Shave Comparison - DE vs SE

[sidpost]

For ~$20, you can get a worked over Schick from one of the vendors on Esty or eBay. There really isn't a razor at $20 or less that beats a good Schick Injector IMHO.

 

[Dngolden]

I wasn't getting a good feeling about that one.



I figured the Parker as a possible score. Oddly, for whatever reason, they seem to be out of stock everywhere. I believe that Parker’s are made in India, so I can't quite understand what the shortage might be?

Maggard seems to have a few in stock.

I have the Parker, and like it. They created a v2 that is slightly less mild on the low settings. It goes from mild to medium on the high settings. The blades the Parker comes with are unasable for me. But the supply blacks or yellow “chicks” i get great shaves even though I have a course beard.

That said, I wouldn’t wait around for the Parker. I like my supply co and Schick M3 more. I’ve used many of the traditional shaving methods (de, gem, AC in both shavette and safety razors). I’ve now settled on de and injector. However if I had to pick one it would be injector. They provide the most consistent balance of smoothness efficiency closeness with just enough effort to make it fun.

 

[Jim99]

If you can score a Parker adjustable, I think you’ll be happy with it. They’re not expensive at all and seem to be of a decent quality. I have heard that the newer version is not as mild on the high settings, so it should now provide greater flexibility to the user.

 

[ErkRusselReserve]

Why not the best of both worlds? Replaceable DE blade that cuts like a SE? Oh, it also has two pivots as well.

I've also had good results with a Twig, Kai Gold-S and Kai Young-T which are all SE blades.

 

[never-stop-learning]

Thanks to you folks, I've been buying and using both vintage DE & SE razors lately. I was certain that my Gillette SS Red Tip with Astra SP (2nd use) would easily beat out the Gem Micromatic (MMOC) with a Gem Personna blade (2nd use). I lathered up with Haslinger Schafmilch and shaved one side of my face with the Gillette, and the other side with the Gem. After 3 passes each, what I found was surprising. While the Gem took a few more clean-up passes, when the shave was done and the Nivea balm was applied, I couldn't tell the difference between the two. There was a vast difference in how the razors felt during the shave, but the results were identical, a smooth & respectable shave.

I think I'll also try a comparison with soaps - Mike's (on the left side of my face) vs Stirling (on the right side) using a Gillette Tech (pre-war). That's next...

My top 10 modern razors are AC, DE and GEM. Throw in vintage and there are more DE and GEM.

Injector razors do not seem to get along with my face/skin/beard.

Just my opinion.