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When shopping for a new safety razor, can the vast array of choices overwhelm you at times?

A very warm good afternoon to all.

Just a question that popped into my mind, when you are shopping for a new safety razor, can the vast selection be a bit overwhelming at times? I have read lots of reviews about various razors in my quest for looking for 'the one'. Has anyone else had this experience?

(This post relates to when I was looking round the shaving shops and trying out different razors before setting my heart on the Merkur 39c Slant Sledgehammer).

Jason.
 
There are many choices, and decision making can be confusing and difficult. Fortunately there are many razor-specific reviews and discussions here that you can search and read, and that helps me tremendously to get a sense of what I may like. The more experience you have, the more you know your own preferences, and the better you can interpret someone else's description. There is unfortunately no substitute for actually trying it yourself.
 
Yea thats why I read a few reviews beforehand. Eventually I narrowed it down to the Merkur Progress and the Merkur 39c Sledgehammer. I did compare both razors (the salesperson let me manoeuvre both razors on my face) but it was the sheer nice feel of the 39c that swayed me towards it. That is definitely going to by my upgrade from my Beautytrack razor.

Jason.
 
Sure happens to me all the time just when I'm convinced about a certain razor or even a brush soap or aftershave something new is lurking I have been going back and forth for an aluminium DE for almost 2 months now 😄
 
In Choosing razor - Nope.

I think about getting a razor depending upon following factors:

# my needs in efficiency
# budget
# Metal of choice

After these factors are considered, a lot of options are removed from the possibility and then reviews are searched about those remaining razors.

Of course this is from the perspective of a person who is getting a razor only to fulfill his needs and not a collector of razors, or looking for the newest launch from a brand or anything like that.

In short from a person not afflicted by RAD.

I'm however afflicted by SAD, so I can understand the question regarding too many choices and Yes, I do feel overwhelmed by so many choices sometimes.
 

thombrogan

Lounging On The Isle Of Tugsley.
Absolutely! Analysis paralysis is not just fun to say, it’s also real and frustrating. I think the biggest part is fear if missing out and that happens even if you have the money and storage space to “get ‘em all” because every razor needs to be learned.

They all ram a blade into hair with hopes of cleanly rupturing it from your person, but finding the method and angle and myriad actions too numerous to articulate to make a razor work with your skin, hair, manual dexterity, and preparation throughout the shaving process.

To be able to agonize the blinding array of choices on how to be nice to your face and dismissive to your whiskers is a luxury I’m glad is available to so many and I look forward to when everyone is set up enough to “have to” make the right choice in grooming products.
 
I have the 39c's little brother the 37c and its a great shaver that feels high quality.
Took me a while to learn how to set the sideburns with the slant but now that i have that down its fantastic.
For me it's a great razor for doing a 1 pass shave.
 
Of course they are overwhelming. There are so many choices, and so little way to guess how a razor may feel to you based on the ads, that it can be almost impossible to tell what may work.

Luckily, there are reviews and we can ask each other here.

But we are all going to get some that work well for us, and others that just don't.
 
In Choosing razor - Nope.

I think about getting a razor depending upon following factors:

# my needs in efficiency
# budget
# Metal of choice

After these factors are considered, a lot of options are removed from the possibility and then reviews are searched about those remaining razors.

Of course this is from the perspective of a person who is getting a razor only to fulfill his needs and not a collector of razors, or looking for the newest launch from a brand or anything like that.

In short from a person not afflicted by RAD.

I'm however afflicted by SAD, so I can understand the question regarding too many choices and Yes, I do feel overwhelmed by so many choices sometimes.

This is a great comment. Totally agreed on all counts. Metal of choice will be a product of budget...With a $20 budget, a complete SS razor is impossible to get new for example. And with even $75, there are several S options available...

But I do believe that there are some razor manufacturers that have proven to be among the very elite and their razors are expensive, but worth the money IMO.
 
My difficulty as a newcomer is in several areas. One is that many razors seem to borrow from others so I’ll see things like “oh, that looks like an XYZ head” or it’s a clone of something. None of that occurs to those of us who lack that knowledge. Another challenge is not having many razors. I can’t compare something to a known commodity where people who have a bunch of razors are more likely able to guess what a razor will feel like based on past experience with their gear.

Fortunately, I don’t see these as negatives. Part of the fun is discovering these things for myself. Considering how many “YMMV” responses you see, nobody can really confidently make a recommendation anyway. It’s part of what fascinates me about wet shaving. How can something seemingly so straightforward and ordinary be so nuanced?

