Help with buying first DE razor

[rodrigaj]

Henson AL13. +(mild). The +(mild) is the standard razor.

Comes with 5 RK Stainless Blades, which were specifically designed for the Henson AL13. You can then buy them from Henson for a box of 100 for $10.

No fuss, no bother, no fretting over what blade to use, etc. Your wife will admire you for your restraint and wisdom.

 

[Dave himself]

I agree with @LRod On your first razor being an adjustable. I gave my first razor I bought a lot of research and ended up buying a Merkur Progress. My train of thought at the time.was I was buying 5 razors in 1 because of the adjustable settings. Any of the adjustables mentioned above would be perfect for a beginner to start their wet shaving journey on to me anyway.

Although I wish I could get my hands on the Flexi for a reasonable price to fit my humble budget.

 

[BigJ]

Merkur 34C, best choice for a first razor.

+2! 34C is a great choice IMO! Also consider one of the EJ89 series. Both are in the ‘mild/moderate’ range.

 

[Quaznoid]

Any Gillette Tech, Super Speed or Slim, excellent choice. In new, I can heartily recommend the Lord L5. Best DE shaver in my den for less than $10.

The best razor in the world is the Schick E2; a Schick G is another excellent choice.

Any of these razors will provide perfect BBS shaves for a lifetime. Resist RAD. Buy a good one now and use it forever. It’s more about technique anyway.

 

[Tillerman]

Welcome to B&B. I started with GC .68 . Good quality with room to expand. It is a stainless razor for not much more than some of the other razors listed. Good luck on your choice

 

[Major Overkill]

My first safety razor was a new Viking's Blade Chieftain Jr. Turns out it was a good call for a newbie to shaving w/a DE razor, since it's quite mild.

But, turns out that you can find vintage safety razors on eBay for less, and maybe get a better first razor experience while you're at. Look for a Slim Ajustable and/or a Super Speed Blue Tip, each by Gillette. You may find either for as little as <$10, before shipping. And, with either, you end up with a masterpiece of mid-20th century American industrial design.

-Z

 

[ajkel64]

Welcome to the forum from Australia. When you hit 10 posts you should be able to PM members. You will not be able to place an add in the BST until you hit the magic 45 days membership and 50 posts.

 

[Invicta]

Welcome to B&B.

I'm looking at Italian Barber and maybe the .84 Gamechanger, or maybe a .72 Lupo or if I'm willing to splurge maybe the Overlander? I want something that's no fuss, efficient, smooth, not likely to cause a ton of razor burn or nicks for a first-timer.

The .72 Lupo should be a good razor for you or the Merkur 34C. Also worth considering is the Merkur Progress which is adjustable. The Gillette Slim Adjustable is an ideal adjustable vintage razor which should be available on the usual auction site at a reasonable price.
Blades are very subjective so I would suggest you get a blade sampler.

 

[buffpandabear]

I'll definitely look into the adjustable razors. It's so hard to choose!

 

[buffpandabear]

Thanks by the way for all the suggestions! Amazing forum, so many replies within a 48 hr period!

 

[buffpandabear]

Didn't know about the 10 posts to PM. Thanks for that.

 

[Medivh]

The thing that you have to keep in mind is that there's no such thing as a bad or good razor and you have to learn how to see them as what works for you and what doesn't. The razors that you have mentioned are a very good options and might serve you well, but it all depends on your personal preferences like blade feel, shaving angle, weight, efficiency etc.

 

[Major Overkill]

Thanks by the way for all the suggestions! Amazing forum, so many replies within a 48 hr period!

There are a damned fine bunch of people here! Even accounting for me.

-Z

 

[buffpandabear]

I think I'm going to try to go the bst route and find a deal on one of these mentioned razors, I guess I could always sell on bst if it didn't work out?

 

[buffpandabear]

Just need to get enough posts up!

 

[vpr]

I started with a Gillette Slim and I would recommend that as well. Before that I had used a Mach3 all my life.

