Hello, everyone! 
I spent a long time lurking, hoping to learn without making yet another message forum account, but I couldn't resist as I'm sure I'll have questions.
I'm Kat or Katia; I live in Metro Detroit and I've been intrigued by safety razors for years. A friend recently mentioned that her boyfriend had gifted her with a straight razor (I don't think she plans to use it, but it's a Sweeney Todd replica so she's geeked out ) and that reminded me of this... and I decided to finally go for it, especially since I'm getting tired of the price of cartridges and looking for a better alternative (oh, okay, and I'm also the Girl Anachronism...). So, trying to gather info here! So much helpful stuff: thanks, guys. (and thanks in advance because I'm sure I'll be full of questions...)
I'm currently trying to decide between an EJ DE89L, and a Lady Gillette. I'm leaning toward the former, in part because it can be bought new (I haven't the first idea how to evaluate them on eBay nor even yet how much they should cost; that's one thing I haven't searched here yet... although I love the vintage appeal of the Lady Gillette), in part because it got such great reviews, and in part (rant here) because I am always very mistrustful of women's shaving products. {I learned way back in middle school or so that if it's for women, it's pretty and pink and it doesn't work worth the effort of lathering up one's legs (I had one lovely little purple thing that left me with stubble AFTER I shaved...), so I've insisted on using men's shaving products since (also, I'm not a "girly girl" and pink and white and lavender just don't do it for me, but that's secondary to performance). If that's the case with the Lady Gillette as well, I'll stick with a men's razor happily. Not all that worried about mild; a few nicks won't kill me (I'm an uber-klutz and also work out and such--and I used to be a skater-- so nicks and bruises are a way of life to me, lol. I only draw the line at, say, severing major blood vessels.
). But I do like the idea of the longer handle-- not sure how that compares to the DE89? I'd appreciate any advice on the matter, especially if anyone's used both (and oh yes, before someone makes an attempt at enabling-- I thought of getting both and comparing but then slapped some sense back into myself, lol.)}
I'm also doing a browse around for vegetarian-friendly products and am starting to figure out all of that as well, but if anyone would like to rec no-animal-testing/no-animal-products that they love, I'd appreciate the shortcut as well.
It's good to be here and add to the female ranks, and to keep learning!
I spent a long time lurking, hoping to learn without making yet another message forum account, but I couldn't resist as I'm sure I'll have questions.
I'm Kat or Katia; I live in Metro Detroit and I've been intrigued by safety razors for years. A friend recently mentioned that her boyfriend had gifted her with a straight razor (I don't think she plans to use it, but it's a Sweeney Todd replica so she's geeked out ) and that reminded me of this... and I decided to finally go for it, especially since I'm getting tired of the price of cartridges and looking for a better alternative (oh, okay, and I'm also the Girl Anachronism...). So, trying to gather info here! So much helpful stuff: thanks, guys. (and thanks in advance because I'm sure I'll be full of questions...)
I'm currently trying to decide between an EJ DE89L, and a Lady Gillette. I'm leaning toward the former, in part because it can be bought new (I haven't the first idea how to evaluate them on eBay nor even yet how much they should cost; that's one thing I haven't searched here yet... although I love the vintage appeal of the Lady Gillette), in part because it got such great reviews, and in part (rant here) because I am always very mistrustful of women's shaving products. {I learned way back in middle school or so that if it's for women, it's pretty and pink and it doesn't work worth the effort of lathering up one's legs (I had one lovely little purple thing that left me with stubble AFTER I shaved...), so I've insisted on using men's shaving products since (also, I'm not a "girly girl" and pink and white and lavender just don't do it for me, but that's secondary to performance). If that's the case with the Lady Gillette as well, I'll stick with a men's razor happily. Not all that worried about mild; a few nicks won't kill me (I'm an uber-klutz and also work out and such--and I used to be a skater-- so nicks and bruises are a way of life to me, lol. I only draw the line at, say, severing major blood vessels.
). But I do like the idea of the longer handle-- not sure how that compares to the DE89? I'd appreciate any advice on the matter, especially if anyone's used both (and oh yes, before someone makes an attempt at enabling-- I thought of getting both and comparing but then slapped some sense back into myself, lol.)}I'm also doing a browse around for vegetarian-friendly products and am starting to figure out all of that as well, but if anyone would like to rec no-animal-testing/no-animal-products that they love, I'd appreciate the shortcut as well.
It's good to be here and add to the female ranks, and to keep learning!
); I've considered horse hair as well as I know the horses aren't killed, but I'm still not sure I'm comfortable with it as I'm not sure whether they are kept well nor how much tail hair is left for them to swat flies with!). Haven't decided on the soap yet (but I'm definitely leaning toward soap. It's a bit of a nostalgia thing, as I vaguely remember my dad having a shaving mug and soap when I was a kid. Also I just like messing around with stuff, lol, so making lather with soap will be much more fun!). Wherever I decide to order from, I'll probably research their soaps and see which brands they carry that are veg-friendly. Barring that, I've found some veg soaps on Etsy as well, and I'm sure I could check Whole Foods and the like.