My goal is to keep my burgeoning RAD in check by sticking to lower priced starter gear and BTS. So far it’s working. 😁
 

JCinPA

The Lather Maestro
Boy, I sure found it overwhelming a while back. But after settling on the Merkur 34C for several years, I’ve recently delved into the fat-handle Gillette Tech and a couple of Schick injectors, and I will say they are keeping me busy. And very inexpensive, to boot! While I have been known to spend obscene amounts of money chasing firearms, I’ve found the sweet spot in vintage razors to be very forgiving of the wallet. I don’t ever see me in the $75-200 USD modern razor game, you can have tons of fun in the vintage arena for not much money. If that’s your aim. Some great razors down there.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
Avoiding being overwhelmed with choice, is one reason that I haven't done the perpetual accumulation thing. Being inundated with options while looking for a replacement razor is one thing, but being inundated with options daily, is a whole different level of torment in my opinion.

I keep a fairly minimal number of options to hand, in case I fancy using something different. From there, I can manage the overwhelming options in the various gents grooming shops, by simply not looking :biggrin:
 
Overwhelming choices yes, limiting them also yes.
My method of buying razors are first material.
Zero Zamak!!
Only buy razors made of Stainless steel 316 or 316L only (304 and 303 are out), copper, brass and bronze. The type of stainless and the no Zamak takes a lot of razors off the table.

Secondly no extremely expensive luxury razors like Wolfman etc

And finally, does the razor work well with a steep angle.

Mind you there are still a large selection but it is much more manageable...
 
Congrats on continued wet shaving success and acquiring a new razor! Great that you got to handle both before making a decision, that's a huge bonus.

The vast selection can be overwhelming at times. I also thing that it contributes to razor acquisition disorder that some get (myself included). Once you become proficient at shaving with a DE, it becomes tempting to try lots of razors and seek a unicorn or 'the one'. After lots of acquisitions for several years, I have slowed down the acquisitions the last few years and realizing that the search for better razors is perhaps a journey with no end.

Vintage Gillettes are a great way to try a wide range of razors at a reasonable price. They made many different types and styles that have varying blade-feel and efficiency to see what one's preferences are (at what I thought to be cheaper than doing this with modern razors). I thought the journey to get to where I am now has been very enjoyable and helped me understand what I like in a razor, which now knowing my preferences, it helps me from being overwhelmed and reduces temptation.

Enjoy the new razor!
 
I started out with a MicroTouch One that I picked up on a whim at a local sporting goods chain store. I hadn't been thinking about DE or wet shaving before that. After some bad shaves, which I didn't really recognize as out of the ordinary), I found this site. It helped open my eyes up to a new world of good shaves and better razors (not to mention soaps, brushes, and aftershaves).

I bought some inexpensive razors and discovered what I liked and what works well for me. That's helped me narrow down what I want in a razor. I've discovered I really like open comb razors and Tech style razors. I've also discovered I'm not as fond of TTO razors (even though I've never tried any of the adjustable TTOs), but that's more from a cleaning perspective.

Ultimately, I've decided if/when I buy another razor, it will be a stainless steel or brass open comb razor based on the Gillette Old type (or maybe even a New type) razor heads.
 

FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
Vintage Gillettes are a great way to try a wide range of razors at a reasonable price. They made many different types and styles that have varying blade-feel and efficiency to see what one's preferences are (at what I thought to be cheaper than doing this with modern razors). I thought the journey to get to where I am now has been very enjoyable and helped me understand what I like in a razor, which now knowing my preferences, it helps me from being overwhelmed and reduces temptation.

Enjoy the new razor!
This is why I am not overwhelmed; I'm cheap, and a history buff, and I can STILL feed the acquisition disorders fairly often and fairly inexpensively by trying to get old Gillette razors.

But I have to admit, my Krona TTO razor is my new favorite! Best TTO I've ever used. Maybe tomorrow I'll tell the tale of my shave with it on Sunday night in my "Just like Grampa used to shave" thread. I haven't shaved since, and my incredibly handsome face is just now feeling like I need a shave tomorrow!

Edit: it was Sunday MORNING, sorry. Before church. It was the easiest BBS I ever got.
 
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A very warm good afternoon to all.

Just a question that popped into my mind, when you are shopping for a new safety razor, can the vast selection be a bit overwhelming at times? I have read lots of reviews about various razors in my quest for looking for 'the one'. Has anyone else had this experience?

(This post relates to when I was looking round the shaving shops and trying out different razors before setting my heart on the Merkur 39c Slant Sledgehammer).

Jason.
Why should there be the concept of "the one". Buy them both. Just buy the second one, say a year later.
P. S. I told you to buy the Progress, didn't I? ;)
 
Why should there be the concept of "the one". Buy them both. Just buy the second one, say a year later.
P. S. I told you to buy the Progress, didn't I? ;)
Thanks for that. However I am not sure if my wife would like loads of razors in the house, especially as I have asked for a 39c Sledgehammer for my birthday. If she gets me that razor then it may look a bit off to her if I was to buy the Progress. I do appreciate your reply all the same though. Even my wife has been swayed a lot more towards the Sledgehammer than the Progress.

Kind regards. Jason.
 
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