Can't go wrong with this deal. Rapira Platinum Lux Double-Edge Safety Razor
Suggestions for a Beginner (AL13, Bison, Lupo, GC?)
- Thread starter Cowboy Jackson
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So it turns out there are also lots of varying opinions on soaps, creams and blades. Like razors I guess it's all unique to each person. Just to make sure I've got my bases covered...
With blades I’m thinking of trying: Gillette Super Platinum, Gillette Perma-sharp, Astra SP, and Feather. Does this cover a range of sharp and smooth blades? Should I drop or add something? (Even four choices may be too much to start with).
For soaps and/or creams my picks are almost more random: a TOBS cream; and Henri et Victoria (Kraken) soap. But I'm open to suggestions for something that is reasonably priced, and hopefully more artisanal than mass produced. For shoppers at the Italian Barber, is there a Razorock soap/cream that offers better value for the money? Or something from Fendrihan? (The “Canada Shaving Soap” that was suggested seems nice too, but with shipping it gets close to twice as much as many others; though I guess you get what you pay for and it probably lasts almost a year?).
For a brush I was just thinking of a Yaqi synthetic off Alliexpress or a generic synthetic from Italian barber or Fendrihan. And I’m almost afraid to ask, but should I be getting something more high quality? Or are these fine for now.
Again, thanks for all the advice so far, this really is a great community for relieving newbie anxiety.
With blades I’m thinking of trying: Gillette Super Platinum, Gillette Perma-sharp, Astra SP, and Feather. Does this cover a range of sharp and smooth blades? Should I drop or add something? (Even four choices may be too much to start with).
For soaps and/or creams my picks are almost more random: a TOBS cream; and Henri et Victoria (Kraken) soap. But I'm open to suggestions for something that is reasonably priced, and hopefully more artisanal than mass produced. For shoppers at the Italian Barber, is there a Razorock soap/cream that offers better value for the money? Or something from Fendrihan? (The “Canada Shaving Soap” that was suggested seems nice too, but with shipping it gets close to twice as much as many others; though I guess you get what you pay for and it probably lasts almost a year?).
For a brush I was just thinking of a Yaqi synthetic off Alliexpress or a generic synthetic from Italian barber or Fendrihan. And I’m almost afraid to ask, but should I be getting something more high quality? Or are these fine for now.
Again, thanks for all the advice so far, this really is a great community for relieving newbie anxiety.
For a brush, I'd recommend a good boar. A top quality boar can be found for as little as 5 €, and its performance is every bit as good as a 150 € badger. I recommend an Omega boar, with so-called natural bristle. Go with a smaller knot, diameter no bigger than 24 or 25 mm.
For some reason the best known and most widely available boars are the likes of Omega 10048, Omega 10049, and the Proraso boar, all of which have knot diameters around 28 mm. Often people get tired of these big knots after a while. I'd recommend a brush like the Omega 10066 (there are a number of similar Omegas around this size).
Blades and soaps -- it's really hard to recommend any in particular, it's so much a matter of personal preference.
One piece of advice though, you really don't need to spend a ton of money in this department.
There is generally not a direct relation between quality and price in this hobby.
Final word, on the Henson:
I for one, do not think a Henson is a good beginner's razor, because the Henson razors are designed so that they behave like disposable/cartridge razors, more so than traditional / classic DE razors. This may be a reason many consider Hensons good razors for people coming from a cartridge background ("beginners").
But if the idea is that you want to get into classic DE shaving, you need to develop your DE technique.The razor head design of a Henson (top cap and base plate) does not really offer much affordance here, because the angle of the blade on your face is "locked" (as a consequence, I guarantee it is easy get irritation and razor burn with a Henson..!). In traditional DE shaving in contrast, you very much want to be able to experiment with adjusting the angle. If you want to get into traditional DE shaving, hone your technique with more classic / traditional DE gear. All the other razors recommended here are excellent for this.
A final note on Karve:
as far as I am aware, some people are experiencing issues with availability/ timely delivery of orders, so patience may be required if you go with a Karve.
Enjoy, welcome to Shavedom.
