The Leprechaun Newbie

[Steven84]

Hi all, firstly, sorry to disappoint but there's no leprechaun an Irishman living in the UK and thought I'd introduce myself.
I've been wet shaving for sometime now, I currently use the Parker's silvertip badger hair brush and Truffet and hill shaving cream along with the preshave oil. Up to this point I've always used the cartridge blade but for a long time I've want do get a DE safety razor.
From my research, the best safety razors to start with are either the Merkur 34c or the Feather AS D2 (is this worth the expensive price tag for a newbie?). I quite like the look of the Parker 91R also

What safety razor would you (being the experts) recommend starting out?

Apologies if this question has been asked before

Many thanks
Steven

 

[rbscebu]

Welcome to B&B.

I am too scared to use a "safety" razor so settled into (became addicted to) much safer straight razors. As for a recommendation for a beginner's DE razor, I don't recommend any. Most here seem to recommend the Merkur 34C.

My advice is to stick with cartridges and stay totally away from any type of straight razor.

Don't Waste Your Time Even Thinking About Getting Into Straight Razor Shaving!

So, you have been thinking about trying out this SR shaving thing. Let me tell you, you are a fool for doing so. Here is why: It is the most dangerous way to shave. The population was much less when only SRs were available to shave with. You can guess the reason. It takes what seems like...

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[Big_T]

Welcome! The 34C is a good one. Or the Edwin Jagger DE89 which is made in England is also an excellent choice.

 

[Eric_75]

Hi, I'm Eric. Hang around and have a hot bowl of chili and a cold beer. Welcome to B & B!

 

[Claudel Xerxes]

Welcome! The 34C is a good one. Or the Edwin Jagger DE89 which is made in England is also an excellent choice.

+1

 

[cryhavoc]

Welcome to B&B!

 

[cryhavoc]

Welcome! The 34C is a good one. Or the Edwin Jagger DE89 which is made in England is also an excellent choice.

+2 or may I suggest a vintage Gillette, a Tech or Super Speed would be a good starting point.

 

[Alum Ladd]

Hi all, firstly, sorry to disappoint but there's no leprechaun an Irishman living in the UK and thought I'd introduce myself.
I've been wet shaving for sometime now, I currently use the Parker's silvertip badger hair brush and Truffet and hill shaving cream along with the preshave oil. Up to this point I've always used the cartridge blade but for a long time I've want do get a DE safety razor.
From my research, the best safety razors to start with are either the Merkur 34c or the Feather AS D2 (is this worth the expensive price tag for a newbie?). I quite like the look of the Parker 91R also

What safety razor would you (being the experts) recommend starting out?

Apologies if this question has been asked before

Many thanks
Steven

Hello from London and Welcome to B&B

My first razor was the Edwin Jagger Kelvin, on amazon now, also the Edwin Jagger DE87, both under £20. The 34D is over priced IMO.

You would be better off getting a vintage Tech too off the bay down the line. Much cheaper than the AS D2 and a better performer as the AS D2 is just a modern Tech *cough* 'homage' at a very steep price. Go for one of the English made Techs as they are just a tad more efficient I find.

Get your technique figured out for now, thats the most important. You can't buy that but the razors mentioned above are excellent everyman razors to begin.

 

[Hms123]

Welcome to the best place on the internet…and to a great group of folks.

 

[dmshaver]

Welcome to B & B, enjoy!

 

[emwolf]

Welcome, some great advice above.

 

[NickCutlip]

Welcome to the forum, Steven !!

 

[PintoPlain]

A Chara,

The Merkur seems to be a solid choice for a starter razor. I used to use a couple of Chinese razors when I got back into DE shaving. I had no issues with mine, but apparently they can be hit and miss.

The old Gillette razors also seem to be fairly well liked, as with the new King C Gillette razor which should be available at Boots, Superdrug, Tesco etc (I have seen them, but don't really check the shaving aisle since the Palmolive stick was discontinued).

Sorry I can't provide better info as I got into straight razors before the superb post linked by @rbscebu above was created.

 

[ajkel64]

Welcome to the forum from Australia. Thanks for taking the time to check in with us.

 

[Invicta]

Welcome to B&B.

What safety razor would you (being the experts) recommend starting out?

I am no expert but the Merkur 34C would be a good start. The Merkur Progress would also be worth considering if you can raise the budget.

 

[BigJ]

Welcome aboard!

In terms of recommendations, I agree with the 34C and also suggest the EJ89 series as great places to start! These are fine shavers in the ‘mild/moderate’ range.

 

[Steven84]

Thank you to all that replied with recommendations and also for the warm welcomes.
Will definitely have a look and consider each of them.

What about blades, is there any more suited to beginners or some that are just quite simply a better blade than others?

 

[Multum in parvo]

Welcome

A blade sampler would be a good idea but starting out you should stick with one choice of blade as you technique will improve considerably in the first month and too much choices would muddle the results.

Personna Platinums
Astra Superior Stainless
Astra Superior Platinum
or Wilkinson should do the trick.

Even if it is tempting I would not buy 100 pieces but only 5-10 to see how you like them.

 

[Lightcs1776]

Welcome. Great to have you join us. I often recommend the Meeker 34D, which is what I started with. However, if you like vintage, a slim or Fatboy is also a great option. I recommend staying with one setting until you get perfect shaves, which will let perfect your technique. Then you can try different settings to see what works best for you.

 

[timetofly]

Welcome aboard! A great deal of excellent advice abounds by others.