 

[spacemonkey42]

I guess henson is the best bet for no fuss? What's the difference between the aggressive and the medium? Is it all feeling or does more exposure really cut more?

The Henson is really the best bet for no fuss. If you have fine whiskers and are new to DE shaving, go for the mild. If you have coarse whiskers and have some experience shaving, go for the medium. I would not start with the aggressive.

 

[never-stop-learning]

Hi! I know there's thousands of posts on this, I've been reading through a lot of them and watching a ton of youtube vids, but still not sure what to get. I'm tired of cartridge razors and razor burns using my barbasol aerosol can and dorco cartridge razors. I have straight Asian hair, find that I can usually get away with shaving every other day (every day if I'm doing something that needs more presentability).
I'm looking at Italian Barber and maybe the .84 Gamechanger, or maybe a .72 Lupo or if I'm willing to splurge maybe the Overlander? I want something that's no fuss, efficient, smooth, not likely to cause a ton of razor burn or nicks for a first-timer. Also, the most I'm willing to spend is at the overlander level. I'm also willing to do vintage at the right price if they're good too. I also don't need the absolute closest shave in the world.
I also know that there's a ton of recommendations out there and different opinions, but just to get an idea.
What do you guys recommend and also what blade?

This thread may be of some assistance:

Thread 'Comparison of DE Razors in My Den From ~$75 to ~$125 (USD)' Comparison of DE Razors in My Den From ~$75 to ~$125 (USD) - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/comparison-of-de-razors-in-my-den-from-75-to-125-usd.600310/

Hope this helps.

 

[JKaboom]

Welcome to B&B. This outstanding community has many knowledgeable folks that can help with any questions or challenges that come up as you learn to traditional wet shave.

Let’s see: don’t want to risk irritation, just learning, and the shave doesn’t have to be too close…

I’m going to recommend picking up a Gillette Tech from the bay or similar place.

You can spend anywhere from $12-30 dollars and have an excellent razor to learn with. It is mild but effective when you learn the correct angle.

Use it for a few months, if you enjoy traditional wet shaving then you can spend a little more on another razor if you wish.

This is not the razor I started with, in fact I didn’t pick one up until I’d been using DEs for more than a decade but, having used one, I wish this was the razor I started with.

Good luck.

I'm with GNR as far as the tech razor. I got a new old stock 1940's one. I got a 30 blade sampler (2 each of 15 blades) on amazon. I would suggest this set that gets you a high quality sample of everything you'll want as far as the product goes -

Proraso Shave Travel Set​

Grab an alum block and you're off to the races!
I have learned a ton from the guy that runs that site and now I've found this site which is amazing.

I went from the tech razor and basics above to what's in my avatar after about a month. I love getting the aftershave splash samplers. I've only been into this adventure hobby for 3 and a half months. So much fun! You'll have a blast. It really helps me to get relaxed and treat yourself too.

 

[rudygu]

The Henson is really the best bet for no fuss. If you have fine whiskers and are new to DE shaving, go for the mild. If you have coarse whiskers and have some experience shaving, go for the medium. I would not start w

This. The Henson mild meets all the criteria listed in the first post. The angle is fixed, the shave is smooth and efficient and there’s almost no chance youll cut yourself with it. Pretty much everything being recommended will work, but only after some amount of adjustment from cartridge shaving. I regularly use a slim and love it, but it’s definitely fussier than a Henson. It’s pretty easy to load the blade slightly crooked and it’s common for the doors/bar to be slightly misaligned, making each side shave a little differently. it isn’t hard to work around this and make sure everything is lined up correctly, but even then you still have to find the best angle and build muscle memory to consistently achieve it. None of this is a factor with the Henson. The tolerances are so close I don’t think it’s really possible to misalign the blade. The shaving angle is what it is and it always works with as little chance for nicks as possible.

You would just need to find a blade that works well and use the right amount of pressure when shaving, but that’s the case with any razor.