Newbie needing some advice

kirill said:

So hello to all, my name is Michael, and since I came across some articles about the benefits of wet-shaving, I've been very keen on doing so, though I went from enthusiasm about straight razors (blame Sweeney Todd) to enthusiasm about double-edged safety razors when I realized the routine needed to maintain the edge on a straight razor, I have difficultly maintaining routine, so I would have given up on using a straight razor.

That said, for a long time, while enthusiastic, I didn't have the means (read: the money) to start wet-shaving, now I do, and after a letdown with Amazon not shipping to Canada, I found fendrihan.com, which presented a solution, shipping to Canada, and another conundrum, with this really great website, now I have a lot to choose from, and not much knowledge to decide with.

So I come to you, experts on the subject, or at least more expert than I am, to help me discern between my options, so, for the razor itself, this is my first option, a Parker razor

then there's this Edwin Jagger

while both the added weight and the length, not to mention the look, attract me to the Parker, the description of the Edwin Jagger "It has a classic straight guard providing a perfect shave with no irritation." in contrast to the plain description for the Parker, makes me wonder, so I'm hoping someone here can provide me with some help deciding.

Secondly, there's the issue of the brush, which I'm told is essential to a good shave, so for this there are three options

This one, http://www.fendrihan.com/best-badger-shaving-brush-faux-ebony-handle-p-1053.html,

and this one from Vulfix

and lastly this one a Vie-Long horsehair/badger hybrid

Admittedly of those, the last from Vie-Long is my preference, purely in terms of looks, it's unlike other brushes on the site, but I've heard a lot of nay-saying about horsehair (pun not intended) so I hesitate at buying it, this is the biggest reason I'm posting here, hoping someone has experience with this brush, though any help would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your help

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kirill said:

Looking at the general opinion that quality control isn't the best with Parker razors, I think I'll go with the Edwin Jagger. For the brush, I just hesitate to go for the best badger because from the images I've seen the faux-ebony handle lacks character.

Mulling it over though, the faux-ivory Fendrihan best badger's handle assuages my protestations a bit, so I think I'll go for that.

As for the sample pack of blades, the Precision blades made in Israel caught my eye, so I'm leaning towards the pack with Precision, Dorco, Derby, Lord and Astra, but do you have any suggestions as for "must-haves" in the sample pack?

Thank you to DanOK, luvmysuper, Luc and everyone else who took their time to greet me and answer my questions, it's much appreciated, my shopping cart has had a complete transformation thanks to your input.

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