What *single* DE Razor would you buy if you were new? (Knowing what u know now)

[T Bone]

A lifetime razor for a newbie? I can't say that I have tried a bunch of high-end razors, but when I read the OP's post, immediately the Henson AL13 Mild popped into my head. Super easy to use, gets the job done, can last a lifetime, and you can get it even lower than list if you can catch one of Razor Emporium's sales. I've had fewer than 10 razors (I've lost count), and now my only 2 razors are a Henson AL13 Mild and a pre-war Gillette Tech. I do love the Gillette Tech, but 90% of the time I reach for the Henson. I really could see myself still using this, and only this, razor ten years from now.

The teenaged nephew might not like the razor and would have zero interest in keeping it for a lifetime. A used vintage razor probably is the way to go.

I don’t know, I think @mikhou’s suggestion could be spot on. Sure, he may not like whatever razor he gets, but if the OP indicated that the budget is low 3-digits, then surely a $70 razor isn’t out of bounds.

I say “could” because I don’t know if the nephew would be into vintage or not. For modern, he’d be hard-pressed to do better than a Henson, though there are other good suggestions in this thread too (so long as it’s mild or mild-ish, he IS a newbie after all).

Probably not a lot of teenagers are into vintage things. If he is, that’s great, and I’m probably the wrong person to advise, though the birth year idea above is good. If not the nephew’s own, then maybe the OP’s father / nephew’s grandfather’s birth year might be meaningful.

 

[never-stop-learning]

You asked.....

Alpha Big Dog Razors:

• Overall #1: Blackland Razors Stainless Vector SB & OC Plates, LHF GTx or Ti Handle
• AC Blade: Blackland Razors Stainless Vector SB & OC Plates, LHF GTx or Ti Handle
• AC Blade: Colonial Razors The General, LHF GTx or Ti Handle
• DE (Current): Blackland Razors Ti Blackbird, LHF GTx handle
• DE (Vintage): Gillette Tech/NEW Hybrid, LHF GTx or Ti handle
• GEM (Current): Blackland Razors Sabre L2, LHF GTx or Ti handle
• GEM (Vintage): GEM MMOC & BMMOC
• SE using a DE Blade (Vintage): Jones Shake-Sharp v1

 

[Tomo]

Henson Mild plus Bic blades would be good.

 

[kaufdrop27]

Henson gets my vote.

 

[FloppyJoe]

Gillette Canadian pre war Tech. Have it replated if you get a scabby one.

 

[BradWorld]

DE89 or R89 is the best beginner razor. It has a standard 3 piece DE format, has just a wee bit of blade feel, is very mild and forgiving, and looks great. There is a bit of heritage there as well. And it will remain as a viable razor long after he is not a beginner any more. The Game Changer is too Fiddly with the blade loading for a beginner.

 

[Markdad2]

The razor I would buy is the RazoRock Lupo 95SB.

 

[mikhou]

The teenaged nephew might not like the razor and would have zero interest in keeping it for a lifetime. A used vintage razor probably is the way to go.

But that wasn't the OP's question. His question was:

. If you could have *1* and only one , for life, what would you buy? I loved the merkur but I want to try something new, and want my nephew to have a razor that will last a lifetime.

Therefore, the recommendation of a razor that is easy to use for a newbie and one that they could keep for a lifetime.

 

[Rob72]

Soooooo many good options! Just a couple of semi-random thoughts: aluminum razors handle very differently than the other 90-odd percent of brass/bronze, stainless and zamac products; also, some level of adjustment, to find his personal "sweet-spot" could go a long way in keeping him interested in the hobby.

With that in mind, I would first suggest an adjustable, Slim, 195, Flexi, or if you are really indulgent, the Ambassador.

Or, a 3-piece with plate options, Karve, RazoRock, stepping up to ATT or Timeless, etc..

My personal pick would be a Slim and/or a 195. Getting a refinished specimen from Back Roads Gold would be a very nice gift!

 

[Kyle89]

Gillette Tech (doesn't matter which).

After a while move on to the Gillette Old Type.

Both can be found cheap, are of lifetime quality, and work excellently.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

I doubt that many teenagers would value a vintage Gillette razor. I think there’s a risk they would interpret the gift as “here’s something I found in the neighbour’s trash, looks clean enough that you could still shave with it - happy birthday”.

It’s probably a better option for someone who is already interested in shaving, and enough to appreciate the history of shaving.

 

[JWCowboy]

Razorock Gamechanger 0.68 SB

For a brush it's hard to beat their Bruce Synthetic as well.

 

[RayClem]

Sorry, but I cannot answer the question as posed. I do a four pass shave and I usually use a different razor for each pass. I have found that with my coarse beard and sensitive skin that I get better shaves using different razors than I would using a single razor for the entire shave.

When I go on vacation, I only take one razor with me. It is a very mild Van der Hagen (Weishi) long handle clone of the Superspeed TTO razor. The razor is inexpensive and readily replaceable, so I do not fear using it. Although it is not great at dealing with multi-day growth, if I shave daily as I usually do on while away from home, it works fine. It does need to be paired with a super sharp blade in order to be effective. I use this razor for my clean-up pass on every shave, so I do not leave home without it.

 

[spacemonkey42]

Henson medium

 

[Ron R]

Razorock Game changer .84 Stainless steel SB, Very good QC +tame mid range razor. $55 US(Very popular razor)
Razorock Lupo.72 or .95 Stainless steel SB, very good machining QC mid range $70.00US (Very nice razor)
Yaqi adjustable TFC $28 US all ranges of aggression $28 US, Best bang for you buck (excellent adjustable and affordable IMO)
Own them all and very enjoyable razors that give great shaves!

 

[RobD57]

The Rockwell 6s.

Stainless steel, 6 levels of efficiency to choose from and so easy to use
it get's boring.

The only way to hurt yourself with it is to miss the nail and hit your thumb.

The only reason I use other razors is for spice. IMHO of course.

 

[CCS]

Did I already post if I knew then what I know now (depending on when then was!), it would be a Feather AS-D2 without question.

 

[macintoshBR]

A Gillette Red Tip.

 

[Neil Jones]

Fat Handled Tech

 

[Calm_Shaver]

Henson AL13 Medium or RazoRock Lupo 72