next step in de?

[mastershake]

i have had a ej89 barley and a merkur hd for a while. looking for the "next step" i guess i want to say in de's. what should i look to try next? not wanting to go vintage yet only because a friend got a gillette adjustable off ebay and it doesnt adjust... maybe id consider one from a member here that has good history though so i dont get burned on one.

brand / model? open comb / slant? and should i go straight to adjustable or move up in non adjustable first. i do pretty well most of the time with both current models depending on blade used which my current fav's are gsb's and polsilver ir's the ir's do well in both and i prefer the gsb's in the ej89. not super thick growth but hairs are very thick themselves. also can get a really good dfs and will have growth later that day lol..grows like crazy. i dont always go for a bbs due to either time or that my hair especially neck wise grows in crazy directions and needs more passes usually. i do if im going somewhere nice or something but not for every day (though it would be nice). im sure i could still hone my skill also but i very rarely nick myself or get bad weepers or much burn unless i use any sort off dull(er) blade with my hair being so thick.

been using a de for around ~8 months.

so many choices but can only get maybe one or 2 right now to try out depending $$ wise

thanks in advance!!

 

[meetgood]

i think that a last point is Feather TAS-DS, as most expensive. i like vintage razors, but i would like to use new one.

 

[John Von Wuggz]

My second razor was a Futur. Love it.

 

[ArNav]

Merkur Progress, perhaps?

 

[freeze205]

Tell us more about your faulty adjustable, maybe add some pics.
There are plenty of knowledgeable people here who can help you out to fix it.
It might be as simple to soak it for a while to free up the mechanism.
If you're looking at something new, I can happily recommend the Progress.

 

[nano]

Thick beard, normal skin, I would suggest 37C/39C. I have the DE89L and I have bought the 39C. 39C it's a great razor, but if you prefer shorter handles 37C it's the one you should look for.
For me 39C requires harder rigid blades (Polsilver, Rapira, Astra, Perma Sharp). Not so good with soft blades (Shark, Derby...).
Go for the slant!

 

[David in Boston]

Merkur Progress, perhaps?

Good suggestion there. Beside the EJ89 Barley the Progress seems IMHO to be praised by a lot of B&B members. By the way, I recently got a Progress and it is a smoother shaving razor than my EJ Barley.

 

[BotSpanx]

Good suggestion there. Beside the EJ89 Barley the Progress seems IMHO to be praised by a lot of B&B members. By the way, I recently got a Progress and it is a smoother shaving razor than my EJ Barley.

While I did not notice any particular difference between the DE89 and the Progress in terms of smoothness, it seems the quality control on the progress has gotten sloppy in recent years. The one I got had some pretty significant blade angle issues which required a lot of fiddling before the shave could start (see my review). This sentiment is echoed in several places here and a Mergress owned by a friend also has the same issue. In terms of shave quality, the DE89 is simply the finest razor I've used to date.

 

[Invicta]

Thick beard, normal skin, I would suggest 37C/39C. I have the DE89L and I have bought the 39C. 39C it's a great razor, but if you prefer shorter handles 37C it's the one you should look for.
For me 39C requires harder rigid blades (Polsilver, Rapira, Astra, Perma Sharp). Not so good with soft blades (Shark, Derby...).
Go for the slant!

The slant bar is a really good step forward. Probably my favourite razor.

 

[tiernan22]

For me, I wanted to acquire a starter razor, a slant, a vintage, and finally an adjustable once my technique improved. I made it a journey and only graduated once I got smooth shaves out of the previous. It forced me to slow down and not buy everything at once!

 

[celestino]

Merkur Progress for an adjustable.
Weber for a stainless steel.
Good luck.

 

[mastershake]

so what would be more aggressive a oc or adjustable? im finding in all my blade testing recently because of how thick and coarse my hair is and that it lays very flat and in varied directions i think i def need something more aggressive i can def get a nice bbs shave but it takes at least 3-4 passes most times and by that time some irritation sets in so some blades may not be getting a fair shot. i was considering a adjustable but would something like a oc says a r41 fit that better than say a futur??

i considered a slant but im not sure if that will help like a oc would or am i wrong??

 

[mastershake]

Tell us more about your faulty adjustable, maybe add some pics.
There are plenty of knowledgeable people here who can help you out to fix it.
It might be as simple to soak it for a while to free up the mechanism.
If you're looking at something new, I can happily recommend the Progress.

sadly i already got rid of it so i cant though i wish i didnt now...