For some reason the best known and most widely available boars are the likes of Omega 10048, Omega 10049, and the Proraso boar, all of which have knot diameters around 28 mm. Often people get tired of these big knots after a while. I'd recommend a brush like the Omega 10066 (there are a number of similar Omegas around this size).
Blades and soaps -- it's really hard to recommend any in particular, it's so much a matter of personal preference.
One piece of advice though, you really don't need to spend a ton of money in this department.
There is generally not a direct relation between quality and price in this hobby.
Final word, on the Henson:
I for one, do not think a Henson is a good beginner's razor, because the Henson razors are designed so that they behave like disposable/cartridge razors, more so than traditional / classic DE razors. This may be a reason many consider Hensons good razors for people coming from a cartridge background ("beginners").
But if the idea is that you want to get into classic DE shaving, you need to develop your DE technique.The razor head design of a Henson (top cap and base plate) does not really offer much affordance here, because the angle of the blade on your face is "locked" (as a consequence, I guarantee it is easy get irritation and razor burn with a Henson..!). In traditional DE shaving in contrast, you very much want to be able to experiment with adjusting the angle. If you want to get into traditional DE shaving, hone your technique with more classic / traditional DE gear. All the other razors recommended here are excellent for this.
A final note on Karve:
as far as I am aware, some people are experiencing issues with availability/ timely delivery of orders, so patience may be required if you go with a Karve.
Enjoy, welcome to Shavedom.
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The Canada Shaving Soap is expensive, but lasts forever, is easy to use, and doesn’t contain potentially irritating substances such as lanolin or benzaldehyde.
I like synthetic knot brushes because they’re easy to figure out, and often dry faster after use.
Best of luck!
I like synthetic knot brushes because they’re easy to figure out, and often dry faster after use.
Best of luck!
First of all, welcome to the B&B community.... I will finish reading the rest of the thread but before this old mind forgets, I wanted to confirm your desire for a Canada Pre-War Tech... what a lovely razor.
I'll join you and @1e4 in recommending Canada Shaving Soap.... I recently finished my first tub.... I bought it in April of 2022 and have used it for ~80% of my shaves since then.... It isn't inexpensive for the initial purchase, but they load the tubs up to the top and the soap is triple milled or something like that... and most of the water is gone. You get to add the water back in instead of paying for it... It lasts and lasts and is as good as any soap I've used...
There's an approach here often referred to as a "fixed four" which is one razor, one blade, one brush, and one soap.
The idea is that you used the same four for a month or so, while you are learning. Keep in mind that when you start out that you ARE going to have nicks and irritation. That is part of the learning process.
However, if you are having extreme issues it's perfectly ok to change.
The usual recommendation is that you change only one variable at a time to get a good feeling for the effect of that change. Changing everything all at once makes it very difficult to determine the cause of any issue you may encounter.
No matter what you choose, the biggest variable is going to be your skill level and technique. Once you've mastered the technique, I believe the equipment becomes less of an influence on the end result.
The Tech is a fine razor, and could easily be my one and only...a lifetime razor.
When I bought my Henson, I read a LOT, and found many opinions stating that there isn't a huge difference between the + and ++. I bought the + and it worked fine for me...average beard, average skin, shaving every two days.
Any of those will work, though the Feather blades have a reputation for being very sharp, and fading quickly. I've only used Feather blades on a couple occasions so the above is based more on forum consensus than my opinion.
I bought 700 Astra SP blades very quickly after my first 100 and never looked back. I have 100ct packs of others, but that was just to try them. I've yet to find a well known blade that will not shave for me.
Pick one.
I have a Yaqi Mojito synthetic and must admit that it is a very nice brush...very badger-like.
My last piece of advice:
Don't overthink it. You'll get overwhelmed by the choices.
Just grab some stuff from the items you've listed in previous posts and start shaving...I'm thinking you will be fine.
You named some excellent razors above. The razors I put in bold are razors I would recommend to anyone, especially new wet shavers. I would also toss the Rockwell 6c or 6s in there as well.
I do prefer the new Game Changer .76 over the .68. The same shaving experience but it is much more efficient.
@gpjoe is spot on. This is a YMMV activity, very much so, but a beginner cannot judge what he likes or reliably compare two blades until he has technique down. Different lather products are also very variable in terms of ease of lathering, how much water they need/can take, etc.
