar to my EJ89L... the 37 or 39?

 

[rotto66]

I say go for a Slim Adjustable. I picked one up yesterday for $10.00 and used it today for the first time. By far the closest most comfortable shave I have had yet.

 

[tm3]

Food for thought:

The Weber is in my "mild" category - in the same group as the Krona, Superspeed, EJ89, Tech, Stahly, Goodfella, iKon OSS, S3S, Feather AS DE, Pils, etc..


The Slant for example is squarely in the middle - along with the Tradere SB, most Schicks, most of my SEs, Parker 98, Gillette NEW, etc..


The R41 is at the top end - followed by razors like the Joris, Fatip, Cadet, New York Shaving Mariner, Gillette OLD, Cobra Classic, OCMM, Tradere OC, Titan H, etc...


Razors like the Future, Mergress, Vision, Fatboy and the Slim Adjustable...tend to crossover all three categories and basically do a great job. In essence - being good all-around razors with a "built in" shimming mechanism.


For newer guys just getting into wet shaving - I would tend to suggest that they pick one razor from each category plus one of the adjustables for a total of 4, and go from there.

 

[tm3]

Per the above, I personally would consider a Futur or Gillette adjustable, and a Fatip. If you went Futur and Fatip I would sneak in another vintage Gillette somehow, maybe a Slim. You would have a lot of bases covered and could really refine your preferences.

 

[DirtDiver]

Forget the adjustables. Join the Brotherhood. Pick up a few open comb razors. The 1930s Gillette NEW is a good example ...

+2!

This

try and find one of these: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...ype-With-Advertisement-Marking-Use-Ivory-Soap

this thing blew my mind!

 

[jeffriley]

What are the advantages to open comb? Forgot to add, thick hair and get lots oh ingrowns.

From my experience, the biggest differences with an open comb are that more lather gets to the blade and the head of the razor seems to glide over the skin with less resistance.