New DE help in choosing, please :)

Hi All

Firstly a big hello from a lurker

Really tired of the expensive cartridge shaving systems and want to get a DE

I am going to buy my first DE tomorrow and pretty much was hell bent on the Merkur progress long handle as from research, it seems highly regarded. i know it is adjustable but I have also considered the Muhle R89 and Edwin Jagger DE89L, which I know are non adjustable.

I have a pretty heavy beard growth and my questions are:

Of the three, which would be most highly recommended for a first time user?

Secondly, is there any other razor, vintage or other, that I should consider?

Thirdly, I am ordering blades and am looking at the Personna Red Israeli Bulk Pack, are these a good start?

Finally, where is best to buy from if you are in Europe?

Thank you all so much for your help!

Vote for the Muhle R89 here. It is the razor I started out with. It shaves brilliantly, it has a good balance, it is as mild or as aggressive as you need it to be and the finish is excellent.

Personally I wouldn't shell out on a bulk buy of any particular blade. If you don't like them then you are stuck with them. Find somewhere that sells samplers of blades or just pick up a few single packs of differing brands. Then work your way through each pack in turn, don't be tempted to chop and change, at first it is about honing a consistant technique and you'll never do that by changing the variables every other shave.

Welcome to B&B!

Don't worry too much about handle length. After you have used a DE for a little while, you may find that you prefer a short handle. So a normal Progress might be just as good as the long-handle version. But personally I would get the Muehle R89 or the Jagger DE89L. When starting out, an adjustable blade setting is just one more variable to try to control.

I would recommend starting with a blade sampler pack. I'm not sure where to find those in the EU, but another member will probably suggest some vendors. For the Jagger razor, the English Shaving Company seems to be a good choice.

Most people seem to recommend the Edwin Jagger DE89L for people who just start to DE shave, but the Muhle has the same head if i'm not mistaken. Its not recommend for a beginner to start out with an adjustable, its all about developing proper technique. once you got that down you can start to look into adjustables.

Also you might want look into a Merkur 34C and some vintage Gillettes.

Regarding the bulk pack, i recommend against purchasing any bulk pack, get yourself a good sampler pack instead. One blade might work for one person but it might give horrible results to an other. I made the same mistake, everybody was crazy about Derbys so i thought what what can go wrong lets order 100 of them. BIG MISTAKE! they don't work at all for me.

You can get lots of blades over at: http://shaving.ie its based in Ireland but they ship worldwide.

I like the Edwin Jagger DE89L very much and recommend it. But you can start with just about anything - technique is more important than the razor. You might want to look in antique and junk stores for vintage ones.

As much as I like the Red IP blades, I have no idea if they would work for you. You might want to try a sampler pack first.

For heavy beard, try something open comb. Plenty to choose from in the vintage gillettes. Old Types and News are very plentiful and very cheap and very good.

Muhle R89 vote over here, but dont buy so much of one blade, as blades very from person to person, I for one like Feather's DE blades, but someone else will say they are too sharp, or not good for a beginner, I started with those. What I would do is get samples of many different DE blades so you can experiment with different ones and find the one that best suits you.

For a first razor I'd go with an adjustable for sure. It will adapt to your technique and you can figure out how aggressive a safety razor you need. The Progress was my first safety razor and it was a nice place to start. That said I prefer my vintage Gillettes. I would hartily sugest a Gillette Slim or Super Adjustable as your first razor. The Gillettes have much more grip (knurled finish vs. smooth on a Progress) and the heads are much thinner making it easier to get into tight spots (like under you nose) with less difficulty. That and the price is roughly 1/3 of what you can get a new Murkur for. The Buy/Sell/Trade and Ebay both have vintage razors in good shape for around $20 (though the prices vary). Just make sure to clean it with Barbaside (or the like) and some Scrubbing Bubbles cleaner.

As for blades go for a sample pack. Different blades preform shockingly different and what works for one person is garbage for another. West Coast Shaving, Bullgoose and NTGuy can all be found on the forums and all offer excellent sample packs. Keep in mind that your technique will improve over time so I'd suggest one of the samplers with whole packs (5 or 10 depending on brand) over the samplers that only offer one or two of any one blade. That way you can re-visit blades every so often to better zero in on what works best for you.

Also , make sure you use a quality Shaving cream or soap . I found that out the hard way when I just started .

