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Hello everyone!

Hello everyone!

I'm new to wet shaving, I recently acquired a Gillette slim razor but as I haven't had a chance to use it yet. I'm still learning about blades so I can choose a few to start testing the razor. So far the razors that caught my attention are the muhle r41, Rockwell 6s, gamechanger 84 and maybe a karve ss. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
Hello everyone!

I'm new to wet shaving, I recently acquired a Gillette slim razor but as I haven't had a chance to use it yet. I'm still learning about blades so I can choose a few to start testing the razor. So far the razors that caught my attention are the muhle r41, Rockwell 6s, gamechanger 84 and maybe a karve ss. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
That Slim will serve you well. I'd personally recommend you get your technique down pat before even considering more razors, but that's me.
Avoiding too many variables is key to this process.
Bad technique on one razor won't be improved by changing razors.
 

EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
Hello everyone!

I'm new to wet shaving, I recently acquired a Gillette slim razor but as I haven't had a chance to use it yet. I'm still learning about blades so I can choose a few to start testing the razor. So far the razors that caught my attention are the muhle r41, Rockwell 6s, gamechanger 84 and maybe a karve ss. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Welcome to B&B! Of the razors you listed my choice, by some margin, would be the Slim. I would stick with that for now and try a sample blade pack while working on your technique. The Slim could well be the only razor you need for the rest of your life. Plus, the Slim was used by James Bond in Goldfinger, which is reason enough to choose it.
 

ajkel64

Check Out Chick
Staff member
Welcome to the forum from Australia and thanks for checking in with us. I would stick with Slim for a little while and then maybe try something else. The Slim is a great razor that is loved by many.
 
Welcome to B&B.
Get the technique sorted out and you won't need another razor, the Slim gives a great shave. Get a blade sampler to find your preferred blades. Any blade from St Petersburg is worth a try, e.g. Astra SP, Astra SS, Gillette Silver Blue, 7 O'Clock SharpEdge, Gillette Platinum to name a few.
 
Welcome! One more vote for sticking with the razor you have. Because the Slim is adjustable, you essentially already have many razors in one. One thing I do suggest is getting a razor blade sampler. Many of the shaving vendors, Amazon, eBay, and so on all have razor blade samplers that will give you usually two blades each of a wide variety so you can try many different things for a reasonable price. I tried wet shaving years ago with a good razor but a terrible blade and gave up on it. I'm just now getting back into it and that same razor is now one of my favorites (with a better blade of course!).
 
Just checking back in to say thank you for all the suggestions. I'll definitely start practicing and sample some blades. Thank you everyone!
 

JCinPA

The Lather Maestro
Welcome to B&B, and traditional shaving!

I echo Phil, stick with one razor for at least a month of daily shaves, a couple months if you shave less often. You are learning a new skill, and yeah, it's not neurosurgery, but it is a new skill, so stick with the same tool for a while.

And I will definitely swim upstream here by saying do not get a blade sampler! If you have one already, pick one of the more popular blades and stick with that for your first month, something like an Astra Super Platinum (good and also inexpensive) or a Gillette Silver Blue. Do not run through a ton of blades.

After this post everyone will tell you I'm wrong, some will tell you they hate the ASP, some will tell you that YOU have to find your own blade, and none of them are wrong, per se, but I'd ignore them if I were you. Whatever blade you start with will, in fact, not be the blade you run with 6 months from now, but I'd make two points.

1. You can't know, a priori, which blade will be your favorite, and no matter how vociferously someone else argues they have found blade nirvana, it may not be the same for you, so it really doesn't matter what blade you start with, does it?

2. The blade is one of the two most important factors in how you feel the shave after the razor. Blades feel so different that if you start getting uncomfortable results you won't know if it's the blade or your technique. The rest of us who have been at this would. We can judge blades, you cannot. Yet.

Stick with one razor and blade for you first month or two, THEN, when you know your beard, your directions, your angles, and your pressure (not much!), get a blade sampler and go nuts. Not now. One razor, one blade until you get your chops, then start playing.

Of all the excellent and very helpful advice on this forum, the nearly universal suggestion that every new shaver immediately get a blade sampler and start searching for his magical blade is the one thing echoed around here that I think actually creates problems for new shavers.
 
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