When to try an adjustable?

**Cbear** · 07-05-2012, 12:45 PM

Hey everyone,

I recently got into DE shaving and this forum has been GREAT for all the knowledge I'll ever need. I have been prowling the forums for weeks now and have been picking up products to try.

I bought a Merkur HD and have been loving the shave so far going through a sampler pack.

My question is when would you guys recommend making the move to purchasing and trying an adjustable? I would like to of course practice with the HD for awhile but would also like to maybe try some adjustables out for an even closer shave.

I was looking at the Fatboy and the Futur. What others would you guys recommend?

Any opinions welcome!

**Big_OC** · 07-05-2012, 12:58 PM

I think technique is the main thing to worry about instead of deciding when to use an adjsutable. If you want to use one go ahead and get it. I started using my adjsutable (F1 Fatboy) about a month and a half after I started DE shaving. Haven't put it down since. As for other adjsutables, there's the Slim Adjustable as well. Those are more common than the Fatboys.

**Copierguy** · 07-05-2012, 01:18 PM

Welcome to B&B.
If you are getting consistent results then I would think you are ready to explore. My only caution would be not to make too many changes at once thereby confusing your results.

Enjoy your journey......

**Krona Kruiser** · 07-05-2012, 01:19 PM

+1 on both comments. You'll have plenty of time to jump into adjustables. You can even find one and start out on the low settings.

**ackvil** · 07-05-2012, 01:27 PM

I am a big fan of adjustables. If you are getting decent shaves and want another razor, an adjustable is the way to go. I have two Mergresses, a slim, and FB and recommend all of them.

**Winblows** · 07-05-2012, 01:54 PM

In my beginning of wet shaving, I've got interested in the adjustables very quickly and got very confused very quickly too.
It ended with, that I at last just couldn't get a good shave out my Gillette "black beauty" adjustable, even though that I know that it is a great razor.
So I went back to vintage Gillette "3 piece" razors. There is nothing to adjust, "only" the angle of the handle in your hand. Here comes the confusion. If you don't master the angle of the blade, you WILL get confused sooner or later.
Now I'm doing quite good I think. I've got interested in vintage razors, even though that I have some modern too.
My advice:
Get familiar with one of the most common and proven closed comb razors, like a vintage Gillete Tech - the one with a fat, straight handle (one of mine favorites), Lord L1822 (very cheep clone of a Mercur 1904), Edwin Jagger DE89 (same head design) or one of the open comb razors (Mühle R49 will probably not be a good start).
After that, it will be easier for you to play with the adjustibles. That is my advice.

**Sledgehammer39** · 07-05-2012, 05:25 PM

Welcome Aboard!

**shaveitoff** · 07-05-2012, 05:51 PM

Don't wait. It's just a razor. And it's a safety razor. I read so many comments about taking all these little baby steps. It's just shaving. Perhaps my experiences of not slashing my face to bits and getting good results are atypical because I am some natural born shaving genius, but I doubt it.

If anything, the sooner you get an adjustable the sooner you will be able to try it and get it adjusted to the best setting for you.

**ricardo9505** · 07-05-2012, 06:12 PM

My brother has one. He got me into de shaving. He tells me her rarely adjusts it and has kept it at one single dial for over a year now. still misses his merkur classic he gave me.

**btg** · 07-05-2012, 06:13 PM

Adjustables are great. I would get a slim over a fat boy. Mainly because the handle is a little longer.

**lungho** · 07-05-2012, 07:04 PM

Another vote for jumping right in. The beautiful thing about an adjustable is that it is typically newbie friendly on the lower settings. The exception to this would be the Merkur Futur, which happens to be more aggressive than the vintage Gillettes. You should be able to pickup a vintage Gillette adjustable, in user-grade condition, on the BST or elsewhere for around $20 - $25.

**Cbear** · 07-05-2012, 08:04 PM

Thanks for the great replies. I figure it can't hurt to start looking for one. Now I just need to decide between the Fatboy or the Slim!

**Wildalaska** · 07-05-2012, 08:06 PM

I started with a Black Beauty in circa 1969 and Im still using one today

**jazzguy** · 07-05-2012, 08:09 PM

I'd get a Fatboy. It's a great razor. I never did care for the Futur although it has many fans here.

**Winblows** · 07-06-2012, 12:01 AM

Originally Posted by Cbear

Thanks for the great replies. I figure it can't hurt to start looking for one. Now I just need to decide between the Fatboy or the Slim!

Buy a FatBoy, you're going to buy one anyway, even if you buy a Slim first :-)

**Jack Russell** · 07-06-2012, 06:26 AM

Dude it's only shaving.

I love the way everything gets workshopped.

**Doppelgaenger** · 07-06-2012, 07:38 AM

Love my slim, it's my go-to razor, but I still find that I enjoy going back to my 33C and getting a good shave with it. And while I CAN do a 3 pass shave with the slim set to 9, I get pretty much the best results with it set to 4.

Adjustables help you explore new territory and doing a 3 pass shave with it dialed all the way up and getting good results makes you feel like a champ! I say start looking for one right now

**Nils** · 07-06-2012, 10:04 AM

I use only adjustables and wish that I had started out with either a Progress or a Futur in the first place. You can learn your technique with one of them just as well as with a non-adjustable razor imo. Now that you have fpund this place, you're gonna do a lot of

buyin' anyway...*g*

Welcome to B&B!

**lr11** · 07-07-2012, 11:07 AM

I would go find a ss first to determine if you like a longer handle vrs. the short handle razor. Then decide fat boy or a slim.

Fat boy is heaver but has the shorter handle while the slim is lighter with a long handle unless you find the short handle slim.

I have the short and long handle slim and a toggle which seems to have about the same weight of the fat boy and I can tell you I don't like the slims because of the weight and I really don't care for the added length of the handle on the slim.

I would suggest a little more pratice but spend your money as you see fit.

The great thing about this hobby is that you can always sell or trade.

**LegionPrime** · 07-07-2012, 12:01 PM

My first razor was a Fatboy. It's not going to really change up that much when you shave. Some people seem to talk like adjustables use a random number generator every time you pick it up or something. Pick a number and give it a couple shaves, if it's too mild or too agressive even once you've got the angle figured out then adjust it accordingly. An adjustable is not the be all end all of razors, but it is great for seeing how you react to more or less aggression and it's also a convenient measuring stick. If you've used a certain adjustable and someone compares another razor to it on such & such a setting, right off the bat you have a good idea of it's aggression. That's why in my shavewiki which I am using as a personal log to keep track of what I've used I compare each razor I try to my Fatboy, both in how the shave feels and how close the shave is. That way anyone reading it can see what I thought of each razor and easily see how different I felt each razor was. So don't be afraid to grab an adjustable, load it up, shave with it and learn from it.