Just buy a Merkur 34c and Astra SP blades off Amazon, keep it simple. That will start your journey down the rabbit hole. In no time, you'll be spending hours on shaving sites, buying Japanese Naturals and vintage Filarmonicas.
New to single blade razors - looking for purchase advice
- Thread starter Jimmy7
- Start date
Welcome Jimmy, from another Jim!
I have recently returned to DE shaving and went on a similar journey. Keeping costs down without compromising on the quality of the shaving experience has been front and center from the start.
The biggest improvement is ditching canned foam And preparing my face for shaving. This is all about washing amd moistening the beard so the stubble is softened before you attack it, which adds tremendously to the shave.
You can get some really good creams (Palmolive, Nivea) for about $5 which work well. Proraso is the next step up, bit still affordable.
Yaqi (AliExpress) sells fantastic value brushes for under $10 (
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mqkwlAC ) I'd recommend a synthetic to start with as they are great at making lather, have no scent and dry relatively quickly.
The razor I initially bought is the King C Gillette, which comes with a tuck of blades. It is a great starter kit for you, and is still one of my favourites. It is a blend of efficient and gentle that can be used daily.
Good luck on your adventure though!
I have recently returned to DE shaving and went on a similar journey. Keeping costs down without compromising on the quality of the shaving experience has been front and center from the start.
The biggest improvement is ditching canned foam And preparing my face for shaving. This is all about washing amd moistening the beard so the stubble is softened before you attack it, which adds tremendously to the shave.
You can get some really good creams (Palmolive, Nivea) for about $5 which work well. Proraso is the next step up, bit still affordable.
Yaqi (AliExpress) sells fantastic value brushes for under $10 (
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mqkwlAC ) I'd recommend a synthetic to start with as they are great at making lather, have no scent and dry relatively quickly.
The razor I initially bought is the King C Gillette, which comes with a tuck of blades. It is a great starter kit for you, and is still one of my favourites. It is a blend of efficient and gentle that can be used daily.
Good luck on your adventure though!
- Thread starter
- #23
OK, so, since we won't be sharing the razors, we decided to go with the 13M's in different colors. Adding the stands, it added up to a nice amount. But it will eventually pay off in various ways.
Now, we'll look at the other stuff to go with it - creams, brushes, maybe another after shave.
But that's another battle, later on. I'll probs be back and chat about that. In the meantime, looking fwd to a new shaving era for me and my son. Let's hope that it'll be fun.
Thank you all. Much appreciated.
You’ll like the Henson, I’m confident.
JCinPA is on the right track.
A DE89, a synthetic brush, a cake of ToBS, and a pile of Astra Superior Platinum blades is a good starter package -- and you may not need anything else, ever.
The DE89 is a 3-piece razor, and most of us (I think) use two hands to assemble it. I just tested one- hand assembly -- no problem.
Another problem he might run into:
..."skin stretching" with one hand, while holding the razor in the other hand,
... is something I do often.
Without that, I'd find some areas hard to shave, without putting pressure on the blade. And pressing on a sharp blade, in a DE89, is something to avoid.
However, there's a YouTube video which shows a complete one-handed shave with a Muele R89, very comparable to the DE89:
If GeoFatBoy can do it, so can your son.
. Charles
EDIT -- written before you chose your razor, but still relevant.
A DE89, a synthetic brush, a cake of ToBS, and a pile of Astra Superior Platinum blades is a good starter package -- and you may not need anything else, ever.
The DE89 is a 3-piece razor, and most of us (I think) use two hands to assemble it. I just tested one- hand assembly -- no problem.
Another problem he might run into:
..."skin stretching" with one hand, while holding the razor in the other hand,
... is something I do often.
Without that, I'd find some areas hard to shave, without putting pressure on the blade. And pressing on a sharp blade, in a DE89, is something to avoid.
However, there's a YouTube video which shows a complete one-handed shave with a Muele R89, very comparable to the DE89:
If GeoFatBoy can do it, so can your son.
. Charles
EDIT -- written before you chose your razor, but still relevant.
Great video!
Between the + and ++, the ++ was preferable to me, but neither one is a good fit for me because they're just not efficient enough. The +++ is better, but not that impressive either. But between the + and ++, I would definitely suggest the ++.
Your beard sounds similar to mine and the AL13+ (mild) is plenty. IIRC, Henson has been quoted as saying that over 90% of their sales are the mild.
You could order one mild, one medium, try both, send one back -- although with the high shipping charges leveled by Henson, you might do better selling the reject here.
Note that around Black Friday and other times one can score a significant discount on Henson by shopping around.
Blades are a real individual preference thing so a sampler is the way to go. Astras are very popular among Henson users and I think that it was stated here that Henson designed the razor to be used with the Astra.
Have fun!
Tech or SuperSpeed. Plentiful. Cheap. Indestructible. Great shaves
In single edge, the Schick injector. The greatest shaving tool in the world.
In single edge, the Schick injector. The greatest shaving tool in the world.
"M" as in Mild?...or Medium?
Usually, the Henson aggression levels are referred to as:
+ (mild)
++ (medium)
+++ (aggressive)
Though the general feeling (from what I've read) is that there is little difference between the + and ++.
Good luck
...and don't put off getting a cream or soap (lots of good, inexpensive options already mentioned), and an inexpensive brush. I still have a couple $10 Razorock Plissoft synthetic brushes in my rotation, and they work beautifully.
+1.
My old Plisson badger brush is on the shelf. I've converted to this:
(Tuxedo) RazoRock 24 Barrel Shaving Brush - with Tuxedo Plissoft Synth – ItalianBarber
The RazoRock 24 Barrel is a brush we are very excited about, a handle that took us much time to execute properly. Although the barrel seems like a simpl...
Synthetic brushes are better than I expected.
. Charles
I have to quote this to re-emphasize it.
Shave prep is probably 70% of the battle in getting a good shave with a DE. That applies no matter which razor and blade you choose.
A good prep softens the beard hairs, gets them sticking up a little more out of the follicle, and makes your face very slick. The latter point is CRITICAL for avoiding razor burn, ingrown hairs, and cuts. The razor will glide over your face effortlessly with no pressure if you've done your prep correctly. Poor prep will result in the blade tugging at your face and give you all kinds of problems.
I've been DE shaving for well over a decade, and it was only in the last year or so that I got really serious about perfecting my pre-shave prep. I was using a good brush and VDH soap before that, but I wasn't conscientious about building a good lather or using a pre-shave product to slicken the face before applying lather. Doing these has largely eliminated razor burn for me, and the only cuts I get now are from occasional carelessness or a dud blade.
For reference, I use Cremo shaving cream not for my lather, but as a prep to make my face slick before lathering my face with shaving soap. The combination gives a very slick shaving surface and makes my shaves more enjoyable and effective.
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