Owning multiple razors

onadraw · Sep 7, 2010

It's nice to own and try lots of different razors but I bet it skews some of the reviews and is a primary cause of YMMV.

As I started out, I tried a Tech and learned to get great shaves. Then I tried a '40s superspeed and learned it. Then gillette adjustables, a Merkur Progress, Schick injectors, some Gems, and my last purchase was the Feather All Stainless.

Where I'm going with this is, I found that while I had previously gotten great shaves with all of these razors, lately I have not been getting a great shave no matter which razor I used.

I had to step back and pick one razor and regain the skill that I had only recently learned in the first place.

With that in mind. I'm questioning the idea of maintaining a rotation. Why not just pick one razor and stick with it?

What are your thoughts on this?

luvmysuper · Sep 7, 2010

I mostly use a straight at home, but I use DE's when I travel. After being home a while then hitting the road, it does take a day or so before muscle memory kicks in and I start again getting great shaves and not just good ones.

Likewise, when I switch up on the road (yes, I take more than one with me) the same applies, a day or so to get a great shave with the new razor, not just a good shave.

Having said that, the good shaves I get after a razor switch is light years ahead of the shaves I got with goop and a cart, so even with the odd "ok" shave, I am still way ahead.

Mr.K · Sep 7, 2010

onadraw said:
It's nice to own and try lots of different razors but I bet it skews some of the reviews and is a primary cause of YMMV.

As I started out, I tried a Tech and learned to get great shaves. Then I tried a '40s superspeed and learned it. Then gillette adjustables, a Merkur Progress, Schick injectors, some Gems, and my last purchase was the Feather All Stainless.

Where I'm going with this is, I found that while I had previously gotten great shaves with all of these razors, lately I have not been getting a great shave no matter which razor I used.

I had to step back and pick one razor and regain the skill that I had only recently learned in the first place.

With that in mind. I'm questioning the idea of maintaining a rotation. Why not just pick one razor and stick with it?

What are your thoughts on this?

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=162580&highlight=Mr.K

RF1963 · Sep 7, 2010

onadraw said:
Why not just pick one razor and stick with it?

What are your thoughts on this?

I came to that conclusion a while back. It seemed to me that if I was getting consistent good results with a particular razor why would I change? (This was before I caught the bug and switched to straights!). It's a bit like finding a barber you like or a mechanic you can trust - if it ain't broke why fix it? Having said this I appreciate there are some people whose nature is to look further. There is enough room for us all.

mdevine · Sep 7, 2010

I also enjoy the variety. I could stick with a SS or New and be sure of a great shave. But that would take some of the joy out of my morning routine. I could pair one of them every day with an Iridium, MWF, a Simpson brush (pick one) and Speick ASL and be pretty confident I wouldn't surpass the shave quality. While a Rocket with a Treet Blue Special, Cade, a Semogue boar followed by Old Spice Musk AS may not be quite as close (by a whisker), I am more than happy to tolerate the difference for the sheer pleasure that shave gives me on that day.

HoosierTrooper · Sep 7, 2010

My favorite food to eat is smoked brisket, however I don't want to eat it three times a day every day.

My favorite razor is the 1912 GEM Damaskeene, but I don't want to use it every day.

Using different razors, blades, soaps/creams, brushes and aftershaves is what makes this a hobby for me.

kg4ghn · Sep 7, 2010

I think that reviews should not be posted on a one time use. If someone is going to write a review for a product I think it should be used at least 3-4 times.

That being said, I love using all the things in my rotation. Sure every shave might not be perfect but having all the different stuff is what makes it fun to me. I love going in the bathroom, looking at my den under the sink and figuring out which razor, soap, etc I am going to use for that shave.

steveclarkus · Sep 7, 2010

I use a Gillette "New" 90% of the time but I have a Feather Portable and the old style flat head Tech that shave very much the same and are my second choice. I have a newer Gillette Tech that is comfortable but just a shade mild. Even though I used a TTO for years, prefer the three piece razors now.

The "New" has the perfect aggressiveness for me and gives me a good comfortable shave every time, I just don't change razors very often.

After using various soaps, I've pretty well settled on Williams and while I would like to try a couple more soaps, I just never seem to get around to it because what I'm doing is working well for me.

I really want to try ARCO soap because it seems to be almost as devisive as Williams. Universal agreement doesn't interest me as much as contentiousness.

bbarton713 · Sep 7, 2010

Well...I have accumulated a drawer full of different razors and have yet to try out some of them. Every time I think I'll pull out an SE I get sidetracked by another blade or DE that I just have to try.

That being said, I've really settled on my Feather AS, open comb NEW, Fatboy, and Schick E2, EJ DE89L as the razors in my rotation for now. I will probably do a massive cleanout since I find more pleasure in the soaps, creams, ASL, ASB, sticks, blades, brushes, etc.

That being said, I wouldn't trade my RAD for anything because it really opened my eyes to the possibilities out there and made shaving a much more enjoyable experience for me.

DougK · Sep 7, 2010

I've pretty much settled on two basic setups, one for home and one for travel:

Home:

Merkur 15C or Parker 91R
Feather blades
B&B 2009 brush
Proraso cream or Cade soap

Travel:

Feather Portable or Mach 3 (for carry-on air travel)
Feather blades or Mach 3 cartridges (for carry-on air travel)
C&E travel brush
Proraso cream or Irisch Moos shave stick

I have several other razors which I don't use very often; they don't take up much space, so I'll probably keep them around for spares in case something happens to one of my everyday razors or SWMBO gets interested in trying one.

