Hey my name's Keiran. I just turned 18 and I'm tired of the crappy shave my multi-blade razor is giving me so I decided to get into DE Safety razor shaving. Haven't bought anything yet, due to money being tight from bills and other payments, but I was wondering what is the absolute bare minimum for safety razor shaving and what are some suggestions.
Help Out The Newbie?
- Thread starter CrazedKeiran
- Start date
Garry's Sampler. Check it out on the Hobbyist/Vendor thread. There is a great starter kit for new shavers.
Welcome to the forums.
Welcome to the forums.
The cheapest I can think of - Gary's Sample Shop has a starter kit with razor, blades, brush, and soap for $35. http://sampleshop.blogspot.com/
Cheaper than that - I have a Parker razor and some blades that I don't need or use, so PM me an address and I'll mail them to you for free (with a puck of soap). An Ecotools kabuki makeup brush (the one that looks like a shaving brush) from Wal-Mart for $5 and you're good to go. Grab a cereal bowl to mash the soap into.
I am assuming that you're in the US?
A much better brush would be a $8-10 boar brush from West Coast Shaving or another vendor.
Welcome and enjoy!
Cheaper than that - I have a Parker razor and some blades that I don't need or use, so PM me an address and I'll mail them to you for free (with a puck of soap). An Ecotools kabuki makeup brush (the one that looks like a shaving brush) from Wal-Mart for $5 and you're good to go. Grab a cereal bowl to mash the soap into.
I am assuming that you're in the US?
A much better brush would be a $8-10 boar brush from West Coast Shaving or another vendor.
Welcome and enjoy!
you only need a few things a razor, shaving soap, and a brush.
You should read the shave Wiki, because the best gear in the world will not give you the skill to do it right.
That goes for everything including shaving.
Two cheep razors RiMei or Wilkinson classic.
soap Arko shave stick is a cheep soap that you will love or hate.
you are on your own as far as the brush is concerned because I don't know much about brushes.
You should read the shave Wiki, because the best gear in the world will not give you the skill to do it right.
That goes for everything including shaving.
Two cheep razors RiMei or Wilkinson classic.
soap Arko shave stick is a cheep soap that you will love or hate.
you are on your own as far as the brush is concerned because I don't know much about brushes.
Tepp, I can help too.
I have a brush I'd be happy to include. It's an Omega Synthetic brush that I won in a PIF a while back. It's a really nice brush, but I have others and don't use it, so it's hard for me to justify keeping it. I'm sure I can find a few other things to add as well.
So CrazedKerian you can get started for the low price of zero dollars. It doesn't get any better than that.
Just send me a PM here with your name and address and I'll send the brush your way along with some other items for you to try.
Congratulations on your first post and welcome aboard.
Very nice, guys.
Welcome to the forum. I'm sure you will feel right at home. Enjoy the gear these guys are sending you, and be sure to check back in with any other questions.
Welcome to the forum. I'm sure you will feel right at home. Enjoy the gear these guys are sending you, and be sure to check back in with any other questions.
If you are looking for a good razor to purchase doen the road. I would recommend the RazoRock Mission and the Gillette Rubie. Both give a great shave.
Awesome thing these guys are doing. Enjoy the Journey and welcome.
Welcome. This is a great site and a terrific resource. The members here are stand up guys. There's always someone ready with a PIF. When my brushes and razors get sorted out I also plan on one myself.
Good luck.
Good luck.
The absolute bare minimum is a razor, brush and cream. You can get a quality brush for $10, cream for $3 and razor for $15. $30 will get you new items. Maggards razors has good prices, fast shipping and their razors are good.
Blades! A 100 pack can be had for a little over $10 and can keep you shaving for up to a year.
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- Thread starter
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Thanks for the offer but I live in Canada.
And get a blade sampler.
Bare minimum just depends how deep you want to go.
Assuming you want to use DE hardware and a brush and soap, RiMei A2003 is $2 on Amazon (but it's a crapshoot knowing whether you'll get the good model or not), a stick of Arko is $4 shipped or less, and a VdH brush can be had for under $10. Those are USD prices for delivery in the US. I'm not sure how those prices would be affected by being in Canada. You don't need a bowl at all, but if you want to bowl lather you don't need a special one; a plastic bowl from the kitchen is fine.
If you're not so interested in using a brush and lathering a soap there are plenty of creams at the supermarket that are acceptable, in both squeeze tubes and aerosol formats. Barbasol's price per shave can't be beat, and it is probably the best aerosol out there; the "Skin Conditioner" yellow one is the best of their line. Cremo comes in a squeeze tube and performs well but is not as cheap.
If you want to use a brush and soap but are less interested in DE hardware, you could try some different cartridge systems than the one you use (perhaps some charitable friends will loan you their handle and give you one cartridge to test). If the Kool Aid here is to be trusted then fewer blades are better. The Mach 3 gave me the best shaves ever; Quattro was worse and Fusion was no better than Mach 3. Other people get better shaves from Trac II or Atra two-blade cartridge systems; the handles may be hard to find but the cartridges are in supermarkets.
If you care neither for the brush/soap nor the DE hardware and just want to improve your shaves, try using techniques discussed here on B&B, especially good preparation and shaving with the grain (with a possible followup pass against the grain).
Assuming you want to use DE hardware and a brush and soap, RiMei A2003 is $2 on Amazon (but it's a crapshoot knowing whether you'll get the good model or not), a stick of Arko is $4 shipped or less, and a VdH brush can be had for under $10. Those are USD prices for delivery in the US. I'm not sure how those prices would be affected by being in Canada. You don't need a bowl at all, but if you want to bowl lather you don't need a special one; a plastic bowl from the kitchen is fine.
If you're not so interested in using a brush and lathering a soap there are plenty of creams at the supermarket that are acceptable, in both squeeze tubes and aerosol formats. Barbasol's price per shave can't be beat, and it is probably the best aerosol out there; the "Skin Conditioner" yellow one is the best of their line. Cremo comes in a squeeze tube and performs well but is not as cheap.
If you want to use a brush and soap but are less interested in DE hardware, you could try some different cartridge systems than the one you use (perhaps some charitable friends will loan you their handle and give you one cartridge to test). If the Kool Aid here is to be trusted then fewer blades are better. The Mach 3 gave me the best shaves ever; Quattro was worse and Fusion was no better than Mach 3. Other people get better shaves from Trac II or Atra two-blade cartridge systems; the handles may be hard to find but the cartridges are in supermarkets.
If you care neither for the brush/soap nor the DE hardware and just want to improve your shaves, try using techniques discussed here on B&B, especially good preparation and shaving with the grain (with a possible followup pass against the grain).
Check these links. These are all PIF's (Pay It Forward - basically a giveaway) that you can sign up for. If you are picked at random, then you win what's being offered for free. There is no cheaper way to break into wet shaving than for free! Good luck!
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/387301-Good-with-the-Bad-PIF
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/386143-Another-Canuck-PIF
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/387139-Starter-Kit-PIF
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/387301-Good-with-the-Bad-PIF
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/386143-Another-Canuck-PIF
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/387139-Starter-Kit-PIF
Canada is not a problem - PM me your name and address (or someone else's, if you like) and I'll get it mailed out. Parker razor, some different blades, and a puck of Stirling's mango pineapple coconut.
That Mango Pineapple Coconut sounds great. I'll still try to get the brush sent as well. I'll also try and include some other small items like blades and maybe a soap sample or two if I can find something to send them in.
Very nice gesture Teppanyaki and dfoulk!! 
