Looking for Suggestions

[WVShaver]

It's amazing how often I hear the Krona mentioned over and over and yet it's one of the worst razors I have ever tried. I really need to pick up another one because I think mine is a dud.

 

[ShaverAZ]

It's amazing how often I hear the Krona mentioned over and over and yet it's one of the worst razors I have ever tried. I really need to pick up another one because I think mine is a dud.

I've heard a few dislikes for the Krona & I can't imagine anyone dissatisfied with one. I have several Kronas and one of them is always on my countertop. It works well to give a BBS shave with nearly any blade. Before I toss a blade used in another razor, I run it thru the Krona. It gives at least one more close & smooth shave before I toss the blade.

 

[Rumblebuffin]

My Dad began using an electric while I was quite young. He said that he got his closest shaves when he skipped a day so there was more for the razor to grab & cut.
Sounds like you've used a variety of stuff throughout your wet shaving journey.
Consider a Gillette Tech or even a Schick Krona. They work with nearly any blade, and you can fine tune your shave by choice of blades. You can get blade samples from www.razorbladesclub.com
Shaving soap will have an enormous impact on the quality of a shave. Hand soap won't cut it. Get a bowl and brush - any cheap synthetic brush will work. Any of the Shannonsoaps or Stirling Soaps are a good choice. If you prefer, just get a can of Barbasol to begin with & advance to bowl & brush later.

I failed to finish my journey... Ha!

Beginning with hand soap, I traveled through Edge gel and Barbasol, landing on Aveno oat gel for a while. After that came Pacific Shave Co cream, an attempt at Cremo, and then... A stick of Arko and a Bambino brush. I was terrible at making lather. After that acquisition, I tried some Stirling samples (best lather ever from Coniferous, and love the smell), and landed on Dr Bronners for a bit. That was during the time I was using my Feather Popular, due to difficulties with the Mission.
Got side tracked for a while when my wife decided that, because I was into DE shaving, the best thing to do was to get me a Harry's subscription. Eventually, it ended, as did the marriage. C'est la vis, if I spelled that right. Drat the French and their excess letters.
A SLOC head was a Christmas gift last year, at my request, and DE resumed. Learned to face lather Arko, and I've not looked back.
Currently have also tried Dollar Tree shave soap, Badger shave soap, Pears, Jergens mild, and... well... that's it for now.
There's more I'd like to try, but it all costs monies.

FYI, Jergens lathers like a monster and then breaks down immediately. Pears lasts a bit longer, but doesn't last for an entire face. Badger doesn't lather well without a drop of EO to stabilize. The Dollar Tree soap can be lathered well, but it's tricky to get right. If you're right, it rewards you with a very nice shave, though drying. If you're wrong, it takes up company with Jergens and Pears.

 

[Rumblebuffin]

It's called (and you probably already know this), Analysis Paralysis. I own a DE89, it's a fine take on a three-piece design but I wouldn't buy another. Too many better vintage razors out there IMO.

Ah, yes. I am familiar with the term. It is a way of life for me, unfortunately.

I completely agree, I think the Gilette Tech is the safest bet for the OP. I personally think the Tech is about the same as the DE89 for me but slightly prefer the 89 series. But the DE89 is $25, whereas the Tech can be had for $10-15 fairly easy on the bay.

For brushes I really recommend a Razorock Plissoft. They are $6 on that site I showed earlier but are $10-12 shipped from lots of places. I have tried some cheaper synthetics and that Razorock does a better job then all the other cheapos I have tested and I couldn't imagine ever needing anything better. But every brush I have tested has worked for me, the RazoRock just works better.

I have, for some time, been looking at the Stirling synthetic brush. I appreciate the company, and like their products. However, their brush is $12, while this one is $6.
Choices, choices... And here comes the paralysis...
Honestly, I think they probably perform very similarly, based on the fact that each has reviews stating superiority over the other specifically. Similar performers with personal preference making the difference?
$6 is a good deal.

By the by... Any experience with those Lupos, yet? Not to pressure you. Just curious.

 

[WVShaver]

Ah, yes. I am familiar with the term. It is a way of life for me, unfortunately.



I have, for some time, been looking at the Stirling synthetic brush. I appreciate the company, and like their products. However, their brush is $12, while this one is $6.
Choices, choices... And here comes the paralysis...
Honestly, I think they probably perform very similarly, based on the fact that each has reviews stating superiority over the other specifically. Similar performers with personal preference making the difference?
$6 is a good deal.

By the by... Any experience with those Lupos, yet? Not to pressure you. Just curious.

I just got in a Stirling brush along with some others I picked up used. I haven't had the chance to use it yet but will try it next shave in a couple days and let you know what I think. The knot is a tad larger then I like but is about average. I often lather from the soap so a smaller brush works best for me. That Razorock brush I have is a 20mm one and I believe smaller then the one I linked you. But it has the same style knot the Plissoft which is a great knot. I think it's possible the Stirling performs as well as the Razorock but I would be surprised if it performs any better.

I also got some AP Shave Co ones and just used one of those with the synthetic horse hair and it was very nice and soft but I don't think it lathers any better then the Razorock. But I do really like the handle on them.