I absolutely love the Progress, which has been my go-to for a long time (until this morning) and I think it is a great tool for beginner and experiences shavers. Give it is try. You won't be sorry.

EJ DE89L - I wish I would have gotten one of these when I started.

This exact question came up when a family member asked me about getting into DE shaving. My advise was to start with a vintage Gillette Superspeed. Having a serious case of RAD, I have tried numerous new and vintage DE razors. For me, the ideal first razor would be simple to use, inexpensive, provide a great shave and not be so aggressive that it scares the initiate away. I think the Superspeed hits the sweet spot on all of these counts. I like a nonadjustable TTO to start with as it makes things as simple as possible. You can find them at flea markets for $3-$5 and on ebay and B/S/T for about $10 and can easily sell them back for what you pay for it. For me, I have found a couple of more expensive razors that shave as well, but nothing I've yet tried shaves any better than the SS. The Superspeed isn't the mildest razor out there, but it isn't so aggressive that the first shave with one becomes a blood-bath (no traumatizing experience requiring a case of styptic pencils in order to avoid a neighborhood Red Cross blood drive). My first razor was a new Parker, my second a Slim Adjustable and my third was a SS. I have a medicine chest packed with razors I bought since the SS, but it still gets more use than any of them. If you have a very heavy beard, you will eventually want an open-comb like a Gillette New. It wouldn't be the one I would advise starting with.

Thank you all so much for all the replies and information! I really appreciate it.

From reading all the advice I decided to go with the general consensus and go non adjustable for the reasons outlined.

I had a price of €21.95 (almost half the price of the Progress) for the Edwin Jagger DE89L from shaving.ie, (thank you Gryphes) But they are out of stock for 2 weeks and I am leaning towards the Muhle R89 for €27.95 or a a Edwin Jagger DE89 at €19.95 as it seems to be the next best thing.

Is the Edwin & Jagger DE89 (not L) 150grams? Opposed to the L being 115? could that be right as I can have the DE89 for €19.95 if weight is better over the Muhle R89 at 120?

As for blades, thank you all for saving me from the bulk buy mistake and I am going to get a selection pack and see what works for me.

Quite fancy the vintage razors too but think for the very first DE, I may go for a new one and then as I learn more, I can explore the vintage razors out there.

Also need to budget for a good badger brush, stand and bowl. I do use pretty good quality shaving creams though(nothing in an aerosol ) , always have done as I found the 'canned' variety to be terrible and made my skin feel dry and tight.

Thank you all for the very kind welcome and the great advice. I look forward to sharing my mistakes, nips and cuts of the future.........I think my DE will initially be used for weekend shaves when I have lots of time to practice before trying it during my morning rush!

Update..........Went for the following in my final purchase and entrance into the world of DE shaving!

50 Blade Premium Selection Sampler:

1. Personna Platinum 10 Pack
2. Astra Platinum 5 Pack
3. Derby 5 Pack
4. Timor 10 Pack
5. Super Iridium 10 Pack
6. Feather 10 Pack

Edwin Jagger DE89 Chrome

Muhle White badger Shaving Brush

Proraso Sensitive Shaving Soap with Aloe and Green Tree

Taylors of Old Bond Street Shaving Cream avocado

Cant wait to get them all!!! Thanks for all your help!

That's about as good a start as you can get. I hope you enjoy your shaves.

cernel_joson said:

That's about as good a start as you can get. I hope you enjoy your shaves.

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Thank you Cernel, much appreciated. Looking forward to learning it all, without a cartridge.

I'd go with the Edwin Jagger as well. Beautiful razor that shaves just as well as it looks. The price is also great.

That is a great start indeed! Well done and hope enjoy the shaves!

cernel_joson said:

That's about as good a start as you can get. I hope you enjoy your shaves.

Click to expand...

+1

Thank you all! Package arrived today and I must say I am very impressed with the quality of the E & J razor! Feels really nice to hold compared to the cartridge razors I am used to. The brush feels of great quality too.

Now for the blades, sorry if this is a dumb question, but I am quiet intimidated by the reputation of DE razors and blades and was wondering if anyone could advise which of these blades would be a best start for a mild shave? Or is it very personal? I am tempted to try the Personna's but dont really know what to do.


1. Personna Platinum 10 Pack
2. Astra Platinum 5 Pack
3. Derby 5 Pack
4. Timor 10 Pack
5. Super Iridium 10 Pack
6. Feather 10 Pack

Thanks for all your help.