BBrad · Sep 7, 2010

HoosierTrooper said:
My favorite food to eat is smoked brisket, however I don't want to eat it three times a day every day.

My favorite razor is the 1912 GEM Damaskeene, but I don't want to use it every day.

Using different razors, blades, soaps/creams, brushes and aftershaves is what makes this a hobby for me.

Hoosier has it right on the money . . . +1!

Variety is a good thing . . . and my acquired appreciation for different razors (along with soaps, creams, and brushes) has turned a chore into a pleasurable hobby.

I can't fault anyone who only wants one razor . . . and certainly can't fault anyone who wants a hundred!!!

sffone · Sep 7, 2010

For me, variety is the spice of life, as the old saying goes. My rotation changes periodically, but in each rotation are DEs, SEs, and straights. I enjoy them all.

gaseousclay · Sep 7, 2010

onadraw said:
With that in mind. I'm questioning the idea of maintaining a rotation. Why not just pick one razor and stick with it?

after buying a dozen or so razors i've decided that the Tech is my go to razor, but I own about 7-8 of them so if I want to rotate a razor I just switch to another Tech. joking aside, I do have a lot of Techs but it happens to be my favorite DE razor, so I got a case of RAD and bought a few of the silver ones, a couple gold ones and a British thin handle Tech. now I'm satisfied and only use the one on a regular basis. the others are there purely for show and/or backup should I happen to ruin one (not likely)

kingfisher · Sep 7, 2010

The brisket analogy is not a very good one, because there's no skill involved in eating brisket. So it's amusing, but it's not really analogous.

I think the OP is on to something. I've been sticking with my Slim for about 3 weeks now, and the shaves are getting better and better. I have a New that I haven't yet tried, but I can't switch now because I'm testing out a variety of blades and I want to use the Slim for them all, so I have an idea about the blades' performance independent of the razor.

Maybe when I've worked my way methodically through the blades I want to try I'll pull out the New and give it a go.

pz93c · Sep 7, 2010

onadraw said:
Why not just pick one razor and stick with it?

Other than the ABC I found a few days ago, I have one. A NEW with a Coon Cat Bob handle.

maxman · Sep 7, 2010

It's not a huge problem with me.
A razor that has a very different feel like a Futur might cause a little grief when you switch it up.

I have a bigger problem when I switch blades.

DESkydiver · Sep 7, 2010

I consider razors like I do blades, where you try different ones until you find whats right for you. I rotated my 8 razors weekly and used the same blade model through the rotation. Once the razors are rotated, change blade used, rinse and repeat its a process of elimination

It takes a while to find the best combination that fits you, in addition to controlling (in or out) the ADs while working it out.

For me, I finally found that the DE89 head combined with Personna reds has provided me with the most consistent delivery of a quality shave than any other combination I tried; now I have moved on to straights.

BST can be your friend.

RCC · Sep 7, 2010

great topic.

I really like the idea of having the skill to get a good shave with any razor I own and I enjoy practicing.
But my rotation is more like a slow-motion veer and I enjoy the "desert island" threads.

This is TopGumby from the thread linked above:
"I think the different characteristics and feel of the different razors are there. They do make for fascinating discussion, analysis and collecting.

That said, the differences in tennis rackets is probably more pronounced, and I'm pretty sure Roger Federer would get a better game out of one of the wood rackets in my garage than I would with the latest high dollar creations on the market now. Same if the rackets were switched.

Technique, muscle memory and experience trump hardware...."

Perhaps that sums up it better than I can.

BladeRunner001 · Sep 7, 2010

onadraw said:
It's nice to own and try lots of different razors but I bet it skews some of the reviews and is a primary cause of YMMV.

As I started out, I tried a Tech and learned to get great shaves. Then I tried a '40s superspeed and learned it. Then gillette adjustables, a Merkur Progress, Schick injectors, some Gems, and my last purchase was the Feather All Stainless.

Where I'm going with this is, I found that while I had previously gotten great shaves with all of these razors, lately I have not been getting a great shave no matter which razor I used.

I had to step back and pick one razor and regain the skill that I had only recently learned in the first place.

With that in mind. I'm questioning the idea of maintaining a rotation. Why not just pick one razor and stick with it?

What are your thoughts on this?

I don't know about that...I haven't had any problems. I've been primarily str8 shaving and have 6-7 in rotation (at any one week) and between 24 razors, that's a lot of combination of rotations one can have. But I never had a problem with my shaves when going back to a particular str8 after a period of "break" between the next use. For me, "general" or "rough" mapping of the muscle memory by the brain has already taken place and picking up a razor floods the memory banks fairly quickly. I have even gone for 1-2 months between using a particular str8, but never have I encountered the problem or issue you describe...not yet anyway.

Slivovitz · Sep 7, 2010

Recently I picked up a DE razor for the first time in several months, and got a comfortable DFS with it. I regularly move between different models of injectors and SE razors, and also have no problem.

I don't know for sure what the explanation is, but I think that part of it is that my favorite razors are all very easy to use.

I do have several injector, SE, and even DE razors that would be fine as an "only", but I just enjoy the variety. That's just me. It would certainly have been cheaper just to stay with one.

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Owning multiple razors

onadraw

luvmysuper

My elbows leak

Mr.K

RF1963

mdevine

HoosierTrooper

kg4ghn

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur

bbarton713

DougK

BBrad

sffone

gaseousclay

kingfisher

pz93c

maxman

DESkydiver

RCC

BladeRunner001

Slivovitz

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