I did have the chance to test out those Lupos and they had a lot more blade feel then I prefer. It may have been the safety bar on them causing some of that since it is of a different design. I plan to let a family member test them out for awhile and revisit later on after I test more razors out. The quality of these razors is superb, but they felt a lot more like my R41 then I like. The Mamba 70 I have only tried a couple times and it is very smooth but also doesn't give me the closest shave. The R89 is slightly closer shaving for me and just as smooth. Same goes for the Gilette Tech.

On shaving soaps, I got a little sidetracked there myself. I understand the budget aspect and if I was you I would consider getting a tube of the Prorasso shaving cream. My first cream/soap I used that wasn't from wally world was the Prorasso in the green tube and it works very well. In fact I think it works better then many soaps I tried afterwards and I really should go back and revisit it now that I have tried some elite soaps. They are only about $8-10 per tube on the bay or lots of shaving places. The Green is the most used I believe.

But I'm telling you, if you want a super smooth shave it may be worth it to fork over the $15-20 for a tub of high end soap like Barrister & Mann Omnibus. I didn't realize how much of a difference soaps could make but that stuff makes mediocre razors/blades feel smooth. GrownMenShave have many options for around $20 and with a military discount it comes out to around $17 per tub for me. But I believe Maggards also sells them for about the same price and often has 10-20% off codes for anyone to use. And Maggards usually has more options. My only issue with them is I don't care for most of their scents. But so far I like Leviathan and Full Measure of a Man which are both kind of tobacco oriented. I wish more shaving soaps just smelled like regular bar soap instead of trying to go out of their way with weird scent profiles. Some of the scents are nice, but most don't suit me.

 

[Rumblebuffin]

I just got in a Stirling brush along with some others I picked up used. I haven't had the chance to use it yet but will try it next shave in a couple days and let you know what I think. The knot is a tad larger then I like but is about average. I often lather from the soap so a smaller brush works best for me. That Razorock brush I have is a 20mm one and I believe smaller then the one I linked you. But it has the same style knot the Plissoft which is a great knot. I think it's possible the Stirling performs as well as the Razorock but I would be surprised if it performs any better.

I also got some AP Shave Co ones and just used one of those with the synthetic horse hair and it was very nice and soft but I don't think it lathers any better then the Razorock. But I do really like the handle on them.

I did have the chance to test out those Lupos and they had a lot more blade feel then I prefer. It may have been the safety bar on them causing some of that since it is of a different design. I plan to let a family member test them out for awhile and revisit later on after I test more razors out. The quality of these razors is superb, but they felt a lot more like my R41 then I like. The Mamba 70 I have only tried a couple times and it is very smooth but also doesn't give me the closest shave. The R89 is slightly closer shaving for me and just as smooth. Same goes for the Gilette Tech.

On shaving soaps, I got a little sidetracked there myself. I understand the budget aspect and if I was you I would consider getting a tube of the Prorasso shaving cream. My first cream/soap I used that wasn't from wally world was the Prorasso in the green tube and it works very well. In fact I think it works better then many soaps I tried afterwards and I really should go back and revisit it now that I have tried some elite soaps. They are only about $8-10 per tube on the bay or lots of shaving places. The Green is the most used I believe.

But I'm telling you, if you want a super smooth shave it may be worth it to fork over the $15-20 for a tub of high end soap like Barrister & Mann Omnibus. I didn't realize how much of a difference soaps could make but that stuff makes mediocre razors/blades feel smooth. GrownMenShave have many options for around $20 and with a military discount it comes out to around $17 per tub for me. But I believe Maggards also sells them for about the same price and often has 10-20% off codes for anyone to use. And Maggards usually has more options. My only issue with them is I don't care for most of their scents. But so far I like Leviathan and Full Measure of a Man which are both kind of tobacco oriented. I wish more shaving soaps just smelled like regular bar soap instead of trying to go out of their way with weird scent profiles. Some of the scents are nice, but most don't suit me.

A simple soap is underrated. Scent is easily obtained from AS or cologne.

 

[WVShaver]

I agree when it comes to scents. But as far as how good it works, some of the top tier soaps are much better. If you don’t experience any shave irritation with cheaper soaps then I don’t blame you for using budget soaps. But if you get irritation and can swing the extra money the good soap makes things much more enjoyable at the cost of about $30-40 a year.

 

[CCS]

A great simple and excellent performing soap is ARKO!

 

[WVShaver]

A great simple and excellent performing soap is ARKO!

Not for me but I tested it early in my shaving journey so maybe I should see if I can lather it any better now. I don’t mind the smell and like it better then a lot of higher end soaps I’ve tested since it’s more of a traditional soap smell. Same for La Toja.

I think I will revisit these later this month and bowl lather them instead of using the stick. I find a really thick lather with only a little water does best for me and offers the most protection. And my go to is the B&M Omnibus. I just don’t like most of B&M scents at all. I grew to really like the Full Measure of a Man and Leviathan and look forward to testing Amazelnut and Hollows eventually.

A soap that smells amazing to me Is Long Rifle Soaps Brown Bess with cherry pipe tobacco but the soap doesn’t perform well for me. CAA Cavendish and Uncle Jon’s Pipe Smoke are on my wish list.