Greetings and salamanders!
I am a 40-something father of 4, interested in converting over to a DE safety razor and dumping the cartridge. Price of entry to this seems high, but costs of complementary products seem low compared to the silly multiblade cartridges, and have come to enjoy “the old ways” of doing things. In many cases, the new things are merely different, not better.
What I didn’t expect was the mind boggling variety of products and the accompanying indecision paralysis! I have other interests with their attendant rabbitholes and should have expected this.
I’m hoping to learn enough here to get started, and I don’t know if this will be purely utilitarian for me (which I expected) or if it will grow into something more. With 2 sets of twins ages 6 and 10, you can reasonably assume my disposable cash and time are largely spoken for. As such, I will not be looking at the top or maybe even medium tiers. At the same time I don’t want to buy something cheap and regret it, having to replace it with a more expensive tool. Buy enough tool the first time.
I like the idea of vintage things. They are often better made than new and there is a reason they are still around. But there is much to learn before pursuing vintage pieces. I also like solid machined things, be they aluminum, stainless steel, and of course Ti but that’s largely too expensive. I haven’t yet seen any razors made of damasteel, though they surely must exist. I’m not really interested in brass, or chromed brass. I tend to like machine marks on well machined things, and despise the rounding of corners and edges and loss of precision that comes with aggressive polishing. Many a vintage watch or firearm has been ruined by amateur polishing.
Two of the 3 razors that have been recommended to me by the person who referred me to this forum are the Game Changer .68p and the Hensen AL13. I am intrigued by both, they check the manufacturing boxes. They both are described as mild or even “brainless”. I do have a soft spot for aerospace grade machined and anodized aluminum. The Hensen seems like a really fantastic entry razor for a newbie like me, as even experienced users are pleased with their results. The GC is well received too. Unless further reading suggests a better first razor, I will likely try one of these first. But what plates?!? The Hensen has fewer choices…
But the journey doesn’t end there, it is merely begun! I must also choose a brush and some soap and/or cream. Maybe an after shave as well, the last one of those I used was Old Spice years and years ago.
Brush choices are wildly varied, and I don’t even know how to talk about them, nor do I know what I will come to like in a brush. Natural and synthetic bristles, length, bundle diameter, knotting? I’m going to have to do some deep reading on brushes, and would dearly appreciate some advice. I can imagine having to buy and try several to get the right feel.
So down the rabbit hole I go, where it leads no one knows…
I am a 40-something father of 4, interested in converting over to a DE safety razor and dumping the cartridge. Price of entry to this seems high, but costs of complementary products seem low compared to the silly multiblade cartridges, and have come to enjoy “the old ways” of doing things. In many cases, the new things are merely different, not better.
What I didn’t expect was the mind boggling variety of products and the accompanying indecision paralysis! I have other interests with their attendant rabbitholes and should have expected this.
I’m hoping to learn enough here to get started, and I don’t know if this will be purely utilitarian for me (which I expected) or if it will grow into something more. With 2 sets of twins ages 6 and 10, you can reasonably assume my disposable cash and time are largely spoken for. As such, I will not be looking at the top or maybe even medium tiers. At the same time I don’t want to buy something cheap and regret it, having to replace it with a more expensive tool. Buy enough tool the first time.
I like the idea of vintage things. They are often better made than new and there is a reason they are still around. But there is much to learn before pursuing vintage pieces. I also like solid machined things, be they aluminum, stainless steel, and of course Ti but that’s largely too expensive. I haven’t yet seen any razors made of damasteel, though they surely must exist. I’m not really interested in brass, or chromed brass. I tend to like machine marks on well machined things, and despise the rounding of corners and edges and loss of precision that comes with aggressive polishing. Many a vintage watch or firearm has been ruined by amateur polishing.
Two of the 3 razors that have been recommended to me by the person who referred me to this forum are the Game Changer .68p and the Hensen AL13. I am intrigued by both, they check the manufacturing boxes. They both are described as mild or even “brainless”. I do have a soft spot for aerospace grade machined and anodized aluminum. The Hensen seems like a really fantastic entry razor for a newbie like me, as even experienced users are pleased with their results. The GC is well received too. Unless further reading suggests a better first razor, I will likely try one of these first. But what plates?!? The Hensen has fewer choices…
But the journey doesn’t end there, it is merely begun! I must also choose a brush and some soap and/or cream. Maybe an after shave as well, the last one of those I used was Old Spice years and years ago.
Brush choices are wildly varied, and I don’t even know how to talk about them, nor do I know what I will come to like in a brush. Natural and synthetic bristles, length, bundle diameter, knotting? I’m going to have to do some deep reading on brushes, and would dearly appreciate some advice. I can imagine having to buy and try several to get the right feel.
So down the rabbit hole I go, where it leads no one knows…