Stick with one blade for a month or 45 days is the most important thing, and forget anecdotal like/dislike posts and stick with one WIDELY seen as comfortable. You don’t need the sharpest blade at first. Skip the Feathers for now. Go with the Gillette Super Plats or the Astra.
After your first month to 45 days, go nuts, like we all do, but Joe’s advice on fixed four is probably the best I’ve seen for brand new wet shavers.
Boar is my favorite brush, but they will take a full month to break in, but whatever you decide to use, I strongly second the advice to lock it down for a month. Have fun!
P.S. Oh, and the AL13++ is a fine razor for a beginner. I’ve been at this for over 13 years and it is my favorite razor. When you have 6 months or more doing this you can start to evaluate different razors, but in the beginning go with what most like, and ignore the outliers. While we don’t like to argue around here, and you may end up liking the Feather in a Muhle R41, but don’t do that now because somebody posts loudly singing its praises. There will always be 10% of folks who legitimately don’t like some popular product, and that’s fine. I just wouldn’t listen to them for your first month choice of gear. The AL13 is a fine beginner razor, the GSB or Astra blades are fine beginner blades, both probably are loved by 90% who use them here (absolutely unscientific guess). But if 90% say something is a good beginner choice and 10% argue against it, go with the 90%. At least for now, that’s the way to bet. We’re not wrong even if a year from now you’ve moved on to something else. You are not able to judge at this stage, so stay in the middle lanes.
Stick with one blade for a month or 45 days is the most important thing, and forget anecdotal like/dislike posts and stick with one WIDELY seen as comfortable. You don’t need the sharpest blade at first. Skip the Feathers for now. Go with the Gillette Super Plats or the Astra.
After your first month to 45 days, go nuts, like we all do, but Joe’s advice on fixed four is probably the best I’ve seen for brand new wet shavers.
Boar is my favorite brush, but they will take a full month to break in, but whatever you decide to use, I strongly second the advice to lock it down for a month. Have fun!
P.S. Oh, and the AL13++ is a fine razor for a beginner. I’ve been at this for over 13 years and it is my favorite razor. When you have 6 months or more doing this you can start to evaluate different razors, but in the beginning go with what most like, and ignore the outliers. While we don’t like to argue around here, and you may end up liking the Feather in a Muhle R41, but don’t do that now because somebody posts loudly singing its praises. There will always be 10% of folks who legitimately don’t like some popular product, and that’s fine. I just wouldn’t listen to them for your first month choice of gear. The AL13 is a fine beginner razor, the GSB or Astra blades are fine beginner blades, both probably are loved by 90% who use them here (absolutely unscientific guess). But if 90% say something is a good beginner choice and 10% argue against it, go with the 90%. At least for now, that’s the way to bet. We’re not wrong even if a year from now you’ve moved on to something else. You are not able to judge at this stage, so stay in the middle lanes.
This should be stickied at the top of this forum.
Falling down the rabbit hole is a given and the least of your worries. Establishing and maintaining OCD tendencies is more the norm here in Shaving Wonderland. Starting out you really need to try multiples of all elements in your shave kit. Your personal likes and favourites can only be judged by your personal experience. What works best for me or Harry may not work for you. My best advice is to not try too many things at once (which is hard to do). Eventually you may find the grail you seek in all your kit selections. You may also fall into an endless time loop or warp. There you will be forever trying all manner of software and hardware. Happily sampling every new shave addition into oblivion. Good Luck & Happy Shaves.
I have the Lupo Aluminum, and IMHO it's a fine mild-to-moderate (leaning towards "mild") razor for _anyone_ who wants that level of aggression. The CNC machining is precise, the blade alignment never changes. I've used it with both Feather and Astra SP blades, both work OK. The Astra SP is more forgiving.
Another possibility would be to get an adjustable razor. There are several threads on picking one, and I don't have anything to add to them. (I own a Merkur Progress and a Pearl Flexi, the Flexi with an Astra blade is my daily driver.)
. . . Did Cowboy Jackson ever decide what to get, or is he still navigating the rabbit hole ?
Thanks --
. Charles
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