Need Assistance - Vintage razors

[lvsc10]

I am relatively new to D/E shaving, but love it. I currently have a Merkur HD and am using Derby blades (they seem more forgiving than the Merkur blades I started out with. The Merkurs seemed to cause me to shave rough - too much pulling and snagging). Seems like a good setup for me right now as I am learning the proper technique. But I digress. I have been reading many posts on B/B and see many posters extoll the virtures of older safety razors. So being a curious person, I went on Ebay and looked at all the vintage razors for sale. Boy am I confused. Can someone please educate/assist me in the art of selecting a quality vintage razor. I would be greatly appreciative of any and all assistance.

Mark

 

[shm]

Ah, but it is here it gets difficult.

What you might consider a good razor may be a bad razor to me and vice versa.

But for what its worth, I especially like the Fat Handled Tech. Good weight distribution and not to aggressive.
But to me any Tech is a nice razor.

The Fat Boy or Slim Adjustable are also a good razors, and you get the benefit to adjust it to your liking.

Hope it is a help

 

[luvmysuper]

I am relatively new to D/E shaving, but love it. I currently have a Merkur HD and am using Derby blades (they seem more forgiving than the Merkur blades I started out with. The Merkurs seemed to cause me to shave rough - too much pulling and snagging). Seems like a good setup for me right now as I am learning the proper technique. But I digress. I have been reading many posts on B/B and see many posters extoll the virtures of older safety razors. So being a curious person, I went on Ebay and looked at all the vintage razors for sale. Boy am I confused. Can someone please educate/assist me in the art of selecting a quality vintage razor. I would be greatly appreciative of any and all assistance.

Mark

The Merkur HD is a fine razor, and you could do a LOT worse than starting out with that set up.
I like Derby blades, they work for me, but for sure, a sampler pack is what you need to find what's right for you.
The choices for a vintage Gillette are almost limitless - from solid guard to open comb, three piece to TTO and every possible combination in between.
A nice all around good shaver is the Gillette Superspeed, which can be had right here on our Buy Sell trade forum for around 20 bucks is a sure to please razor.
Take a look at Mr. Razors site to get an idea of the multitude that is available, and just try to find something you like.
Good Luck

http://www.j-duwe.de/Rasierer/Gillette Rasierer.htm

 

[Myanmar Shave]

lvsc10-

First off, welcome aboard B&B- a place where large sums of money can disappear quickly in a hobby that could be called "zany"!!...

Many folks start off with the Merkur HD and it's probably a good starter razor--although with the wrong blade I can see how it might be a bit rough with a new DE user.

I think a new user should seek out a good condition Schick Krona as a starter razor. While not as glamorous as a vintage Gillette, it can provide a super comfortable and close shave and doesn't seem to be too finicky with blades. I can use Derby's, Red Pack Personnas, Astras--almost anything--and get great shaves. In my opinion this is a greatly overlooked razor. Plus on the used market they are very reasonably priced.

Should you want to go the Gillette route, a 50's flare tip Superspeed or a Gillette Tech will get you comfortable shaves. These are reasonably priced also.

For new razors I love my Merkur 1904 open comb. It's the smoothest most comfortable razor I own. I use it 75% of the time....

Have fun in your search-it's well worth the test drives to find what you like!!

cheers,

Marty E.

 

[redbike]

Check out [thread=70878]this thread. [/thread]

 

[rickw]

Check the WIKI for descriptions. http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/Safety_Razor_Database#Organized_by_Manufacturer_.26_Name

 

[DeaconKC]

Before buying on ebay, try our own sale forums here and get from one of our own members. You will get a better/more fairly priced razor.

 

[mdunn]

Before buying on ebay, try our own sale forums here and get from one of our own members. You will get a better/more fairly priced razor.

precisely. A buy in the BST will be cheaper, and its from someone who knows what theyre talking about.

 

[Dennis]

The BST here is your best bet. Check the wiki or Mr. Razors site. When we talk about "vintage" razors, we are mainly talking about Gillettes, but there are other razor makers as well like Schick and GEM along with many others (vintage Merkur, Barbasol, Rolls, Autostrop, etc...). Gillette started making DE safety razors in the early 1900s all the way up to almost present. There is, obviously then, a huge range over which to collect. Look through the Shave of the Day (SOTD) posts to see any pics of razors that catch your eyes. Common Gillette razors that are in many people's collections include Super Speeds, the Adjustable (Fat Boy or Slim), and Techs. After that, there are the Old Types and NEWs (the old razors), but by the time you start collecting those, you'll be answering forum questions like this one.

 

[Luc]

I wouldn't change the razor, yet. Merkur HD is a great razor. You might need to feed it with a different blade. A razor blade sample pack would be good. If you can try Feather, Astra and red personna, that would cover a lot of good blades!

If you really want another razor, well, B/S/T is the best place to start!