With which razor did you learn to wet shave?

[Buflow]

Trying to learn right now with a Muhle R89.
I bought a R41 first and it along with Feather blades left me bloody. I've benched it for now but will try again later.
The R89 and Feathers work well but I am trying blades from a sample pack I purchased. A Gillette Silver Blue worked well this morning.

Right on! Sounds like you're on track. The R41 with feathers is very ambitious for getting started.
IMHO
I've had great luck with Bic blades for most razors along with GSB for certain razors that demand a sharper blade.
Bic are sharp but gentle on my face and they are readily available.
For what it's worth, I imagine your R89 with Bic blades would be very effective and polite.

 

[SaguaroSmart]

Trying to learn right now with a Muhle R89.
I bought a R41 first and it along with Feather blades left me bloody. I've benched it for now but will try again later.
The R89 and Feathers work well but I am trying blades from a sample pack I purchased. A Gillette Silver Blue worked well this morning.

The Muhle R89 is an excellent beginner razor, actually an excellent razor period. It is often described as an excellent beginner razor because it falls in the mild to medium category, it's neither crazy aggressive nor too mild. While this is true, it leads people to think it is only good for beginners and that one should move on to more aggressive razors after.

The reality is it is an excellent mild to medium razor even for experienced shavers and not everyone should move on to aggressive razors, plenty of experienced shavers stick to mild / medium razors because the truth is everyone has different beard and skin and everyone has a different approach to shaving. Some people might prefer a more aggressive razor and shaving only with the grain, others might prefer a milder razor and shaving with the grain and against the grain and so on.

Moral of the story is: if you find something that gives you great shaves, don't feel like you have to "graduate" to more aggressive razors. Perhaps one day you will enjoy the R41, but it's entirely possible you will never like it.

Blades can be very different and the only way to find the most comfortable ones for you is to experiment so you definitely have the right idea there.

Have fun learning !

 

[Crepitus]

34C. At the time there weren't a ton of new options, and I didn't think I had the wherewithal to be able to identify a good vintage user.

I tore myself up for a few months trying to 3 pass whisker reduction ATG every day like the YouTube guys. No one talked about efficiency. I still think it's a good tool, just not ideal for me. Gotta start somewhere.

 

[DE7]

A Schick injector, which I still have after 50 years. I still shave with it once in a while. I also still have my second razor, a Gillette Trac II. I use it in my airline carry-on luggage because I think the TSA would probably confiscate a DE razor.

 

[Waistgunner]

An old silver Gillette DE at Parris Island, S.C. in boot camp. Still have that razor!

 

[Major Overkill]

The Major bought himself a new Vikings Blade Chieftain Jr. as his first safety razor. This was, of choice, long before he'd heard of buying vintage Gillettes in eBay for much less. But, it turns out that the Chieftain Jr. was a pretty good pick: on the mild side, & easy as a "transition razor" from cartridge shaving.

-MO

 

[Rob72]

My first razor was a brass handled Barbershop Gillette TracII.

My first REAL razor was a Valet Autostrop in a leather travel case that my wife bought for me as a birthday present, around 2000. Of course, I had to find blades... Which led down the rabbit-hole.

Not a beginners' razor, I would now say. I spent the first week in mild anemia, but it definitely taught me about pressure and angle. It it still one of my favorites.

 

[WetShaveVet]

My grandfather's '58 Superspeed which he handed down to me in the 70's. I still have it.

 

[tball]

Van der Hagen from Target.

 

[Lee Van Cleft]

….photo courtesy of Mr Razor

I learned with one of these. My Grandfather taught me and I reckon it was already quite a few years old by then….around 1980.
He showed me a 2 pass shave WTG and ATG. He said that for a proper shave I had to include the ATG pass.
He also used a well worn boar brush and a stick of Palmolive soap.
Explained about getting the right angle and that rinsing off the lather and stubble from the razor frequently would get me a better shave.
He said a beard was only acceptable for seafarers and it was good for my skin to shave daily.
He was also really good at ballroom dancing, growing vegetables , making funny faces behind Grandma and polishing his VW Beetle. I miss him.

 

[blantyre]

Wilkinson Sword sticky, probably with one of their blades. Canned foam. Back in the day the whole kit only cost a couple of pounds. Multi blade razors had not been invented!

 

[Lockback]

Van der Hagen from Target.

The Van Der Hagen was a gateway drug razor for many of us.

 

[BobbyB]

31 Dec 1969: For my 18th birthday, my dad gave me a Gillette razor, pack of their Blue blades, tube of shaving cream, and Old Spice aftershave. I was previously using a cheapo electric razor.

 

[DEgeezer]

My dad's Gillette blue tip. Great memory!

 

[h3hound]

for me, i am pretty sure it was the Gillette Atra with that machined aluminum handle. i probably removed 4 whiskers.

 

[frbock]

Well, it'd be early 70s, I think it was a Gillette TTO adjustable, and the soap would have been Old Spice in the can.
I remember having an OS mug, and boar brush in college.
Somewhere after 1998, I lost my way, and bought a Mach 3. I started on my way back when I stopped using foam, and started using Jack Black Beard Lube. My blades lasted twice as long.

 

[Stan_M]

Mercur 1901 open comb. It was very mild and I stepped up to Parker 99R. After that it was a hobby and many more came.

 

[mjacobs2036]

Gillette Mach3 for almost 25 years!

I didn't know any better

 

[kevcand]

switched to DE with a KCG about a year ago. Prior to that used cartridges

 

[Phil Harmonica]

Sixty-two years ago and I can't remember what I used. Something my father gave me. I do remember bleeding a lot until my technique improved!